Of all the times I was shocked with what a vehicle could possibly be, there’s one that stands out over all others. And shocker, it’s not a Camaro, it’s not anything I’ve driven during my time at BangShift, none of them. I want to paint you the picture: I’m preparing to trade in a 2001 Dodge Ram 5.9L for anything that’s smaller and easier on gas. My mind has been focused on a Dodge Stratus R/T with a manual transmission, but I was somewhat open to options. I was stuck with dealership used cars because I was trading in, and I told the salesman as much. After explaining my list of cars from the past, and explaining that this was going to be a bit of a compromise vehicle, he insisted that I drive a 2001 Buick Regal GS that was sitting in the corner. I wasn’t thrilled. I wasn’t expecting anything out of it. But when he told me to lay into it and I laid stripes down an onramp to Interstate 5, I could not have been more surprised. This was a silver potato-shaped sedan full of faux luxury, but it ripped.
Over the years, my “car guy” status has encouraged others to try to impress me with what they’ve got. More often than not, I’m not impressed. I have been…a clean BMC Cooper, a Mustang with nitrous, a 1990s Eldorado, they all impressed me. And I want to make it known that just because you’re willing to bury the throttle doesn’t mean I’m automatically impressed. It takes that unsuspecting kick in the chest, the moment where your brain stops and says, “What the hell was that?!” When was the last time that happened to you?
Buddy of mine bought a regular cab short bed 4×4 2019 f150 and had a Whipple supercharger installed. Truck looked like a rental, but would go 10.80@126. Definitely impressive in my book.
The first time I rode in my friend Rich’s ’70 Dodge Challenger convertible with a 426 Hemi, doing 120 on Hwy 70 at the ’88 Mopar Nationals.