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Classic YouTube: The 2002 Camaro SS and Trans Am 35th Anniversary Editions


Classic YouTube: The 2002 Camaro SS and Trans Am 35th Anniversary Editions

In 2002, I was 19 years old, had finished up my training and was at my first duty station for the Army, had a check coming in that beat the holy hell out of what I had made in past jobs, had more job security than I knew what to do with due to events the prior year, and had an issue. At the time I was driving a 1978 Chrysler LeBaron…nothing flashy, certainly not fast. It had been reliable enough, but I had it in my head that I needed a newer car that I could trust to not choke up whenever the computer felt like it, a car that had more than maybe 100 horsepower on a good day, a car with overdrive and a cruise control that you didn’t have to set 20 MPH faster than you wanted it to actually run. At the time, the Camaro SS was the car I dreamed of. Ever since the arrival of the SLP-modified SS in 1996, I knew that I was seeing a second horsepower war…over 300 horsepower, a six speed, gears, T-tops…yeah, I was sold alright. Problem is, I wasn’t. I didn’t make that much money, used ones were holding their value thanks to GM killing off the F-body for 2002, and the one time I came close to buying one in early 2004, the insurance quote was enough to leave even the most jaded salesman stutter. Would you pay $860/month for insurance? I sure as hell wouldn’t, that composed over half of my monthly take-home at the time!

The demise of the Camaro and Firebird twins for 2002 was a strange point. Two storied nameplates that everyone thought would be around forever suddenly disappeared. Ford danced and celebrated right up until Pontiac tried introducing Australian muscle to the United States market. I’m a fan of the GTO, detractors be damned. But there is something sinister about a black Trans Am of any generation. Chevrolet first showed the fifth-gen Camaro concept in 2006, but it just didn’t do anything for me, not like the fourth-gen did. Even now, with their horsepower levels equal to the current crop of V6 models and the plasticky fenders that like to peel away from the body, the last of the breed is still something to enjoy. They’re torquey, they sound the part, and with a six speed at your controls they will romp and play just like the good old days. Oh, dammit…they’re now part of the “good old days”!


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