[427TJ]

You hit the nail right on the head Pantera. I was fortunate to turn 16 before '60s musclecars became too valuable and expensive for gear-head boys to buy and fix up. I bought my first car in 1979, a '67 Camaro, from my next-door neighbor who bought it new. First thing I did was put headers and turbo mufflers with 2.5" exhaust. I loved the sound and drove like hell everywhere I went just to hear those pipes. It was even better when I put in a strong motor to fill out those pipes. What's the first thing a kid does today with his used Civic? He puts a big ol' "fart can" muffler on and rat-races all over town. Yep, we've all seen that kid and he is US. We all remember guys who put Cherry Bomb glasspacks on their cars and then rapped-out their pipes between every stoplight. We used to laugh at such ridiculousness and I still laugh at 'fart can' Hondas. Cherry Bombs and 'fart cans' are the exact same thing executed with the technology of their day. I'd bet that if someone grafted a Cherry Bomb onto a Civic, that would become the new craze.

In February I bought a brand new Subaru WRX STi. 300hp, 300 ft.lbs., intercooled turbo 2.5 liter flat four, six speed box, lockers front and rear (AWD), and it'll hit the limiter at 147 mph with ease and it's as smooth as glass at that speed. Road tests show the 1/4 in 13.20. It'll corner hard enough to make you feel carsick. Yeah, it was 30K, but I've already smoked a couple C6 Corvettes with ease and nobody (stock) can stay with me through a section of tight curves. Now, when Chevy re-releases the Camaro in what, '06?, we'll be very lucky if it can do all that from the factory WITHOUT MODIFICATIONS. If Chevy gets it right with the next Camaro and it turns out to be a real bomb, like my STi, my guess is that it'll be AT LEAST $40,000. Heck, I'd love to have a new '02 Berger or even a new '06 Camaro SS, but I could afford the STi. I laugh every time I drive it, it's that fun.