Archive for February, 2010

I think I remember seeing this commercial once when I was a teenager, remind you I'm only twenty seven years of age. Why wasn't this awesome commercial broadcasted more? We sure get enough of the ricer commercials! This Trans Am commercial is my favorite out of all the commercials GM has ever made, whoever thought this one up deserves a medal. I mean the muscle car looks like it could eat something! And guess what? That's exactly what it does in the commercial, it eats a ricer mobile. That's precisely what the LS1 muscle car was made for, take down the competition!

It's 2010 and the 98-02 LS1 muscle cars are the best bang for the buck, I'm really not that surprised. With a supercharger or a turbo, a LS1 Trans Am or Camaro can beat a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, a $100k+ sports car. When you hit the gas on these puppies, they squat! Mainly due to the rear wheel axle on the F-Bodies. The handling on these muscle cars isn't the greatest, but with a new aftermarket suspension installed in just a few hours you can easily improve that.

I remember Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear ragging on these cars, I just had to laugh at him. The guy doesn't know what he's talking about, for the money you can beat them. He never said anything super bad from what I remember, but he likes to throw in his negative comments here and there. Deep down I know he doesn't think much about these cars anyways. He's all about his Porsche or his Ferrari, that's what he likes to rant and rave about. But what do I expect he's foreign. I just hate how foreigners talk so highly of their foreign cars over here in the US, yeah their so great, the average citizen can't even afford them!

When I'm out driving my 2002 Trans Am WS.6, I get nothing but looks and good commentaries. People are amazed with the style on these cars, it's truly one of a kind. The ram air hood on this car is the best I have ever seen on a muscle car, I guess that's why I bought one. The 98-02 Fbody will go down in car history as one of the best sports cars ever made.

One car that really didn't make a big splash on the muscle car scene was the 2009 Pontiac G8 GT Firehawk by SLP. Only a few of these were made since GM dumped Pontiac. A few members from my muscle car club claimed they've seen one up for sale on Ebay, might be a good investment since only a few of them were made. I really don't dig foor doors, but for the power this muscle car sedan makes I'll have to make an exception. The Firehawk G8 makes 30 percent more horsepower than stock, mainly due to it's the SLP TVS 1900 supercharger. On the dyno this baby pumped out 500 horsepower and 489 lb-ft torque.

That kind of power will get this sedan going 0-60mph in around 4.3 seconds. The 1/4 mile time is 12.6 seconds, right up there with my stock 2004 SVT Mustang Cobra. Overall I'm pretty impressed with the times, I mean the car weighs around 4000 pounds, that's a lot of weight. Handling wise the Firehawk G8 is wearing a sportier suspension front and back. More cool mods include 19 inch gunmetal rims, cold air intake, baer brakes, and an agressive axle-back exhaust system. Despite the $52,035 price tag, SLP's 2009 Pontiac G8 GT Firehawk is one hell of a four door muscle car. For the money though you'd be better off getting a used ZO6 Corvette.

I posted a boat load of pictures down below of the Firehawk G8, the red and black paint scheme looks pretty good, but overall it's not my style. The picture I liked out of the bunch was the shot of the side of the sedan, doesn't the angle looks sharp. The Firehawk G8 definitely looks like an Audi from that point of view. That shot really shows off the powerful Baer brakes as well, I'm a big fan of slotted rotors and painted calipers. It really brings out the looks of the wheels and the overall car. Car and Driver said they can't keep this baby on the road because of the power!

Up for auction on ebay is a 1969 Shelby GT500CS! But, this is no ordinary Shelby GT500CS, this muscle car was built on a Mustang GT platform. Retrobuilt, Shelby Automobiles Inc. will be building these new muscle cars in limited quantities. So if you like the style, you better get your butt over to Ebay and start bidding on this one of a kind muscle car. The one up on ebay though is the first one built, so I think it's going to be getting a super high bid. You might want to wait till Shelby Automobiles builds a few more. It will be interesting to see what the Shelby GT500CS sells for.