I’m still blogging but things have been kind of hectic lately.
Returning from an Easter weekend trip, we ended up on one of my favorite streets, Ogden Avenue. I’ll be posting about Ogden in the near future as it is a great place for car lovers and enthusiasts. You can find all sorts of cars for sale from Bentleys to the cool machine pictured below.
Around the end of 2004 GM was offering huge incentives to clear out leftover models. I’m talking huge with a capital H-U-G-E. The various incentives and plan pricing amounted to about $11,000 in savings. That’s how I ended up leasing a Pontiac GTO for 2 years.
The color is called Cosmos and was only offered for part of the model year. Only 700 GTO’s were made in this color. I used to say the purple interior was “fit for a pimp”.
The 200 MPH speedometer is a little optimistic but fun to point out to people who have never been in a GTO.
The GTO had great interior materials and quality. The best GM interior outside of Cadillac I think. I liked the 2004 for its understated good looks rather then the giant hood nostrils on the 2005 and 2006 models. It’s smooth sides and rear kind of reminded me of a BMW.
It not only looked good but had power to spare. It was easy to drive in a normal manner but also provided plenty of opportunity for hooliganism. Not that I ever got it sideways out of a gas station or anything…
I turned it in the past December.
Since the cruise and show season is about to start, I thought I would share some pictures that I took during the summer of 2006. The show was held at a Ford dealership right near where I used to live in the Metro Detroit area. In addition to classics, there were a number of Saleen vehicles on display and Steve Saleen was there for a couple of hours signing posters and hats.
First up are 2 Ford GT’s, one white, one blue. Ford GT’s were assembled at the Saleen Special Vehicles Production Facility in Troy, MI. It is located on 15 Mile Road just west of I-75. Sometimes when I would drive by I could see inside the room where they would give the GT bodies their finishing touches before they were painted.
The blue GT had the hood up so I got a close look at the beautiful engine and suspension, as well as those giant rear tires.
Next is the Saleen S281 Supercharged Mustang. The metallic orange color looked fantastic. I actually drove up Rochester Road next to this exact car. I was in my 2004 Pontaic GTO but didn’t have my camera.
The star of the Saleen area was the S7. It looks great in magazines but it is absolutely breathtaking in person. Here is my “arty” shot that really shows of the flowing lines of this car. You can also see how low this car is to the ground.
With a 0-100mph time of 5.9 seconds, this is the view most other drivers will see when this car is on the road.
Now for some classics. Most of the cars at the show were the same cars you see at every car show and cruise. Mustang, Camaro, Cuda, blah, blah, blah. I only got pics of my favorites that were there.
A nice ‘67 Cougar.
A late 70’s Trans Am. Complete with a Screamin’ Chicken on the hood.
I saved the best for last. 6.6 Liters of yummy Pontiac goodness. Oooh yeah…
