Many car enthusiasts keep a list of cars close to their hearts. For me, this mental log constantly evolves with age. Although I must say my list has held pretty consistent for the past few decades. I’m just glad I grew out of that childhood phase where I thought Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini were the best cars ever built.

This list doesn’t segregate by continent, manufacturer or era. Every car company has had its time in the lime light at some point. I compare automakers to musicians: a great musician might only have a few number one hits in their career. This doesn’t mean the artist isn’t a good writer or composer, it just shows that some songs suit the masses while others go unnoticed.

So let’s see what songs sang to me in the past century, in no particular order:

Aston Martin DB5
This is one car that has survived the matchbox memories of my youth. First made famous by Ian Fleming’s 007 series when a silver DB5 appeared in “Goldfinger� (1964). It also reappeared in “Thunderball� (1965) then “GoldenEye� in 1995 and finally in “Tomorrow Never Dies� (1997). Yes, I am a very big Bond fan because of the emphasis of the status symbol they made the automobile.

Mustang GT 5.0 (1988-93)
This is easily the most popular builder’s years for Ford’s pony car. Having built three myself, I know is car very well. Known to most in the industry as the “Fox� body ’Stang, you can build one for a reasonable price and have fun in any style racing from strip to street. This car was also made famous in movies of the late 80s and early 90s. Remember that car in “Basic Instinct� that Michael Douglas hot rodded through the streets of San Francisco? You got it, a 1991 Mustang GT convertible.

1932 Ford Coupe, aka “Deuce Coupe�
This is the one hot rod I have always longed to own. Someday when I hit it big I will know because among my four-car garage will be one of these babies built right by Roy Brizio. This car has by far been the ultimate poster child to both the hot rod and rat rod culture. From Beach Boy songs to Goodguy’s event shirts, this car IS famous. The shot above is taken from George lucas' classic movie American Graffiti. A simple tub and chassis with a hopped up V8 in front and a tight Ford 9-inch out back … need I say more?

Vector W8
I had an opportunity to meet and interview Gerald Wiegert at the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show. This is the man behind the legendary Vector car, first made famous in the late 80s. I am a lover of this car not only because of the brilliance of its creator but the fact that it was years ahead of industry standards. Forget mild steel and sheet metal, Vector Motors built cars from materials like aluminum honeycomb and carbon Kevlar. This car company was the definition of the phrase “Aeromotive Engineering.�

Audi S8
Another familiar car from the big screen, this car is by far one of Audi’s best sleepers ever built. Made popular in the gearhead circles by a chase scene in the 1998 movie “Ronin,� this car did things never imagined in your dad’s old 500. Including 4-wheel drifts on cobble stone roads. You Tube the scene when you get a chance. Stats for a 2005 Audi S8: 5.2-liter, V10-engine (modified V10/5.0L from Lamborghini Gallardo) with 450BHP mated to a six-speed manual.

Stay tuned next week for the other five on my list!

Happy Motoring,

Lance

It all started with a little idea of getting my car club together for a scenic drive down the coast to a friends performance shop. Well, that was many moons ago and the biggest event yet of Seaside Goats came to be on Sunday.

Me fueling up the Goat with 100 octane at 76 in Agoura Hills.

A little bit of history: I started up a car club for local late-model Pontiac GTO owners in 2006. I had just purchased the car and had already known of a cultlike following of gearheads around this limited-production car. I never thought in a million years I would own a Pontiac, but as I saw these on my clients lots I started really falling in love with them. I ended up organizing what would become the Tri-County Seaside Goats, consisting of 12 to 15 local GTO owners.

There are many old-school guys that complain this car is far from a recreation of the original American muscle car known as the GTO. I have to disagree with the elders on this topic. The original concept created by Russell Gee was a simple one; take a decent mid-sized car, the Tempest, and drop a full-sized vehicles engine in it from the likes of a Catalina and Bonneville. So how does this differ from the late model version of today? It’s a mid size car, an Australian made Holden Monaro, with a big motor from the Chevy Corvette (an LS2 400-horsepower V8).

The idea of a “fun run� started while attending the Motor 4 Toys event in December in Westlake Village. I met Mike Haddad, an owner of a performance shop in Inglewood. Mike specializes in building Corvettes and late-model GTOs. I mentioned to him that I would love to bring the crew down for a day of tuning. He was open for the event and the planning started shortly thereafter.

It started out as a group of 10-plus cars and soon gained momentum, a snowball effect if you will. First, other Southern Californian clubs got on board in support of a event in the name of fun during what we consider the off-season for car shows. Then came our friend Kevin of the Las Vegas Goat crew. Once his group caught wind that he was barbecuing, it was on after that. The Inland Empire, San Diego and Arizona crews followed suit and we ended up at a final pre-event count of 78 Goats.

Some of the 50+ Goats in the Canyons

The crews all started at different locations but most met up for a canyon run in Woodland Hills on Sunday morning. After a meet ‘n greet, 50 of us were off for the canyons in what would be an amazing sight of different colors, styles and sounds of this reborn classic. We took an easy cruise through the canyons taking some nice shots of the caravan along the way. Speed TV also stumbled upon us for some video footage as well.

Looking back at the caravan in the canyon

Our final stop was at Mike Haddad’s shop in Inglewood. We met up with another 40-plus cars there to what quickly turned into the biggest Goat event so far this year. Everyone got to enjoy talking shop and tuning. Kevin had the barbecue going with his wife while families were enjoying a nice afternoon of muscle cars, great company and excellent grub.

This was my first coordination of such an event and it was a great challenge. From creating custom invites to designing the event T-shirts, it was a handful to make it all happen. America is by far the king when it comes to the love of the automobile. A day like this reminds me that any hobby can bring all kinds together. Special thanks as well to Mike and his team for hosting the event at his shop.

Our county’s residents are very much car fans at heart. From the Vette clubs to the rat rod owners, we all have the same respect and admiration for the car.

This experience has prompted me to do something similar for our local loyal gearheads. I will be planning a car show for all of our local clubs to attend here at our new location in Camarillo. I find this as an excellent location being we have the outlets next store for our better halfs to enjoy.

Stay tuned and find out more about our Star Car Show. Also feel free to contact me if you would like to have your car club or crew attend this event.

Happy Motoring,

Lance

Sampling has been a common practice in music for decades, same applies for cars. Just as Puffy and Notorious weren't the first to borrow the background of a great 80's song, Dodge is not the first to pull a page from the past.

The thought crossed my mind Monday morning when a reminder on my Outlook Calendar notified me that the day had come to confirm the rebirth of a classic muscle car at Chicago's Auto Show. I have admired this car since first seeing it two years ago at the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas (Specialty Equipment Market Association). I also categorize it as one of the top 10 creations from the era of the muscle car (60s and early 70's).

SRT8 Challenger concept at 2007 SEMA Show

This isn't some hodge-podge of models past like the newer Mustang (S197 platform) or the 2009 Camaro, no it's much simpler than that. Overall the body is the same, they simply made it one inch longer, lower and wider. The interior respects yesteryear cues while bringing the creature comforts a baby boomer would demand today.

It's not mean, it's just aggressive!

What I love is what's underneath those sexy body lines. This car sits on the LC platform which is a shortened version of the LX platform used with the Magnum, Charger and Chrysler 300. The difference is they chopped the wheelbase by four inches and shortened the overall length by eight inches. Chew on this fact; the LX chassis is simply a modified chassis from the 95-03 E Class Mercedes Benz (the W210 platform) with the front suspension from the S class (W220 platform).

The package is completed with a nicely tuned independent rear suspension (IRS), big Brembo brakes all around and a sweet SRT8, 6.1 liter HEMI under the hood. Just typing these facts off the top of my head makes me want to get in line for this reborn classic. Trust that all dealers will be adding a nice "market adjustment" to the low $40,095 manufacturer's suggested retail. I just hope they don't blow a great release by getting over confident.

4-piston Brembos hidden behind 5-spoke alloys

So this may leave some of you with one question; Is this worth tapping into the Meryl Lynch account? Heck yeah, you deserve it! The end of gas hogs is near and what better way to go out with a bang than this? If you do pull the trigger (As we say in the industry) be sure to at least get a potential collector's model. The first 6300 SRT8 Challenger's will have Shelby-like authentic badge on the dash.

Happy Motoring,

Lance

Specs:

425HP 6.1 Liter V8 HEMI w/ 420LB-FT Torque
0-60mph in 4.9 seconds
60-0mph in 110 feet
170mph top speed

Fun factor 10 out of 10!

Comments, questions? Let me know! Comment below,
or e-mail me at: LLambert@venturacountystar.com