Buy the Damn car you want....Regardless of insane "Brand Loyalty" your dad or older brother had!!....

I've said many times how sick I am of seeing a jacked-up Ford or Dodge pickup with a sticker of "Calvin" of the comic strip-"Calvin and Hobbes" fame-pissing on a Chevy emblem. It's ridiculous. And I'm not talking about 20 year old morons just out of high school. I've talked to 50 year old men with the attitude that an SS396 Chevelle is awesome, but a 400 GTO, or 442, or 383 Road Runner "sucks".  Or a 351C Mustang Mach 1 is way cool, but an LT1 powered Z/28 Camaro "sucks".  Really? Are you 12? Are we still in junior high? Are you still pissed that the Steelers beat the Cowboys in Super Bowl X??  I've said many times that my dad was ( and still is ) a die-hard Pontiac guy. His first car was a 345 hp Tri-Power 389 1959 Pontiac Catalina. Over the years he had a '64 GTO, a '65 Catalina, a '65 2+2, and a '78 Trans-Am. My first car was a Ram Air III, 4-speed, 4.33:1 geared '69 GTO Judge. I think he wanted it as much for himself as he did for me. My brother's first car was another '69 GTO. Because of dad-we loved Pontiacs too. But I remember-I even posted the story of the legendary "American Graffiti" Drag Race that I was privy to in Missouri at the age of 10 in 1971 or 72. My dad-by then already a legend at tuning multi-carbs was tasked with tuning both a 440, 4-speed, Six-Pack '70 GTX and a 426 Hemi / Torqueflite '68 Road Runner that were vying for the title of "King Kong" in our town. The driver's agreed that having the same mechanic tune both cars would ensure absolute fairness. They didn't have to worry about losing because of pointa closing up or an over-rich carb(s)-they'd only lose to the other driver. Like the Johhny Cash / Waylon Jennings song-"The Devil's Right Hand"-that was talking about guns-when I saw that 1970 GTX-Red with black stripes, and a white interior and that "Pistol-Grip" Hurst shifter, and "Air Grabber" hood, "I thought it was the finest thing I ever had seen." The fact that the Hemi Road Runner beat him by half the length of the front fender-almost a "Photo finish" didn't diminish it's appeal. Until I saw "Vanishing Point."  Kowalski's Alpine White '70 Challenger R/T that led the Police on a cross-country chase was burned indelibly in my imagination. I wanted a Challenger. Then I saw "Bullitt." I couldn't care less about the hero's Mustang. The ominous black Charger that the bad guys drove got my attention. Even though I was born and raised a GM guy-I liked Mopars. When I grew up-besides the GTO, I had an SS396 El Camino, a couple of disco-era T/A's, a couple of Pontiac Venturas, but I also had a couple of '68-70 Chargers, a V8 Vega, a couple of Mustangs, a Toyota pickup and a couple of Ford pickups. I like what I like. If I hit Megabucks tomorrow I'm just as likely to buy a pristine '70 440 / Six-Pack GTX as I am a 2016 Shelby GT350R Mustang, or a restored RAIV '69 Judge. Or a '66 Toronado or a '65 Galaxie coupe with a 390. Like Vin Diesel told Gal Gadot in "F&F 4"-I appreciate a fine body no matter who builds it." And that's the way adults should be when spending megabucks on a restored car!!!  My dad is still a hardcore GM guy. But you know what? If I found a good-condition '79 Dodge Li'l Red Express truck-my dream car before we found the "Judge"-he'd be happy for me-he wouldn't deride it!!  Everyone should be the same way. Mastermind