The girl I was dating had a roommate who drove a 1986 Pontiac Trans Am. It was fully-loaded and even had a yellow cylon light on the front, similar to KITT from Knight Rider. All the local kids would cheer and wave when we drove past. That car was mean and could really go.

That was my first real experience with a performance car with a lot of horsepower. I only drove it once, for our anniversary, and I had to be super-careful, but it was a hoot. I only mentioned it here because it was very influential later in life.