Well boys and girls... the SRT era is over for me yet again... I had a SRT4 that i traded in for a Scion tC... Then i traded the tC 4 months later for a SRT6... The SRT6 came by way of wanting something that wasn't completely **** slow as the tC was... The tC was going to be my transition car for when either the EvoX or the Challenger was to come out... However, i just simply couldn't take it any more... the tC turned out to be my winter beater as i only did have it for such a short time, i did take it to New York for new years.

The SRT6 was a PERFECT blend of performance, handling, style, and a decent level of luxury... I absolutely love that car and still do... however, it just simply wasn't big enough, a true 2 seater, not even a bench seat in the back... and the hatch, well rarely did anything ever fit back there. I now see why people that do have these cars use them as a weekend car for the most part... I wasn't able to break 12's in the 1/4 mile in the car, but i know its in the car under the right conditions in a pay, roll up to the line and go set up. I'm positive that with fresh stock rear tires, the SRT6 would of gotten a 12.99999, but none the less a 12.

I had seen the GTO's when i was originally looking for the SRT6... I drove a 5.7 in a automatic, and just wasn't impressed, i was also looking at a new one and didn't like the price tag for what you got. After my buddy got one... it put the idea back in my head of that car... and by this point, i had been thinking of changing again due to the lack of room in the SRT6... I began to look at GTO's and G35's... G35's were just as expensive to insure as the SRT6. Then we went to Canada for the Canadian SRT Nationals, my buddy brought along his GTO... seeing what he did at the track with a VERY lightly modded GTO only added to the interest of everything. My buddy ran 13.1x @ 106 compared to my 13.1 @106 the same day in the same conditions

All i want is a 12 sec street car, i dont have lofty goals of 11's or anything crazy. Suddenly I started to find really nicely priced GTO's on the market...

Yesterday, i was searching on one of the used cars website and came across a car at Bill Jacobs Mini/BMW dealership... They had a 2005 6.0 GTO 6 speed with 20,000 miles on it for $23,950. I called into the dealership and asked about the car, they said that they still had it so i made a appointment to view it in the afternoon.

I definitely have to give credit to the staff at Bill Jacobs, yes, i'm sure its their way of having costumers be happy and its all in the plans of getting you to pay what they are asking for, they make it feels like a great buying experience there. You usually end up dealing with some slimy used cars sales man. The sales man that i dealt with was great, he stayed late to help me out, right away as i walked in, they offered me something to drink, and if not, right away the car was waiting for me in the front for a test drive. I got on it and ripped on it a bit, scaring the sale man a little i think. We got back and he asked me how much i would take for my car as a trade in... I told him i was looking for around $20,500-$21,000 realistically, the manager came over and they took my car out for a spin.

When the manager returned, they went inside to look up information on the car, i remained outside looking over the GTO. I called my buddy and asked him a couple of questions... As i popped the hood of the car, i noticed that the headers had a stamp on them "JBA", the Intake looked different, and the exhaust tips looked different then stock. Also during the test drive, i found a switch, which looked like a toggle switch, as i flipped it, the exhaust tone changed... Cut-outs!

The salesman returned and asked me into step inside... its a very nice dealership... a couple of Alpine BMW's sitting on the show room floor, the M5 was pure sex!... So we sit down... he says that they know that i want at least $20,500 for the car but the best they can offer is $19,500. I paused and asked, is there anything they can do on the price of the GTO... the manager gave a nod, and said how about we give you $19,500 for your trade in and sell the car for $23,000... I smiled and said deal... it was literally a 3 minute conversation.

Now, I told them that i know that they are still making money off me, and thats what they are there to do... but i'm happy, the dealership is happy, what more can someone ask for. So i would have a remaining balance of $3,500 + tax which comes out to ~ $4,000... they said that they probably couldn't find a bank to finance such a low amount unless they cut me a check for $6,000 and then i finance $10,000... I called up the bank, set up my debit card to accept a transfer of $4,000. A swipe of the ol' card (who has been taking a beating as of late) and bam... I walked in with the title to the SRT6 and i walk out with the title to the GTO (technically but not literally, they will mail me the title).

So, there it is... a '05 GTO... its pretty nice, its huge in comparison to the SRT6. I parked it in my garage, i lined up the car to how i park the SRT6 and half of the trunk was still outside of the garage. So i had to pull in some more.

As i got on the highway on my way home, 3rd gear (from 60-90 mph) pulled incredibly hard. Now, a lot of that can be just from the new feel of a different car, different sounds... but i don't remember the speedo rising like that with the srt6.

So for me... the SRT6 era is over... I couldn't break 12's... but i got damn close at 13.06 bone stock.... Pics coming later today.