Everybody always wants to know about your first car. Despite my label as a Chevelle guy, the ’66 SS 396 four-speed Chevelle I still own was actually my second car. My first love was a ’66 Pontiac GTO with a four-barrel 389 and a four-speed. I had just turned 16 in 1970 and was desperate to buy a muscle car. I considered a ’64 Chevelle with a 283 and a ’Glide, but it was a pooch. Then my mom drove home one day in a four-speed ’66 GTO that she found at a local used car lot. It was love at first sight. I abused the hell out of that car, and while it never broke, it wasn't fast. When my best friend in high school, Jerry Magnuson, beat me in a street joust with an ancient ’62 327 four-speed Impala, I sold the GTO in favor of the Chevelle. Unfortunately, I've lost all the photos of the GTO. I doubt it survived its next owner, who abused it worse than I did. It was one that got away.