This week’s Throwback Thursday video features a commercial, which I remember very well, for the 1996 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. I was in high school when this commercial came out and I recall friends who weren’t into cars insisting that there was no way that someone could identify a car simply by the sound. We all know that isn’t true, but I imagine that I was not the only person who had to prove at some point that I could identify a car by its roar, so I bet that many of you remember this commercial well.
Of course, I don’t know that I could pick out the sound of an ’87 Buick station wagon, but I could have recognized the sound of the new Camaro Z28 back then.
In this spot, two younger kids are hanging out in a bedroom as one stands at the window, watching traffic with a pair of binoculars. The kid at the window asks the other kid to identify the cars driving past by the sound, and after the kid playing the game correctly names the ’87 Buick wagon and a ’74 VW Beetle without much interest – the new Camaro Z28 rolls by.
When the kid guessing the cars names this one by the grumble of the exhaust, he goes so far as to include the fact that the 1996 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 offered 285 horsepower and a 6-speed manual transmission. The kid nails it, of course, and he is clearly far more excited by the Z28 than the first two (rightfully so), but the video ends with him being unable to guess the color.
I would have guessed that the 1996 Camaro Z28 was red, but that doesn’t make any difference, as this commercial resonated well with me and my car-loving friends who could and still can name a car simply by the exhaust tone.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
