Why Joining a Car Club Enhances Your Passion for Classic Muscle Cars

They say the best things in life are fully enjoyed when shared. I realized this when I joined my first car club almost 30 years ago. Although I grew up with a couple of car guys, up to that point I was somewhat of a loner in my passion. I enjoyed my car as an individual and personal pursuit. Once I embraced a club, however, my thinking changed and a whole new world opened up to me.

Camaraderie — Andrew Nussbaum

My club experience began back in 1999, when I joined the ranks of the Long Island F-Body Association, or LIFBA, for short. As the Internet was still a young thing, I heard about the club from a neighborhood buddy. We would occasionally take local blasts around town—he in his 2000 WS6 Trans Am and I in my ’99 TA. Needless to say, we were excited to meet other Firebird fanatics. We knew our cars were rare, so it was quite a sight as we pulled into our first meet and greet and saw a few dozen fourth-gen Pontiac Firebirds and Chevy Camaros parked in angled formation. Having similar machines was the perfect ice breaker.

It wasn’t long before we were loading a bunch of new contacts into our flip phones. Perusing the array of GM pony cars and admiring the different specs and mods was pretty cool, but cruising down the highway in the muscular motorcade was a real thrill and the real reason we joined. I no longer felt alone in my passion. I was now part of a following.

I met like-minded car guys and gals from all walks of life: a mechanic, a detailer, a personal trainer, a teacher, an insurance salesman, a computer tech, a pet store manager, a commercial fisherman, even a guy in law school. Despite our varied paths, we all related to each other through common cause—our Firebirds and Camaros. That connection offered up spare parts, cars for sale, service shop recommendations, and, best of all, knowledge and experience. Now I was able to compare notes, so to speak.

Unfortunately, LIFBA disbanded after a few years, as many of us became busy with the more pressing trials and tribulations of life, like family and careers. Nonetheless, it was a great first go, and I still run into some of my old LIFBA friends at shows.

In “Great” Company

In 2013, I bought a 2006 GTO in Cyclone Gray. I knew that Pontiac’s “Great One,” even my modern, Aussie-built version, came with a storied pedigree and an almost religious following. So I began hunting for another group of like-minded enthusiasts and found the Pontiac Oakland Club International (POCI). I joined up in the summer of 2014, and the benefits were immediate.

I spoke to the editor of their print and online magazine titled, appropriately enough, Smoke Signals. He knew I was a freelance contributor for High-Performance Pontiac magazine and offered me a gig. Joining the POCI was part and parcel to joining