For 1998 Pontiac gave the Trans Am a facelift and put the previously Corvette only LS1 engine under the hood. The result was an aggressively styled muscle car with the looks and power to make traffic lights fall from the sky—at least that is the story Pontiac was selling.
In an age when a stock V6 Mustang is over 300 horsepower and the ZL1 and GT500 are battling for horsepower supremacy in the 5-600 horsepower range this commercial touting the 1998 Trans Ams "almost scary" 325 horsepower might seem a little silly. At the time however, the new for 1998 LS1 Trans Ams and Camaros were at the top of the muscle car heap.
I remember seeing this advertisement in 1998 and wanting few things more on the face of the earth than a driver's license and a brand new Trans Am. Seeing this commercial again almost 14 years later is an amusing reminder that even though the muscle car of my dreams has changed, I ended up with my driver's license and a hardly "scary powerful" but still a lot of fun LS1 F-body in the garage.