It was at a supermarket in Totton. I heard her before I saw her - making that low, throaty growl that gets my heart pumping.
And then I saw her. Sleek. Curvy. Elegant yet powerful.
What a beautiful peice of car.
I wandered over to the driver - who was ginger, funnily enough - and said: "That's a '78 Pontiac Firebird, isn't it?"
He did a double take, because most Brits aren't sad enough to know the subtle styling differences that identify a second-generation Firebird's year of manufacture. But I was right and he was dutifully impressed. But not half as much as I was.
You see, Pontiac Firebirds have been a bit of an obsession of mine ever since I owned one in America. Despite a lot of ribbing they get in America, I think the Firebird is a lovely and practical sports car. Enormous engine. Rear wheel drive. Two big seats and enough room to cram two others in a back - plus a boot that could take a couple of suitcases and a set of golf clubs. You could drive across America in one of these and the only thing that would make you uncomfortable would your petrol bill.
I loved this car so much that Adventure Eddy adopted one. In my book, he finds a run down Pontiac in somebody's barn and lovingly restores it to (almost) working order. But in the original draft of my book, he had the same model as mine. A 1991 fuel injected Firebird - one of the third generation cars like Knight Rider.
It looks something like this:
When I saw the '78 model yesterday, though, I knew THIS was the car of my dreams. It was so much longer, sleeker and more muscular than the third generation car. My Firebird in America was designed the way a child draws a sports car - all angular lines and sleek wedges.
There was something subtle and curvy about the older car. The way the wheel arches swoop over the car's haunches. The bonnet detail that looks like an eagle's beak. The delightfully seventies corduroy seats and stainless steel dials.
This is the classic car of my dreams - and I'm going to have it, one of these distant days.
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