Not one but two Chevys! Someone has a thing for the Gold Bowtie…
They seem to follow me around! If I’m thinking about buying a car, invariably, a Chevy will turn up and prove to be a deal that I just can’t refuse.
More on them in a minute, but, what got you into cars in the first place?
My dad has been in the motoring industry ever since I can remember so a lot of the passion for cars has come from him. As a kid, I had a load of Hot Wheels and Matchbox toy cars and I still have some in the original packaging back home in Pakistan.
Tell us about his Trans Am…
He bought that Pontiac when I was 16 years old. Wow, what a car. Whenever he’d pick me up from school, the kids would go nuts over it. I became quite popular because of it!
Then he got a Porsche 911 and then a Lamborghini Countach. My popularity soared through the roof.
Bet it did! Which of your previous rides stick out in your mind the most?
My old 2001 Mercedes SL 320 convertible and 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71, which was a beast. People would always give me way in that thing. It had a lift kit, huge BF Goodrich mud tyres and a wide body kit. It looked mean and dangerous and felt as I was driving a monster truck. I found it for sale at a used car yard in Sharjah. The only drawback was the poor fuel economy it got. Now, I have driven some thirsty cars but this was next level. I guess those huge tyres and lift kit didn’t help.
Why did you get rid of it?
I wanted to get something bigger, meaner and more versatile. I had been dreaming of a Chevy Avalanche Z71 for a while, and then decided to go for it. And once I got it, I went about customising it right away. The first thing I did was to swap the original bonnet over with a B2 bonnet with scoops. Then I installed a complete Gibson cat-back exhaust system with a K&N cold air intake system and tweaked the ECU. The 5.3-litre V8 now produces 410bhp and sounds like it’s possessed. It also has a red scanner just like the one that KITT from Knight Rider had and it looks great flashing away at night, I must say.
It has the off-road suspension package and although it is a heavy truck, it gets me in and out of the dunes and wherever I want to go. It’s an unstoppable monster.
On to your Lumina SS; you only bought this one two months ago. Happy with it?
I love this car. It’s great in every way. It’s fast, fun and good looking and those dual bonnet scoops complement the ones on the Avalanche. My fiancée is going to kill me for this, but these two are my babies.
She will Fahad — it’s been nice knowing you. It isn’t the first Lumina you’ve owned either, right?
I’ve lost count of how many I have had and they’ve been in all sorts of colours ranging from black, silver, red, blue and white. I bought my current SS completely stock but have since changed the rims which are now the same colour as the body and the lights have been smoked out too. I want to call it The Blackbird aka the SR -71 blackbird — a supersonic reconnaissance aircraft. I love fighter planes and plan to make my SS resemble one. I just have to find the right person for this job.
Lockheed Martin, perhaps?! What else is going to get done?
I want to get a full exhaust system and tweak the ECU and that’s about it. The reason I bought it was for some much needed driving excitement. I had a Jaguar X-Type with a 2.0-litre four-pot and it wasn’t the most entertaining ride. Now when I drive to work in the SS, I feel alive. That 5.7-litre V8 is a superb engine. It may take corners sideways but that is what the Holden Monaro, the car the Lumina is based on, is famous for. When the time comes to sell it should be easy because people are always leaving their business cards on the windshield. But I’ll never forget the time I was chased by a cop while driving my Avalanche. I thought I was going to be pulled over and get a ticket for something or other but he just pull up alongside me and gave me a thumbs up.
That must have been a relief! Finally, what is your dream car?
An orange McLaren F1 GTR.
Bio
- Name Fahad Javaid
- Job Sales manager
- From Pakistan
- Wheels 2009 Chevrolet Avalanche Z71 and 2006 Chevrolet Lumina SS Coupé
- In the UAE 14 years
