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If you’re reading this, you’ve managed to drink enough coffee to counteract all the turkey and high-carb sides of Thanksgiving! Congratulations—and welcome back to The ClassicCars.com Journal. You’re just in time for another installment of Car Connections. I make the Random Word Generator spit out a few words, then I find ways to link each of them to automobiles.

Today’s words are: meat, stuff, and glow. Here we go.

Meat: What kills me about some restomods is that they have over-sized wheels with rubber bands for tires. One of the things that makes classic American cars, such as the Ford Mustang and Pontiac Trans Am, look so great is their proportions—including those of their wheels and tires. A nice meaty sidewall helps keep things in balance.

Stuff: Now that I’m a dad, I love minivans, especially the 2025 Toyota Sienna Platinum I tested back in April. Not only was it well equipped, comfortable, and fuel-efficient, but it also had room for so much stuff! It easily fit my wife in the shotgun seat and my son Hayden in his bulky car seat in the second row. There was plenty of space for storage totes in the back, even if I didn’t fold the third-row seats down.

Glow: Le Mans racing challenges the endurance of everyone and everything involved. Not only do the drivers have to stay awake for long stretches, but they also have to be 100 percent sharp and alert every second they’re behind the wheel. The cars’ engines have to hold up to the stresses of all-out driving and high-g turns. So do the brakes—they work so hard and absorb so much heat that they literally glow in the dead of night.

How would you associate these words with cars? Tell us in the Comments section below. And be sure to share your ideas for random words to use in a future installment of Car Connections.

Right now on AutoHunter, you can find this 1968 Pontiac Firebird coupe, which is powered by a 250ci OHC inline-six paired with a two-speed automatic transmission. Finished in British Racing Green over a black vinyl interior, this first-generation Firebird is now offered by the selling dealer in Oregon with a clear title.

Originally Nightshade Green, the body was repainted the current British Racing Green and accented with gray side and rear stripes. Exterior features include a black front air dam, bright trim, driver-side mirror, tinted windows, body-color rear spoiler, chrome rear bumper, and dual exhaust outlets.

Instead of using talons, this bird grips the road with the 205/70 BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires wrapped around its 14-inch Rally II wheels.

The cockpit is furnished with black vinyl upholstery on the front buckets and rear bench seat; woodgrain trim accents the center stack/console. Comfort and convenience features include power steering, push-button AM radio, and console-mounted automatic shifter.

Instrumentation consists of a 160-mph speedometer and a fuel gauge. The odometer shows 6,161 miles, but this classic is mileage-exempt, according to its title.

Between the front wheel wells is a 250ci OHC inline-six fitted with a four-barrel carburetor and connected to a two-speed automatic. A set of manual drum brakes slow that go.

If you want to make this 1968 Pontiac Firebird coupe yours, don’t slow down—step on the gas and bid before the auction’s conclusion at 12:15 p.m. (MST) on Friday, December 5, 2025.

Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery

Quick! Without looking, which was the first muscle car model that featured air induction standard? Need a hint? It is a 1969 model. Need another hint? It’s not what you’d normally expect. Need a third hint? Boy, I should begin to worry about you because all you need to do is look at the title to know it’s the Buick Gran Sport. Our Pick of the Day is this 1969 Buick GS 350 listed for sale on Classic Cars.com by a dealership in Pompano Beach, Florida.

The Gran Sport was redesigned for 1968 after three model years. General Motors gave the A-body two wheelbases, with the two-door featuring a 112-inch span from front to rear wheels. All two-doors featured enhanced “Coke-bottle” styling with a more organic look, eschewing the three-box design that had characterized the previous generation.

The Gran Sport models continued to be available within three series. The most muscular was the GS 400, which was powered by an engine that was introduced the previous year. The 400ci V8 was rated at 340 horsepower, which wasn’t high on the totem pole of 6.6-liter cars, but its power delivery belied its rating, especially with peak torque (440 lb-ft) at a low 3200 rpm. New for 1968 was the GS 350, powered by a 350ci small-block rated at 280 horsepower and 375 lb-ft of torque. This was an outgrowth of the 340 that was used in the 1967 GS 340, Buick’s “junior supercar.” There was also an interesting California GS available, formerly a regional special based on the Special Deluxe. This gave buyers a stylish and fast vehicle at a friendly price.

Both the 350 and 400 were carried over into 1969, though Buick restyled the Gran Sport’s hood to implement a standard air induction system. A pair of chrome grates allowed air to be sucked into “muffs on the front of the air cleaner to deliver cool clean air [to the four-barrel carburetor] and provide more efficient and powerful engine operation in higher speed ranges.” The 350 came standard with a column-mounted three-speed manual, with a floor-shift version of the same transmission the next step up. Upgrades from there included the TH350 automatic or four-speed manual. When the model year was over, 58 GS 350s featured the standard transmission, 175 had the upgrade on the floor, 632 featured the four-speed, and the rest were built with an automatic.

This 65,000-mile 1969 Buick GS 350 doesn’t get the glory that the GS 400 receives, but let’s evaluate this example and identify its strengths, as it’s a fine way to experience horsepower, comfort, and fun that few vehicles can deliver. Out of 6,305 built, 490 were painted in Cameo Cream. Another 667 were built with the Pearl White bucket seat interior. See that white vinyl top? 830 were built with that too. It’s not common to find air conditioning paired with a four-speed like this one has—only 132 were equipped like that. Other features include “radio-delete,” power steering, power drum brakes, and remote driver-side mirror. Currently, this car features Buick’s famous mag wheels. “New seats, new carpet, and new headliner,” says the seller.

This Buick comes with a folder of receipts, service records, and Protect-O-Plate, the latter of which shows this vehicle was sold new to a female resident of Bakersfield, California on May 9, 1969. Did Julia Selinger know she bought the first car to feature standard air induction? No way to find out but, for $33,979, you will.

Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com

Pontiac was at the top of its game in 1962. Attractive styling contrasted sharply with cross-town rivals Plymouth and Dodge. Tri-Power performance had strong street cred. The Tempest featured engineering that bucked typical Detroit convention. The NASCAR Grand National point-leader was who? And, incredibly, Pontiac outsold Plymouth to achieve the number-three spot in sales.

The cars that gave Pontiac wins both in NASCAR and dragstrips were forced to be discontinued early in 1963 when General Motors reiterated its no-racing stance with the Automobile Manufacturers Association. That left cars like this 421 Super Duty-powered 1962 Pontiac Catalina a footnote in American automotive history.

Oh, but what a footprint it left! The 421 Super Duty featured a single four-barrel or dual-quads, four-bolt mains, heat-treated camshaft, factory long-branch manifolds, nifty exhaust dumps, and more. Only 179 were built, of which 155 were 421 Catalinas like Henry Hart’s (the balance was a handful of Grand Prixs and 389 SD Catalinas). But don’t think they all were identical batch-builds because Henry’s is equipped with the very stylish Ventura Custom Interior. Other distinctive features include aluminum hood and fenders, and Hurst shifter (a factory first!) paired to the Borg-Warner T10.

Join Muscle Car Campy as he shows us more of Henry’s factory racer. And, after this video, you have a library of other muscle videos from Muscle Car Campy to watch.

We told you back in August that a 392 Hemi-powered Jeep Gladiator will be coming. In the meantime, the midsize pickup has received several updates for the 2026 model year—two new colors and new hinges for easier door removal. Also new is a Willys ’41 “buzz model” that honors Jeep‘s military history, albeit from a different decade.

According to Stellantis, “Inspired by the original Jeep Kaiser M715 military truck, the Gladiator Willys ‘41 … channels the Jeep brand’s military heritage with bold, utilitarian design and off-road-ready features.” Think Vietnam, not World War II. The 1-1/4-ton M715 was produced by Kaiser Jeep from 1967-69 as a replacement for the Dodge M37 series 3/4-ton vehicles used by the military since 1951. Adapted from the Gladiator civilian trucks, the M715 featured similar body parts, albeit with some modifications, as well a purpose-built cargo box. Power from the Tornado I6 reached the battlefield through a T-98 four-speed manual transmission, NP200 dual-range transfer case, Dana 60 front axle, and Dana 70 full-floating rear end.

Like all 2026 Gladiators, the Willys ’41 is powered by a Pentastar 3.6-liter V6, which is exclusively connected to an eight-speed automatic. Special equipment is located all over and inside. Up front, there’s a Mopar triple-hoop grille guard (which brings the 2024 Wrangler Rubicon 392 not-so-Final Edition to mind). Both ends of the truck feature an upgraded steel bumper. The Mohave hood’s scoop is purely cosmetic, but the heritage-inspired decals are real. In the cabin, the seats have Willys ‘41 tan inserts and the mid-bolster is wrapped in Mantis Green cloth. Perhaps the coolest add-on is the set of slotted 17-inch wheels finished in Olive Drab; the mud-terrain tires are a nice bonus.

The 2026 Jeep Gladiator Willys ’41 is now available to order. Prices start at $47,840, but that figure doesn’t include the $1,995 destination charge.