Nearly 25 Years After the Last Trans Am Rolled Off the Line, a Utah Veteran Is Passing Car Culture to the Next Generation From the Passenger Seat

Farmington, Utah

Nearly a quarter century later, Matt Loy still drives his 2001 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 through the Utah mountains with the T-tops off, and increasingly, he does it with his two young sons along for the ride.

Loy, a veteran and founder of T-Top Vibes, believes those drives matter more than they might seem. In a 2024 survey by Hagerty, 60 percent of Gen Z respondents said they were interested in owning a classic car, compared with 31 percent of baby boomers. Hagerty has also estimated that the United States is home to 31 million collector vehicles and 18 million enthusiast vehicle owners.

"My boys weren't born when this car was built, but they light up every time we pull the roof panels off," said Loy. "Nobody becomes a car person from a spec sheet. It happens in the passenger seat, on a good road, with someone who loves it showing you why."

The same feeling led Loy to start a business. Riding with his brother one afternoon, roof panels off and the engine echoing off the mountains, he summed up the experience in two words: T-top vibes. He began with a small Etsy shop run from his garage and, in less than a year, grew it into T-Top Vibes, an independent online automotive lifestyle store. Along the way, he became an authorized Seat Armour dealer and began carrying officially licensed General Motors merchandise alongside his own original apparel.

Loy says the business is built around the same idea as his weekend drives: enthusiasm is shared, not sold. Whether someone's version of a perfect drive involves a Corvette, a Jeep, a pickup or a restoration project years in the making, he sees the common thread as the moment behind the wheel.

"If you love cars, take a kid for a ride," Loy said. "Take them to a car show, let them pick the road. That is how this hobby stays alive for another 25 years."

More information is available at ttopvibes.com.

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