The Grand National is fond to me because of how much it angered the chevy guys and turned their bowtie bias upside down. This was the 1980s and being fond of anything other than a chevy was grounds for a fist fight. Chevy guys were LIVID that a Buick "Regal" (The 1987) was so fast.

"Road & Track magazine in 1988 test drove a 5.0 liter TPI V8 IROC-Z equipped with a 5-speed manual and obtained a 0-60 mph time of 6.9 seconds and a quarter mile time of 15.4 seconds at 91.5 mph."

The Buick was a second faster in the quarter than the IROC and had much more on tap. I like it when the norm is upset. Much the way the 1st gen Viper caused a ruckus with Corvette owners and corvette biased magazine editors beginning in 1992. (Or to a lesser extent the 1992 dakota with the new 230hp 318 Magnum stomping the Chevy 454 SS in the 1/4)