My first car was a monster of a car. It was a 1968 blue Oldsmobile 442, the same car that is pictured to the left. I purchased it in 1976 for $400. I was a junior in college and tired of riding my bike to work in below zero weather. Needless to say it was a junk car and really laid down a smoke screen, but I loved it. It also averaged about 10 miles to a gallon of gas but back then gas was only 25 cents a gallon.
What was your first car? Was it cool, a junker, or something in between? Did you purchase it with your hard earned cash or was it is a gift from a wealthy aunt who soon became your favorite aunt? Tell us about it. The color, year, make and the good and bad times that were had!
22 comments:
I love this discussion. My first car was a $500.00 1986 Honda Prelude rusty, loud and was my baby which I had for 9 months until it died on me. I actually cried when my car died on me. I worked my butt off raising the money to pay for it and the insurance. I got a quote to see if I could get it running again and the quote was $1400.00. Lets just say I said goodbye to it and never got another car until a lot of years later because I moved to the city. Public Transportation was great so I didn't need a car. Oh the memories.
My first car (bought in 1981) was a 1976 Chevy Monza. It was a red 2-door automatic with a red interior.
Actually, my twin sister and I co-owned the car. We each saved our money from babysitting and our restaurant jobs to purchase it, insurance, etc. for about $1200. It was actually pretty nice. I think it "died" about 2 years later.
Mine was a 1993 geo storm. I didn't have my own car until I was in my early 20s. Actually, I didn't even have my license until I was 20. Growing up in Philly, a lot of people get around using public transportation. In my high school graduating class of about 215, there may have been 3 people with their own car (no exaggeration).
So yeah, I rocked that ghetto Geo Storm until it died in a major highway. When it finally died, it was a relief. I left the sunroof open one day and it rained. The car stunk! It wasn't long after that it died. Phew!
Well although this sounds extremely spoiled..... my first car was a brand new F150. My dad works in the oil field and my brother and I always had the best, not that there is anything wrong with older vehicles its just not something my family has ever done.
A used Dodge 600. It rattled. When I met my husband he was scandalized by how it sounded, what it looked like, how horrible it was. I could not have cared any less about what I drove. I paid for my car but didn't shop for it. My dad bought it with the idea that it would be comfortable to take on road trips to see his new grandchildren. That made (and still makes) sense to me. After dating for a few months, my husband insisted that I buy something a little more youthful. He thought a Toyota Corolla with stick shift would be better. It took me a week to figure it out. My dream car is still the car I don't have to shop for or test drive, and can pay cash for. I only really care about the cup holders.
1977 Chevy Monte Carlo. It was a hand-me-down from the parents and it was large, and in charge! You stepped on the gas and watched the needle on the gas gauge go D-O-W-N. Dad always ordered his cars with the largest engine available. Learning to parallel park for my driver's test was a blast, too.
The best part about Monte was the amount of actual bodies you could fit in it (a plus for high schoolers). Now that I'm a parent, I can see that even though it was a gas guzzling boat, there was A LOT of metal surrounding the driver, which is a GOOD thing. I had friends with little, tiny cars, which were basically rolling coffins. If you got in an accident in one of those, you were SCREWED. Not Monte. Monte PROTECTED US!
Here is a youtube video of a car that is almost identical to the one that we first bought.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlA-GkVooDw
I remember that my sister told her boyfriend that the car needed some hub caps. Lo and behold, the next morning there were 4 hub caps on the front lawn . . .
I can only imagine where they came from.
Linda
What a beautiful car. They don't make cars like that anymore.
Morecowbell,
You definitely did feel more protective back then. Those cars were tanks. I learned how to parallel park in a 1968 Chevy Bel Air. Now there was a tank. I did get my license when I was 16 driving that car.
My first year in college(1974), my boyfriend (who is now my husband) and I drove his 1965 Ford Mustang from LaCrosse, Wisconsin to Madison, Wisconsin to watch the high school basketball tournaments.
It was March and really cold. The heater in the car did not work. But we were use to that back then.
Once we got to Madison, our friend who went along for the ride left his belongings in the back seat and someone broke the back window to "borrow them". The cold car became a freezer.
The starter went out in the car while we were there. We had to make sure we always parked on a hill or try to find several people around to help give us a push.
On our way home(2 hour drive) the generator went out so our battery would not stay charged. Because of that our head lights were just barely dim. Then we had a flat tire and the spare tire had a bent rim so we couldn't go more than 30 miles an hour. It was freezing and now the 2 hour trip was taking about 5 hours in a car with no heater and no window.
To top it off, a State Trooper patrol car stopped us about 10 miles from home. He was really, really angry that we were driving that car. He asked for my husband's license, looked at the last name and then said, "Are you Gary's son?" The State Trooper had served in the army with my father-in-law.
We were treated to a warm breakfast at the local Perkins and then rode the rest of the 10 miles in a nice warm car. The downside was having to listen to a lecture all the way home.
We were really young and reckless back then.
A 93 firebird- white with tinted windows and t-tops. It was awesome and a guy magnet haha. I loved that car, it drove like a tank!
My first car was a yellow and black Fiat sedan. It had no a/c, manual shift and rarely ran. LMAO! I paid $500 for it and sold it about a year later for the same price. It was replaced by an '83 Toyota Corolla - which I LOVED! I've had Fords ever since.
I love the stories. Nina Bell, what an experience!
Like Nomo, I was a city girl, so I didn't my license until I was in my early 20's. I didn't trust any of my relatives or friends to teach me how to drive, so I actually paid for driving school lessons.
Since I had a good job and was living at home, my first car was actually a brand new car - a Honda Civic and that I financed myself. I have told the story before, but I ended up doing $3,000 worth of damage in my driveway before I ever got the chance to drive it out of my neighborhood.
In the end, it all worked out. The car was repaired and I drove it for the next five years.
Anya,
How did that happen? LOL
My first car was a 1962 Plymouth Valiant that I bought for $900 from my Grandfather's Aunt's estate in 1975. It had push button controls. It had buttons for neutral, drive, reverse, etc.
Since my car was a novelty, my friends wanted me to chauffer them around. One night I was driving with a friend to meet a group of us when the car died in the middle of the street. A good samaritan looked under the hood and said someone disconneted the distributor wire. One of my friends fessed up and said he did it before we left the last place we were. He thought the car wouldn't start and was going to open the hood and be the hero and fix it. He got quite a piece of my father's mind for it.
Nina, I graduated HS in 1974. And I have teenagers. Yikes!
My first car was a gorgeous 1968Mercury Cougar-big engine,soft green metallic body with a black vinyl-covered roof.My parents bought it in 1972,for $2500.I still own it,would never part with it,although now it has two ford T-birds,'55 and '57 for company..they cost a fortune,but I like the Cougar best.All of them are concours quality,thanks to my father's loving care,they mean a great deal to me.
It was a 1993 Pontiac Sunbird. I got it white and it went perfectly with my big hair, shoulder pads, and sparkly pink lip gloss. I was the hottest piece going in my car. I crashed it 2 years later.... ;)
Griffon,
I am very fond of old cars also. My best friend in high school was given a 1968 green Cougar with a black vinyl top for her 16th birthday. It wasn't brand new but it was a beautiful car and we went everywhere in it. Loved that car.
I owned a 1958 Buick Century up until a few months ago. My husband and I refurbished it. We finally sold it to this man who is in love with Buicks from the 50's and he added it to his collection. We just did not have room to store it and someone had stolen the original hubcaps. So we made the decision to let someone have it that could take good care of it.
Daisy,
Sounds like your are a year younger than me. Teenagers are a big yikes. LOL Mine are in their 20s now.
1962 Plymouth Valiant. Now there was a car. My Buick that we just sold had a push button starter also.
Does anyone remember when the dimmer switch to headlights was on the floor to the left of the brake? Also, I don't think I owned a car with air conditioning until the late 80s.
NinaBell--quite the story!
My first car (I learned to drive in 1989) was an ollllld gray Ford Mustang hatchback with a plate welded to the bottom, since the bottom was rusted out (think Fred Flintstone). That's how I learned to drive a stick.
Next cool vehicle in high school was a Ford County Squire station wagon. We used a screwdriver under the hood in the alternator to start the car.
My first car was a 1974 Chevrolet Vega that I purchased new when I was 19. Oops I gave my age away. It was bright red, w a black top, cloth houndstooth seats, no air conditioning and I could have used some of Jacelynne's oil from her Dad's fields cause I was always filling it w/oil. The people that I worked w/called it a pregnant rollerskate. But, I had many a great time cruising w/my best friend looking for boys down a big long main street in a town nearby. Stopping and eating hamburgers at the Big Boy drive-in, where car hops still came to your car. So cool.....
Nina Bell you are right about the dimmer switch I forgot about that. As for first cars, mine was a PINK yes pink Ford Mustang. I think it was a 1965. It had a black vinyl top , bucket seats, and was always overheating!
I love the 1965 Ford Mustangs
Nina Bell - I wonder if you have checked on the current value of those "junky" 442's??!! My husband has a 69 442 convertible - now the most valuable car we own! His current insured value is $40k!!! The low rumble it still gives, and the beauty of the lines speak for themselves! Now if only I could find my favorite car.....69 camaro....
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