What was your first car?

[wilson]

My dad's first car was pretty sweet. His cousin went to the Korean War and asked him to take care of his car during his tour. Here's a pic of the same year and colors:

Yeah, he got to drive that for 18 beautiful months.

Yeah, that's pretty darned sweet.
Throughout high school, my dad used to take us to the ACC Tournament. My junior and senior years, the tournament was in Charlotte, and we stayed with my dad's childhood best friend. As long as I can remember, I've been into cars, especially classics, so I was dismayed during the first visit that my dad's friend's '66 Corvette Stingray convertible was in the shop.
The next year, we went back, sans my brother (as he was off at college by then), and my dad's buddy again graciously hosted us. He met us at the games on Friday, and excitedly informed me that the 'Vette was in action and running like a top. "Wait 'til you drive it," he said. I informed him that, at the time, I didn't know how to drive stick, and he simply responded, "Well then I guess you're gonna have to learn."
Dad spent most of the rest of the weekend (away from the old Charlotte Coliseum) catching up with his friend's wife over God knows how many bottles of wine, and Woody and I spent our time immersed in driving lessons/rubber-laying/hellraising on the streets of Charlotte's tonier neighborhoods. Being the well-connected lawyer that he is, Woody told me not to worry too much about speeding.
Damn, that weekend was fun.

[wilson]

All I know is, it happened way more than once, with different drivers, I assume. Definitely different cars. Maybe they just weren't good drivers and figured their big, bad, pony could punk my little baby roadster. ;) Maybe they had automatics? ;)

The mustang should have had more horses, but maybe I had better torque? My father in law always says that all the horses in the world aren't worth crap if you don't have the torque to kick 'em in the rear.

The two cars actually had almost identical horses (perhaps a few extra for the Mustang), and the 'Stang probably had a smidge more torque (incidentally, your above comment about torque is exactly right). The big difference here is weight. Nevertheless, both of those cars get very consistently tested at around 6 flat 0-60. You could also be right about the transmission. You're also right that most guys in those cars think they can just stomp past something like a little old Z3, and they just don't really know how to drive their cars.

[knights68]

I never had such interesting selections as some other posters. My very first car was a 1973 Pontiac Safari Station Wagon. Such a great gunboat of a car!! ;) It may not have been pretty on the outside, but under the hood was enough to get me off the line and smoke some goofy kid in his camaro. Yeah man, that was an awesome ride!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Inspired by DinK's new car search and all the answers!

I learned to drive on my mom's 1968 Olds Toronado, great car.

My senior year in HS, my folks bought me a 1972 Pontiac GTO. Lucerne Blue (close to today's Duke Blue, slightly metallic in finish), white vinyl top, sun roof (that leaked), blue cloth interior. 400 cu.in., 4 barrel, automatic transmission (by choice back then). Great car, very quick . When I totaled it off of Cornwallis Road, coming back from a night of beverages in chapel hell, I got a 1974 Pontiac Grand Prix, 455 cu.in., 4 barrel carb, auto tranny again. Blue, black half vinyl (Landau) top, sun roof, bucket seats. Almost as quick as the GTO. Great cruising car.

I'd have happily raced you for pink slips.

Which car? The GTO or the GP? Doesn't really matter, the fasted I ever had either one was about 105+. The GTO I did on the Durham Expressway when it first opened up spring of 1974, driving to Raleigh for adult beverages. I had 3 brothers in the car, and my big brother had several in his '71 Olds 442. When we started "pacing" each other, I could feel the heads start to float at ~105 and backed off. Didn't want to blow the engine, but I don't know that there was anything left in reserve, either.

Please note that I no longer practice nor endorse driving after significant quantities of adult beverages.

[captmojo]

I join the VW list. I passed on a MGB and went with the more rider friendly and roomier Beatle. (as I called it)

The Beatle I had was a 1966 model with the 1300cc engine. Last fuckin' year for anything they ever put on one. 6 volt electrical, low back front seats, tiny tiny tail lights the list could go on. The parking lights were a flashlight bulb at the base of the headlight. But, the damn thing took me where I wanted to go for nearly 150,000 miles, then the mighty air cooled SOB let go. A pinhole developed in the oil cooler, the engine fan helped to draw the oil out. The idiot light didn't come on until it was empty of oil.

I bought the Beatle used for $600, paid $300 for the engine rebuild, drove it another 30,000 and sold it for $450. Cheapest transportation I'll ever have. All my buddies had hot rods. They spent all their money on Fridays at the auto parts store, for high-performance, chrome-plated everything. They spent all day Saturdays doing the installation. Saturday nights, they were too broke to go out. I thank them. I had lots of dates.

[Bostondevil]

I'm only posting this because I'm going for the 'Biggest Loser of a Car' award. My first car, bought used the summer after I graduated from Duke, was a '79 Toyota Corolla with 87,000 miles on it. I drove it through grad school and moved to Boston in it, where it was promptly stolen. At the time it had 113,000 miles on it. Although I was upset when it was stolen, in the end it was probably for the best because that thing broke down all the time. I know, 113,000 miles, but it broke down constantly. I replaced it with a base model '88 Ford Escort (no radio even!) that never broke down, not once in the 5 years that I owned it.

[wilson]

I'm only posting this because I'm going for the 'Biggest Loser of a Car' award. My first car, bought used the summer after I graduated from Duke, was a '79 Toyota Corolla with 87,000 miles on it. I drove it through grad school and moved to Boston in it, where it was promptly stolen. At the time it had 113,000 miles on it. Although I was upset when it was stolen, in the end it was probably for the best because that thing broke down all the time. I know, 113,000 miles, but it broke down constantly. I replaced it with a base model '88 Ford Escort (no radio even!) that never broke down, not once in the 5 years that I owned it.

After a series of fun and/or beloved cars, I broke down (heh) last August and got a Honda. Knock on wood, it hasn't given me a single problem yet. Plus, it has a rear-mounted spare tire with a huge Jolly Roger cover on it. It's, shall we say, very me.

[devildeac]

I'm only posting this because I'm going for the 'Biggest Loser of a Car' award. My first car, bought used the summer after I graduated from Duke, was a '79 Toyota Corolla with 87,000 miles on it. I drove it through grad school and moved to Boston in it, where it was promptly stolen. At the time it had 113,000 miles on it. Although I was upset when it was stolen, in the end it was probably for the best because that thing broke down all the time. I know, 113,000 miles, but it broke down constantly. I replaced it with a base model '88 Ford Escort (no radio even!) that never broke down, not once in the 5 years that I owned it.

Some dummass actually stole that? What a frackin' maroon! Sorry it was you, BD, but they probably saved you a bunchofmoney (as opposed to a bunchofnumbers :roll: ) by stealing it.

[Bostondevil]

Kids out joy-riding. Didn't know it at the time but found out later, older Toyota's were, maybe still are, the easiest cars to hotwire.

[Sue71]

Car #1: My mom's 86 (85? I think it was 86) Maxima. She got one of the first generation Acura Legends (we LOVED that car, btw).
Car #1A: I was rear-ended at a stop light by a drunk driver who later tried swinging at the cops. Car was totaled eventually (I think... but it was gone for a long time regardless). I got the Legend for a few months.
Car #1B: 88 or 89 Nissan Sentra. I even got to go car shopping with my dad to pick it out. At least he let me think I had input at the time. Haha. It went to my sister when I went to college.

Car #1.1 (that I purchased): 94 Acura Integra LS. 2 door (did they call them 3 door?), Red, Grey interior, spoiler. LOVED that car. Had it for 140k + miles... traded it when I decided I wanted a bigger car. It was awesome- it could hold anything with the back seats down.

Side note: I've only ever purchased Acuras. I'm on my 3rd. (Integra, TL, TL)

[OZZIE4DUKE]

She got one of the first generation Acura Legends (we LOVED that car, btw).

I had a 1986 Legend. I too loved that car. The "throw in" I asked the dealer for was the 5-year unlimited mileage warranty they were selling. At 102,000 miles (in year 3) the Acura dealer rebuilt the transmission for free. Not even a deductible. I traded the car with 160,000 miles on it near the end of year 4 - I just wanted something else, but should have kept it longer. It was the ultimate salesman's car, drove great, smooth, ultra quiet, comfortable and responsive!

[bjornolf]

I never had such interesting selections as some other posters. My very first car was a 1973 Pontiac Safari Station Wagon. Such a great gunboat of a car!! ;) It may not have been pretty on the outside, but under the hood was enough to get me off the line and smoke some goofy kid in his camaro. Yeah man, that was an awesome ride!

Did it seat about 20? Was it as big as a whale? Was it about to set sale? ;)

...

I saw a few people talking about how fast they'd gone in their first vehicles. I was on a camping trip with my fraternity brothers while at Duke. It was out at a lake, can't remember the name, about an hour from campus, out in the middle of NOWHERE. I had gone back to visit after graduation, a few months after I'd bought my Z3. We had to head into town to pick up some stuff (read "beer") and we were on this LONG straightaway (like 2 miles) with nothing in site, and I was taking my buddy, who'd told me that the Z was his dream car. The top was down, the sun was shining, and I decided to open it up. I'd had the limiter chip removed, so it could go over the 128 mph listed as the top speed. I got it up to about 140 before backing it off. It was starting to creep toward the red area of the tachometer, so I didn't want to take it any higher. She was still purring like a really big kitten though, no vibrations or shaking at all. Man it was amazing. I don't think my friend needed any beer to get buzzed after that. ;) I haven't taken it above 95 since than, and those times were all by accident...

That's the big problem with that car. You can be tooling along at 65 on I-95, not a care in the world, and the speed just starts to creep up on you because it's so damn smooth. Next thing you know, you look down, and you're in danger of getting a reckless driving ticket. In those situations (open road on an interstate), I try to set the cruise so I don't do that. I don't need tickets.

[CathyCA]

My first car was a 1979 Pontiac Catalina 4 door sedan. It was-- GASP--light blue--but it was a free car. The dealer sold it to my dad for $1, and my folks gave it to me on the day I graduated from Duke. We named that car "Excitement" because Pontiac was running a commercial with the jingle, "We build excitement, Pontiac!" That car was anything but exciting, but it got me back and forth to class when I was in law school.

[DukePA]

[quote="captmojo"]I join the VW list. I passed on a MGB and went with the more rider friendly and roomier Beatle. (as I called it)

The Beatle I had was a 1966 model with the 1300cc engine. Last fuckin' year for anything they ever put on one. 6 volt electrical, low back front seats, tiny tiny tail lights the list could go on. The parking lights were a flashlight bulb at the base of the headlight. But, the damn thing took me where I wanted to go for nearly 150,000 miles, then the mighty air cooled SOB let go. A pinhole developed in the oil cooler, the engine fan helped to draw the oil out. The idiot light didn't come on until it was empty of oil.


My first car was also a '66 VW. My AC consisted of a hole in the dashboard where the radio was supposed to be. I had to stuff a blanket in it in the winter since the front was the "trunk." There was also a hole on the back floorboard approximately 10" x 10" where acid had leaked from the 6 volt battery. For some reason I couldn't get the car in reverse so I always tried to park uphill so I could put it in neutral and roll on back otherwise, I would open the door and push with my feet Flintstone style :lol: I miss my bug. I paid $250 for mine in 1979.

[captmojo]

...so I always tried to park uphill so I could put it in neutral and roll on back otherwise, I would open the door and push with my feet Flintstone style :lol: I miss my bug. I paid $250 for mine in 1979.

After the failure of the 2nd starter motor booster kit, I also found it needed to park at the top of a hill so I could roll start it. If said hill was not available, I had to push against the open driver door and jump in to do the "clutch pop" starting method.

One Christmas, I received the gift of gifts from my Dad. He gave me an 8 track tape player, a voltage converter and $50 bucks. The money went toward speakers. If you left the converter switched on for more than 10 seconds after shutting down the motor, the battery was dead as a doornail. Why a doornail? A large nail replaced a hinge pin due to excessive push starting.

[DukieInKansas]

When we returned to the States, my folks bought a Buick (don't remember the model but it was obnoxious light blue) and a Chevy Vega (5 speed). They knew at the time that the Vega would go to Sister Sue when she started her final year at the med center and would need transportation. Mistake they made was taking me with them when they went shopping for a replacement. Mom wanted to look for a Chevy Monza. The first Monza on the lot was parked next to a Camaro - parents looked at Monza, I looked at Camaro. By the 2nd Monza, which also had a Camaro parked next to it, Mom was looking at the Monza and Dad and I were looking at the Camaro. We took the Monza for a test drive and it died 100 yards from the exit of the dealership. Test drove the Camaro. We didn't want the showroom model with a fin and Rally Sport across the back, so they found us a silver one with blue interior (automatic transmission - what a waste). It had a squeak in the dash that could never be located or fixed. I got to bring that car to Duke my senior year. Traded it after 9 years on a Honda Accord (5 speed), traded that after 9 years on a Nissan Altima (5 speed). After 13.5 years, the Altima will go to salvage company and I now have a beautiful Blue Ribbon Metallic Camry Hybrid. Sister Anne says I have the nicest car in the KC family.


I'm sure the Camaros parked next to the Monzas were purely a coincidence.

[weezie]

I never had such interesting selections as some other posters. My very first car was a 1973 Pontiac Safari Station Wagon. Such a great gunboat of a car!! ;) It may not have been pretty on the outside, but under the hood was enough to get me off the line and smoke some goofy kid in his camaro. Yeah man, that was an awesome ride!

I can top ANYBODY'S for sheer dorkiness: a 1976 mustard orange-yellow, four door, beige vinyl interior Ford LDO Maverick with a white vinyl top. By the time my youngest brother got a hold of it the driver's seatback lock had broken and a nice wooden box was propped behind to hold the seat upright in the event of a collision. As if multiple shards of wood shooting through your intestines was preferable to being thrown into the trunk of the car.
The Ol' Mavs....

[DukieInKansas]

I never had such interesting selections as some other posters. My very first car was a 1973 Pontiac Safari Station Wagon. Such a great gunboat of a car!! ;) It may not have been pretty on the outside, but under the hood was enough to get me off the line and smoke some goofy kid in his camaro. Yeah man, that was an awesome ride!

I can top ANYBODY'S for sheer dorkiness: a 1976 mustard orange-yellow, four door, beige vinyl interior Ford LDO Maverick with a white vinyl top. By the time my youngest brother got a hold of it the driver's seatback lock had broken and a nice wooden box was propped behind to hold the seat upright in the event of a collision. As if multiple shards of wood shooting through your intestines was preferable to being thrown into the trunk of the car.
The Ol' Mavs....

Should have tried a basketball. That's what my nephew used in one of his cars with a broken driver's seat back.

[ArkieDukie]

I purchased my first car the summer after my first year of grad school: a 1989 Toyota Corolla. Since I was a poor grad student at the time, it was the stripped down model. It had an automatic transmission and AC but no radio. Imagine, if you will, driving from Durham to NW AR with no radio. And from NW AR to Boulder, CO, with no radio. Drove that car for 12 years before getting car #2, a Honda Accord SE. Traded it in 2 years later for the current car, an Accord EX-V6 (I wanted a V6). It's a great car - handles well on hills and curves. Also much smoother than the 4-cylinder. I'll probably drive it for several more years.

[captmojo]

Imagine, if you will, driving from Durham to NW AR with no radio. And from NW AR to Boulder, CO, with no radio.

Nothing to listen to except a motor is extremely dangerous. I highly do not recommend.