Cecily told the story of her first car today, and it brought back a lot of funny memories, so I borrowed the idea, which I suppose makes it a meme--so play along if you like!
Of course, I don't have a short straight answer to this...the car I learned to drive in was my dad's brand new Oldsmobile Cutlass--the nicest car we'd ever owned, purchased after he drove our very serviceable but boring station wagon into a river while waiting for a ferry (yes, there is a story there.) That car (the Cutlass, not the station wagon) had bad karma (but that's another story, too.) The car that was sort of mine to drive was our elderly Corvair---remember Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed? Yes, that's the one.
In truth, it was a cute little car--mint green with the engine in the back, and gear shift was a lever in the dash--never saw another car exactly like that. By the time I got to drive it, it was pocked with rust spots which I covered up with flower decals--very 60s. The. The floor in the back seat was rusted through in spots, too, covered up by the floor mats. There was some little belt in the engine that would come off, making the car stop, and I had to learn to fix it before I could take the car at night. It also burned a lot of oil, only I didn't know this at first, and just ignored the oil light when it came on. Fortunately, I figured that out before I ruined the engine, and after that it seemed like I put more oil in it than gas.
The Corvair sadly died before I graduated high school. My mother was so attached to that car that she went out and bought another used one. It was a couple of years newer and not as cute, but she loved it.
But in truth the Corvair wasn't really MY car. I guess truthfully my first very own car that I picked out for myself because I liked it is the one I have right now...my 99 red Beetle. Oh, I've had lots of cars in between but all of them were either picked out by someone else or because it was the only thing I could afford. Some of my favorites:
~72 baby blue Beetle--the car we drove in Iceland. Nothing like a Beetle. It was great on the rough roads--we even forded a stream in it once. I loved that car, but we left it in Iceland when we came back to the states.
~79 Rabbit--I guess I just love VWs but this was a really fun car. I only got rid of it because once I had three kids, they wouldn't all fit.
~86 Chevy Srint--I got this car brand new, but my dad picked it out AND it was the only thing I could afford. The car I had been driving--a station wagon suitable for three kids I'd inherited in the divorce (and selected by TFoMC) had caught fire and burned when I went to my grandfather's funeral (yes, another story) and my dad was appalled that I was going to buy a used car (all I could get with the insurance money) so he worked a deal with his high school buddy the Chevy dealer. I probably would've never picked this car otherwise,but it turned out to be a terrific car--it got 50 mpg on the highway. It did wear out though, and Elder Son finished it off driving it in high school.
~77 Volvo--I bought this car from a classmate in grad school in 1992, so it was already ancient. And I bought it for $300. I bought it thinking Elder Son would drive it, but he hated it, and I liked it, so I swapped the Sprint with him and took the Volvo for myself. It was a tank, but mostly a good car. I drove it for two years, and the last year I had to always be home before dark because the tail lights quit working and I couldn't afford to get them fixed. When I moved to VT my stepdaughter got the car--and she got $1200 for it in a trade in. If I'd known that was possible, I might have kept it--only I don't think it would've made the long trip to VT very well.
~I had a used Toyota for a while in VT because it was the only car I could afford, and then finally I bought my Beetle--which has had its own bad body karma--it's been run into and damaged at least 5 times; the last time (a hole in the bumper where someone backed into me not long after I moved here) has never been fixed. My car is 10 years old now, but I sure hope I don't have to replace it until the Kid graduates from college!
So tell me about your first--or favorite--car.
4 comments:
My grandmother left me the money to go to college-commuter-but I got a grant at the last moment, so I bought a brand new Rambler American. Not my choice, but my fathers-he wouldn't abide by a foreign car.
My first car was a 1975 Plymouth Valiant...turquoise with a white vinyl top. Tres cool!
Two Honda Civics and a minivan, and now I drive my love car: a 2006 Turbo Diesel VW New Beetle. Grey.
:) Thanks for asking!
i learned to drive in a 1963 ford econoline van -- ancient, stick shift, bad everything.
the first car that was all my own was a tiny little used green honda civic, bought in 1983 so it was a '70's model, and i loved it! sold that to a friend in 1988, when we moved to japan.
the only car i ever personally bought new was a blue 1989 jetta -- good car, we still have it around.
My first car was a Moped. *laugh* My real first car after that was a 1969 Toyota Corona for about $500. A pretty good little car for a first car. The Chevette always gave me problems, but could fit all kinds of stuff in the hatch with seats down. Same for the Honda Civic Wagon - but that car has been a dream! Am getting acquainted with new car.
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