Cars, First cars?
 

So I started to think if there was something we could all share in without getting to heated and I thought about cars,specifically what was your very first car? Be it your parents and it was all you had to drive or the first that was really yours let's hear what you did with that first taste of freedom? If there was already a thread like this I apologize.



Got my license in March of 1973(NJ age of 17)I had 2 brothers and four sisters and Mom had a 1970 Olds Vista Cruser station wagon and Dad had a 1969 Olds 98 convertible and we had a 1971 VW(automatic)bug for the kids to share. My oldest siblings were in college so the bug was pretty much mine. I loved it,to be able to actually pick up a date without relying on someone else was AWESOME! It might not have been as cool as some of the rich guys cars but I loved it!


Same color......

[url]https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/volkswagen/beetle/2064783.html[/url]

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

Oh man. Lol I had a 1995 dodge stratus as my first car. Installed a CD player for like 200 bucks and it actually skipped when I went over bumps. Because I was super into WWF at the time I called her trish.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

This should be a good thread. I got my license at 19, and the first car I drove for about 6 months was my parents' 2005 Toyota Sienna while I worked a seasonal job at Toys-R-Us. Then I quit that job in Jan' 08 after they cut my hours from 45-50 to 6 a week, and for 6 months I was carless. I bought a beater, a '93 Altima whose exhaust was rusted through and through, and I spent a month patching it with my dad until it would pass emissions. That car lasted me a year, until I traded it with my mom, who was divorcing my dad and couldn't afford the payments on a 2009 Corolla. I've been driving that Corolla from March '09 until now, and the trans is crapping out so I have to make a decision soon. Anyways, even though the Sienna was the first car I drove, I consider the Altima my first car because that was in my name. Now I actually have the option to decide what I'd like to get and I'm totally not sure because I've never had this option in 11 years before.

Anyways, don't want to derail this thread, so yeah. First car was a Sienna, super reliable but I hated it because the dumb jokes I heard all the time from my friends.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=mooby;1186815]This should be a good thread. I got my license at 19, and the first car I drove for about 6 months was my parents' 2005 Toyota Sienna while I worked a seasonal job at Toys-R-Us. Then I quit that job in Jan' 08 after they cut my hours from 45-50 to 6 a week, and for 6 months I was carless. I bought a beater, a '93 Altima whose exhaust was rusted through and through, and I spent a month patching it with my dad until it would pass emissions. That car lasted me a year, until I traded it with my mom, who was divorcing my dad and couldn't afford the payments on a 2009 Corolla. I've been driving that Corolla from March '09 until now, and the trans is crapping out so I have to make a decision soon. Anyways, even though the Sienna was the first car I drove, I consider the Altima my first car because that was in my name. Now I actually have the option to decide what I'd like to get and I'm totally not sure because I've never had this option in 11 years before.

Anyways, don't want to derail this thread, so yeah. First car was a Sienna, super reliable but I hated it because the dumb jokes I heard all the time from my friends.[/quote]


I am impressed! No license till you were 19 ! The first car that I actual bought myself was a used 1977 Nova .Once I got married I would (still do) buy a car for the Mrs pay it off and then I take over that car and she gets another new one.


Take your time and do your homework. We have been driving Toyota's and Hyundai's for years now and they are reliable as hell! Get what is good for you.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=Giantone;1186816]I am impressed! No license till you were 19 ! The first car that I actual bought myself was a used 1977 Nova .Once I got married I would (still do) buy a car for the Mrs pay it off and then I take over that car and she gets another new one.


Take your time and do your homework. We have been driving Toyota's and Hyundai's for years now and they are reliable as hell! Get what is good for you.[/quote]

My mom didn't even want me to get my license at 19 lol, I had a couple major seizures when I was 12/13 and she thought I shouldn't be driving. I went against her wishes because I was graduating high school and I wanted one desperately.

I'm thinking Toyota too, the Corolla has treated me well until this trans issue. It has no 4th gear now so highways are a pain. Honda's have a good track record too and I hear nothing but good things about new Hyundai's. So we'll see.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

My first car was a hand me down, a 79 Oldsmobile Toronado. I didn’t have it long before it shit the bed, my next car was 79 Grand Marquis. I basically drove old man cars as a kid.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

My first car, the family learning vehicle, was a 1967 blue VW beetle. It was the same age as me when I got my license in the summer of 1983. It had seen 4 kids so far through high school and way more right front fenders than it should have. It took me all the way to my graduation but when I left the Capital Center on high school graduation day, the engine threw a rod, and after 18 years, that Beetle said it had done its duty. LOL

Cars, First cars?
 

1984 Nissan Sentra. My sister got it for her first car new. In 1989 i got it as a hand me down. It got the nickname Bertha because it took me and my friends to alot of dead shows. [emoji41]✌️I had that thing until about 1995. I remember it cost about 11 bucks to fill up when i got it. Great thread and idea about the “bonding” thread G-1. Now excuse me while i go pick up my wife at JFK at 4:30 am. 🤬
This time in a brand new Subaru Forester (that cost about 45 to fill up) she got right before her vacation. Im sure my vacation and/or new car is right around the corner [emoji849]

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=MTK;1186823]My first car was a hand me down, a 79 Oldsmobile Toronado. I didn’t have it long before it shit the bed, my next car was 79 Grand Marquis. I basically drove old man cars as a kid.[/quote]

LOL, pretty much .I would try to take my Dad's (1969) Olds 98 when I would go on a date or to a "drive In movie",....the room in that thing was amazing!!


This is the car ,just yellow with a white interior and top(Best Drive In car in the world!!!)
[url]https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/oldsmobile/98/2032936.html[/url]


This was mom's car but a darker blue.These are the two I started out on.
[url]https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/oldsmobile/98/2032936.htmlwww.amtraq.com/tag/oldsmobile/[/url]

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;1186826]My first car, the family learning vehicle, was a 1967 blue VW beetle. It was the same age as me when I got my license in the summer of 1983. It had seen 4 kids so far through high school and way more right front fenders than it should have. It took me all the way to my graduation but when I left the Capital Center on high school graduation day, the engine threw a rod, and after 18 years, that Beetle said it had done its duty. LOL[/quote]

Ours did the same thing.Three kids and three colleges all in New England and PA it just finally died after 237,000 miles and almost ten years not bad for a basic lawn mower. My Dad had bought himself a new car and my brother and I pushed it to the dealer left it on his lot with the keys and a note as a trade in.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

The first car I drove was a 1986 Mercury Sable. I was 16 when I got my license and felt so grown up getting to drive the last two days of my 10 grade year! This was 1991, so the car actually wasn't very old. Drove it until about 1994 when the heater coil went out in it, dad parked it in the garage thinking he was going to figure out how to fix it, but never did. I then got a hand-me-down 1989 Toyota Corolla that my sister-in-law had bought brand new, and then either gave it to my dad or sold it to him. I drove that for a couple years until I bought my very first, brand new car - '96 Dodge Neon!

OK, I know you didn't want a full car history lol!

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

My first car I drove is a used Mazda RX8 2004 for sale ([url]https://carfromjapan.com/cheap-used-mazda-rx-8-for-sale-year2004[/url]) that I bought from a popular Japanese platform when I was 27 years old. Its color is red and its look is very sexy & hot. I drove it on the road, some girls had to pay attention, look at me like I was a hot boy. Although it is a used car but the performance was very good, no one already knew it was since 2004 :)).

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

My first car was a 65 Mustang(this was around 1994, I was 17).
my dad had a marine corp buddy who had it as his project car. he was in the process of fixing the exterior when he needed money in a hurry and I ended up getting it for $1800 I think.
The body work was completed and in great shape but the paint was completely stripped. Engine was only a few years old and it ran great.

Ended up trading it for a Toyota pickup which was my southern California high mileage commuter car through college.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=jamf;1186886]My first car was a 65 Mustang(this was around 1994, I was 17).
my dad had a marine corp buddy who had it as his project car. he was in the process of fixing the exterior when he needed money in a hurry and I ended up getting it for $1800 I think.
The body work was completed and in great shape but the paint was completely stripped. Engine was only a few years old and it ran great.

Ended up trading it for a Toyota pickup which was my southern California high mileage commuter car through college.[/quote]

WOW! I must say I would have loved that.(the mustang)

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

Got my license at 16 (1995) and drove Mom's car for a bit. It was a early 90s Ford Taurus (1992 I think). That year around Christmas time, my mom's co-worker was selling her 1988 Chevy Cavalier coupe, so My Dad bought it and let me drive it. So while the Taurus was the first car I drove (I ended up buying a 95 Taurus as my 3rd car when I graduated college), I consider the Cavalier my first car. My favorite car was my 2nd car, which was a 1988 Honda Accord coupe with a manual transmission. I had so much fun in that car.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

86 Corolla at age 18.

Currently a 2014 Challenger

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=skinsfaninok;1188055]86 Corolla at age 18.

Currently a 2014 Challenger[/quote]

....a little different ,huh?:D

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

Actually contemplating a purchase of a "muscle car" for myself but one like I wanted growing up nothing brand new......don't like the new ones. It's not the Mrs keeping me from it but being retired I am trying to be thrifty with the money and I know it wouldn't be an investment I would drive it all the time,still on the fence.

This one was sold but something like this...

[IMG]http://www.mjcclassiccars.com/cars/72CutlassSupreme442CloneConvertible/01.jpg[/IMG]



or this............


[IMG]http://www.mjcclassiccars.com/wp-content/cars/2015/02/69-firebird-conv-blue0004-801x572.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=Giantone;1188062]....a little different ,huh?:D[/quote]

Yes and I love it, put some snow tires on that bad boy and NY winters have no effect on me

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[QUOTE=Giantone;1186831]LOL, pretty much .I would try to take my Dad's (1969) Olds 98 when I would go on a date or to a "drive In movie",....the room in that thing was amazing!!




This is the car ,just yellow with a white interior and top(Best Drive In car in the world!!!)
[url]https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds...8/2032936.html[/url]


This was mom's car but a darker blue.These are the two I started out on.
[url]https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds...ag/oldsmobile/[/url]

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=skinsfaninok;1188055]86 Corolla at age 18.

Currently a 2014 Challenger[/quote]

Nice! I would most definitely take a Challenger, but I'm really a Mustang guy. Right now, I just want another (any) muscle car. Hard being a car guy when you're not driving a full-fledged sports car.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

i bought an 1985 ford escort brand new. probably couldnt even get in that thing now, it was really small. now driving cadillac escalade

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=metalskins;1188710]Nice! I would most definitely take a Challenger, but I'm really a Mustang guy. Right now, I just want another (any) muscle car. Hard being a car guy when you're not driving a full-fledged sports car.[/quote]
Being a car guy I assume you have heard or read "Hemming's Motor News" ? While the Mrs and I were on one of our trips up through New England we decide to drive from Manchester Vt to Bennington Vt down rt 7A which is the old road we get into Benning and right at the corner of rt 9 and rt 7A is Hemmings Motor News" they have an actual store/ service station,it's like an "old time gas station" very cool!


[url]https://www.facebook.com/HemmingsNews/[/url]

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=Giantone;1188743]Being a car guy I assume you have heard or read "Hemming's Motor News" ? While the Mrs and I were on one of our trips up through New England we decide to drive from Manchester Vt to Bennington Vt down rt 7A which is the old road we get into Benning and right at the corner of rt 9 and rt 7A is Hemmings Motor News" they have an actual store/ service station,it's like an "old time gas station" very cool!


[url]https://www.facebook.com/HemmingsNews/[/url][/quote]

That is awsome! I have actually not read the Hemming's Motor News. The place you're talking about puts me in mind of Mayberry, NC, which is where they shot the Andy Griffith Show.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=metalskins;1188927]That is awsome! I have actually not read the Hemming's Motor News. The place you're talking about puts me in mind of Mayberry, NC, which is where they shot the Andy Griffith Show.[/quote]



LOL, Bennington is a little bigger than that but there are towns like that Arlington Vermont(Norman Rockwell's first home)and Dorset Vermont and Weston Vermont home of the Vermont Country Store are all great little towns like Mayberry.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=Giantone;1188932]LOL, Bennington is a little bigger than that but there are towns like that Arlington Vermont(Norman Rockwell's first home)and Dorset Vermont and Weston Vermont home of the Vermont Country Store are all great little towns like Mayberry.[/quote]

Yeah, I want to head up there for vacation someday and visit some of those little towns. My wife has always wanted to live in a town like the one on that show Gilmore Girls, lol! I basically just want to live in peace and quiet and to make sure I can watch football and have high speed internet. I don't ask for much. Oh, well, and I muscle car. I have to have another muscle car. You can't have a username like metalskins and not have a muscle car!

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=metalskins;1188947]Yeah, I want to head up there for vacation someday and visit some of those little towns. My wife has always wanted to live in a town like the one on that show Gilmore Girls, lol! I basically just want to live in peace and quiet and to make sure I can watch football and have high speed internet. I don't ask for much. Oh, well, and I muscle car. I have to have another muscle car. You can't have a username like metalskins and not have a muscle car![/quote]

Let me know when ,I know the Berkshires of Mass and the southern part of Vermont pretty well all so if you ever get the chance visit Freeport Me and go to LL Bean , it's awesome .

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=Giantone;1189064]Let me know when ,I know the Berkshires of Mass and the southern part of Vermont pretty well all so if you ever get the chance visit Freeport Me and go to LL Bean , it's awesome .[/quote]

Awesome! That's a deal!

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

Chico jump started the other car thread so I was thinking about this one again.


I learned to drive on an automatic transmission but how did you guys learn to drive a stick? I had gotten a part time job at a liquor store in 1976 and this was their delivery car... a three speed stick but once I got the nac it was fun to drive.



[IMG]http://www.jeff-young-design.com/WorldWideWagons/Images/1972-Ford-Pinto-Wagon.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

Bought a 55 Chevy for $550 in 1962. Small v8 engine and 2 speed automatic - looked good but couldn't get out of its own way. Sold it in 1965 for $250 - stupid me.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=Giantone;1194852]
I learned to drive on an automatic transmission but how did you guys learn to drive a stick?
[/quote]

I needed a daily driver(typical Southern California commuter) for college so I got an early 90s Toyota Pickup.
Dad drove it home then I just jumped in and took off.

The majority of my cars have had Manual Transmissions.
My current car has 9 soulless speeds which has it's moments but my left foot is restless.

My last car was a Mazda 6 5spd Manual that racked up 300k Miles in about 7 years. Only replaced the clutch once at around 220K. That was a great car for me.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

I've never driven stick in my life. If you were born in the late 70s or thereafter, there was little point in ever learning. By the time you were old enough to learn to drive automatic transmissions were cheap enough and had advanced to the point where manuals were obsolete, for all practical purposes.

Learning to drive stick goes in the same category as:

- you better learn how to do math and long division because you won't have a calculator everywhere you go

- you better carry a paper copy of maps in your glove compartment

- you better keep a quarter on you at all times in case you need to use a pay phone

Cars, First cars?
 

I could drive a stick at one time, barely

I did some work on a farm one summer in college and the guy I worked with had a pickup with a stick, one day he asked me to drive and I was too embarrassed to say I didn’t know how so I just winged it lol, I guess from playing driving games in the arcade I had enough basic knowledge to pull it off, again, barely

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=Schneed10;1194883]I've never driven stick in my life. If you were born in the late 70s or thereafter, there was little point in ever learning. By the time you were old enough to learn to drive automatic transmissions were cheap enough and had advanced to the point where manuals were obsolete, for all practical purposes.

Learning to drive stick goes in the same category as:

- you better learn how to do math and long division because you won't have a calculator everywhere you go

- you better carry a paper copy of maps in your glove compartment

- you better keep a quarter on you at all times in case you need to use a pay phone[/quote]

Once you learn how to drive a stick ,you can drive anything.It's true.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

I bought my first car as a junior in HS for $100 from a neighbor's friend. It was a used, manual transmission, 1980 Honda Civic hatchback that the friend had brush-painted bright yellow.

I sanded it down and used various cans of spray paint "gifted" me by a buddy who worked at Hechinger to paint it like a WWII P-40 Warhawk Flying Tiger; complete with camo stripes and the shark mouth.

It was 1994, so there were still a bunch of WWII vets around and I'd routinely get stopped to say how much they loved the car and how they had a buddy who flew a P-40. I taught a bunch of friends to drive stick in that car since it was such a piece of junk I didn't car if they'd grind the clutch.

Driving stick may be obsolete, but it's also awesome (except for in traffic jams). I've had a few relatively recent situations in rural areas and in other countries when I needed to drive stick, so I guess it still can come in handy.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=CooleyAsCanBe;1195103]I bought my first car as a junior in HS for $100 from a neighbor's friend. It was a used, manual transmission, 1980 Honda Civic hatchback that the friend had brush-painted bright yellow.

I sanded it down and used various cans of spray paint "gifted" me by a buddy who worked at Hechinger to paint it like a WWII P-40 Warhawk Flying Tiger; complete with camo stripes and the shark mouth.

It was 1994, so there were still a bunch of WWII vets around and I'd routinely get stopped to say how much they loved the car and how they had a buddy who flew a P-40. I taught a bunch of friends to drive stick in that car since it was such a piece of junk I didn't car if they'd grind the clutch.

Driving stick may be obsolete, but it's also awesome (except for in traffic jams). I've had a few relatively recent situations in rural areas and in other countries when I needed to drive stick, so I guess it still can come in handy.[/quote]

I know it's just me but I thought they handled better in the snow.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

[quote=Giantone;1195108]I know it's just me but I thought they handled better in the snow.[/quote]

Yeah, downshifting going down a hill in the snow is a good strategy. No need to brake.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

Also got my license at 19. Drove around my parents' car.
Then lived in downtown Boston and San Fran, so didn't buy a car.
Finally got one in 1991 (at 34 yo): a '88 Toyota MR2. Except for some rust damage it still works great. (Never had a breakdown except for flats.)
But I had to get another car since the 6 kids and my wife complained that it was awfully crowded when we all piled in, so we got a (used) 8-seat Toyota Sienna. But they all fight for who gets to ride with me in the MR2 when we take both cars.

(When I bought the MR2, I had reduced the choices down to 2 types of sportscar, and I obviously had to get the one with my initials on it.)

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

Got my license at 18. As really do not and still do not like to drive. Drove like a Yugo like car in 1993 after graduating HS. As it only worked very temporary for me as still only to drive around the block for a temporary job at a small market and gas station. Forget the name of it to be honest with you.

Re: Cars, First cars?
 

My first car was a 98 Olds with a 454 gas sucking machine. Paid $75 for the car because it had no reverse. The car was so big I could get 8 people in the car and not be cramped. Drove it for a year then the entire trans went. Sold it for $350 so I did pretty good.

[url]https://tse2.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.JeQCpbpT05k6adPWddowkwHaE6&w=248&h=163&c=7&o=5&dpr=1.5&pid=1.7[/url]