Memories of Cars gone by

[tecumseh]

OK how about a thread of your first car or favorite car or perhaps the old family car. This is a continuation of sorts of diversion on the Public Policy Board. One car I remember fondly is my older brother's first car, being the practical type and low on funds he bought a Toyota Corolla with no extras it had a 1200 CC engine and with three or four adults had to be down shifted on the highway to make it up hills. But it ran forever.

[Lavabe]

OK how about a thread of your first car or favorite car or perhaps the old family car. This is a continuation of sorts of diversion on the Public Policy Board. One car I remember fondly is my older brother's first car, being the practical type and low on funds he bought a Toyota Corolla with no extras it had a 1200 CC engine and with three or four adults had to be down shifted on the highway to make it up hills. But it ran forever.

When I saw the title of the thread, I had thought that another original Car, say Ric Ocasek, had passed away.

Car in which I took my original driver's license test was a blue semi-automatic VW Beetle. It had a stickshift WITHOUT a clutch.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[wilson]

The first car I remember riding in was an orange '78 Beetle convertible that my dad drove. I later drove a cream colored '68. Both were great.

[EarlJam]

'66 Mustang.

My first car was a beat-up yellow '66 Mustang. It was a 3-speed with a 289 (I think) V-8 engine.

It's name? Gertrude.

Lots of great memories in that automobile, including many spontaneous trips to the beach and to the mountains.

I still miss driving a stick-shift sometimes.

-EarlJam

[EarlJam]

Dayyyyyyyyyyyyymn. Not to hi-jack, but half of the Atlanta Mafia is on this thread now.

-EarlJam

[wilson]

'66 Mustang.

My first car was a beat-up yellow '66 Mustang. It was a 3-speed with a 289 (I think) V-8 engine.

It's name? Gertrude.

Lots of great memories in that automobile, including many spontaneous trips to the beach and to the mountains.

I still miss driving a stick-shift sometimes.

-EarlJam

Nice! My first was a metallic light (not Carolina!) blue '65.

[greybeard]

I saved up my money from working 6 summers in my old man's soda factory doing every dirty job imaginable and went out and bought me a 1967 British racing green Corvette sting-ray, with a tan leather interior and two tops.

It has, I'm said to say, been a steep downhill since.

[YmoBeThere]

Ahhh, I wish I could romanticize about cool cars from days gone by. But my first vehicle was a 1986 Ford Escort and yes it was light(not Carolina)blue.

And yes, I ask for another car whenever the rental agency tries to foist a Ford on me.

[dukechem]

I got my license in 1959 in a 1952 Chevy Deluxe 4-door sedan that my father won at a street fair. It was two-tone blue with three on the column. Since we were in Pittsburgh with the salt on the roads in the winter, the bottom rusted out within the next few years.

The first car I bought when I left for graduate school at Duke in 1964 was a 1958 Pontiac Bonneville with three deuces although only one was working. I traded it in the following spring, and recall seeing it one day sitting in an intersection with the hood up and several guys looking on.

[dukepsy1963]

O.k., another thread that will reveal our age to everyone.... No matter. I'm the same age as John Lennon would have been had he lived(RIP).

Anyway, my first car was a straight-8 1955 Chevy. I had that my last two years at Duke. What a car...wish I had kept it and I wouldn't be worrying so much about the stock market and economy.

My favorite car has to be my 1972 240-Z. I kept it for 22 years and restored it when it was about 17 years old. Wonderful and fast! I was living on Cornwallis Drive in Durham when I bought it; and commuted back and forth in it to my job at, dare I say it, UNC.

A fun little car I had in the Navy was a Triumph Spitfire. God help you if you had the top down and it started raining!!! Yikes!!

Lately I've been driving Miatas and Subarus. They both have their advantages and the Miata is great in the mountains.

[Jim3k]

my dad had this thing about small foreign cars.

In 1957, he bought a 1954 Nash Metropolitan convertible. It was the first car he let me drive. You had to manually put the top up and down. Occasionally the gear lever got stuck and you'd have to open the hood and push on something in the shift linkage to fix it. Happened all the time.

Later, he bought a 1960 Fiat 600. Man...talk about a roller skate. I blew it up when I drove too far with a broken radiator hose. It overheated and later leaked oil, but still (barely) ran. Once Jay Buckley got into it for a ride to East. He had BIG trouble fitting. It had a canvas top you could push back to make it into a 'convertible.' It also had big tail-light lenses that would crack every time you touched anything while backing up. Must have bought four replacements. Essentially made out of tinfoil and styrene plastic.

Oddly, both were kind of a kick to drive. And really, but strangely, I saw a Nash Metropolitan on I-680 about 10 days ago -- going like a bat out hell. I wish mine had run that fast. That car had to be 53 years old. I wanted to catch it but the traffic was too great and I got to my exit before I could. It seemed to be in really good condition. Top was up in the cool weather.

Some things are ugly, secret pleasures -- and an embarrassment all rolled into one.

[cspan37421]

My first car - a 1967 Saab 96.



I'd still gladly have it now if it wasn't for its mechanical and cosmetic condition, scarcity of parts, and no mechanic to work on it. But I loved it.

4-speed on the column, trunk pass-through, radial windows, front-wheel drive, clock (not working) and metal dash (!). Tricolor: rust, primer grey, and wedgwood blue. Not in that order, but it didn't help property values, let's put it that way.

[cspan37421]

My latest ride - 2008 Honda Fit Sport, Vivid Blue Pearl:



and yes, in a manual.

[dkbaseball]

Learned to drive in one of the real muscle cars -- a '65 Buick Gran Sport. 445 cubic inches. Lucky I survived the experience. Nothing but econoboxes ever since, except for a brief flirtation with an RX-7 that made me claustrophobic.

[Windsor]

In the summer of '69 (wow...song cue!) my parents bought a 69 Firebird convertible (white on red). I was 10. As we drove it home from the dealership I said that I loooovvveed that car. My father said 'we'll let you have it when you learn to drive' I quickly said 'Promise???' and before my mother's elbow could blast into his ribs he promised...6 years later (hint: I'm an only child) after the mother of all tantrums (you promised...you LIED to me) I got the car. So at 16 I'm driving a monster V8 (400) at the outside edge of its performance envelope. I loved that car...wish I still had it (I kept it until I moved to Florid in 89) but it is a miracle I didn't kill myself in it. I will not admit to how fast it actually went, suffice to say I buried the speedometer more than once.

[Chard]

In the summer of '69 (wow...song cue!) my parents bought a 69 Firebird convertible (white on red). I was 10. As we drove it home from the dealership I said that I loooovvveed that car. My father said 'we'll let you have it when you learn to drive' I quickly said 'Promise???' and before my mother's elbow could blast into his ribs he promised...6 years later (hint: I'm an only child) after the mother of all tantrums (you promised...you LIED to me) I got the car. So at 16 I'm driving a monster V8 (400) at the outside edge of its performance envelope. I loved that car...wish I still had it (I kept it until I moved to Florid in 89) but it is a miracle I didn't kill myself in it. I will not admit to how fast it actually went, suffice to say I buried the speedometer more than once.

Aw, man. Why did you get rid of that car?! Do you have any idea what it would be worth now? Wait, don't answer that. You'll be sorry.

My first car was a 67 Firebird 400. Of course, the car was over 20 years old when I bought it and it was in rough shape. My brother still has it and is currently restoring it. After that it was a Dodge Shadow. Ug. I ran that thing into the ground but it lasted for 12 years.

My brother had a 71 Camaro. That thing was sweet. I really liked that body style. The 327 was a plus.

[Windsor]

Aw, man. Why did you get rid of that car?! Do you have any idea what it would be worth now? Wait, don't answer that. You'll be sorry.

Yeah, I know...at the time I was single with an infant relocating to another state where I didn't know any high performance mechanics (we had..uh...enhanced the engine a little bit ) I sold her to a friend who was a total classic car freak and performance nut. He still has her...she's a thing of beauty (I saw her about two years ago...my daughter drove her...and wants her back...not gonna happen lol)

I miss that car!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

My first car was a Corvair Monza Spider convertible with a long shift in the floor. This little beauty was black with red leather interior. By the time I got it, it used about as much as oil as gas! What a powerful, throaty sound it made when accelerating! (Somebody has enhanced the car and the sound it made before I got it.) The price at purchase: $100.

[EarlJam]

Nice! My first was a metallic light (not Carolina!) blue '65.

Cool. Do you still have it? My brother in Burly, Burly, Burlington fully restores old Mustangs. He owns two that he takes to car shows - and wins.

-EarlJam

[pamtar]

Got my license in 1997 so i was kinda late for the true classics.

Not muscle but pretty fast, my first car was a '85 Peugeot 604 w/ a 2.3 turbo diesel. It was really fun to drive and handled well. Kinda like driving a tank. I drove it for 2 years until it met its demise in a corn field - upside down and slightly smoking.

My current car is an Volvo T5. I would highly recommend to everyone in the market for a new car to check out Volvo. I've owned seven cars in my short driving history from GMC to Honda. This one is by far my favorite.