# Your first car **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 21, 2001, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563 "2001-11-21T07:18:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![bibliophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@bibliophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophile)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/61 "2001-11-22T17:38:27Z")
my first car was a maroon 1981 four-door chevette. truly a mechanical marvel. for some reason, whenever i honked the horn, the radio would stop and the wipers would wipe the windshield, just once. it was always dying at red lights for no apparent reason, and when help would arrive it would miracously start again and make me look stupid. i bought it when i was 17, and i’m ashamed to admit that i fell for the old lady who only drove it to church on sundays bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/62 "2001-11-22T18:15:02Z")
First car: '84 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, the first super-luxo SUV (power everything, and most of it still worked). Previous owner was a lawyer that took good care of it, and as I later found out, was the father of a friend of a friend. Built like a tank, an I’m glad–the transfer case popped out of gear whilst crossing the highway. [Took a hit on the side of the front bumper at 60 mph](http://3weasel.20m.com/jeepwreck.html). It’s been sitting in my yard awaiting funds for repair for 11 months now ☹ 2nd car, ['71 Chevy Nova 4-door](http://3weasel.20m.com/nova/index.html), no options except the 307 V8, had 13,000 miles on it when I got it (2 weeks after the demise of the Jeep). I don’t like it. Both are for sale or trade. Make an offer. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/63 "2001-11-22T19:17:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by seawitch \* > \*\*I’m embarassed to admit that I can’t recall the make of my first car, but I only owned it a week. Please feel free to identify it if you have any ideas. > > It was white/rust, sorta boxy, and had a pushbutton transmission on the dash. … \*\* The typewriter transmission in the dash means it was probably a Chrysler product (Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth) or a Rambler. There may have been a few pushbutton trannies by other makers, particularly in the 50’s, but it was Chrysler that was really big on them into the 60’s (and the American Motors Rambler). “Boxy” makes me think “Rambler”, though, as there was a LOT of them made: [http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/jtb4/personal/patsy.html](http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/jtb4/personal/patsy.html) I was allowed to take over a '64 International Scout. I bought a '65 Pontiac Catalina with my own money. ---
**Author:** ![Mythos45](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/848f3c/32.png) [@Mythos45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mythos45)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/64 "2001-11-22T19:37:59Z")
As a matter of fact, I’m getting my first car tomorrow (finally, its been in the shop for a month). Sapphire Blue 1987 Cadillac Fleetwood d’Elegance, with a 4.1L V8, front wheel drive, every luxury option known to man, half vinyl roof, and the best part: 0 miles on it, brand new engine. So, I can abuse the shit out of it and still keep decent resale value. I’m putting in a badass custom sound system in her. I wanted a Firebird, but anything with a V8 was fine by me. As a high school junior, I can’t complain too much about getting a car of any kind, right? ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/65 "2001-11-22T19:50:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mythos45 \* > \*\*As a high school junior, \*\* I’d have never guessed… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![deb2world](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@deb2world](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deb2world)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/66 "2001-11-22T20:24:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mythos45 \* > \*\*As a matter of fact, I’m getting my first car tomorrow > \ > As a high school junior, I can’t complain too much about getting a car of any kind, right? \*\* Congrats on the new wheels you need to take a picture and post it here then we can ooh and aaaw over it. And about the first wheels, look at what most of us got. We were in the same position. But that first love is always the best, you will never have another car that you feel quite the same about as the first one. ---
**Author:** ![Venoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Venoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Venoma)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2001, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/67 "2001-11-22T21:04:45Z")
Advice, **Mythos45**. DONT ABUSE IT. New engine != new everything. Lots of other things to break on a Caddy. Not many of them would be cheap to replace. Tell your friends to leave the damn power windows alone when winter comes, btw 😉 If not, you’ll regret it when summer comes and the A/C doesn’t work anymore… and you have a hell of a time finding freon to put in it when it’s fixed. (We have a '86 Fleetwood Deville, it’s parked. Been very well used.) ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/68 "2001-11-23T15:48:14Z")
A Peugeot 205, not unlike [this one](http://www.e2v.co.uk/images/peugeot3thumb.jpg). Mine was metallic blue/gray though. Fantastic car. When I sold it, it had done 211,000 kilometers. Not too shabby for a 1.4 liter engine. It was nippy, too. 0-100 km/h in 10 seconds. The 3-door GTI 1.9 version is, IMHO, the best Hot Hatch ever made. An absolute BOMB that will leave every Golf GTI in its dust. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/69 "2001-11-23T17:03:49Z")
Hey **FairyChatMom** , I had a grad tassle hanging from my rearview mirror too! My first car was a 1979 Chrysler Cordoba, tricked out with all the options. Temperature control (not just AC, an actual thermostat on the dash), Brand new late 80s tape deck, corinthian leather dash and trim, velvet seats. To flick on the highbeams, there was a pushbutton on the floor by your left foot. All in a tasteful two-tone maroon and white. This beast was massive-- so big my friends nicknamed it “The Behemoth”. Ate like one too, much to the detriment of my pocketbook. It was a mighty steed that could easily hold four across the back seat in comfort. It also had no top speed, as far as I could tell-- the speedometer just kept going around and around, and other cars went slower and slower. I only had a few problems with it. One day the radiator hose blew while I was cruising down the highway, which caused some panic. Who knew that massive clouds of black smoke would actually be a mild problem. The top of the gas tank also rusted out and I had to have a new one put on. Filling the tank actually cost more the repair job… We always joked that the Behemoth would take out a bus. Unfortunately it fell victim to an 18-wheeler nearly 10 years ago on December 3, 1991. The damage wasn’t that bad (front bumper, front left side panel, and the battery disappeared), but the frame got dinged about a centimetre out of whack. My dad stripped the hood ornament, radio, speakers, and (for some reason I can’t fathom) the sunvisors. Did I mention they had mirrors and lights? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/70 "2001-11-23T20:15:30Z")
I had an 86 Mustang Hatchback. It was a V6 Automatic. It had so many problems with the altinator that I must have replaced it 10 times. I ended up giving it away to the red cross about 6 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/71 "2001-11-23T20:48:06Z")
A light blue 1949 Chrysler coupe. Flat-head six cylinder engine with a Fluid Drive transmission. I was fourteen at the time—you could do that back then. ---
**Author:** ![VeraGemini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e9bcb4/32.png) [@VeraGemini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VeraGemini)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563/72 "2001-11-23T20:51:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Clark K \* > \*\*Bright red 1966 Chevy Corvair. > > Trunk in the front, air-cooled engine in the back. > > Heater warmed air by running it through the engine and pumping gas fumes into the passenger compartment, so I smelled like a gas-station attendant every winter. > > You could start the car and then remove the key with the engine still running. > > Engine belt kept slipping off, so I was constantly forced to pull over and wrestle the belt back into place. > > Loved that car. \*\* My second car was a 1965 Corvair, with the complementary gas smell included. You could remove the key from the ignition in it too, I think that must have been a “feature” common to all old Corvairs 😉 _sigh_ I miss that car… First car was a red '72 Monte Carlo with roll bars and a steel plate welded between the engine compartment and the dash. The tailpipe was attached to the rear bumper with baling wire, the trunk was fused shut, and the front bench seat was stuck in the furthest back position. We named it the Killer Tomato. It could, and did, survive a collision with anything smaller than a semi. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-first-car/94563.md?page=3)