What is the first car you owned?

[ewalling]

I didn't actually own a car until I was 40. I would drive my Mum's car whenever I returned to England from overseas, but during the normal course of my working years from 22 to 40, I found myself in countries, cities and towns that had adequate or better public transport. It was only when I went to work in the Cayman Islands that a car became a necessity for the first time, and I bought a nice used Nissan Sunny. Here in the US, it is, of course, a necessity too because public transport, at least in south-east Florida, is virtually nonexistent.

[delaorden9]

Mine was one exactly like this one, a 1972 VW Beetle , we called them "Fusca" here in Brazil. I miss so much this car.

[H165]

Paid $100 for this '52 MGTD in the late '60s. Drove it most of my life. It was parked at my folks' house when the whole works burned to the ground in 2003.

[Ed-in-Ohio]

A 1965 white Dodge Dart that looked exactly like this one. It had a push button automatic transmission, and an 8 track player.
Very fond memories!

[flaggerphil]

1971 Mazda 616 Coupe. It was a piece of junk. Bought it new in Seattle and owned it until the block came apart in Hawaii in 1973.

I replaced it with a 1973 Honda Civic, just like the orange one in the pic, and that lasted me through three years in Hawaii, two years in the Philippines and two years in Key West. It was a good car.

[dagobert]

Originally Posted by Acousticado

Not to answer for dagobert, but I speculate he means that the power to weight ratio of those lightweight Darts could get a young, inexperienced driver into a lot of trouble, or worse, even killed.

Exactly, the motor had been 'massaged' and came off the dyno @ 445hp.

Combine that with being 17 + being 10' tall and bullet proof + being know if all and mix in a few close calls........the car had to go or I was going to go.

Looking back i should have parked at my uncles farm.

[difalkner]

50's Morris Minor, $115 in 1967, drove it for a couple of years. Got laughed at as a high school kid but I had WHEELS!!!

[6L6]

1961 VW. I bought it in July 1965 with 32,000 miles on it for $700. Sold it in July 1968 with 66,000 miles for $795.

Here's a pic I took on the day I bought it:



It was an incredible car and never let me down. I drove it between Indiana and Colorado and then out to California and back… all I ever did was keep it in clean oil and filter every 3000 miles, and kept the valves adjusted. I'd LOVE to have it back, restore it, and drive it every day! Over time I added a camber compensator, heavy duty front anti-sway bar, and tuned exhaust (all EMPI). I also added a LUCAS Flame Thrower spotlight to help overcome the inadequate 6 volt headlights. It worked well. The Blaupunkt (sp?) radio in it was fantastic! 40bhp, top speed of 74 mph (radar verified!), and about 30mpg.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by lazybones at 50

mine was a Austin 1300...never heard of one of them have you!!! ..lol..oh i love these international sites

Haha - don't suppose they have , but I have - learnt to drive in one (and an Austin A40).

My first car (all my own in 1966 when I was 18) was a 1964 Ford Anglia Basic. 105e 997cc four gears, all drum brakes, skinny wheels, no radio.

See:

For our American pals - we didn't have cars the same size that you did - as, even now, they would be pointless in the UK as most of our roads , esp. in villages, towns and cities, were built before cars were invented.

[HHP]

Originally Posted by difalkner

50's Morris Minor, $115 in 1967, drove it for a couple of years. Got laughed at as a high school kid but I had WHEELS!!!

Lovejoy? Is that you?

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by HHP

Lovejoy? Is that you?

More like Frank Spencer?

[Flying Orca]

Our second car needed some significant work when I was fifteen, and I was offered the car in return for doing the work. A few months later I had learned a lot about engines and had my very own 1970 Datsun 510 (1600 for those outside northern North America), the "poor man's BMW". Great little machine even with the rust.

[Dan Carey]

'63 Chevy Impala SS with a 409 under the hood.

[birkenweg42]

Back in Germany my first car was a mid-seventies Renault 4 much like the one in the picture.

[Eric S.]

1970 AMC Ambassador Brougham