Stories Of Your First Car

Not many things in life are as memorable as your first car. That feeling of independence is something I can remember to this day. It doesn't matter if the car was brand new or a rusted out piece of junk that only started with the assistance of your friends pushing it from behind.

The freedom to go where you want, when you wanted is something everyone one of us remembers. When I decided to write this blog I first sent out an email to my co-workers and asked them to send me a note about their first car. within a matter of minutes I had emails flooding my inbox. People are passionate about their first car and will go out of their way to tell people about it.

My first car was a 1969 Plymouth Fury which was a VERY large car. My friends used to call it the aircraft carrier. We could sit four people comfortably in the back and front seats. The trunk was large enough to hold 8 kegs of beer, six large bags of ice and an occasional friend who was not able to fit inside the car. I once took it to a long straight road outside of my hometown to see how fast I could get it to go but when I floored the gas pedal the fuel gauge needle moved faster than the speedometer and I blew out the radiator. I must have washed that car at least once a week, my neighbor used to tell me I was going to wash the paint off it.

As I said earlier I asked some of my co-workers to tell me about their first car. Here are what a few of them had to say.

Danielle S:
Mine was a 1989 Mercury Cougar…Got into an accident 6 months in so my dad & my boyfriend at the time put the bumper back on with a few hangers…I drove around like that until it finally died…the power windows or A/C didn’t work so, (packed to capacity) we drove with the doors open…there was a short in the fuse for my cd player so if you played the music too loud the whole dash would go out and you had no idea how fast you were going…her name was Darla…lol

Chris N:
Mine was a ’67 Camaro I bought in 1977. Paid $150 for it. Fenders were totally rusted out. I put a $300 sound system in it, which back then kicked ass! I drove it until the frame rusted out two years later.

Kristine L:
My first car was a bright red 1990 Ford Probe (bought it when I was 16 yrs old in 1995). And it had a kick-ass factory stereo system in it with bass (which me and my friends thought it was perfect to play the “Friday” Soundtrack in over and over again!). I was the first of my friends to turn 16 and the first to have a car. I thought I was such hot stuff in that bright red sports car. It cost me $6,500 which I made monthly payments on (my parents refused to help me) so I got a waitressing job and paid $400 a month on it. AND the car was Fast! So fast, I got 6 speeding tickets in it within 18 months… I lost my license and my insurance... and even though I had MY OWN insurance under my name which I paid myself, my brother and my parents ALL LOST their insurance too because I lived in the same house as them and I was “a risk”. My parents then took away my car and gave it to my brother  He took on the payments and I downgraded to a 1987 Ford Escort for $600.

Andrea D:
My FIRST car, was just what u think it might be (growing up in Staten Island, NY in the 80’s). It was a 1989 Firebird Trans Am!! My hair was BIG, and my car was BRIGHT BLUE METALLIC (could not find a pic of a blue one). The main thing I remember, is how I had to put sand bags in the trunk, in the winter to keep it from skidding all over the place. Needless to say, I thought I was pretty cool driving around in that car! LMAO!!!

Kari W:
My first car was a 1989 Chevy Celebrity. It was maroon and silver, and I bought it from my parents when I was 17 for $1,500. Here are some safe examples I can share without totaling ruining my reputation.

I was pulled over twice by the same cop, in the same speed trap, one time in which I was skipping school. He let me off with a warning the first time, but had no mercy on me the following incident. I drove home numerous intoxicated friends; thankfully they waited to throw-up after they exited the vehicle. And one winter evening, a deer met its death when it collided with my front fender. Pieces of fur were found stuck in the hood the next day.

David D:
My first car was a Toyota Corona ( yes..Corona)

The transmission was shot. There was no “park”. When I stopped somewhere, I had to put blocks of wood on both sides of the tires so the car wouldn’t roll away. Also, there was a complete rusted thru hole on the passengers’ side floor. You could see the ground. Sometime I would have friends sit unknowingly in the passengers’ seat and drive through a big puddle. Water would come up through the hole just like a water spout on a whale. They would get soaked. Very funny!

Later in life when I began selling airtime for WYRKworking for WYRK I had a car that didn’t have a radio in it. Kind of funny if you think about it.

Katie S:
We are definitely showing our age. My first car was a 1972 Plymouth Duster, blue in color. It was the “Gold” package which means that I had ½ a vinyl roof, gold in color. It was a two door and could fit 5 people comfortably. This is the amazing thing by today’s standards….total cost with dealer prep, taxes and licensing, etc. was a grand total of $2,700.00. And I got the car BRAND NEW!!!! That’s hardly even a down-payment by today’s standards. It only had an AM Radio in it, so my boyfriend at the time installed an 8 track player for me and then eventually a cassette player. So of course I had the case to carry all the tunes in. That car went to college with me. The trunk was huge; so huge it could fit a foot locker in the far reaches of the trunk and still have plenty of room for all the other necessities. It made a couple of trips to NYC and also to Oneonta to pick up the kegs of beer to take back to Cobleskill for the weekend parties. I kept the car for almost 10 years, using it as a winter car for the last two years of it’s normal life and then I gave it to my sister to use. She got into two accidents with it, the last one was it’s demise when it ended nose down in a ditch.

Wendy L:
My first car was a hand me down (I was the youngest of five) two of my sisters had the car before me.  It was a 1978 Plymouth Arrow grey with black interior.  By the time I got the car the color was extremely faded and I had just gotten my first job so I had it painted fire engine red (I thought the color would make it faster, lol).  Me and my friends called the car "George" it was a sporty small hatchback and I could squeeze five friends in it (1 lying down in back).  George got us home and back from some awesome parties.

Ross D:
My first car was a “puke green” 1983 Ford LTD.  I don’t think the Ford Motor Company licensed that name for the color of the automobile, but they should have.  I paid $1,600 cash for it – every last dollar I had to my name at the time.  What sold this beautiful luxury car to me was the spotless engine.  It looked like new when I popped the hood, so it had to be a bargain!  Little did I know the owner had it steam cleaned just before showing it off to rubes like me.

I realized about 48 hours after I brought that beast home that if I didn’t put it in park just right, it would roll away.  Turns out it was in an accident and a pin was sheared on the transmission.  The accident must have occurred without the previous owner’s knowledge and he must have always put it in park “just right” because when I called him about my dilemma he had no idea what I was talking about.  In any event, after leaving my girlfriend’s house late one night I couldn’t find my new gem in the driveway.  I could have sworn I parked it there!  Then I looked down the driveway and realized it had slipped out of park (shocker!), rolled down, across the street, and hit a fire hydrant.  It was sticking out across half the street and cars were driving around it.

I still can’t believe she married me.

Mike R:
My first car [indeed, one of only two cars I ever owned] was a used [well-used] 1978 Chevette, cherry red. Considering it was under-sized, under-powered, and under-valued, it ran four days in any given week. Of course, the four days were unpredictable at best, and almost never consecutive days. When I decided I needed more consistent transportation, I purchased a brand-new Chevette. It ran when it felt like it, had an embarassing oil habit, and needed more maintenance than my first car, and myself, combined. When it died, I delivered it to a nearby junkyard. I have never owned another automobile, and have used public transportation for almost all of the two decades since.

Ironically, though, both of the Chevettes would have fitted comfortably in the trunk of your Plymouth Fury. Along with one of your friends...

Dale M:
My first car was a '67 Plymouth Belvedere - not a cool car for a teenager - but it had wheels, seats and a 318 engine, good enough.  I did take it up to 110 miles an hour on the expressway headed to Detroit one time - really dumb.  And in high school we used the trunk to store our stock of snowballs in a wintertime snowball battle between seniors and underclassmen.  We used the trunk as a shield. 

Josh M:
My first vehicle was a red, 1989 Chevy Blazer with blacked-out lights and windows.  I paid for it myself and it was one of my favorite vehicles I've ever owned.  Funny tho....It was my 1st and last SUV.  Anyways.....the "juicy" story involved police, maybe I'll save that one for another day, but I do have one vivid memory with the old thing.  My cousin Adin was in Buffalo in the middle of winter, so we took the Blazer up to an empty school parking lot in North Buffalo and had some fun.  We dropped down the back seat so one could roll around while the other performed the art of "donuts."  It was a blast until a neighbor of the school came out to yell at us and threaten to call the cops!  Ahhh the good ole days.