What was the first car you ever owned, and do you wish you still had it?

[BellaJones]

I was just cleaning out some old boxes and stumbled upon a grainy photo of my first car. Man, the memories came rushing back. It wasn't anything fancy—actually, it was a total bucket of bolts—but it represented freedom back then.

Mine was a beat-up 92 Honda Civic. It leaked oil like a sieve and the AC only worked when it felt like it, but I drove that thing everywhere.

Looking back, part of me misses the simplicity of it. No touchscreens, no sensors beeping at me for every little thing, just a key and the road. Then again, I don't miss breaking down on the shoulder in the middle of July...

How about you guys? What was your first set of wheels? Do you ever wish you could have it back in your garage today, or are you glad to be rid of it?

Looking forward to hearing some good "first car" horror stories (or success stories)!

 

[my2¢]

After college and getting a job I bought a brand new 1976 Dodge Aspen based on the performance of its slant-6 engine during a test drive. The car had received high grades from auto publications and Consumer Reports. It turned out the be a pile of crap and after 4 years I dumped it for a 1980 Buick Regal.

Lee Iacocca had this to say: “The Dart and Valiant ran forever, and they should never have been dropped. Instead they were replaced by cars that often started to come apart after only a year or two. When these cars first came out, they were still in the development phase. Looking back over the past twenty years or so, I can’t think of any cars that caused more disappointment among customers than the Aspen and the Volare”.

A year later I got married and we bought a 2nd car, a brand new 1981 Honda Civic with a 4 spend manual transmission. In 1984 with a kid on the way, I finally began using seat beats.

Looking back, part of me misses the simplicity of it. No touchscreens, no sensors beeping at me for every little thing, just a key and the road.

I feel the same nostalgia about my dad's 1969 Pontiac Catalina, the car in which I learned to drive. My Aspen wasn't any more complicated, but that Catalina leaves much less troublesome memories.

 

[Cellblock2429]

I was just cleaning out some old boxes and stumbled upon a grainy photo of my first car. Man, the memories came rushing back. It wasn't anything fancy—actually, it was a total bucket of bolts—but it represented freedom back then.

Mine was a beat-up 92 Honda Civic. It leaked oil like a sieve and the AC only worked when it felt like it, but I drove that thing everywhere.

Looking back, part of me misses the simplicity of it. No touchscreens, no sensors beeping at me for every little thing, just a key and the road. Then again, I don't miss breaking down on the shoulder in the middle of July...

How about you guys? What was your first set of wheels? Do you ever wish you could have it back in your garage today, or are you glad to be rid of it?

Looking forward to hearing some good "first car" horror stories (or success stories)!

/----/ In 1968, I bought my first car, a 1960 VW Karmann Ghia, for $300. I drove it for two years and then traded it for a 65 MG Midget. And yes, I wish I still had the VW, not the MG..

 

[Cellblock2429]

After college and getting a job I bought a brand new 1976 Dodge Aspen based on the performance of its slant-6 engine during a test drive. The car had received high grades from auto publications and Consumer Reports. It turned out the be a pile of crap and after 4 years I dumped it for a 1980 Buick Regal.

Lee Iacocca had this to say: “The Dart and Valiant ran forever, and they should never have been dropped. Instead they were replaced by cars that often started to come apart after only a year or two. When these cars first came out, they were still in the development phase. Looking back over the past twenty years or so, I can’t think of any cars that caused more disappointment among customers than the Aspen and the Volare”.

A year later I got married and we bought a 2nd car, a brand new 1981 Honda Civic with a 4 spend manual transmission. In 1984 with a kid on the way, I finally began using seat beats.



I feel the same nostalgia about my dad's 1969 Pontiac Catalina, the car in which I learned to drive. My Aspen wasn't any more complicated, but that Catalina leaves much less troublesome memories.

/---/My mother had a 65 Catalina. Great car.