My first car was a ‘97 Mitsubishi Galant back in 2004. Gas was a helluva lot cheaper back then, though not as cheap as the late ‘90s, when it dipped as low as 57 cents per gallon here.
1972 Buick Skylark with a 350 rocket. Great car.
In 1982, my dad handed me the keys to his 73 Opel station wagon. It had am RADIO and no AC, so my sister named it the “hot box.”
It had a black steering wheel which used to bake in the Georgia heat. This was back before someone invented those nifty sun shade things, so I threw a jacket or towel over my steering wheel when I’d park the car. It was still too hot to touch on the drive home from my summer job at Wendy’s.
‘68 Kharmann Ghia, $.25 a gallon.
It was a car that I just HAD TO HAVE, and didn't even bother to test-drive it before laying out the two-hundred bucks.
It was on the way home that I realized the four-on-the-floor shifter wouldn't shift out of first gear.
Although I was 17, I cried like a baby...and learned my first "caveat emptor" lesson.
1967 Ponitac GTO. What a car.