What was YOUR first car? Your favorite car? (VANITY)

[Number57]

Was talking to a friend about old cars & old times today (for me, that means the early 80s, when I got my license). I've had a LOT of cars. Most clunkers, as I was usually broke, but a few gems. I've had better cars, and I've had worse. But here's my 1st & fav picks.

My very first car, purchased in 1980 for the Princely sum of $150, was a true tank: the 1969 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon. Weighing in at an impressive 3,700 lbs (IIRC), it had a wheezing 383 CI, after-market manual choke sticking out of the dash, and some very nice wood-like vinyl stuck to the sides.

Mine was blue. It was Rad. I loved it. It lasted 3 weeks.




My favorite car (out of the 50+ I've owned over the years) might surprise some of you. It was a tough choice, but I settled on an odd little 4-door I owned from 1985 to 1986. I think it is my favorite because it was such an unusual car to see in Michigan (never seen another since), and because it was such a tough little bugger. It was even stabbed by a drug-crazed hippy once. How many people can say that about their car? True story. The Fiat Mirafiori 131S (mine was this exact color)..

I was SHOCKED to learn that my parents never owned a car until they were married. That blows me away. Their first car was a 1952 Mercury Monterey.



My mom's favorite ever was her 1955 Ford Fairlane Victoria (crown vic, I guess). Hers was Red/White:



Dad's fav was a 1964 Corvair, which had been built for drag racing, then de-tuned for the street. The original HP was 140 for that engine, after tweaking for the strip he estimates it was over 300 HP. After de-tuning it was about 240. Still a LOT of power for a car of that size.

He owned a number of Corvairs over the years, and this is the only one he doesn't have a picture of... he sold it not long after buying it because of the 70s gas crunch, when premium gas (the engine required it) hit a jaw-dropping .60 cents a gallon.

Here's a similar car:

OK that's it! If you enjoyed this, please leave your Firsts and Favorites!! Thanks for reading.

[Stentor]

1955 Chevy with a bad kingpin. I don’t think so.

[Birmingham Rain]

Mine was known as “The Frog”. A 1967 (same year as my birth) Simca. Paid my boss’ stepfather $500 for it in the
‘80s.

His brother had lived in Europe quite a while before moving back to California. When he died, his brother (seller) took pity on me and sold me the car.

Perhaps it was I who took pity on him.

Either way, wish I had it now because it was assembled so as the parts were interchangeable with wire coat hangers, duct tape and douche bags. Ugliest damn car you’d ever hope to lay eyes on but I loved it.

It was a stick shift (which I didn’t exactly know how to shift) that you could not tear up. Apparently so, because God knows I had no idea of what the heck I was doing.

Learned through the error of my persistent little brother that a car not equipped for a stereo will accept one, but, under no circumstances, will it allow the operator of said vehicle to use the radio and lights, or lights and windshield wipers, or any other combination of two or more items while flying down the road. Of course, learned this miles from home and in one of the worst, blackest storms I’ve ever seen in my life...while flying down the road.

Loved it and miss it! Didn’t know what a darling I had at the time.

[Thebaddog]

My first car was a 74 Nova which ran a long time after I gave it away. The fabric on the ceiling of the car let go before the engine quit I was told.

My favorite car was an MGB which was cheap to buy but a lot to keep up. It had the bad electrical system that would run through points like peanuts. But it was great to drive with the top down. I would get another one.

[AndyJackson]

It was a wonderfully designed car and a lot of fun to drive. A handcrank kept the Lucas Satan at bay. [Why do the British drink warm beer? Refrigeration by Lucas]

[AndyJackson]

It had the bad electrical system

You are being redundant. BL had no other.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Favorite was a 1992 Lincoln Mark VII LSC like this one... First car was a 1975 Chevy Nova (was baby sh*t green and white with a very small block V-8)...

[claymax]

lol, yep, just like that one, but it was baby blue. I was just on the web looking for it. Wow the memories!!!

[Dionysius]

First: 1957 Studebaker Hawk
Favorite: 1957 Studebaker Hawk

[Kirkwood]

Almost like my second car except mine was metal-flake brown with gold pin-striping and a chamois roof. It had a 5L V-8 and was surprisingly fast.

[PROTESTBYPROXY]

haha

[Kimmers]

1973 Orange Datsun 240Z

sweeeeeeeeet !!!!!!

[Yardstick]

1975 Toyota Celica (this was in ‘90). Neat little car, rear wheel drive with a solid axle and a 5-speed, looked like a miniature Dodge Challenger.

Best: 1985 Toyota Supra. Fast, smooth, comfortable, lots of useful gadgets, stolen and wrecked while I was at college.

New favorite: 1984 BMW 6-series that I currently own. One of the finest looking BMW’s ever, just gorgeous.

[mdittmar]

Wanted a '68' Camaro,my Dad said "no,you'll kill yourself".

I cruised the ave in a

Buick Nighthawk;)

The rear view mirror fell off,the door handles pulled off,the rear defog caught fire,the door panels fell off,those were fun times.

[Thebaddog]

Good point.

The other significant characteristic of the car is that the left springs were too light and the car tilted toward the driver. In respect of course.

[Pardeeville Liberator]

First: 1949 Chrysler New Yorker Straight 6 Club Coupe
Best: 1955 De Soto 2 dr Hardtop w/a Hemi
Worst: VW Bug

[big'ol_freeper]

First car- 1978 Ford Fiesta Sport

Favorite car- 2006 SAAB 9-3 Aero Sports Combi

[labette]

Same color and wheels. Paid $500 with 60,000 miles and a bad engine. {in 1977}

[Yardstick]

Sounds like a fine piece of automotive craftsmanship. Have you noticed that American cars from that era (roughly '75 to '85) simply do not exist anymore? Seeing one on the road nowadays is like seeing a ghost.

[SwampFoxOfVa]

First Car Triumph TR3
Best Car My baby, the Lotus Europa

[Centurion2000]

Mine was a silver 1977 Toyota Celica. It was 1987 and I paid a whopping 750 dollars for it.

Had it for two weeks and wrecked it on oil slicked roads. :|

I did get it fixed but it was murdered in February 1991 by a car bomb while I was deployed in Desert Storm. (First car bombing in my hometown since 1974)

I used to joke afterwards that someone turned it from a coupe to a converible in 1/100th of a second.