First car?

[Beechwood Chip]

I'm not much of a gear head.  I grew up in Manhattan, didn't learn how to drive and couldn't understand why anyone would want to.

But I moved to Philly, got a job in an industrial park in the burbs and needed a car to commute.  A friend of a friend needed to sell their car fast and cheap, so I ended up owning a '72 (pre-emissions control) Ford Maverick with a 302 V8.  Anything more than a light touch on the accelerator and that car would jump into next week. 

[Jonathan McCully]

My first car was a ‘91 white Chrysler LeBaron convertible. I thought I was hot stuff driving a convertible. My favorite memory was that the roof leaked a bit onto the passenger side which always drove my sister, who had to ride with me to school, absolutely crazy. It was great until I started dating my wife and would take her out on a rainy evening. I kept that car until I left for college.


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[drzaius]

19 hours ago, tTow said:

My first car was an old Ford Ranger, a little beat-up but tough as nails. It had a manual transmission, which was both frustrating and fun to learn. The gas mileage wasn’t great, but it was reliable and got me where I needed to go. I loved how simple it was—no fancy electronics, just a solid truck that did its job. The interior was nothing special, with worn-out seats and a stubborn radio that only worked half the time. Still, there was something freeing about driving it, especially on back roads. It eventually had some engine trouble, but by then, I had already made plenty of memories with it. Even now, I sometimes miss that old truck and the adventures it took me on.

Reminds me of an old, old Honda Civic I had. It barely had doors and a steering wheel, and the body was about 1/4 gone due to rust. But I loved that car; fun to drive and easy to keep running.

[gee-dub]

'67 VW fastback with a pancake motor.  Cheap to run, easy to fix (even for me), and ran, and ran, and ran.

[fcschoenthal]

On 4/3/2025 at 11:05 AM, gee-dub said:

'67 VW fastback with a pancake motor.  Cheap to run, easy to fix (even for me), and ran, and ran, and ran.

Mine was about the same. A '68 Karmann Ghia. I think everything was easier to fix back then. I stopped doing a lot of it when everything became computer controlled.

[Enzo Caleb]

That Wrangler sounds like it’s full of memories—hard to let go of a vehicle that’s been with you so long. Stick shifts especially have a way of making the driving experience feel more personal and fun.