The Official Autoblog 'First Car' Readership Survey
Alright, here it is, boys and girls... 'The Official Autoblog First Car Readership Survey.' Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Come clean with your fellow readers about your very first car or truck, embarassing ride or no (we know you 1976 Dodge Aspen Woody Wagon owners are out there somewhere). In fact, the more dreadful, the more entertaining this is likely to be... but please be honest. If someone claims a Bugatti Veyron or Yugo GVX Cabrio as their first whip, rest assured our readers will call 'shenanigans.'
So... on to the questions:
- With what four-wheeled conveyance did you first declare your freedom?
- How did you come to acquire it?
- Why did you decide that it was the car/truck for you?
- How long did you own it?
- Any particularly powerful memories (good or bad) tied to the vehicle in question? (Keep it PG-13, kiddies)
- What ever happened to it?
- Any pangs of loss at parting with it, or just sheer relief?
Let's hear it! Fess up in 'comments.'
[Sources: Pentamarketing.com, Highwayone.com, Adclassix.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 15)
Takeo 12:10PM (4/17/2006)
A 1989 Acura Integra LS, 4-door, Automatic tranny. Good car, reliable for my 9 years of ownership. I inherited it from my dad when I started at a local college.
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thomas 12:14PM (4/17/2006)
1992 Plymouth Laser
Belonged to my sister
I loved that car since she bought it new, and ten years later...it was mine....
Had it for two years, but it was constantly in the shop for repairs. It was sold for a new escort (new, cheap, reliable transportation)
Oh I still miss that car, and someday will have another...soon as I get more garage space
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Michael Karesh 12:15PM (4/17/2006)
1981 Chevrolet Citation X-11.
Bought it because I was intent on supporting the Big Three back then, and the X-11 was about the sportiest semi-compact they offered at the time. I think the price was around $4,000, two years old.
With a four-speed manual and H.O. 2.8-liter V6, it was fun to drive. Tight in turns, with good stick from 215/60R14 Eagle GTs, but very harsh, rattly ride. Doors had to be slammed hard to fully shut them. Huge flat rear seat, four could squeeze in. Practical hatch. Steering had a minor bind in it because GM mounted the pinion to the firewall and the rack to the subframe, or something like that.
Handed it down to my sister when I bought a 1984 Sunbird Turbo a couple of years later.
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Jason 12:15PM (4/17/2006)
First car I bought and paid for myself was a 1982 Chrlysler Lebaron sedan (K-Car Baby!!!). White with a white vinyl top and red interior. I paid $200 for it in 1994. It was cheap and it ran, so I bought it. I drove it for about 2 weeks before the exhaust fell off of it. I parked it for about a year and gave it to a guy to use in a demo derby. He drove it away. Man I miss that $200.
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Patrick 12:16PM (4/17/2006)
-1986 Chevy Celebrity
-Hand me down special from mom (1996)
-Because it was free
-1 Year
-A couple:
Closing the doors and watching the remaining sheet metal wobble due to the fact that the entire lower edges were consumed by rust.
Spinning the car at 40 mph on a two lane road into the opposing lane of traffic (thank God there was nobody coming).
Engine running on 4 of 6 cylinders when cold.
-Donated to charity, money saved through tax deduction exceeded the realistic value of the car.
-Sheer relief, although I sometimes miss it for some strange reason.
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Shawn 12:19PM (4/17/2006)
My first ride was a 1980 Chevy Monza (I got the car in 1991). I found it quietly sleeping along someones barn with a faint for sale sign in the window. I asked about the price, and the rather burly fellow, said, "50 bucks and it's yours". So I was on my way to freedom...except that it went through a case of oil every week, the throttle would stick on cold days making the engine sound like it would explode at any moment, and the roof liner was hanging down and no matter how hard you tried, it could not be pinned back into place. I had the car for about 10 months, until my father got behind the wheel, and anounced it to be a death trap and immediately sent it to be crushed at the local scrap yard. I was happy to be rid of it, expect that I then had to start driving my parents 1989 Chevy Astro van...
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TicalWRX 12:19PM (4/17/2006)
My first car was a 1988 Dodge Shadow Shelby purchased in 1995. I didnt know much about cars at the time, but the classified at claimed it had close to 200hp (3inch catback exhaust and modified intake), it was Turbo (just sounded cool), and it had the bulge on the hood (just looked cool).
The only real reason why I had to have that car was because a friend of mine had just picked up a 1991 Plymouth Laser and it had a similar bulge on the hood and I fell in love with it, so this Shadow was the next best thing.
I kept the thing for about a year and a half. I had tons of fun in it, but it had serious mechanical issues about once a month, so it had to go.
The back seat got its fair share of action, and it was always fun to give late 80s/early 90s Mustangs a run for their money.
I ended up selling the car, to my friend's (the one with the Laser) brother. He kept it for a few years and beat it to a pulp and oddly enough the guy I bought it from bought it back from him.
I missed it for a while because it was much faster than the 91 Acura Integra that replaced it, but not having all the problems was a relief.
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rem83 12:20PM (4/17/2006)
1997 Dodge Intrepid (yes, i'm young)
My mom gave it to me when she thought the transmission was dead. Turned out it just had the wrong fluid in it (but then it did die for real about 6 months later...)
I decided it was the car for me because it was free and available. Also, it's peppy, reasonably attractive and has enough room to fit all of my stuff when I move (or most of my friends for around town).
I've owned it for 2 years and counting
It was the car I learned to drive on, the car I got my license with, the first car I ever spun... and the car I drove my first girlfriend around in.
It's currently in summer storage (I only drive it during the winter since I have a summer car now).
If I ever give it up, I can imagine I'll miss it quite a bit.
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jordan 12:21PM (4/17/2006)
My first car was a 1996 Ford Taurus GL (received in 2000). It was a gift from my parents because they got it from a company auction at my dad's employer. I didn't really decide it was the car for me, but my 10hr/week job couldn't afford me much, really, in terms of car insurance, anyways. I owned it for about 4 years. I have very fond memories of fleeing a scene of a few friends "borrowing" construction/real estate/etc signs and being chased by a local resident (yay for a little pep in the bull). I sold it to a used parts dealer for $200 after the transmission was almost gone at 160k (a good amount of miles for a taurus transmission, lol). I wasn't really sad when I had to lose it (other than not getting my set of speakers I wanted out of it because the idea to sell it was a "you've got 10min to get here or you start paying insurance on this AND your next car until you sell it somewhere else" from the parents), because my next car was a newer Taurus which I still have and love to death. :)
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ANR 12:21PM (4/17/2006)
Our very first car we drove/owned, or the first car we bought and paid for? As the latter of the two for me is probably more embarrasing (as I just got rid of it two months ago).
With what four-wheeled conveyance did you first declare your freedom? 1979 Pontiac Grand Prix, with the V-6
How did you come to acquire it? Hand-me down from my Brother.
Why did you decide that it was the car/truck for you? Didn't have much money (I was 16) and my brother was getting ready to leave for the Army.
How long did you own it? It was "technically" my dad's car, as it was titled under him, but I had it for a good year and a half.
Any particularly powerful memories (good or bad) tied to the vehicle in question? Getting sideways making a left hand turn onto a very wet road, scaring the hell out of the SUV driver behind you (please note, this was before they called it 'drifting' and still called it power sliding)
What ever happened to it? Problems were arising with the transmission, and I was getting ready to leave for college, so it was sold for a sparse $100.
Any pangs of loss at parting with it, or just sheer relief? Wanted to hold on to it. A fun car with some problems here and there, but I liked to dream of dropping in a 427...
First car that I actually bought was a 1987 Nissan Sentra 3-door, but that's another story...
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Richard Warren 12:21PM (4/17/2006)
1950 Chevy 2 door Deluxe slopeback green bought in 1963
Bought from a man down the street for the princely sum of 100 dollars
Engine removed, replaced with a 235 out of a truck, 3 carb manifold installed, an expensive 29.95 paint job from Earl Schieb ("We'll paint any car, any color including costly reds and metallics for 29.95")
Price decided the deal, as I had 150 dollars, for car and insurance.
Good? Of course the usual, with girlfriend, who later became my wife until she passed away early.
Kept about 2 years, became second car
Sold for 300 dollars, still looked and ran great and pretty quick for an old dog. The last I saw the car was 1971 and the older gal who bought it was still driving it and it still looked good. I had a friend run down the plate a couple of years ago and it still was attached to this car so I can only assume it's possibly still running.
No regrets, gave it a pat goodbye.
But car #2 that 1960 Buick Invicta Custom, 2 door (4,800 made) hardtop, with bucket seats and every option including Wunderbar radio, welllllllll that's a different story, I'd love it back to this day.
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doug 12:23PM (4/17/2006)
My first car was a Ford EXP - the 2 seat coupe based on the Escort. It was yellow with a black interior. The cam cover bolts kept loosening so I had to keep tightening them. My freind broke the passenger seatback, so I had a log on the floor behind it.
One day after it rained I was testing my tires grip going around corners, and lost it when a possum was in the road and ran into a guard rail., I left it dented, but when I went away to college, my Dad tried to be nice and have it fixed, by the shop did a crappy job matching my faded yellow paint and it looked like hell. I was so mad.
I traded it a year later for my first new car - an 1989 Plymouth Colt - 4spd manual, vinyl interior, no options except real window defroster.
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Chris G 12:24PM (4/17/2006)
1995 Plymouth Neon Sport (why the hell it was called a sport I will never know).
I bought it because it was the only thing in my price range.
Drove the old girl for 2 years putting about 30K miles on it.
Then one day she turned on me.... Burts into flames driving home in the early hours on the highway...That was the end of that car.
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felix 12:25PM (4/17/2006)
A 1988 Celica Alltrac turbo. I bought it because it was the fastest car i could find for 3000 dollars and because i've always loved rally cars. I soon found out that owning a rare care, while cool, is also very expensive. It was constantly in the shop. It was a good car though, I put it in the ditch a couple of times, but it always drove right out with only minor damage. I sold it 8 months ago to my uncle for 900 dollars. It had 100K on the odo. I will forever miss that car however. Other celica owners would look at my little 4th gen with disdain all up until i popped the hood and said the words "all wheel drive".
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Pearson 12:25PM (4/17/2006)
1982 Jaguar XJ6 (this was in 1993). It was my moms old car. it was the car for me because it was free. I owned it until 95 or 96. I mostly have memories of the many, many times I had to have it towed, due to electrical gremlins. Sold it for $500. I still see it around town from time to time. First car I ever bought was an 84 Bronco II, not any better than the Jag in terms of reliability.
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Ian 12:27PM (4/17/2006)
A Morris Mini.
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kc 12:27PM (4/17/2006)
A 1981 Mazda GLC (Good Little Car) Hatchback.
She was white, and the pride of my 17th year on this rock! That poor little car (PLC) took a beating from the beginning. Even before I got to drive her some a-hole decided she wasn't sweet enough and put some sugar in my gas tank. Yes, the first time I got to drive her was away from the local shop after she had been purged.
As for powerful memories...there were many. Most of them stem from me and the guys driving through the streets, windows down, screaming "Just a Friend" by Biz Markie. Yes, that's right 3 white guys...can you picture it. Ah memories.
Well she met her demise one day when her linkage decided it didn't want to come out of 4th gear. So, I decided to park her along side the road for a couple of days until I could get back to tow her away...well the pokey beat me to it. I caught up with her a couple weeks later, but decided to let the junk yard keep her...May she rest in pieces...
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Ryan H 12:30PM (4/17/2006)
With what four-wheeled conveyance did you first declare your freedom?
1998 Dodge Stratus ES
How did you come to acquire it?
Mom went shopping for a Liberty and the Stratus was at the dealership.
Why did you decide that it was the car/truck for you?
It was only 5 years old, a DCX product, and was right at $4,000
How long did you own it?
One year to the month, before trading up to a 1998 Jeep Wrangler Sahara.
Any particularly powerful memories (good or bad) tied to the vehicle in question? (Keep it PG-13, kiddies)
I managed to make the 4 banger hit 110. I also remember doing an e-brake slide into a parking lot at school and impresssing people.
What ever happened to it?
It was traded back to the same dealership I bought it from. They sold it within 1-2 weeks.
Any pangs of loss at parting with it, or just sheer relief?
I miss the gas mileage and ride over longer trips.
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Geoff 12:30PM (4/17/2006)
An oxidized green, 1981 Chevy Malibu Classic, running on only 5 cylinders, and without A/C.
It was a hand-me-down from the parents.
No Choice in the matter.
About a year and a half.
The car came with just two front speakers, and only one worked.
Don't remember how we got rid of it.
Just relief
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len simpson 12:33PM (4/17/2006)
37 ford 2dr fastback found by word of mouth, financed by dad, not free, financed. speedshifted the cluster out of 5 trannies before i saw the lite, never abused a car again. didn't stop racing,just applied "finesse" discovered a lot of new 'friends" untill i started charging to cruise. Chrysler corp admitted this car inspired the PT Cruiser. many precious memories not for publication>g
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