Do you ever wish you had your first car back?
By dragon54u
@dragon54u (31634)
United States
January 31, 2010 8:13am CST
Forget the fact that it might have been a gas guzzler, do you wish you could drive it again?
My first car was a 1965 Oldsmobile F-85. It's considered a muscle car now but back then it was sturdy, reliable transportation. All steel body, too--someone hit me at 50MPH and all I got was a bump on the head. I fixed the car with parts from the junk yard and it lasted till it went past 300,000 miles.
What I liked about it was the bench seats, lots of room and they were comfortable. The headlights were operated by a knob you pulled out and you had a choice of when you put on the lights. The dimmer switch was on the floor. The dashboard was generous and you could actually keep things up there like an atlas or a cup of coffee! I had the seat to keep my purse on, all the room I needed and that car was FAST!! I could go from 0-60 in just a few seconds, it was very powerful.
What was your first car and do you wish you had it back?
7 responses
@kellyjeanne (1576)
• United States
1 Feb 10
I don't drive and have no desire to either.
It really amazes me how nowadays the car manufacturers intentionally make cars to last only 5 or 6 years. In the old days a car was meant to last. I kind of jokingly say that cars today are made of styrofoam! That's an exaggeration, but, it's pretty much true. It's so easy to damage a car AND those inside during an accident. In those days you didn't really need an airbag. Now you'd be a fool to be without one. Things have definitely changed for the worse.
Well, enough of that optimism! LOL!
Purrs,
Catwoman=^..^= & Mija
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
1 Feb 10
Oh yes, they have changed so much and most of it not for the better! When my Olds got hit at 50MPH I only got a bump on the head but nowadays I would have been pushed into oncoming traffic because the car would be so light and I would probably be killed, airbags or not.
My Toyota is 5 years old now and I take good care of it. Like it or not--hear this, Toyota?!--that car is going to last me at least 10 years and hopefully until I quite driving. That will probably be in about 15 years.
@kellyjeanne (1576)
• United States
1 Feb 10
Yes, with care cars can last a good long while. Good luck with you and...........safe driving! LOL!
Purrs,
Catwoman=^..^= & Mija
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
31 Jan 10
No, no, no. My first car was an ancient VW beetle and had so many rust holes I had to put stickers over them to cover them up. When friends got into the car I had to tell them to put their feet gently on the floor as I was afraid they would go through the floor boards.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
1 Feb 10
LOL! But those bugs were great! My second car was a 1970 VW Bug and I loved that car. Its engine blew when I was going down a hill that was blocked to one lane and a stupid trucker must've been asleep because he actually touched my bumper--I went as fast as I could until I could leave the road but the needle was at the limit, 90MPH, and I think that just strained the engine too much.
I remember when the wiper motor in my bug failed and I didn't have money to fix it. I rigged up a coat hanger to the wiper and when it would rain I would roll down my window and pull/push the coat hanger back and forth! 
Aside from the body issues, didn't your bug run well? I loved mine, it was so easy to take care of and maintain once I got a Chilton's guide to it.
Aside from the body issues, didn't your bug run well? I loved mine, it was so easy to take care of and maintain once I got a Chilton's guide to it.@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
1 Feb 10
I love that old car and when I lived in Germany I bought 2 new new ones. I even brought my superbeetle to the States with me.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
31 Jan 10
I never really liked the fastbacks, I love the little 1965 coupe and the convertible. The fastback is nice but I like the other. Those were fast cars! I learned to drive a stick in a 65 Mustang that belonged to my sister. 
@wildcatsthree (289)
• United States
31 Jan 10
My brother's first car was a '66 Mustang coupe, candy apple red. We'd go out cruising in it - what a ride. I don't recall the engine size but it had a good rumble to it like all the muscle cars did back then. It took me almost 40 years, but I finally got my own Mustang - 2004 anniversary edition. The next year, my brother decided it was time for another Mustang for him, bright red just like his first one. He loves it, but says it's just not the same as his first one.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
31 Jan 10
That's a beautiful machine! I love how those old cars had the get up and go to just goose it and fly! Cars these days are soooooo slow it takes forever to pick up speed. I do like my Toyota Corolla that small enough to get out of tight situations and fast enough for evasion but I miss my F85 that was like a rocket and never had trouble on hills. It even pulled a trailer. Power! I love cars with power! 
@wildcatsthree (289)
• United States
31 Jan 10
We're from the same era dragon54u! My first car was a '65 Chevrolet Corvair, silver blue convertible. My parents helped me out by buying it for me and letting me make payments to them. I loved the freedom of having my own wheels and I kept it spotless. It had one flaw though - that car was known for breaking fan belts, and I kept at least 1 spare at all times in my trunk. In spite of it's compact size, it went through heavy snow like a breeze, when other cars were getting stuck. After I got married my ex-husband talked me into selling it and buying a 1970 Dodge Dart - boy was I disappointed after my Corvair was gone and I was stuck with the other car. Later I heard that the girl who bought my Corvair got in a wreck and totalled it. Talk about heartbreak! If only I had kept it.
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
1 Feb 10
That's awful!! 
I've learned not to let men talk me into selling cars! I had a good old station wagon when I got married and without even asking me, he sold it. Was I ever mad!! Unwisely, I didn't make a big deal of it but it should have told me something then.
Those Corvair models were lovely, I always thought they were a unique and beautiful car. They had a lot of pep to them, too! When I heard that they were really dangerous I was surprised. But I think if you know how to drive a car it will usually be safe aside from mechanical failures like the recent Toyotas. I think alot of "accidents" are driver caused through carelessness or lack of ability to look ahead.
I've learned not to let men talk me into selling cars! I had a good old station wagon when I got married and without even asking me, he sold it. Was I ever mad!! Unwisely, I didn't make a big deal of it but it should have told me something then.
Those Corvair models were lovely, I always thought they were a unique and beautiful car. They had a lot of pep to them, too! When I heard that they were really dangerous I was surprised. But I think if you know how to drive a car it will usually be safe aside from mechanical failures like the recent Toyotas. I think alot of "accidents" are driver caused through carelessness or lack of ability to look ahead.
@GreenMoo (11834)
•
8 Feb 10
My first car was a Datsun Sunny Estate in a revolting shade of brown. It had stripes of a different shade on the sides where rust work had been done but the paint not quite matched, and it really was quite the heap. However, I liked it because I could fit two canoes inside it (very important at the time!) and because it was mine!
Unfortunately I ended up crashing it and sold it for peanuts to a friend of a friend.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
8 Feb 10
That is sad! I crashed my first one, too, the first time was my fault and the other time it wasn't. I drove that car for years with a damaged fender, it looked like a trashy car but it lasted! I remember pouring most of a bottle of champagne over it when it hit 300,000 miles, saving one swallow for myself--it happened on a country road in the middle of nowhere right outside a beautiful old cemetery.
What a sad ending for your car! It deserved better, having served you so well! 
@junil_jk (496)
• India
1 Feb 10
i'm more crazy about bikes(it's not that i don't like cars) and i haven't had my own car yet. yeah we have two family cars but i seldom drive them...and i'm not a good four-wheeler driver yet! i'm more into bikes. my first bike lasted a little more than a year before i sold it and bought another one. that was when i was almost 18. i sold my first bike because i wanted a sturdier and more powerful bike. but later i wished i had my first bike back. it wasn't bad after all and could compete with the then road-conquering bikes as it was also one of them! after all it was my first bike and i loved it. i still love it and sometimes i still wish i had it back even after these five long years!
