Your first car

1993 Nissan Altima. Decided I wanted a 4x4 and got a 1988 Cherokee. Turns out the engine was cracked (seller neglected to inform me of that detail) so I took it back to the seller and told them to give me my money back or make it pass smog (per CA law). Got my money back and picked a 1990 Bronco (fullsize) that is to this day the only one I've seen with a stick shift. Got tired of 8mpg and got a 1990 RX7, the only car I've wrecked. I still miss that one. Got my 1991 Miata after the RX7 sold. Bought a $500 1984 Ford Econoline to use as a scuba diving rig. Dive buddy/roommate moved away and I sold the van after using it to move. Picked up a 1979 Mercedes Benz 300D for a stillborn veg oil project. I got over 88hp in a 3500lb car really fast. Newest is my 1987 Toyota 4x4 that I plan to keep for a while, along with the Miata.

As I read the thread i see what I thought i would always see. No matter how good or bad the first is, you do have a affection for it if only in good memories. Mine, '65 Falcon 6 cly. auto.

bigwrench wrote: As I read the thread i see what I thought i would always see. No matter how good or bad the first is, you do have a affection for it if only in good memories. Mine, '65 Falcon 6 cly. auto.

The thing I notice (and what always happens when this question comes up on any car forum) is that people start posting lists of every single car they've ever owned or driven or wished they'd driven.

First car : "inherited" a 1963 Corvair Monza, 4-speed 102 withthe rare 3.08 diff, when my parents ordered a '68. First car I bought was a 1970 BMW 2002, new. Today I have an '89 MR2, a 2006 Jeep Liberty (lifted 2.5 inches), and a '91 toyota 4wd pickup. In between were a '75 VW Rabbit, an '84 GTi, an '87 Supra, an '88 MR2, a '92 SE-R, a '60 Mini 850, and a Formula Vee (along with a couple of more Toyota pickups and a great '99 Isuzu Amigo, lifted 2 inches). The ones I miss the most are the Mini, the GTi, the Corvair and the 2002.

"The ones I miss the most are the Mini, the GTi, the Corvair and the 2002."

I would miss those too.

The first car I bought for myself in 1966.

My current car bought new in 2001

I like the current one much better than my first car. It is more reliable, more comfortable, handles better, gets better gas mileage, and has more than twice the power. But I do seem to be stuck on the color red

First vehicle:

77 Suzuki GS 400

First automobile:

91 Chev 2500 - 454 with a 4 speed manual box - Granny Low, so really a 3 speed.

It would spin the wheels in 3 out of 4 gears!

First: 1959 Fiat 600 & 1969 Suzuki X6 Hustler

Current: 2000 Range Rover 4.6 HSE, 2002 Nissan Pathfinder LE, 2007 Triumph Speedmaster, & 2002 Triumph Speed Four.

First car was an 80 Volvo 242 GT. Now--17 years later--I have a 91 BMW 318is and a 90 VW Fox. So, yeah, I own older cars now than I did when I was 15. Oh well, at least I've never had a car payment.

Beautiful Giulia, Hal.

Three years ago my first car was a Fiat 124, then an e28 BMW, and now the Alfetta.

1970: 1959 Rambler American. Only famous because Goober built one inside the Sheriff's office in Mayberry. Possibly the most homely car ever made in the USA. Flathead straight 6; 3 on the tree. Problem blowing head gaskets, which took under an hour to replace.

2008:1995 Plymouth Neon Sport Coupe. DOHC 5 spd. Prepped for SCCA Street Modified. Mid 14 second quarter @ 100 mph, 34 mpg on the interstate; 25 mpg around town. Atrocious NYG paint, Problem snapping timing belt, which takes between 2 days to a year to repair, (depending on my mood and level of disgust).

My first car was a 1966 Mustang 6cyl 3 speed purchased on April 2, 1986 at the age of 14. Had to bolt the doors on before we could drive it home... brought the rest home in multiple trips. First car I ever really drove that was considered my car was a 1979 Toyota Corolla SR-5 Sport Coupe. Bought for $100 bucks, hoping it would last through winter.. drove it thru High School and my first year of college.. If I could only find another one...

Current DD.. 2001 Explorer Sport 2wd 5spd, currently in winter storage: 1992 Mustang 5.0l 'Vert, '67 Buick Riviera, 1994 Cobra AS racecar.

BTW.. this is my first post.. I've been reading the mag since 1997... yeah.. I'm a little late to the party!

My first "car" - a hand me down from my parents. Its orange colour named it the nickname "cheesewagon". Lots of fun in its own way and useful for camping trips and such. It had a 360cid V8 and 3spd automatic. The interior had velour captain's chairs, a rear seat that folded to a bed, wood paneling and shag carpet. Very groovy!

1978 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. My first car I bought with own cash. A mint 1978 Z28 with a 350cid V8, 4bbl carb, 4spd close ratio manual, posi 3.73 rear and some headers with true dual exhaust. The previous owner had ported the heads and put some sort of aftermarket cam in it too. Lots of fun. Sold to buy first house.

now I've got a 62 VW Beetle Canadian Standard and an almost done 4AGE powered Locost

True first car was a Starlet that the previous owner had put a turbo in. We kept it for 3-days before discovering that no 'normal' shop would touch it. Sure wish I was more mechanically inclined at the time and could have wrenched on it myself. It came with a documentation folder over an inch thick.

We returned it to the dealership and bought my Mom a car, I inherited the '76 Lime Green AMC Hornet - with 8 Track!

Memories, Memories!

Hard to say. I learned with my permit on a 99 Crown Vic and an 89 Chevy 2500. First car that was "mine" was a 98 Maxima with a 5 speed; dad crashed that after six months. I drive a 91 BMW 318ic a lot, but thats dads--but its the car I drive the most. I'll wait at least another six months before I buy or somehow dupe dad into buying a car for me.

I bought a rust-free '72 Pinto 2.0/4-speed sedan when I was 13. Learned a ton about auto repair and tuning by necessity. It broke down so frequently, I hated everything about the car. Sold it when I was 17 to a kid who totaled it off a month later. I swore I would never buy another Pinto again.

So yeah, there's a fondness there.

I bought my second Pinto, a '74 302/FMX sedan for a case of beer when I was 19. I was building a '69 351W 4V and needed something to put it in. Drove the car with the 302 and figured I would kill myself, so I parted it out. I swore I would never buy another Pinto again.

I bought my third Pinto, a '76 2.3/C3 wagon when I was 22. I pulled the 2.3 and put in a high compression big cam 302 and built a truck C4 with a car tailshaft and a stage II shift kit. Scared myself silly on more than a few occasions with it. Sold it. I swore I would never buy another Pinto again.

I'm looking for #4...

First: '90-something Taurus wagon, blue on blue. (Did this start my love of all things wagony? Or did that love blossom in spite of this poor car?).

Now: '00 Focus ZX3 autotragic. Still driving that thing (the SVT suspension has prevented me from pushing it off a cliff), can't seem to kill it. I'm about 30k overdue for a timing belt, though, so probably any day now...

There was a '02 Stealth RT/TT in there. Should have kept that. And a '97 Accord Coupe that was flawless to a fault.

Proud to say I actually haven't bought a car yet.* I survive off my folks' hand-me-downs. My dad has this disease where he can't sell cars. Come to think of it, the only two cars of his I've known to have been sold are ones that I've done the selling.

I have bought motorcycles, though. First was an '88 Honda Hawk GT. Still have that. It's been modified extensively, and it'll get torn down again this winter for some motor work. Riding a '97 TL1000-S streetfighter now, which is a thoroughly insane motorcycle. Everyday I wonder how I got back home alive. It's very exciting.

*Well, not if you don't count the rusty hulk of a '31 Ford I dragged home last spring. Does that count as a car? It's a body on a frame and wheels, it rolls, and it looks a lot like a car. When does a car become a car, anyway? Or, when does a car cease to be a car?

My "first" was an '88 Accord LX sedan. By the time it was handed down to me it was on a salvage title, had a mismatched fender, a 3x8 hole in the bumper (all from the same pizza delivery accident). The drivers outside door handle had fallen off as well. The exaust system would rot out and fall off every 2 years, and when that happened I would install my "loud" exaust, a tractor muffler on the head pipe until inspection rolled around and required a new cat. And then I had to deal with the ocasional fun of a vacume system tune up. It would cost $200 and only one shop in 100 miles was able to do it. In the end it had 250K when It went off the road backwards when I tried to avoid a deer (bad tires+bad brakes+no horn+deer=crazy accident) I should not have survived it, but I walked away with only a nickle sized bruise on my upper arm.

Second car was a hand me down '98 Neon Sport Coupe after we dropped in a new engine. In my tenure with it it went thrue a second engine and the transmision and the second trany was on it's way out when my second deer accident in it left it totaled.

My current Neon R/T is the first car in my name, so yeah and constant repair costs are making me look into a new car.

I think my parents have never sold a car, they end up handed down, totaled or sent to the crusher.

first car was a 70 Pinto with a 2.0 litre and 4 speed. Painted flat black out side and inside by the previous pwner. It had a suspicious round hole cut in the drivers floorboard under the rubber mat. i would pour a shotBacardi 151 out the hole at night while waiting at a red light then drop a lit match thru just as the light turned green, lots of fun to watch the cars behind do crazy things following an "XPLODING" Pinto.I wish I still had that car, I could do a lot with it these days.

Numerus cars in betweene i daily drive a 96 Ranger 2.3 5 speed. I daily drive a 96 Ranger 2.3 5 speed

My second car was a 66 chevy P/U with a 327 S/B and a two speed power glide. I still have that one and it will be my next project now I have my house and shop built.

'89 Ford Escort GT (given to me by my dad, which I promptly wrecked after a few months)

'88 300ZX (spent a few months working my butt off, bumming rides and such to help pay for it, sold in college as it was getting in bad shape from 85,000 miles of adolescent male thrashing total of about 150k)

'85 Lincoln Town Car ( given to me by the Gma since I sold the z31)

'98 Monte Carlo Z34 (had for a little over 5 years, given to me by my mom for doing good in college and so I wouldn't have to drive the lincoln anymore.) Still have this as my beater, been an incredibly reliable car, and still decently fun to drive, much more torque than the E30.

'88 325is bought this one with my own money, love the crap out of it.

Also an '04 R6 I bought new that overlapped the monte and the E30 that I sold this past April.

1981 Citation X-11 2.8L 60 Degree V-6 135hp 160ft.lbs with a 4 spd. Bought off my dad in 1986. It had to run in F Stock against Z-28's and Mustang GT's at the autocross, and usually beat them. A lot of really good times in that car... would love to have it back.

Now I've got two '90 Miata's (one for Spec Miata, the other for the street) and a '96 Chevy C1500 Ext. Cab.

1971 Holden LJ Torana GTR-XU1, straight six 202ci with triple SU carbs and 4 speed, very successful race car heritage in Australia. I regret ever selling that car.

^I'll bet! It'd be worth a small fortune these days.

My first car . . .1986 Camaro . . .

WEWT!

EDIT: YAY! FIRST ON PAGE!