First car...
 

Youu always remember your first! A Cadillac Sedan De'Ville 1967, ran great, fast, 14 mpg, it had a 472 ci engine with 11 to 1 compression factory.

I've had a few other cool ones in the past too: A 1967 BMW 2002 (very nice speed, handling), A 1976 BMW 530i (crappy car), 1976 Pontiac Trans Am (fastest yet- 143 mph, but garage queen), 1986 Honda CRX Si (almost as good as the 911!) + more...

Guess I could fess up as well.
The first car I drove was my parents '76 BMW 2002.
I still love those cars.

But the first car that I bought was a '63 Chevy Corvair convertible.
Sadly, it never ran... but I was close!

First car was a 1969 Karman Ghia purchased for $1,500 in 1979...

My best buddy had a '71 and I just had to have one of my own. Man, I loved that car. The dizzy sorority girls thought it was a Porsche... Drove it from Seattle to Minissota and back to get married. After we had our first baby, I removed the rear seats and bolted in the baby seat facing the rear. She was our little "tail gunner". Eventually got rear ended, so the whole back end drooped down about four inches. :( Drove it that way for almost a year 'till the tranny gave out, then sold it for almost what I'd paid five years previous.

I guess the 'Ghia started me on my inexorable path to old German cars. My current 79SC is almost the same color as that car was and sort of feels like a reincarnation.

My nice father gave me his 72 914 that was far from perfect. He knew nothing about cars and said it dosn't run but I am sure that you can fix it with this manual. Dropped the motor to reveal that it sucked a valve and was destroyed. I found a used motor with Webbers and only paid $200 for it and I absolutely loved the car. I went from racing Emmic Go carts to racing my 914 on the street, and they both felt the same handling wise.

Not quite as exciting a story, but my first was my late grandmother's 1988 Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra. I got it in 1998, with about 18k miles on it. Not quite the chick magnet I had hoped for, but it was the last car I owned with a front bench seat, which makes for some interesting possibilities with the ladies. these days they have to contort around a gear lever. ;)
I could do a nine hour trip in that thing and come out feeling like I just took a nap. I spun it a bunch of times in the central new york winter, and moved to a jeep. from there, a Ducati Monster, and then the Pcar, which I met last October. We're still in the honeymoon portion of the relationship, I've put 6 thousand miles on her since then, and we're still going strong.

Yeah, everyone remembers their first. It's just that some aren't nearly as pleasant as others.

Mine was an 8-year old 1963 Dodge Dart GT (I know, sounds like an oxymoron). It had a slant six, pushbutton automatic, 6.50x13 bias ply rubber and a prodigious amount of Pennsylvania salt-caused rust.

But I got better. My next car was a 65 Corvair Corsa Convertible, 140 horse (four count 'em, 4 carbs). And I never stopped loving air cooled flat sixes.

1- 1969 Chevy Chevelle 300 Deluxe. Transplanted a 402 big block in it at age 17! :)

2 - 69 Chevelle SS396-350HP

3 - 69 Pontiac Tempest (winter rat)

4 - 66 Buick Wildcat 425 big block (winter rat)

5 - 69 Buick Riviera GS 455 big block

6 - 65 Chevy Impala (winter rat)

7 - 73 VW Super Beetle 'Sports Bug' Edition

8 - 82 VW Scirroco (first brand new car!)

9 - 72 Chevy Impala (winter rat)

10 - Drum Roll Please: 73 Porsche 911!

11 - 85 Honda CRX (new)

12 - 80 VW Jetta

13 - 85 VW Jetta GLI (new)

14 - 86 Subaru 4wd Wagon

15 - 87 Jeep Commanche (new)

16 - 86 Subaru 4wd Turbo Wagon

17 - 80 VW Rabbit

18 - 88 Isuzu Trooper (new)

19 - 92 Subaru 4wd Loyale (new)

20 - 91 Subaru Legacy 4wd Wagon (new)

21 - 91 Jeep Cherokee

22 - 93 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8

23 - 98 Chevy Venture (new)

24 - 98 GMC Sierra (new)

25 - 2000 Chevy Venture (new)

26 - 2000 GMC Sierra (new)

27 - 1971 PORSCHE 911 2.5L!!!!!

28 - 2002 Pontiac Montana (new)

29 - 2002 GMC Sierra 3/4 ton (new)

I knew this list would come in handy some day ;) -- Curt

Wow! Thought I was going to have the only Opel....and I thought that a 69 would have it hands down if anyone else had one anyway...but a 58?!!! I'm impressed!

My first ride was a 69 Opel Kadette Rallye! 1900cc...orange with black rallye stripes, rolled into corners....but, couldn't kill it with a silver bullet. Finally sold it for a 78 Celica...worst car I ever owned!! Believe it or not, got rid of it for a 80 Buick Century...was decent to me...not interesting to drive, but oh it could cruise...yes, there are many cars and many stories.

A Booger Green 72 Chevy Vega. Got it "free" from good ol' Dad when I was about 14. It got me through till Sr. year HS when it (surprise) munched another engine.

This thing wasn't only painted green, it had green vinyl seats, green dash, green headliner, green visors...well, you get the picture!

1962 356 Karmann notch-back coupe. Paid $2,500. Wanted to get a convertible, so looked at a '57 speedster for $1,400 at a dealer, couldn't make it work to trade down, so I passed. The one that got away!!!

1984 Austin Mini 984cc. 25th anniversary model (fancy). Cost £400 as did the insurance. Full of holes but great fun. That was when I was 17 in 1994/5

First car was '62 Corvair Monza Coupe.
Second was '63 Monza Spyder Coupe.
Then '52 Studebaker Starlight V-8 Coupe and '59 Austin Healey 100-6 short-timers to go with '56 Piper TriPacer ...
'65 Corvair Corsa Turbo Coupe, followed by several other '65 Corsas (last one just left 2 weeks ago), and a bunch of other stuff.

Not sure why it took so long to get a Porsche!!!:D

Hmm, not enough Australian cars here....

1970 HQ Holden Kingswood Monaro Wannabe
L34 Spec 308
Ford Toploader
9" diff
4 on the floor and fats all round

Also had a real nice mullet hairdo. Me. Not the car.

Scary thing is, my 911 was brand new then.

VC '89 3.2

so long ago... $80 Simca with bad clutch at 14 years old. we had to push it to get it going. first motorcycle at 9 yrs old. 200+ cars later I'm driving the 911. I've had them all from American Motors to Volvos. currently own Jeep Cherokee, 350 Ford diesel, 60 El Camino, 60 Belair, Karman Ghia, several Dune Buggies, Couple of VW Things, 2 or 3 other Ford trucks. All junkers, but they're mine!

1973 chevy vega GT hatchback
lime green
license plate: NYAAA
nickname: the love machine

i pulled the carpet out, and put white fur in the back where the seats dropped down. unfortunately, i never could talk a woman into jumping in the back with me.

fast forward to now:

1973 911 E
black
license plate: NYAAA
nickname: none

i pulled out the carpet out, and put an RS carpet kit in the back where the seats dropped down. unfortunately, i still can't talk a woman into climbing through the roll bar and jumping in the back with me.

is this strange or what?????

73 Capri. Flared fenders, Ghotti rims:), 235\50 14 rims. Alfa red. Roll cage , corbeau seats, simpson harnesses. Virtually no interior. Hearst shifter, stock tranny-great gearing, kevlar clutch. 78 2.8 motor with isky 283, 451 cam. Edlebrock med. rise manifold, 9.5: pistons, holly 4 barrell, ported heads, mallory unilite dizzy, 3 core radiator, hooker headers, 2.5" exhaust, crossover tube to turbo mufflers. lowered 3 inches, adj sway bars even back then! Adj. front camber plates, strutt brace, kyb gas shocks, mono leaf springs, pan hard rod. Custom bumpers.
Fast as hell!! 3rd place in ca. capri club. yeee haaaa.
Car was stolen and stripped-bummerrrrrr.

I bought a'67 Pontiac Acadian from my dad (think 4 -door Nova). It had three-on-the-tree and two-too many doors, but it taught me about trailing throttle oversteer the first time I encountered black ice. If the roof hadn't been crushed from improper parking (upside-down in the ditch), it would have been condemmed from the holes in the floor anyway.:rolleyes:
Les

In 1975, my senior year in high school, I bought a 1966 VW Beetle. My firste introduction to German engineering. It had a 6 volt electrical system that needed a 12 volt transformer to operate a standard radio. Great car until I put transmission fluid into the gear case? That was the end of that car!

Wow, I can't believe someone else had a push button Dodge Dart! Mine was a faded green '64 that my grandfather gave me (also in Penna.). The heater was broken for a winter, so I carried an ice scraper for the inside of the windshield.

a 1972 Volkswagen Super Beetle.

4 different colors (mostly rust), but some grey prime and blue bondo, with a small patch of the original light blue color peeking through it all. The two front fenders would slap against the body with driving faster than 40 mph, they were so rusted out they were not actually attached to the body from about the midpoint at the top of the fender down to the running boards....oops forgot...it had no running boards..they rusted off!

It did get me around and in the winter all my buddes loved it 'cause it was the only one that actually started. It also had a monster stereo system that could have blown out the back window if pressed. Ahhh...what memories.

My first car was a 66 mustang fastback with a hi-po 289 producing 305 hp. It had the 4 speed transmission, and was in mint condition. I had to sell it because of the non stop problem of worn out rear tires and clutches. Then it was onto my all time favorite, 84 rabbit gti with a 2 liter 8 vavle motor, euro downpipe, techtonics ss exhaust, throttle body, big cam, neuspeed springs and sways, etc... At about 1900lbs with 142hp, it was a quick and lively car.

Here's one for the UK contingent:

A 1972 Triumph 2.5 PI saloon (in 1984), straight six from TR6, Triumph 2000 body. Four speed manual with overdrive on 3/4, all independant suspension. Took it over from my dad, who said "If you can make it run, it's yours". It just needed some re-con injectors. It had Lucas mechanical fuel injection and 132 hp, would leave an XR3 (the tuned Ford hatch of the day) for dead...

I had it 6 years and 45000 happy miles. It was a great car. then the floorpan rusted through....

1960 VW BUG- 36 HP OF RAW POWER
HEAT LIKE A MOUSE BREATHING ON YOUR LEFT FOOT- NWITH A LITTLE OIL SMOKE IN IT
FIRST NEW CAR- A 1984 GTI
I COULDNT BELIEVE THAT 914-6 KEPT AHEAD OF ME AT 100MPH ON RTE 128

64 Pontiac Tempest with a 326 2 barrel V8, dual exhausts, Konis, wide 50 series tires, and 2 speed slushbox. I beat that mid sized "tank" over Mulholland for years learning how to drive. It was accompanied for a while by my first Mini, a Cooper S (which promptly broke every time the Pontiac was down for repairs- evil lil bugger!) Then the Targa came along, which I still own today.



70 911E Targa to Spyder project
70 914-6 3.0
90 "993 GT 2" n/a race car
73 RS touring
66 427SC Cobra
65 GT 350
71 Ferrari Daytona coupe
etc
"Never having enough cars is a disease!"

1963 Plymouth Fury, push button gears and a lever to put in park. All located on the dash. Would smoke the wheels...2nd car was a Volkswagen Wagen locked the engine due to no oil...ouch

An intersting guy was my uncle, passed away now, but I remmenber him saying he had owned 65 cars (it was about 75 by the time he died) and hadn't owned a jap one yet. Mind you he hated the Japanese, he used to shoot them at the end of WW2 in the pacific islands because they wouldn't surrender. Anyway bak to the car story; he had owned two different Ferrari's, an E type, a super charged Austin Healy, a AC Acceca which was a model or two before the Cobra and various Itlain cars. His first was a Model T Ford. He liked the 911 and his last car was a Audi A4.

1966 Toyota Landcruiser with no hard top, a nearly worthless heater, and camo paint. Great for winters in Utah. then two vws a 944 and finally the 911.

The Same Fiat 124 Coupe that started this thread.

Never ran right but always ran.

And you thought a 915 was a pain to shift correctly.

Scott

A 1968 Cougar XR-7. Traded it a few years later for a 1964 356 C.

74 vega gt. (pssst, don't tell anybody.) one north carolina magistrate could not believe i got it up to 82 mph on a downhill strech of i 40 with a tail wind. he still fined me 50 bucks.

My first car was a 69 convertable firebird. It had the crappy inline 6 and needed alot of attention. It was still pretty neat. Totaled that puppy into a tree looking for a dropped roach. O well least im alive. Then i went onto mustangs and had 2 shelbys and as i got older the cars got more expensive. Wish i still had the shelbys.

1960 VW bug

'75 Mercedes 300D (older than me). It was the only car I was allowed to drive.... Got it as rust bucket, after extensive body work (from same person who has my 911 right now) and a tran it was mint, spent many a cold night under that car. Two weeks later it saved my life.......

I had a truck in my backseat, he decided not to stop for traffic.... He hit me going 60mph and sent me underneath a '66 chevelle. That would have been an ideal car with a gas engine -

got an '86 honda crx with the insurance money and it was fun, but not the same. I liked the attention the old MB got from old timers at gas stations and stuff.

Anthony

Bought 196*? Epic Envoy at 15, used it to pack all my belongings and move out at 16, never looked back.

At 17, I had my dream car, the 1973 Datsun 240Z.

Bought my Porsche dream car at 42, now I'm dreaming about a 930.....

(Wish, Want, Need, Got - the order of obtaining "stuff")
I NEED a 930 - Just not quite there yet?

Good thread, enjoyed reading your stories, some real lucky b*st*rds here? :)

Early 70's Datsun 1200 deluxe. Learned how to do hand brake turns at 16. Wonderful car, I think it's the reason I am still so fond of small rear wheel drive cars!!!

My first car was a 1962 VW Beetle. I bought it in 1970 for $450.00
It was repainted by the PO and was metallic copper color with a hood scoop. The hood scoop brought fresh air in through vents where the radio use to be. It also had the ragtop sunroof, a heater that worked even in the summer, brakes that didnt work when it got cold and plenty of hidden rust. It was a great car and it was always packed with friends having fun.
Matthew

My first car was a 1970 Plymouth Duster 3 speed manual, with the shifter at the steering column, though it's a manual, it is actually a semi auto....( shift from 2nd to 3rd automatically when htereis a big bump on the road )

First: 1969 C10 Chevy inherited from my Dad - I put $500 in to it for paint and never had a problem with it.

Then:
1984 Chevy Chevette - college car
1982 Olds Firenza - 2nd college car after the 'vette was totalled
1993 Olds Cutlass - first new car
1964 C10 Chevy
1972 C10 Chevy - purch from Dad and still has only 46,000 miles
1992 Pontiac Bonneville - time for first four door
1986 911 Carrera
1993 740 Volvo Wagon
1978 911 SC
1980 911 SC
2001 VW Passat - totalled
2202 VW Passat
1973 VW Bus

That's it so far. Can't remember the year right now but there was a Nissan pickup in there somewhere that we took off the mother-in-law's hands after her husband passed. That one lasted about two months and blew a head gasket. I paid $1000 to pay off her loan and was able to sell it with a blown gasket for $350. I think the wheels were probably worth $300 though.

Cars, my downfall in life-
77 Camaro. Rusty Hawaiian POS. Learned Teenage wire butchery on it.
69 Camaro - remodeled parents garage with motor oil, tools and antifreeze. Started family fights reguarly :)
89 Acura - Parents made me. See aforementioned car. College dropout vehicle. Lowered, tint, stereo ($12k in music!), etc. etc. A trend quickly forms that I shall became notorious for .
80 633 CSI. POS. Bought this car wrong, 1st german car. lowered blah blah
86 325 ES. One of the best cars I've owned. Paid too much though. Dropped springs, the usual crap
90 Corvette. Traded my beloved BMW for this POS. 24K on clock, and had squeaks and rattles. Learned the reality of GM in the 90's with this car. Worst car I've owned. Chipped, custom exhuast, big beats. Needed hobby car so I bought a:
67 Camaro. Started life with 250/6/pglide/10 bolt. Ended with 408SB/T350 -3500 stall / 4:10 12 bolt. Beautiful car, ran 11's. Surprise surprise-lowered on Weld's. Now my neighbors hate me!
Got tired of huge gas bills and Vette part bills so those two sat in garage and bought another daily driver:
69 Bug. $400.00 drove forever. Cheap and rusty. Couldn't pick up chicks with it though. Not lowered or anything!
Tired of everything, sold Vette, Camaro (huge mistake, still kicking myself), and the bug and bought a:
91 Taurus SHO. Overrated, but OK car. Beats. Lasted a whole 2 mos. w/o hotrods so bought a:
95 Formula Firebird. AKA: screaming chicken. Quickly reminded of GM quality, so sold it. Nothing but power programmer. Traded Taurus afterwards for (biggest mistake yet)
99 Chrysler Sebring LXI. Eibachs, big beats, about as firm as a rotten Watermelon when comes to resale value. I looked stupid driving it so sold it and decided to take a break from everything. Bought an:
84 GTI. Wonderful car. Ugly, but got me everywhere. My only car for 1 year. No car payments, I can save and pay $$$ for next rig, no desire to modify (except big stereo, gotta do SOMETHING to it) whist I pondered what would eventually end this quest for the PERFECT hotrod.
Then I discovered it (so I thought)
81SC. Bought 7/2002. Same week get as a gift my
77 Mercedes from Uncle. Promptly dumped way more $$$ into Porsche than anyone with a working brain should. Given my past history, it was par for the course. Love it, but 7 month itch is coming up, possibly a trade for - the NEW ideal car:


A 73 RS clone, or a nice 930?

any takers?

rjp

First: a 78 VW Rabbit 1100 cc/50hp which i upgraded to a 1600cc, realy a great nimble car until i totalled it.
Then a 84 Rabbit, a 89 Rabbit 16v, a 93 Rabbit VR6. All great cars with great memories and which i would have kept indefinitely given space and money.
Then a excursion in an Italian car, an 99 Alfa 156 which has great looks, is nice to drive (for little people) but does not measure up in build quality to a german car (it basically falls apart).
Then a 2000 BMW 320D which does 23 mpg at 200 kilometers per hour.
Then temporarily a Mitsubishi Galant which I nearly wrecked because of its inability to break (comparing to the beemer)
Now a 2002 BMW 320D which is even nicer to drive then the first one.