Cars have a special place in the hearts of many people. I realize for some people cars are just a way to get from point A to point B. I’m not one of them!
My First Car
I learned to drive on the 63 Plymouth family sedan. It was beige with a push button automatic transmission. My Mom took me out for driving lessons, but I terrified her, and she gave up. My Dad stepped in, but he worked second shift six days a week so he could only take me out on Sundays. When I took my drivers test the examiner passed me but said I needed a lot more practice!
First Car In My Own Name
My first car in my name was a 62 Ford Galaxy 500 given to me by my Uncle Clyde. I loved that car. It seemed to be about 50 feet long and had a bench front seat the size of a living room sofa. It had a huge V-8 engine and could really move. The power steering only worked in one direction and it had an aftermarket air conditioner that took up all the space under the dash. I rarely used the air conditioner because the thing sucked up so much horsepower. I added chrome wheels and air shocks to raise the back end to make it look real cool, even if the headlights now pointed at the ground!
First New Car
After I got my first real job (paying a whopping $6K a year) I needed a car replacement for the long commute. The Ford was nearing 100,000 miles and cars never lasted past that mark back then. Of course I started looking at used sports cars like a Triumph or Datsun Z, but my Dad bribed me with down payment assistance to buy new because I’m sure he knew he would be the one to keep fixing a used sports car!
I ended up with a blue 1975 Chevy Monza. It cost $3742 brand new and I financed it for $99/month for three years. The Monza has quite a history. It was supposed to be Chevy’s first rotary engine design, but they had trouble getting the rotary engine perfected. Engine choices were the four-cylinder Vega engine or a little 8 cylinder that was so tight in the engine compartment that you couldn’t change the spark plugs. I went with the four-cylinder engine. It ended up blowing its aluminum head gasket at 40,000 miles and I traded it in.
Favorite Car
My favorite car is a tough one because I’ve liked all my cars for different reasons. If I had to choose I would say my 1977 American Motors AMX. It was bright lime green and had fender flares, ground effects, and louvered back windows shades. With its bright chrome wheels it looked fantastic. I remember it was the first car I picked out on my own without parental guidance. The payments were $141 a month for 42 months and I was terrified I wouldn’t be able to keep up the payments. Somehow I did. I ended up getting married and we went on our honeymoon in the Poconos (PA) in that car.
Road Trips
I love long road trips and most of my cars were taken cross country at least once. My favorites have to be a couple of Conversion Vans. One was a 1991 Dodge and the other a 1996 Dodge. They were great. The 96 was incredible with a luxury interior to die for. My five year old son did a couple cross country trips happily watching movies on the van’s built in VCR and TV (no flat screens back then!) That thing was so expensive it nearly bankrupted us but was great fun.
I could go on and on with my car stories and will at some point. I’m sure everyone has their own car stories they could share!
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