Thursday, October 21, 2010

Getting To Know You Thursday....My First Car

My oldest child turned 13 last month.  C is....well, she's a lot like me and by this I mean, she's a little accident prone.  Hubby keeps reminding me that we only have three years until she starts driving.  EEK!  The thought of this terrifies me for several reasons, the first being my own history.  I have a little secret to reveal......I am not the best driver in the world, but don't tell my parents.  I used to hear, "You're following to close" every time they rode with me.  My sister applies her "imaginary passenger brake" everytime she's in  my car.  I have had a few accidents in my time, although not all of them were my fault and luckily none of them were serious.  Let me give you an example....the night before my driver's test, I begged my mom to let me take her car to the grocery store to pick up a few things for her so she wouldn't have to get out.  The store was about 2 miles from the house so she finally agreed (after 20 minutes of begging) to let me take her car.  I backed out of the garage and somehow crossed the driveway and backed into the side mirror on my dad's truck.  OOPS!  These are the kind of minor fender benders I have had my entire driving life.  I hope and pray C is a better driver than me.  BUT, the realization that her driving test is right around the corner, got me to thinking about my first car. 



Isn't this Jeep gorgeous?  This is what I wanted, but my parents said it was too dangerous. 


Ahhh, an '84 Toyota 4 x 4.  I'm a small town girl in Arkansas and I love muddin on four wheelers and big trucks!  My dad said girls didn't drive trucks.  Hmmm.  Shot down again. 

BUT, my Dad did take me with him to pick out my first car.  What did I end up with?



A 1979 (I think) Mercury Capri.  Since I picked it out, it wasn't a surprise, but that was okay.  I loved that car.  My dad insisted I got a standard, which this was, so I would know how to drive one in the future.  Very Smart!  Now, if I'm ever on The Amazing Race and in the backroads of Germany and race to my car and it's a standard, I'll know how to drive one.  Thanks Dad!

So, what was your first car?  Was it a big surprise or did you gete to pick it out?  Did you get surprised in some really cool way?  Did you walk outside and find it in the driveway with a big red bow?  Did you unwrap the keys in a gift box?  Did you pay for it yourself or was it purchased for you?  I'd love to hear about it!




Signature

10 comments:

  1. haha, great story! You're the best storyteller!

    I begged and begged for a car and I didn't get one until I was 18. It was only for one year and I had to promise to drive my little sister anywhere I wanted. I had a 2000 Hyundai Elantra that was leased for a year. It was supposed to be bright cherry red because that's what I picked out, but it turned out to be a darker red. Anyway, I dressed that thing up and accessorized like crazy. I had the fuzzy leopard dice, a zillion things hanging from the rear view mirror (my parents hated it), a dancing Hawaiian man in the back, a sign that said "Got Gas?" and I blasted rap music like crazy when I drove my friends around. The best part was the lip gloss prints on my driver window where my friend kissed the glass and I could never wash it off!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well.... my first car to drive around was a nine passenger station wagon. Back in "the day" very few kids/girls got their own car. We drove a family left over.

    Right about the time I was getting my license, though, my dad purchased not one but two bum around cars to spread out among his four kids. They were both mavericks. One was a '73 and the other a '75. We pretty much drove them to death.

    In fact, I was still driving the green one when I got married and started my first job. About two days before my newly ordered Cutlass Sierra came in, the old green bomb exploded in the school parking lot.

    We paid someone to tow her away.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Being the first of five children to drive, I had to make due with my mom's Implala, until I was a senior. I don't remember, but I'm sure my Dad took me to pick it out because it wasn't a surprise. It was an older model, cream colored, "automatic shift" VW Beetle. I loved that car. I could zip around like lightning. The deal was, he would buy the car, and when I graduated, I went to work and took over the payments. Sounded good to me. My boyfriend (future husband) even gave me money to help with the down payment. Sweet!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my goodness, my first car was an old Buick (Skylark, I think). It was ugly, it was kind of beat up, and it cost $600. But my dad did pay for it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. My first car was a 98 Toyota Corolla, forest green. My mom bought it b/c I was too scared 9and stubborn) to learn to drive a manual. Funny thing is, the manual was my dad's old Mercedes, and since he had passed away it would have been mine. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I drove the Corolla until about 3 years ago....

    ReplyDelete
  6. Haha just make sure it's not snowing when you're racing to that car in Germany lol. p.s. all the roads are backroads lol in the middle of the city you will find farms & you'll probably end up a gazillion miles from an autobahn. So don't get lost cuz autobahn exits are far apart & you can't just pop a quick uturn at an exit. Nooooooo you have to drive like 20 miles before you see the next autobahn ramp & you're praying you picked the right direction when you got off lol

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've always had to share a vehicle (the first family car was an Aerostar Mom-mobile.)....
    I didn't have my own car til I was 28...an Acura Integra. I loved that car so much. I never felt so cool in my life. Then we got into an accident with it. :-/
    Now, I got nothin'I can drive.....the hub has a Probe (manual) and the daughter has a van that I can't see over the dashboard. Meh. If I need to go somewhere, I have to ask. Sucks.
    Ah well....some day....

    ReplyDelete
  8. My first car looked a lot like your's it was a 1981 mustang. My parents bought it new and it was a lemon then, so after several years of her using it then when she got a new car in 86 it sat in the back of my Dads business until 1990 when I could drive. By the time I got it was a huge mess. But hey I was happy to be rolling and not walking.

    ReplyDelete
  9. My first car was a (new-to-me) Pontiac Fiero (I think I spelled that right). It was white. It was a little 2-seater and I loved it. I bought it with some money I had saved and had to get a small line of credit at the bank too.
    Now I drive the mommy-mobile minivan :) and I just paid it off last month. Woohoo!
    Thanks for stopping my to check out my Cookie Mush :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh I wanted a truck for my first car too! I guess us Southern Girls think alike. My first car didn't have AC, I didn't mind. I was just glad it had 4 wheels and moved!

    ReplyDelete