What was your first car?

[Fryowa]

I have a vulgar phrase that I use for every one of those questions. I've had to call customer service before and when they ask me the question and I respond with it there is usually a bit of unease but there's never any doubt that they have the right person.

Cotton-headed ninny muggins?

 

[Chickenlounge]

I have a vulgar phrase that I use for every one of those questions. I've had to call customer service before and when they ask me the question and I respond with it there is usually a bit of unease but there's never any doubt that they have the right person.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Cotton-headed ninny muggins?

I can't say it because I would give it away, but it has the f-word in it. I remember one day I was prompted to pick some questions for my account or whatever and they were just ridiculous, like "who was your best friend in 3rd grade?" and "what was your favorite cartoon when you were 10?" I remember I was on the second question asking myself "is there any way that in 28 months when you need this information again you will ever be able to recall it again?" and when I concluded that no I wouldn't be able to I went flat out vulgar. Been doing it for 10+ years now.

 

[Grady]

Actually the Park Avenue was my favorite. I bought it in '07 and it was loaded with low miles, some old lady had it and never drove it. Was like sitting in a La Z Boy and absolutely floated down the road. Had the 3800 so I had gobs of power getting on the interstate, passing people, etc.

I'd love to have it back and I'd drive it happily for the rest of my life.

You nailed it. I bought one of those from my Dad when he traded for a newer version, and I drove it til it rusted through. Loved that car. Thought about tricking it out, low-rider style, but never got it done.

 

[Glass1/2fullguy]

Your folks must've been LOADED to afford insurance on a 18 year old with that car.

Actually the insurance company didn’t differentiate the standard thunderbird from the super coupe so it wasn’t in the same category as that of a camero, mustang, etc. even though it was nearly as fast. My parents made sure to check before telling me they’d take care of the insurance. With a household income of $60k it was definitely a topic of conversation.

 

[Seth53]

1972 Toyota Coralla. Not many of those around Waterloo back then. I got access to it in 1974, put in a great casstte player and killer speakers and drove it to h.s. every day, then down south when in volunteer service. Blew out the head gasket in '77 on a freeway in Tennessee...towed it to a shop which had never seen a Toyota before. They installed a new gasket which lasted 60 miles and then the engine blew, so installed another engine. I had a huge "Legalize Marijuana" bumper sticker on the back windshield, which resulted in regularly getting pulled over by the cops in the south for no particular reason -- other than the sticker.

Drove it back and forth to CA when going to college from '78-'83. My new girlfriend in SF was supposed to drive it to pick me up at the end of a road race I was in, but turns out she'd never driven a stick before, the gas pedal stuck, and she blew a piston completely through the engine...those 1500 cc engines only cost a few hundred bucks, so I put in engine #2.

Favorite story was in '84 when my future wife was visiting from CA. I was working on a political campaign driving from Iowa City to Marshalltown on Thanksgiving weekend. Those early Toyotas used really thin sheet metal and the floor was rusted out and by then I was putting newspapers over a sizeable hole in the floor. It started snowing, first a flurry, then moderate snow, and eventually blizzard conditions. Snow was piling up on the road, and there was snow literally flying up through the floor on the passenger side where she was sitting. Being from southern California, she'd never seen anything quite like that before.

I had a college buddy of mine who drove a 72 Bug with rust holes in the passenger side floorboard. If you moved the cardboard and floor mats he used to cover the holes, you could actually see the road. Never knew how he passed inspections. And with the putrid heating of a bug, it got damm cold.

 

[Grady]

I had a college buddy of mine who drove a 72 Bug with rust holes in the passenger side floorboard. If you moved the cardboard and floor mats he used to cover the holes, you could actually see the road. Never knew how he passed inspections. And with the putrid heating of a bug, it got damm cold.

My best friend in h.s. had a '75 Love Bug, lime green. They were definitely not meant for Iowa winters -- between a basically non-existent front windshield defroster and no heat you're right on the money, those rides were frigid.

 

[okeefe4prez]

I had a college buddy of mine who drove a 72 Bug with rust holes in the passenger side floorboard. If you moved the cardboard and floor mats he used to cover the holes, you could actually see the road. Never knew how he passed inspections. And with the putrid heating of a bug, it got damm cold.

I once had a radiator hose bust on a Buick Century and drove from Durty Dodge down to Neck Moines on Christmas Day with the heat blowing nothing but snow. I found one gas station open, threw Prestone in, it was empty before I left the parking lot. They didn't have any duct tape or hose tape. I had to scrape the inside of the windows while driving. That sucked.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

I have a vulgar phrase that I use for every one of those questions. I've had to call customer service before and when they ask me the question and I respond with it there is usually a bit of unease but there's never any doubt that they have the right person.

Only you.

 

[Dadman]

65 pontiac catalina. Bought it from my high school English teacher. Then i traded it in for my first true love, 70 camaro SS with split bumper option, 350 4 bbl, 4 speed. True chick magnet. Lost my virginity because of that car. Lost my license too after more than one speeding ticket.

 

[ShemHawk]

1951 Ford Tudor Custom Deluxe (with Continental Kit) 1978 Dodge Magnum 1976 Chrysler Cordoba 1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis 1991 Chevy Caprice 2001 Ford Crown Victoria
2003 Jaguar X-Type 2004 Jaguar S-Type 2011 Ford Fusion (current) 2005 Jaguar S-Type	Wife: 2004 Chrysler Pacifica 2009 Chrysler Town & Country 2022 Ford Explorer Limited (current)

 

[Chickenlounge]

1987 Mercury Grand Marquis
1991 Chevy Caprice
2001 Ford Crown Victoria

Were you a cop at one point?

 

[Fryowa]

Were you a cop at one point?

I drove a Caprice for my driver's ed car in 1994. Those things were absolutely huge. Just massive.

Four and a half thousand pounds with no passengers and over 18 feet long. Just unbelievable.

Our school had 2 of the V8 station wagon models and they hauled ass for that amount of weight. Imagine nowadays teaching a kid to drive in an 18 foot long, 4,500 pound RWD tank with a 350 V8.

 

[ShemHawk]

Were you a cop at one point?

No, but I did stay at a couple Holiday Inn Expresses.

 

[ShemHawk]

I drove a Caprice for my driver's ed car in 1994. Those things were absolutely huge. Just massive.

Four and a half thousand pounds with no passengers and over 18 feet long. Just unbelievable.

Our school had 2 of the V8 station wagon models and they hauled ass for that amount of weight. Imagine nowadays teaching a kid to drive in an 18 foot long, 4,500 pound RWD tank with a 350 V8.

My Caprice was 214" (17.83 ft) and 4080 lbs. Big, but not so much compared to what I drove in high school. In high school I drove my dad's 1978 Chrysler New Yorker (until I got that Magnum). It was 232.7" (19.39 ft) and 4832 lbs. 400 ci V8 w/4 bbl.

Picture this in a two-door...straight up Midwest mafia.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

1951 Ford Tudor Custom Deluxe (with Continental Kit) 1978 Dodge Magnum 1976 Chrysler Cordoba 1984 Dodge Daytona Turbo 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis 1991 Chevy Caprice 2001 Ford Crown Victoria
2003 Jaguar X-Type 2004 Jaguar S-Type 2011 Ford Fusion (current) 2005 Jaguar S-Type	Wife: 2004 Chrysler Pacifica 2009 Chrysler Town & Country 2022 Ford Explorer Limited (current)

Let me guess, your wife met ya when you were rolling with the Jags!?

You peeked my interest, what was the Continental Kit?

 

[MelroseHawkins]

I drove a Caprice for my driver's ed car in 1994. Those things were absolutely huge. Just massive.

Four and a half thousand pounds with no passengers and over 18 feet long. Just unbelievable.

Our school had 2 of the V8 station wagon models and they hauled ass for that amount of weight. Imagine nowadays teaching a kid to drive in an 18 foot long, 4,500 pound RWD tank with a 350 V8.

Our old station wagon that I grew up with had to have a 400 in it or something. It could haul. I learned to drive in that car. Those front ends were long and spacious to accommodate those engines. Plenty of room to work on them.

When pulling into a parking space, it felt like you were starting the turn 50 ft away. It was always angle parking. I think when the cars started to get smaller and front ends smaller the angle parking kind of went away and we started to see more straight parking in lots. All the large department stores had angle parking back in the day.

 

[thedukeofearl]

1953 Buick with no reverse on the transmission

Thirty-Five Dollar, No Holler

She was a Gem of the first quality

There was a rather unused road South of Euclid in Oak Park that I would park on with
my girlfriend

Close by, there was a trail thru the woods that led behind Riverview that we would use to get in free

One night my pals snuck up behind me with headlights off and bumped the rear bumper

We jumped out of our skins

Got out to see what was happening and the Lads were roaring with glee

 

[HuckFinn]

1953 Buick with no reverse on the transmission

Thirty-Five Dollar, No Holler

She was a Gem of the first quality

There was a rather unused road South of Euclid in Oak Park that I would park on with
my girlfriend

Close by, there was a trail thru the woods that led behind Riverview that we would use to get in free

One night my pals snuck up behind me with headlights off and bumped the rear bumper

We jumped out of our skins

Got out to see what was happening and the Lads were roaring with glee

Whew. For a minute I thought you two had to hurry and get dressed (by the dashboard lights).

 

[ShemHawk]

Let me guess, your wife met ya when you were rolling with the Jags!?

You peeked my interest, what was the Continental Kit?

I met my wife right after I got the first Jag, but it actually had the opposite effect. It made her reluctant to go out with me b/c she figured I was probably a pretentious pr!ck. Clearly, she was confusing Jag owners with BMW owners, but it all worked out okay.

As for the continental kit, that's just the extended bumper with the spare tire. My car was very similar to this one, only robin egg blue.