First car?

[thestrangequark]

1963 Dodge Dart with a slant 6 engine and push button automatic transmission. That thing was a tank that sipped gas. Then I got a '72 Plymouth Fury muscle car that was a hot rod.

My mom drove a Dodge Dart for awhile when I was a kid. I'm not sure the year -- it was probably hobbled together from a few models. It was what one would call a Rez (short for reservation, 'cause we indigenous) Car: one door was a different color to all the others, it was held together mostly with duct tape, the driver's side window only rolled down if you pounded on it just right, and the passenger's side not at all, and there was a boom box taped to the dash instead of a working stereo system. It didn't go in reverse, and our neighbors, the big, indigenous bodybuilder brothers, used to pull it out of the driveway when my mom wanted to go somewhere.
When I was still young enough to be in a booster seat we were driving in the mountains on a lonely road. The car jostled and rattled as if we'd run over something small, but my older sister looked back and couldn't see anything in the road. A few minutes later another clank, bump, and rattle. This kept on for several minutes, and in the meantime a Washington State Trooper happened to come along behind us.
Well, it turns out the car had had enough of its mortal coil, and was shedding it bit by little bit: pieces were literally falling off into the road.
My mother became increasingly distressed, and when the transmission fell out, she finally pulled over, the State Trooper right behind.

I remember his swagger, as he walked up to the car. He picked up some of the smaller pieces along the way. In my memory he had aviator sunglasses -- I don't know if this is truth or not, but it would have been the 80s, so it's highly likely.

He got to the driver's side window and knocked, and my mom tried desperately to jiggle the handle and pound the window down. Finally she yelled through the window that it wouldn't budge, and she opened the door. Which fell off.

The trooper began to laugh, my mother began to cry, and I got to ride in a tow truck.

This is an absolutely true story of a Dodge Dart, and those of you who are Facebook Friends with my mother can ask her if you don't believe me.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Me auntie had a 1971 Cadillac, I wanna say the sedan DeVille. Also about 1 mile long.

 

[Gary7]

Me auntie had a 1971 Cadillac, I wanna say the sedan DeVille. Also about 1 mile long.

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The parents of a high school friend of mine had one of those Cadillac road-boats. I still remember that comically huge speedometer, with the long angled needle that would arc left and right. The ridiculously light power steering. The "living room sofa" style seats. It was a very comfortable ride. But I felt badly for my friend when he had to parallel park it. He tried to avoid doing that unless the open curb space was huge. I distinctly remember one of his friends taking the guy's golden retriever and lowering him into a space around the engine. The dog actually fit! Of course, it wasn't while the car was running... but it just showed the absurd usage of space by many American auto manufacturers at the time. I felt so out of place with the technology of those days. Many of the car designs we see today, I had in my head... waiting for them to be made. In some ways, I wish I'd gone into automotive design as a profession!

 

[TrickyDickie]

I distinctly remember one of his friends taking the guy's golden retriever and lowering him into a space around the engine. The dog actually fit! Of course, it wasn't while the car was running... but it just showed the absurd usage of space by many American auto manufacturers at the time.

It was just that era's version of 'crumple zones'.

The hood length of the 71-73 Mustangs was 69 inches. Shortly after I bought my '73, one of my half-brothers remarked "Girls could sunbathe on that!"

 

[TrickyDickie]

"It was miles long, with a maw that could swallow a dozen starships!"

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

The hood length of the 71-73 Mustangs was 69 inches. Shortly after I bought my '73, one of my half-brothers remarked "Girls could sunbathe on that!"

Steve Dahl (sometime in the 1980's): "You don't pork da broad in da car, you pork da broad on da hood of da car". Some of those cars had plenty of room there for a friggin orgy.

 

[TrickyDickie]

I was looking for some images from the 1978 version of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' and was reminded that we had a car almost identical to the one that Donald Sutherland drove in the movie. It's a 1968 Ford Custom 2 door sedan. (The Custom was basically a Galaxie 500 minus the extra chrome trim.) Ours was the same tan as the movie car, but ours had a matching tan interior whereas the movie car had a black interior.

Well, pod me.

 

[May 20]

Gray 1981 Chevy Citation.

My first car was a Citation, too. I don't remember the year. Frankly, other than the fact that I had *a* car, I really didn't like it much and didn't drive it for very long.

 

[scotpens]

Steve Dahl (sometime in the 1980's): "You don't pork da broad in da car, you pork da broad on da hood of da car". Some of those cars had plenty of room there for a friggin orgy.

The 1958-1960 Lincoln Continental had a rear deck that you could land a helicopter on.

 

[Kronos]

What a back window, polar opposite of what we have today.

 

[TrickyDickie]

What a back window, polar opposite of what we have today.

You could actually roll them down on some models like that. Friend of our neighbor back in the day had a '59 Mercury with a roll-down rear window.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Take the boot lid off and you have a Ranchero.

 

[Doom Shepherd]

1982 Ford Thunderbird. Maroon. A true tank of a car. And yet somehow mine managed to get 30 MPG highway.

Possibly because I didn't know enough about proper tire inflation.

 

[Herbert]

My first car (hand me down from family) was the always awesome Plymouth Volare. Don't remember what year but it was this puke green color.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

My first car (hand me down from family) was the always awesome Plymouth Volare. Don't remember what year but it was this puke green color.

I didn't realize how much those things looked like Ford Granadas until this moment.