First car?
- Thread starter retroenzo
- Start date
If a Honda was your first car you'd be dead in the grave and someone else would still be driving it.
1987 Plymouth Reliant. The air conditioning didn't work. The radio went on the fritz the night I went to a U2 concert and never worked right again. The rearview mirror fell off and had to be cemented back on and never touched again. But that car lasted me for 21 years through all kinds of weather, and the only reason I got rid of it was because of a serious leak in the fuel line that I decided not to fix.
If I was filthy rich, I'd probably get another somewhere and have it restored just for sentimental value.
If I was filthy rich, I'd probably get another somewhere and have it restored just for sentimental value.
Nice post! My first car was a 1987 Escort EXP dark blue with grey interior. Total POS paid $1300 for it back in September of 93 just after my 16th birthday and I drove it till March of 97, by the time I got rid of that car it wouldn't even start if it was raining or if the air was moist! Nothing like your first car and still to this day I'll from time to time have a dream about driving that car.
Currently drive a 2015 Mustang so I think I've upgraded a little!
Currently drive a 2015 Mustang so I think I've upgraded a little!
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1st Car, 1972 Datsun 510 made from 5 hulks I towed to our property with my dad's pickup..
1st New Car 1984 Colt Turbo GTS..
1st Certified pre owned car..
My current pride and Joy..
2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo...
Always was into small efficient yet fast (comparatively) cars..
1st New Car 1984 Colt Turbo GTS..
1st Certified pre owned car..
My current pride and Joy..
2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo...
Always was into small efficient yet fast (comparatively) cars..
If a Honda was your first car you'd be dead in the grave and someone else would still be driving it.
Speak for yourself...
My current car is a 2007 Honda CR-V and it's the greatest car I've ever owned. I am keeping this thing for as long as it runs. I've never had a better car in my life.
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1st Car, 1972 Datsun 510 made from 5 hulks I towed to our property with my dad's pickup..
That Datsun is really cool....reminds me of an AFX car I had back in the day, like this one:
Forgot to post a pic of the license plates I had on the Elite :
I had to chuckle at a girl in college who thought Torinos were only family cars and not sporty enough. Drivers like Bill Elliott and Buddy Baker had good luck with them in NASCAR!
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I had to chuckle at a girl in college who thought Torinos were only family cars and not sporty enough. Drivers like Bill Elliott and Buddy Baker had good luck with them in NASCAR!
My parents liked the Ford Gran Torino when they first saw the tv series 'Starsky and Hutch'. They found a good deal locally on this white 1974 Torino base hardtop. Note the different grille treatment from the Gran version. The base grille design was inspired by the Aston Martin of the late 60s, which you see in a photo below. The 1972 through 1976 Torinos don't generally get the respect that they deserve. Ours was the first car that I drove and we had it for a total of 14 years. If not for the heavily salted roads in the winter here in upstate New York, I would still have it. Contrary to a lot of opinions out there, the Torinos handled very well for their size. Even our mechanic agreed with that. Performance? Ours had the small block 302 Windsor V8 with 2 barrel carb and full emissions equipment installed. Yet I vividly recall a day when my dad passed another vehicle while going up a long, steep hill and I was in the back seat watching the speedometer as it reached 90mph and the engine still had power to spare. A lot of the critics may have owned cars with the big block 400 Cleveland V8 with 2 barrel carb, which was a heavier engine with a poorer power-to-weight ratio and handling that was adversely affected.
For sales in Venezuela in 1974, Ford still called the car 'Fairlane' which was a name that was not used by Ford in the U.S. after the 1970 model year.
The late 60s Aston Martin:
These 3 images are of a 1976 Gran Torino that was actually used in the filming of 'Starsky and Hutch'. The shade of red was a special order color and not a regular production Ford color. Whenever there was a case like that, Ford installed silver bumper filler panels, front and rear. More recent yellow Crown Vic taxi cabs have the silver panels too.
We also had a 1973 Gran Torino wagon for a while:
I also had a 1973 Ranchero GT for a while. Very similar to this one, except that mine was a light yellow-green. It did have the wide yellow stripe with the smaller black stripes surrounding it. Someone added amber lights to this one. All four of the headlights on mine were clear:
I also had a 1979 Ranchero GT. From 1977 through 1979, the Torino became the LTD II. It had retro stacked headlights. I like the design. A lot of people don't. I added 1960 Ford Galaxie cone-shaped wheel covers to my Ranchero to add to the vintage look. I also added a U.S. Navy grille badge to replace the standard one. From 1972 through 1979 there were a lot of Ford and Mercury parts that interchanged across various models. My Ranchero came from the factory with the instrument cluster bezel as in the first photo below. The second photo shows where I changed to a blue vinyl bezel from a Mercury Cougar and also added a Ford 3-spoke sport steering wheel.
These are photos of an LTD II Sport. My car was a base 2 door hardtop but was the same Light Jade with darker green accents. I ended up selling my LTD II and Ranchero GT to a guy as a package deal.
I also had this 1975 Ford Elite for a while. It was a Torino variant. They were built for 3 years, 1974 through 1976. In 1974 they were called 'Gran Torino Elite'. For the final two years they were simply 'Elite' :
So, there's a bit of 1970s Ford history.
I hope to have one of those types again in the future. What do I have today? A 2000 Ford Crown Victoria former police interceptor that is sidelined right now with a vapor canister problem. Interestingly, the interior and exterior dimensions of the Crown Vics and Torinos are virtually identical.
A Ford guy, eh? I knew, like Fords, you had a couple of screws loose.
But seriously folks, my dream car as a teenager was a 1973 Mustang Grande. I would've preferred the 351 Cleveland over the Windsor, though I can't really remember why.But it's funny, you pointed out the Aston Martin look to the grille on the 70's model, and new Fords are doing the same thing. Several models have the same front end look as current Astons. Which as far as I'm concerned makes Astons less desireable.
That Datsun is really cool....reminds me of an AFX car I had back in the day, like this one:
That is a toy version of the Trans Am winning Datsun 510 from the early 70s
My dad had a brand new 1976 Datsun B210 in turquoise (I wanna say the hatchback) and one of my brother's cars was a 510 wagon.
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1972 Plymouth Duster. Red. Black and white plaid seats.
Mine was a '65 VW Bug, bought in '82. It died when a rock from the road got the oil tower, and left
me stranded. I replaced the engine, then the trans-axle failed. It's probably still in a junkyard outside
Ft. Hood, TX.
I loved that car...
Edit: It was bright red
Mine was a 1985 Mercury Marquis station wagon (not a Grand Marquis, this was the smaller version). My dad got it for me in 1994 in college when I got a co-op job and needed a vehicle. It didn't even last two years before the freeze plug blew out rather spectacularly, taking much of the engine block with it!
Funny story with that car.... Once we were loading up some drums in it before a weekend football game. I had brought it into the stadium (we were allowed in back then), loaded up, shut the hatch, got in..... and nothing. Wouldn't start at all. You'd think a college band full of engineers would be able to figure this out, but no. We ended up having to push it out of the stadium and into a nearby parking deck. My dad had it towed back to a shop near him (an hour away). Took the mechanic all of 5 minutes to figure it out. I had never heard of an "inertia switch" before that day, and I have yet to have a car since that has one. Apparently when we closed the hatch, we slammed it a bit too hard and tripped the switch, which shut off the fuel pump (useful in crashes). The mechanic just pushed the switch, and it started right up. My mother, who is an alumna of the rival school, had a field day with that one!
Funny story with that car.... Once we were loading up some drums in it before a weekend football game. I had brought it into the stadium (we were allowed in back then), loaded up, shut the hatch, got in..... and nothing. Wouldn't start at all. You'd think a college band full of engineers would be able to figure this out, but no. We ended up having to push it out of the stadium and into a nearby parking deck. My dad had it towed back to a shop near him (an hour away). Took the mechanic all of 5 minutes to figure it out. I had never heard of an "inertia switch" before that day, and I have yet to have a car since that has one. Apparently when we closed the hatch, we slammed it a bit too hard and tripped the switch, which shut off the fuel pump (useful in crashes). The mechanic just pushed the switch, and it started right up. My mother, who is an alumna of the rival school, had a field day with that one!
First car: 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with a 350 V8, four barrel Rochester Quadra-Jet carborator and room for 12*. Pulled more than one Dukes of Hazzard style stunt in that thing (it’s a wonder I survived my 16-18 year old years). 
*officially 6, according to the number of seatbelts—but somehow we always found room for more (and NH still doesn’t require seatbelt use for 18 and over—back in 1983, didn’t require it for anyone)
*officially 6, according to the number of seatbelts—but somehow we always found room for more (and NH still doesn’t require seatbelt use for 18 and over—back in 1983, didn’t require it for anyone)
Though I had the smaller, beefier little brother ('73 442 w/ 455 V8, 4 barrel Qudrajet with a 4 speed), I can attest that cars back then had TONS of room. Though my car 'technically' was a 4 passenger, I routinely could pack 5 or 6 people in that car. Given that the 88 was even bigger, if you had bench seats front and rear, I don't doubt you could pack them in like a clown car...First car: 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 with a 350 V8, four barrel Rochester Quadra-Jet carborator and room for 12*. Pulled more than one Dukes of Hazzard style stunt in that thing (it’s a wonder I survived my 16-18 year old years).
*officially 6, according to the number of seatbelts—but somehow we always found room for more (and NH still doesn’t require seatbelt use for 18 and over—back in 1983, didn’t require it for anyone)
Q2
Once crammed 15 into the car (two in the trunk with the lid open). Was, thankfully, a short drive.Though I had the smaller, beefier little brother ('73 442 w/ 455 V8, 4 barrel Qudrajet with a 4 speed), I can attest that cars back then had TONS of room. Though my car 'technically' was a 4 passenger, I routinely could pack 5 or 6 people in that car. Given that the 88 was even bigger, if you had bench seats front and rear, I don't doubt you could pack them in like a clown car...
Q2
I had to take my first driving test in my mom's 1976 Grand Marquis 4 door. Hers was forest green, inside and out.
All I can say is, thank fuck it was an election year. I can barely parallel park my Grand Cherokee with the camera and sensors now.
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