You Never Forget The First Car You Bought
Everyone has their first car at some point. Sometimes, it's one that's been given to you by parents or relatives. Mine was a 1980 Ford Mustang. Red. And it had ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS. I drove it for a while--and then in 1987 when I got my first job--I traded it in for a 1985 White Pontiac Fiero. THAT car was so much fun! It was a GT so it was FAST. And 1985 was the year they made the stereo speakers in the headrests on the seats! Had a thick leather-wrapped steering wheel and no car in 1987 was complete without the AM/FM/Cassette player. Mine didn't have the sunroof at the time--but about 8 years later I would buy another one that was red, stick shift, and sunroof. Wasn't the most convenient car because it was a 2-seater with an extremely small trunk behind the mid-engine in the back... Not practical for going out with a group of friends. But it sure was fun going out just me and my girlfriend at the time...
Unfortunately, it was totaled one weekend when my friend Rob came over and we went for a ride. He wanted to drive it so I let him. He pulled up in the right lane at a traffic light that was red--waiting for the light to turn green so he could blow past the person in the left lane. Little did we know that a woman would run the red light and smash right into us--sending car parts and glass all over the intersection. The good news was that neither one of us was injured badly enough to be hospitalized (which--for a car that small--is a concern in an accident!). We were, however, injured and needed to go to physical therapy for about 6 months to get the legs and back straightened out again. I think that was really the reason I didn't have a problem buying another one 8 years later. I had seen firsthand how they hold up in an accident.
The crazy part is--it was a stick shift, and one day when I was driving it--the clutch cable disconnected. So I pulled over to the shoulder and walked to a payphone to call for a tow (this was 1995 and bag phones were just starting to be all the rage--we all didn't have cell phones YET). By the time I walked back to my car--a guy had attempted to pass another car on the shoulder and smashed into my car and totaled it. Clearly, I was not meant to have a Pontiac Fiero. Comment below and tell me the story of the first car YOU bought!