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...

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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!