First Cars

Tomorrow we are taking possession of a "third car". Now that we will have four drivers in our family with only two vehicles, we decided that sharing driving would become a royal pain. The car we purchased is not luxury by any means, but it is much better than I imagined a third car to be. We warned both kids that if we were to get a third vehicle it would not be anything fancy. It might be showing its age with the odd ding or dent. It would not have the bells and whistles of a newer vehicle, and it most definitely would not be their car. It would be our car that they could use.

As it turned out, we got a fantastic deal on a car, 2006 Hyundai Sonota, in great condition, certified. The family from which we are buying it is actually moving out of the country and they have been systematically selling off many of their possessions in preparation of the move. Our big expense in all of this will undoubtedly be the insurance.

My husband had been looking online for used Crown Victorias which were previously police vehicles. He claimed they would be perfectly maintained. I thought it would look like a land yacht. I was very glad when this car became available.

This has all made me think of the first vehicles that I drove. When I was living at home, I was permitted to use the giant yellow Oldsmobile. I was slightly embarrassed by it, but beggers can't be choosers. My father only ever drove big cars, almost always Oldsmobiles. He did all of his own maintenance and work. An unfortunate day was when he discovered stick on "racing stripes". For a while we had skinny brown stripes that ran along the sides of another yellow Oldsmobile. My mother died a thousand silent deaths when he later decided that he should glue fake fur to the aging seats. We never had a new car. My parents just weren't financially able to afford such luxury. My father no doubt saved a ton of money by doing his own body work and maintenance. I have fond memories of gathering up little piles of body filler shavings (can still remember the smell) and using them for snow for my little plastic animals in the drive way.

Later, when I was finishing my degree and heading off for a year at a university in another province, I purchased my first car. It was a Chevy Sprint. They do not make them anymore. It had three cylinders and was small and red. I used it to drive from Ontario to Nova Scotia. I'm pretty sure my mother thought I would die in it. She was so worried about me driving all that distance on my own, she said I should dress up a stuffed dummy in the seat beside me so people didn't think I was a girl travelling alone. (I did not).

-an image I grabbed off the internet, not actually my car, but just as attractive

They say men marry their mothers, women marry their fathers. I'm not sure this is entirely true, but my husband also does much of his own maintenance and work on our vehicles. He has three "project cars" that he envisions being able to drive in the future. He is forever scouring the internet for parts, as well as harvesting parts from his project cars and selling them to other car guys. My son has shown no interest in learning how to tinker with cars. That may or may not change as he gets older.

One of my husband's first cars was a burgundy Volvo that was the family car. This was the car he "courted" me with. Nothing says sexy like a boxy Volvo!! Later, when he also attended a university far away, he drove a pea soup green Volkswagon Rabbit with one black fender. It had holes in the floorboard so bad that I got splashed while I was a passenger inside the car! At the end, my father suggested that it be driven back to the bush and shot to put it out of its misery.

What was your first vehicle that you drove? Was it a flashy muscle car, the family stationwagon, or something held together with duct tape and wire?