Wednesday 6 July 2016

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?

13 comments:

  1. No flashy model I must say. My first husband and I bought a new Reliant three-wheeler, mainly because (with the reverse blanked out) he could drive it on a motor cycle licence. It was bright yellow and we adored it.

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    1. A three-wheeled car? I think I saw an episode of Topgear about those, where they kept tipping over on their sides if they went around a corner too fast. No such thing over here. -Jenn

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  2. My first car was a red Acadian that I took to university. It was literally owned by a little old lady so had never been driven over 60. She thought she was in car heaven when I took her on the 401 and drove 120. She was enjoying it so much that she didn't want to slow down on the off-ramp but after much brake pumping she was reined in. Good times.

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    1. Ha ha, I can just picture her grinning from ear to ear, whooping it up as you whipped down the 401!

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  3. I'm laughing here...this sounds sooooooo familiar!! I drove the family Pontiac Catalina...a boat for sure! My first car was a Pontiac Sunbird...used...bought from my neighbor who moved up a step or two in vehicles. Our farm truck just died and my husband replaced it with a 1991 mismatched pickup. What matters most is that it runs and is paid for! Our kids drive one of our vehicles, and I'm sure they wish for something nicer, but until we aren't dairy farming, and the cow smell doesn't follow us everywhere we go, it will be old vehicles here!

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    1. Sunbirds were very popular up here, as well. My current vehicle, a Toyota Highlander, is paid for and I intend to keep it until it's not driveable anymore! Paid for is good.

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  4. Jenn, I love your little car. My first car was a green ford ...I needed it to drive to work. I think every one can tell a car story or two. I love what your dad said about the VW. Blessings and safe driving for all. xoxo, Susie

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    1. Oh you're funny, Susie! You only describe it as a "green ford". I always tell my husband, I don't want to hear all the numbers and letters, I don't want to hear about the engine, just tell me what kind of car it is, and what colour!

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  5. Oh my gosh I had a good laugh with this post! From your dad's fake fur seats to your mom suggesting dressing up a stuffed dummy to accompany you. Parents are hilarious, aren't they? I'm guessing my daughters have stories about me, too :)

    My first car was a Ford Mustang. Every time I tell people that they think about an expensive sports car. It wasn't. It was the cheapest possible model with no bells and whistles. It had the shape of a mustang but nothing else :) But I loved it. It was my first car and I paid the whole thing on my own! My parents never bought a car (they lived in the big city and never felt they had a need for it) and therefore I had to get one on my own when I was old enough.

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    1. Hey good for you buying your own first car!!! And ya, a Mustang does sound pretty awesome.

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  6. I never owned a car by myself, but when hubby and I married "our car" was a little red VW Beetle he had had for two years. It was our only car and we put over 200,000 miles on it before we sold it to a man who made it into a wood splitter. No fooling.

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  7. Great post X I haven't had my first car yet.... Although I passed my driving test first time....I don't drive!! I hate it!

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