What was your first vehicle?

[Malort]

I owned this exact truck also. Wasn't my first but was much beloved. Thinking of going with 17" white spoked wheels and raised white letter tires on my slate.


Did your truck also blow a head gasket? I asked every time I saw one and the answer was usually yes.

 

[bartflossom]

No, but I probably only put about 30K on it.

 

[5ohbrad]

This is my first car- 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 2 door hardtop. It’s exactly as it was when it was last on the road in 2000. I still own it today. Rebuilt 289/T5/8”

 

[Teach]

Back in the late 80s... A Toyota Starlet.

 

[TabulaRasaMotors]

1966 Chevy truck...long bed, 2WD

 

[Benjamin Nead]

Before I had a driver's license, my father bought me a 1946 Willys CJ-2A Jeep (this would be the early 1970s) that I decided I wanted to take apart, down to the gears and bearings. I never did get it back together, but it was an experience I'll defend for the knowledge I gained about cars in general. My old high school friends still tease me about this Jeep "restoration" experience.

The first car I could actually drive was a 1967 Rally Sport Camaro ragtop. Yeah, sounds like every high school senior's dream. Unfortunately, mine was badly beaten before I got to it and, being a Pennsylvania car before undercoating became common, it was completely rusted out. I sold it to someone, though, who spent thousands (tons of money back then) having it professionally restored and never drove it in the winter following that. It might still be out there someplace as a show car.

Post high school (late '70s), I was driving cab for a living ('73 Ford Torinos, mostly) and everyone there was a budding VW mechanic on their off hours. I had a 1964 Beetle with a '66 engine that I drove for a couple years. I loved that little car but, same as the '67 Camaro, it was a rust bucket. At one time, all 3 of my older sisters and at least two girlfriends had VW Beetles. I became very good working on those cars.

Shortly after moving to Arizona in the early '80s, I scored a beautiful 1951 Chevy 2-door Styleline Coupe. Cars don't really rust out here and this one was particularly pristine. Mechanically, Chevys of this period were built like farm tractors. Those 216 "Stovebolt" straight six engines were marvelous beasts. I drove this car as a daily driver in Tucson for almost a decade, mid 1980s to mid 1990s.

Somehow, I ended up inheriting (freebie) a 1986 Plymouth Voyager minivan in the mid '90s. Mine was mechanically beat by the time I got it and, while I liked the vehicle's design and functionality, I had to get rid of it when it simply wasn't worth maintaining any longer. Worth noting that my wife drove a Datsun B210 and, later, a Subaru all-wheel-drive station wagon during this 80's and 90's timeframe.

My next car was a near new 1995 Saturn I took over payments from when my wife decided that a child-rearing couple also needed a decent minivan (first a '94 Ford Aerostar, which was horribly unreliable, and then an '02 Mazda MPV, which was very good.) I've recounted the Saturn story elsewhere here, as it had a plastic panel steel frame construction, just like the Slate, and also (rare by then) hand-cranked windows. Between my wife and I, that car lasted us 19 years. It still started up and ran when I sold it in 2014.

I now drive a 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV, which I've talked about here at length. The first and, so far, only EV I've owned. It's a marvelous little car that I've had for almost 10 years now and hope to still be driving when the Slate gets here. I'm done with fossil fuel cars. My wife and daugher still drive Japanese gasoline cars, Hondas and Toyotas mostly, despite my lobbying for them to consider doing otherwise.

I should also mention that every car my wife and I have ever owned was purchased used. The Slate will be the first one I'll be buying as new. I'm 67 and it will probably be my final automotive purchase: something hopefully of enduring value that my adult daughter will be glad to inherit someday. Maybe the i-MiEV will still be functioning and still in my possession by then? Who knows?

When I first got to Arizona, before the '51 Chevy, and then again years later, between the Saturn and the i-MiEV, I relied on getting around by bicycle. I became a fairly knowledgeable bicycle mechanic the 2nd time around and gave serious consideration to building an eBike from scratch before used early EVs, like the i-MiEV, simply became too affordable not to ignore.

 

[motorolas]

It was a 96' Honda Civic Automatic hatchback. Got hit in the back by a taxi and drove my brothers 84' Toyota Cressida.

 

[Benjamin Nead]

It was a Ford Pinto. Red. Leaked steering fluid, but otherwise good for a cheap starter car.

In 1975 (high school junior) I was given the opportunity to test drive an early 1960s Chevy Corvair: the original Unsafe At Any Speed car. This one had the famed early rear suspension design that was noted to be particularly dangerous and prone to flipping the car over unexpectedly. The rear-mounted flat-6 air-cooled engine was mated to perhaps one of the most pathetic automatic transmissions ever devised: GM's Powerglide (aka: the Powerslide.) Note that the Corvair looks remarkably similar from any perspective. Is it moving forward or backwards? Nobody seems to know . . .

The shifting of this transmission was controlled by a series of buttons on the dash, kind of like you'd find on a juke box to select the next tune. And the shifting was just about as responsive: push the button and, er, uh, in a few seconds or so, something about the way the car was driving changed. What exactly that was, though, remained a mystery.

I was able to take it out on a clean stretch of blacktop, with the owner in the passenger seat. And I was afraid to get it past 55mph. You could not feel the road in this thing at all. The ride was very smooth but the steering was just like the auto tranny: you'd turn the wheel and, well, eventually, the car would start to drift in that general direction. I avoided any attempt at hard braking and luckily, there were no other cars around to concern myself with what would happen if I had to slow down suddenly.

In my 50+ years of driving, I've had few scarier encounters than the 15 minutes or so I was behind the wheel of an early '60s Corvair. And I'm sure the gas tank would ignite with the least provocation if the rear bumper was gently tapped. It's just that so much else about this car would potentially get you in trouble before that, not many people noticed.

 

[Luxrage]

In 1975 (high school junior) I was given the opportunity to test drive an early 1960s Chevy Corvair: the original Unsafe At Any Speed car.

Wow, that's a heck of a story. I would have loved to be able to get my hands on an early build of a car like that. The driving experience, not so much. The experience reminds me of a time I was handed the keys to a friend's dad's very heavily (and incorrectly) modified Jeep. Heavy steering that listed all over the road and brakes that were a suggestion. That kind of story would go over great on Curbside Classic, they're always looking for first hand experience stories like that!

 

[05AP2]

1991 Honda Civic back in '03 almost exactly like this one

 

[Lanthian]

My first car was a 1999 Ford Mustang...which sounds nice, but it was a project car. Sold it after a few years for a 2008 Toyota Tacoma.

 

[atx_ev]

Slate’s icebreaker question is: What was your first vehicle? We might as well have a thread with that.

Mine. 1984 Nissan 2 door pickup 2 wheel drive 5 speed manual. Pre hard body with the tie down hooks on the outside of the bed. The easiest truck I have ever owned to load things secure and transport items.

The Slate is taking me back.

Similar to this one.

sounds like a fishing attempt to get the answer to one of your security questions.

 

[Duke Slater]

I’ve been a truck lover since birth. My dad, despite having never owned a truck, bought me a used ‘01 F-150 when I got my driver’s license. White/single cab/long bed like this one:

I wish I’d kept it around now to compare it to the Slate. It didn’t have cruise control or power locks/windows. Hand crank, baby!

 

[SLATEchad]

(image not mine)

This looks very similar to the Jeep Cherokee I had back in the day. First vehicle I purchased with my own money. RWD and developed a cracked muffler and could be heard coming a mile away. Leaked oil all over the driveway. Has some resemblance to the Slate in SUV mode though... I hadn't thought about that till this thread came up. Won't have to worry about a loud muffler or oil leaks at least!