Your first car.

[Alan Briere]

Mercury Capri . . .

now a Tacoma pickup

Who knew?

Alan

[Ben Hong]

Mercury Capri . . .

Alan, when I finally got a job that paid me "more" than what I was worth , I bought a 1972 Capri. I don't exactly remember but I believe that it was built in Germany because it had all the Euro frills - swivelling map lights, panic straps,V-6., etc. etc., the top of the line. Because of the very favourable Deutschmark, I believe that I only paid $2500+ for it. Man, that baby could hustle!

Only trouble was that in a couple of years, Linda my new bride fell in love with it and commandeered it as her own. I was relegated to the Datsun 510. She drove it until she got pregnant and she "outgrew" the front seat. I sold it in 1975 for almost as much as I paid for it! Loved that car.

[Hunshatt]

Ben, it probably was a german version. v6 with a 5 speed?? they were quite the boy racer car when I was growing up in england late 70's.

[northern_hunting_mom]

'81 Chev half ton truck with a 350 engine.

[Hub]

My old man gave me his 1987 Nissan pickup when I was half way through college.  It was stripped down and rusted out, but I was ecstatic to not have to share a car with my sister who was going to school in a neighboring town.  I drove that old truck for years.  Towards the end I think I probably doubled it's value every time I filled the tank.

[mike campbell]

I bought a '67 blue hardtop when I got my first job in 1970. I drove this '68 home 13 years ago.

[Kerry Stratton]

1960 Doge Pioneer

[Guest]

A 4x4 beast with the turning hubs and a chronically "swimmy" front end that would swing left to right on the highway with the wheel held steady. Even so, I wish I still had it-it was a cool rig.

I had forgotten about the front end trick.  I had some white knuckle moments when I would hit a bump at highway speeds and the front end would go nuts shaking and rambling all over the road while the wheel shook like it was alive.  The only way to get it under control was to get on the brakes hard until it calmed down.

[bigjohnsd]

Ben - I had a 74 Capri V6 all the bells and whistles, it was my first new car.  I bought it when I was sure that I was going to graduate from Officer Candidate School in Newport Rhode Island in December 1974.  Drove it home to California with my dad right after i was commissioned.  

While enroute I got my first speeding Ticket somewhere in Texas, came out of a little burg and put the hammer down only to run smack dab into a Texas State trooper.  He drug me back to town to appear before a Justice of the Peace who promptly relieved me of $55 without missing a bite of her Spaghetti Dinner.  I think the ticket was for 70 in a 55, as i recall we had a 55MPH National Speed limit then due to the Oil Crisis of the 70's.

I used to auto-x that car at Hickam AFB, went through many sets of tires.

My Capri did not fare well in the salt mist laden pierside environs of Naval Station Pearl Harbor .  Once I was transfered to the East Coast She developed early cancer and I traded her off for one of the worst cars i ever owned, a 1978 Porsche 924.

That is another story!

[Guest]

I had a 72 Capri also.  It was a fun car.  When I bought it the choice was between it and a 2002.  The 2002 was just a few bucks more, that was before BMWs got trendy.

Dave

[erik meade]

The first vehicle in my name was a 1986 Merkur XR4Ti, otherwise known as the most horrible vehicle ever made.

A guy in my town still has his,  I see him driving it all the time.  I have no idea how he keeps it running.

[erik meade]

This isn't my actual car, but mine looked just like it.   Diesel.  Kept a can of ether handy.

[Flush]

A 4x4 beast with the turning hubs and a chronically "swimmy" front end that would swing left to right on the highway with the wheel held steady. Even so, I wish I still had it-it was a cool rig.

I had forgotten about the front end trick.  I had some white knuckle moments when I would hit a bump at highway speeds and the front end would go nuts shaking and rambling all over the road while the wheel shook like it was alive.  The only way to get it under control was to get on the brakes hard until it calmed down.

Hmmm, I thought that was a special feature that only mine had! I guess just like Pontiac, International also built for "Excitement"

[Guest]

UJers have some very interesting & cool 1st rides...

1st car I bought (& drove) was a '73 volvo 144s, made in canada, bought from a swedish engineering prof in Pgh who was returning home after a stint at CMU.

1st car I bought, and drove very little, a '49 ford woody wagon.  At 15, I kicked in about $300 along with a 16 YO friend and bought this heap, restored it a bit and sold it.  Made about $150 on the deal.  Restoring included refinishing wood.

1st car I drove a lot -- parents gave me their '74 datsun 610 wagon, 4-sp, to use at PSU for my Jr and Sr years.  I later sold it to help buy the volvo in '77, a car a year older than the 610.

1st New car was an '82 Jetta with 5-sp & blaupunct stereo/cassette player.

[BrettBryan71]

1973 Camaro.  it was about 15 years old by the time i got it.  My brother drove it before me.  He got a new one and I got the old Camaro.