My First Car
Back in 1963, my father bought his first sport?s car, a black convertible Triumph TR4. We lived in Memphis, Tennessee and I was 9 years old. Here?s a picture of me with with my sister and younger brother. When I was twelve, we moved from Memphis to Rockville, MD. I sat in the passenger set, reading comic books the entire trip. My dad, having finished orthopaedic residency joined my grandfather in private practice in Washington, D.C. I didn?t see a lot of my dad in the next few years, as he was always on call. When I turned 16, my father gave me the car to drive to and from school and for personal pleasure, though I didn?t go out much. I went to an all boys school and didn?t really date till my senior year. However, the car, while fun to drive, was also my responsibility, and it was there I learned the value of fine British automotive engineering.... NOT. Aside from the fact that the mechanics who worked on these cars were incompetent or dishonest (I was too na?ve to know the difference), I replaced 3 clutches and spent about $1500 on repairs the first year I had it. In today?s money, that is $8,300. The car kept me working summer jobs just to keep it running.
It was a fun car to drive though, and I?ll never forget the smell. It had red leather interior and always smelled like a baseball glove.
I also had my first and almost only accident in it. The convertible top had a plastic back window that with age turned almost opaque with wear. One day, I was driving and pulled into a side parking lane around a curb at the Watergate in D.C. The only problem was that it was a grey day and a grey car was in that lane, but impossible to see through the plastic window. I can?t remember how much that repair cost me.
Well, after three years, I went off to college, and it was then my sister?s to drive. The first year, she had two accidents: a minor fender bender, and then her friend hit her in the school parking lot and the car was totaled. I guess they were not going fast, but it was enough damage to make it not worth repairing. My sister thought I would be mad, and I was sad, but not mad. The car had cost me an arm and a leg, and it wasn?t really mine to keep, but I bore no ill will to her and her friend, Coralyn, who was also a friend of mine. Easy come, easy go... And that was my first car, and while I love to look at cars, I never had the passion to own one, except my dad?s next car.... a yellow 911 Porsche.... The fastest, tightest, and best car I ever drove.
One summer, I can?t remember if I has back from my first year of college, or later than that, but I was visiting one of my high-school mates in downtown D.C. Back then the Beltway between River Road and Montrose was usually an empty road at 2a.m. Now the 16 lane highway is like New York City: 24 hour traffic and crowded, but back then in sleepy Bethesda, it was still almost rural and undeveloped along the highway. So, being sober and sharp as a tack, I decided I wanted to see what this baby could do, and I pumped her up to 120 mph, and the only reason I had to slow down was because I was already home! What was normally a 10 minute drive was over in about 2 minutes. God help me, I?ve never felt anything like that. That car hugged the road like a mama holding a new born babe. My dad finally gave her up though because it was always needing repairs and tinkering, and the mechanics (probably the same ones that working on my TR4!) always charged an arm and a leg to keep her in tip top shape. My dad needed reliability for medical emergencies and he couldn?t afford to have it always in the shop.
One thing I?ve noticed about German engineering... the cars are temperamental and the parts are EXPENSIVE. Even the Mercedes, if you need repairs, you might as well stick out your arm and start giving blood, cause those things, when they need work, will bleed you dry.
Since that time, I?ve married, gotten a family and needed all the room 3 children bring. When I first got married, our first family car was my wife?s Volkswagon Beetle, which I could repair myself with a gap tool, chewing gum, and spitwads. That was a great car with great gas mileage.
Our first car purchase was a Blue Chevy Citation, automatic. It was a dog of a car that was in the shop for over a month the first year we had it. The mechanic said they made the car with a transmission valve that dissolved in transmission fluid. They fixed it to break again. Last @#(& Chevy I bought. It was also our first experience with high-pressure sales tactics, and like a lamb to the slaughter, I bought it on my first visit and paid retail price.
Our next car was a 1985 Red Ford Bronco, which we would have kept longer except it didn?t have air conditioning, so we traded it in on an Areostar for the family,
and for my work, I got a Chevy Geo Prism, which technically wasn?t a Chevy but a Toyota.
That car was the most reliable car I ever owned until we started buying Subarus.
Our next family car was a 1999 Subaru Legacy Outback, L.L.Bean Edition, Wine colored, and we would never have given that up, except after 11 years, the front springs wore out and we ended up getting a great deal on a trade in on a 2009 Subaru Legacy Outback. In between these cars, I owned my parents old, hand me down, Mercedes that was full of creature comforts but was dangerous as sky diving in the snow. You?d think the Germans would know how to make cars that drive in snow, but I did a 360 in that tank on the highway in light snow. Scary as all get out. I mention that to say, the 2009 Outback we bought has more features and more comfort than our 1986 Mercedes. And that?s all I have to say about that.
Back in 1963, my father bought his first sport?s car, a black convertible Triumph TR4. We lived in Memphis, Tennessee and I was 9 years old. Here?s a picture of me with with my sister and younger brother. When I was twelve, we moved from Memphis to Rockville, MD. I sat in the passenger set, reading comic books the entire trip. My dad, having finished orthopaedic residency joined my grandfather in private practice in Washington, D.C. I didn?t see a lot of my dad in the next few years, as he was always on call. When I turned 16, my father gave me the car to drive to and from school and for personal pleasure, though I didn?t go out much. I went to an all boys school and didn?t really date till my senior year. However, the car, while fun to drive, was also my responsibility, and it was there I learned the value of fine British automotive engineering.... NOT. Aside from the fact that the mechanics who worked on these cars were incompetent or dishonest (I was too na?ve to know the difference), I replaced 3 clutches and spent about $1500 on repairs the first year I had it. In today?s money, that is $8,300. The car kept me working summer jobs just to keep it running.
It was a fun car to drive though, and I?ll never forget the smell. It had red leather interior and always smelled like a baseball glove.
I also had my first and almost only accident in it. The convertible top had a plastic back window that with age turned almost opaque with wear. One day, I was driving and pulled into a side parking lane around a curb at the Watergate in D.C. The only problem was that it was a grey day and a grey car was in that lane, but impossible to see through the plastic window. I can?t remember how much that repair cost me.
Well, after three years, I went off to college, and it was then my sister?s to drive. The first year, she had two accidents: a minor fender bender, and then her friend hit her in the school parking lot and the car was totaled. I guess they were not going fast, but it was enough damage to make it not worth repairing. My sister thought I would be mad, and I was sad, but not mad. The car had cost me an arm and a leg, and it wasn?t really mine to keep, but I bore no ill will to her and her friend, Coralyn, who was also a friend of mine. Easy come, easy go... And that was my first car, and while I love to look at cars, I never had the passion to own one, except my dad?s next car.... a yellow 911 Porsche.... The fastest, tightest, and best car I ever drove.
One summer, I can?t remember if I has back from my first year of college, or later than that, but I was visiting one of my high-school mates in downtown D.C. Back then the Beltway between River Road and Montrose was usually an empty road at 2a.m. Now the 16 lane highway is like New York City: 24 hour traffic and crowded, but back then in sleepy Bethesda, it was still almost rural and undeveloped along the highway. So, being sober and sharp as a tack, I decided I wanted to see what this baby could do, and I pumped her up to 120 mph, and the only reason I had to slow down was because I was already home! What was normally a 10 minute drive was over in about 2 minutes. God help me, I?ve never felt anything like that. That car hugged the road like a mama holding a new born babe. My dad finally gave her up though because it was always needing repairs and tinkering, and the mechanics (probably the same ones that working on my TR4!) always charged an arm and a leg to keep her in tip top shape. My dad needed reliability for medical emergencies and he couldn?t afford to have it always in the shop.
One thing I?ve noticed about German engineering... the cars are temperamental and the parts are EXPENSIVE. Even the Mercedes, if you need repairs, you might as well stick out your arm and start giving blood, cause those things, when they need work, will bleed you dry.
Since that time, I?ve married, gotten a family and needed all the room 3 children bring. When I first got married, our first family car was my wife?s Volkswagon Beetle, which I could repair myself with a gap tool, chewing gum, and spitwads. That was a great car with great gas mileage.
Our first car purchase was a Blue Chevy Citation, automatic. It was a dog of a car that was in the shop for over a month the first year we had it. The mechanic said they made the car with a transmission valve that dissolved in transmission fluid. They fixed it to break again. Last @#(& Chevy I bought. It was also our first experience with high-pressure sales tactics, and like a lamb to the slaughter, I bought it on my first visit and paid retail price.
Our next car was a 1985 Red Ford Bronco, which we would have kept longer except it didn?t have air conditioning, so we traded it in on an Areostar for the family,
and for my work, I got a Chevy Geo Prism, which technically wasn?t a Chevy but a Toyota.
That car was the most reliable car I ever owned until we started buying Subarus.
Our next family car was a 1999 Subaru Legacy Outback, L.L.Bean Edition, Wine colored, and we would never have given that up, except after 11 years, the front springs wore out and we ended up getting a great deal on a trade in on a 2009 Subaru Legacy Outback. In between these cars, I owned my parents old, hand me down, Mercedes that was full of creature comforts but was dangerous as sky diving in the snow. You?d think the Germans would know how to make cars that drive in snow, but I did a 360 in that tank on the highway in light snow. Scary as all get out. I mention that to say, the 2009 Outback we bought has more features and more comfort than our 1986 Mercedes. And that?s all I have to say about that.
