Random Saturday Poll: Your First Car?

A fire red 1986 Volkswagen GTi!

Black, 1988 GMC Safari. It was babied by my parents (and later by me). Still runs great and looks showroom new to this day.

first car - 1995 Mitsubishi Galant
Now I drive a 09 Honda Fit Sport

1974 Mercury Capri V6 Manual: a ragged out $300 special by time I got it that was a true beater, but a fun car while it lasted.

http://www.carspace.com/ergsum/Albums/AUTObiography/1971-1978-ford-capri-and-capri-ii-46-3.jpg/page/photo.html#pic

1971 VW Type 1 (Beetle). Started as rust green/gray/red and I had repainted to white. I rebuilt the engine and customized lots of it, but couldn't overcome the rusted body structure. The car was fun but I don't miss it - I live in Florida and Beetle definitely had no A/C.

Brand New 1998 Chevrolet Blazer. I was 17 and it was a 1998 leftover from my dad's friend's dealer. We got it for a complete steal.

It was a Plymouth Duster. It would have been about 1973 model (the last year before it morphed into the Duster Volare). It was the most stripper version you could get. I think the only option was an AM radio. My dad had bought for my sister and I got it as a hand me down. It had a 198 cube in-line 6 with a 0-60 time measured in minutes (well maybe not that bad). This car was the only car I've seen without a windshield washer pump. It had a bulb on the floor. My worst memory was the time I visited my sister while she still owned the car. She told me to fill it up and while I was at to have the attendant check the oil (boy am I dating my self). He couldn't find any oil on the dipstick. He looked at me like I was a car abuser. When I inherited it, carrying a spare quart or two of oil was mandatory. It had three on the tree. The transmission linkage had a couple of collars on the steering column under the hood that controlled the levers that went to the tranny. Well one of the collar's set screw would loosen up due to old age and allow the collar to over rotate. That first manifested itself when I was in downtown Chicago and upon leaving the parking garage I found myself stuck in first gear. I limped home. Somehow I figured out the collar had over rotated and hammered it back into position and tightened down the set screw. Now having a hammer in the car was mandatory.

92 Green/Tan Explorer E.B.

WOW!

1970 Porsche 911E. Saved every penny so I didn't have to drive the family minivan. Best decision ever. I still have it to this day.

1974 Monte Carlo Landau, 350 SBC- bought new.
I added:

Cibie Z-Beam headlamps
Pioneer Supertuner Deck w/Pioneer AD-304 amp and TS-693 speakers
3.42 gears
Edelbrock Performer Intake
Recalibrated -by me- Rochester Q-Jet carb
Crane Hi-Torque Cam
Blackjack headers
CBQ Turbo Mufflers
Re-curved distributor with Mallory Unilite/MSD-5A ignition
B&M Transpak Shift kit
Monroe Gas Magnum shocks
15X7 Cragar SS wheels
Michelin X tires

At full throttle the 4200 pound sled would chirp the tires on the 1-2 and 2-3 upshifts.

1988 Chrysler LeBaron coupe. No reverse, top leaked in a drizzle, but it cost $100. Can't beat that.

1999 Ford Escort ZX2 with the "sport" package (woo-hoo). Bought new, my parents drive it now.

First car that was mine was a 1975 Maverick Grabber 302 Real first car was my dads '72 Gran Torino 351C I put a weiand intake..holly 600....blackjack headers Mallory igntion..milled the heads a bit......With a Trans Go shift kit that FMX would bark those tires like you could not believe

Ergsum@ My mom had a '73 Capri 2600 V6 auto......I loved that car...my dad put turbo mufflers on it and sounded awesome...I still remember that snarl.

I kinda had two first cars....

For 6 moths i finished out the remainder of the lease of my mom's 2007 R500, while she was zipping around town in her new 335xi. can you say 9 MPG

Now i'm driving an 2009 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Special Addition

Both Great cars!

1999 Acura 3.2 TL
White with some electronic gizmo upgrades

Great sleeper car - civic si (and the like) passes on the highway not thinking twice, but they were surprised when I could just blow by em with a simple, and smooth, down shift

My first car ( I still have it, i'm 17) is a 2007 Nissan Xterra. I'm in love!

'63 Plymouth Valiant. 3 on the tree.

2003 Acura RSX 5 spd. I still have it and I love it. Should have gotten the type-s though. My parents didn't want me to. The car is perfect in every way except it is fwd and it understeers. Soon I will put a rear sway bar on that will quell the understeer. If only it had a lsd it would be amazing. If I keep this car for a long time and have the money, I hope to do a k24a2 swap from the tsx. That will definitely require a lsd.

Used and rusted 1978 Datsun 200sx. Completely disassembled it and was surpised that it started the first time after after I got it back together. Got a crap-a$$ black paint job from Maaco (before I knew better). But it really didn't matter since the body work I had done was crap-a$$ as well. :-)

Followed by a new 1986 Toyota MR2 (what a GREAT car- when Toyota actually had some soul)-which I loved but really couldn't afford. I worked my tail off (weekends and weeknights for 2 years) for the monthly payments while I was in High School and decided that I should trade it for a 1988 Toyota Tercel, which took me through College. After that I moved to Mazda (1994 Protege) and have never looked back.

1991 Honda Civic hatchback. 3 door base model. 4 speed stick shift. No air conditioning, no power steering, and manual locks, windows, and mirrors. I bought it with 45,000 miles on the odometer in 1997, so it was already 6 years old then, and it got me through high school, college, and then some. I sold it with 130,000 miles on it. Best four grand I ever spent. I'm praying that the upcoming CR-Z is even half as fun as my old Civic.

I'm now 18, but when i was 16, I convinced my parents to loan me some money so i could have the car of my dreams: a 2002 BMW 530i (e39). I got it with 97k on it and it ran like a champ. I babied that thing. Too bad it costs so damn much when something goes wrong. And something did.

As a college student, I couldnt deal with the repairs that it was going to need. It looked like it was in mint condition, but the engine wasnt. I took it to a hyundai dealer a week ago, and traded that baby in (they didnt know it had an engine problem) for a 2007 hyundai sonata limited v6. It has the power of the BMW, but no where near the handling and overall experience. I miss my old car, so so much, but as a college student with a limited income, practicality rules, and having a warranty means a lot.

Oh how i wish i kept it...

My first car was 1993 Dark Green Ford Explorer.

1991 Honda CRX Vtec (150hp). I still miss it!

A 1955 Buick Special 2dr. in 1961, with the infamous DYNAFLOW tranny, aka a DYNASLUSH POS!
It was the worst piece of crap I've ever had. I was 20!

My first car was a 2003 Dodge SRT-4... got it new and drove it from being 15 and a half until 18, when my dad decided he liked it enough to take it off my hands, so I bought a 1999 Camaro Z28 with a six speed. Drove that for a few months and my dad decided he liked it so much he gave me the SRT-4 back and took the Camaro off my hands.

Still have the SRT-4, and despite what people say about kids having a fast car for their first car, I'm two months out from being 22 and still have yet to have a single ticket for any kind of driving infraction.

2003 Acura RSX Type-S in silver :)

1993 Toyota Paseo. Current car: 1993 Toyota Paseo :P

1992 Nissan 240sx. Bought it about June of 09 for $2k. Put massive amounts of money into it, fixing up everything from the brakes, to the body, to the engine. I love the heck out of the car. And then it snowed. Now my car is useless. O well.

First car a 1972 Chevrolet Impala 2 door coupe.

Got it the first day of my senior year in high school, 1983. Paid $1102.50 out the door, tax, license and registration. The only problem that car had was its carberator(spelling?). It had the 400 cubic inch V8. You could put 8 teenagers in that car easily. Great, great cruiser.

I lived in Pinetop, Arizona in the mountains and that car was incredible in the snow. It had no ground clearance, but it was a tank. I put on a set of snow tires that came with the car. No problems. I remember replacing the am radio with a KRACO cassette player. Money was tight. Until school was out, I never had more than a 1/4 tank of gas, unless my parents gave me gas money. I still remember that car fondly to this day.

1991 Geo Prizm 4dr with the 1.6L and 5spd manual. Paid $1600 for it with 90,000 miles. 3 deer, 1 moose, countless snow filled ditches, and a few cross country trips later it was traded with 238,000 miles. Cruise Control was the car floored, tach peaked at 4,800 rpm, and speedo pegged at 85mph. Car only did 78mph though, so I couldn't get tagged for speeding.

My first car was a 1984 Chevy Celebrity. I got it right after I turned 16 in 1995. It was my great-grandfather's car and he burned the motor up. My grandfather had the motor rebuilt and gave it to me to "break in" the motor. I did that and more. I ended up breaking the motor. I had two speeds - fast and as fast as I could go. The car only lasted 6 months before failing completely. (Later inspection however turned up that the motor rebuild job wasn't that great, although I am sure that my driving didn't do it any favors either).

1st car was a 1976 3/4 tonne Dodge from my dad. 1st car I bought with my own money was a 1979 Plymouth Horizon.

1st car I actually really liked was a my 1983 Dodge Colt. 2 door hatchback with a 4 speed manual and a dual range twin stick transmission. Bullet proof, amazing mileage and if you left the gearbox in power, it was a hoot to drive.

Also, my dad drove a Chevette for awhile. The stick actually broke off and he replaced it with a piece of pipe.

Mine was the reason I'll never have (or rent) a Volvo - a 1970s P1800 ES. It wasn't its fault it was abused by the previous owner, but it was a miserable excuse for a car. I still hate that thing.

A 1962 Chevrolet Corvair Monza. A great commuting car but had a problem with head gasket o-rings blowing. I never spun in spite of its' swing axle rear suspension.

1968 Chevy Estate Wagon. White with fake woody paneling, and a 396 w/4 barrel carb. Paid $300 when I bought it in 1983 from friends of the family.

I had saved $2500 from cutting grass, and wanted an older Camaro. Unfortunately, I wrecked my mom's Bonneville 2 weeks after I got my license, and my folks made me pay for the repairs--$2,000.

The Wagon was pretty dorky, but it could beat a new Z28, and sounded great when I put glasspacks on. It was great for the lawnmowing business since it had a drop down tailgate and the seats folded flat and had metal backs. I lived in Houston at the time, and we took it to Galveston beach quite a bit. I could carry 10 friends and a keg, and I had stereo speakers that I could set on the roof. Party mobile.

1987 CRX SI. The guy before me put Integra seats in it w/o proper rail, so the seats were shaking. The car feels like on one side of wheels when I pull its neck through the corner...

The dream of w/o power steering...CR-Z I am hoping you can be half of much fun....

It was nice to learn how to drive a car on that....

1985 Pontiac Fiero 2m4 five speed - no power windows, no power nothing...no power. Bought it while I was a 22-year old university student in 2000 and learned to drive standard on it. It was a seriously tired and abused car and I sold it after six months and eventually it got scrapped due to rust. Liked it enough to buy cherry 85 when I finished university a couple years later.

Now drive 2008 Accent and 2004 Mazdaspeed MX-5. The Miata is a bit of an upgrade ;)

1999 Ford F-150 XL with a 5.4L 2v V8 and 4 speed auto and 4wd.

Despite spending its first 2.5 years being abused by a construction foreman (And I do mean abused) its given excellent service with only a few problems from back when it was abused.

Still have it still drive can't afford to get rid of it even if I wanted too.

Mine was an '84 Mitsubishi Cordia which I bought in '91.

1984 Porsche 944 with some issues , in 1990. I didn't have it too long before it got taken away.

My first was an 02 Audi A4 1.8T. Great little car to have in the snow, got 34 mile per gallon on long trips, and was slow enough to keep from getting into too much trouble. I was enough of a fan of that body type that I'm looking to buy an S4 with the same body style, because I'm pretty sure I'm still going like the car when I double the horsepower and half the gas milage.

2004 Chevrolet Cavalier.

Will be getting a new 2010 Ford Escape soon, though.

1986 Mercedes-Benz 300E.

It had been my mother's car and was 5 years old by the time I go it, but it still looked and ran like new. I only had it two years, but I loved it and absolutely babied it. Sometimes I actually miss it, Benzes are getting back to their old ways, but they still lack that utter bank-vault feeling of car's like the 300E.

First - 1996 Mazda Protege LX 5 speed. Got it used with ~70K miles, got it to last until ~200K miles. That was a very nice car.

Second and current - 2008 Mazda3 2.0 5 speed.

First car I ever drove: 1993 Hyundai Excel, painted blue, three-door with a four-speed stick.

First car I ever drove legally: 1994 Buick LeSabre Custom.

Car I used to get my driver's license: 1999 Toyota Camry LE I4

First car I ever owned: 2001 Subaru Outback Wagon (current car).

Talk about upgrading.

That picture of the little girl is the cutest thing ever!

Car I learned to drive in: 1998 Honda Civic Coupe Si

Great car to learn to drive in... easy to drive, great visibility, pretty fun to throw around, and drop dead reliable. My mom hangs onto it to this day. The Civic line started to go downhill after this model, IMO.

Car I drive extensively: 2008 MINI Cooper

Also a fun car, and it's a 6-speed, so I learned standard on it! Not a fast car, but it's a tonne of fun. Yeah, it crashes over potholes, but the payoff is completely worth it once you're on a nice windy road. Was actually supposed to be my mom's (so that I'd get the Civic passed down) but my mom prefers the Civic. Not my car, but I drive it to school through the week. The best thing about this car? No matter how er, "spiritedly" I drive it, I'm hard pressed to get anything higher than 7.5 L/100 km (~32 US mpg). In the city. On a good highway trip it gets down to about 5.8L/100km.

First car I purchase on my own: ?

I'm thinking Ford Fiesta when I graduate, or maybe buy the MINI off my mom. We'll see who gives me a better deal. :)

1987 Mitsubishi Starion ESI-R turbo, I had that thing modded like crazy. I actually still own it just need to get it tuned up.

1992 dodge colt. Slow, loud, no tachymeter (and it was stick!!) but fun nonetheless. I miss it.

The first car my parents bought for my brother and me to drive was a 1975 Fiat 128SL couple. It was 1 year old and had 12K miles when we bought it. I drove it to the beach a few months after we bought it, and 4 different things broke in 1 day. For a Fiat, that's a pretty good day, but it was enough for my parents to decide it wasn't right for us. We traded it on a '77 VW Rabbit.

The first car I bought with my own money was a 1971 Chrysler Newport. It was nine years old, had 68K miles, and I paid $400 for it. I called it Torpedo because that's what it was shaped like. Horrible carburetor problems, but it got me through two years of college. I gave it to my fiance and bought a '75 Olds Delta 88 for myself. It was a nice car until the transmission died.

It sure was nice when we finally started making enough money to buy cars that were built in the same decade we were living in!

1986 Mustang GT, new, when I started law school. First year of Multi Port Fuel Injection in the 4.9 small block V8. Quicker than the Vette and ran about even with the Buick Grand National off the line. The rumble of the stock 4.9, which featured straight dual exhaust, could bring tears to a grown man's eyes.

2003 MINI Cooper S. Bought it in 2007 with only 4,000 miles. Nothing wrong with it at all, until the airbag system developed a very expensive problem a few months down the road.

I just celebrated two years of car ownership last week, and in that time I had the following:
2003 MINI Cooper S
2008 MINI Cooper S
2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (terrible decision, kept for two days)
2008 Mazdaspeed3
2007 BMW 335i

I clearly have a problem, but I have kept the 335i for over 9 months now and that is a personal record. Great car, but I have about 8 months of warranty left at my current rate of driving, and I have no interest in owning an out of warranty "luxury" car. I really want a diesel for my next car, but I am not super excited about the options. I think a GTD would be great, but that is not really an option here. The 335d looks good, as well, but the price tag is way too high right now. A diesel MINI would be ideal, but that looks years off here.

1956 Ford coupe. 272ci V8 with overdrive. (in 1962 for 625$)
Eventually it acquired a moded 312 cu in with isky setup and would turn in the high 14s in the mid to high 90s in a 1/4 mile drag. I think I put something like 25 cluster gears in that gearbox at (in those days) 25$ apiece which equaled the purchase price of the car. (did my own work).

But my favorite was the 57 TBird with a blown engine I got as a repo from a bank. Put a mustang top loader 4 speed with a 1964 427 with the 7000 rpm kit in front of it. Sweet, could never get a 0 - 60 time due to lack of traction through 1st and most of 2nd gear but would turn in the 110s.

So now??:
2008 BMW M3 V8 coupe with 6 speed.

1993 Isuzu Trooper parental hand-me-down. Fantastic car, an absolute beast... actually handled great once you got accustomed to the body lean and had an inline 6 that revved like a champ.

Once carried 74 30-packs of beer for a frat party. man, i loved that car.

The first car that was mine alone to drive was a 1970 Beetle. The first car I ever bought was a 1972 Toyota Celica GT. I paid $100 in 1983.

1981 VW Rabbit Diesel. 45 mpg and couldn't hit 65 mph without a good downhill and a tailwind!

Well I first learned to drive in Europe with my dad's company cars, the first of which was a 2003 Vauxhall Astra and I spent most of my time driving them. Cars include: Audi A3 Multiple Vauxhall Astras Volkswagen Golf Ford Focus (Europe)

My first real car is a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport - still have it and hasn't given me a problem whatsoever! I absolutely LOVE the car, regardless of what InsideLine editors think.

My first car was a 1973 240Z. Puke green with a roll cage.
My first new car was a 1986 VW GTI. This is the car that got me hooked on German cars (although it was built in Pennsylvania...)
My current car is a 2005 BMW 325i with manual, sport package, and sunroof for options. It now has 92,000 miles and I still redline it every now and then.

1987 Silver Mercury Cougar
It was more spacious and faster than my friend's Toyota Celica his parents bought him. He hated it, but couldn't get over how SMOOTH the ride was, but understood why I was always taking roadtrips.

Got my 1987 BMW 325i cabrio (white on red leather, 5-speed) as a surprise high school graduation gift in 2007. And it's been sooooo much fun to own!

Geez everyone had fancy cars... 1995 white Sonata for me....

Mine was a 1998 Ford Contour LX V6. That car was getting old and starting to nickle and dime me, both me and my parents were getting fed up with the car so we got rid of it and my parrents gave me my moms car, (my dad took an early retirement so he doesn't drive anymore#. Thats hard on a colge studet with little income-to almost no income. Now, I drive a 2009 Ford Fusion SE 4cyl. #i love it i get almost 40 mpg in it (except now in the winter it gets half that because it gets subzero temperauteres in the morning when I go to school. (allthough i miss the v6))).

pardon the typoes if there is any my keyboard is starting not to work.

1969 Ford Ranchero. Bought it when I was 15 1/2 for $500.

Rebuilt the engine myself (mostly), did all the sanding for a fire engine red repaint and swapped out the crummy blue interior for a black one, which looked factory because I managed to find a new black dash in dealer stock. I put in an 8-track and listened to a lot of Led Zep and Pink Floyd. Used it to haul my dirtbike out to the desert.

Drove it all through high school and 5 Years of college. As soon as I started getting paid as an engineer, I traded it in on a new car, a 1983 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. What a piece of crap that turned out to be. But it was Ford's first attempt at EcoBoost, as it was a turbo 4 instead of a V6.

2000 Dodge Dakota 3.9l 4x4 still have it and its the ultimate love/hate relationship. Love the look, and the 5 speed, limited slip diff, and part time 4 wheel drive. Hate the 175hp, gas mileage, and horrendous reliability. I've got 126k on it now and something breaks on it literally every couple of weeks.

'66 Plymouth Valiant - $275 - never made it out of the yard.

Followed by: '74 Mercury Monterey 2dr, poop brown metallic with a 400ci V8 - drove it for a couple of years.

1994 Saab 900S 5-speed. What an odd car...Center ignition, "weather band" radio button, headlight wipers. I bought it with 80k miles for $3,600 and kept it for about 5 years. It had its fair share of problems, but I've never driven a car with so much personality.

Now...2007 Mini Cooper (6-speed). Found it almost by accident on Auto trader with 13k miles, and it's exactly the same colors as my Saab (green on tan). Weird.

First car I bought: 1986 Mazda 626, bought in 1999 when I was 17. I cannot describe how much I love this car. I still have it to this day. Had 8 other vehicle in the last 10 years, but I always keep it around.

First new vehicle: 2006 Ford F-150, got it when Ford was practically giving them away on lease.

Currently driving: 2009 Subaru Legacy SE, got when I moved to Minnesota and had to drive in the snow all winter.

1992 Geo Prism. It was my sisters car, which she covered in MOSSIMO stickers and other skater garbage. Combined with a poorly installed 600watt subwoofer (which would work at random due to loose wires) the car was a real attention getter. The cars speedometer was only marked to 85MPH, but would continue spinning up to "P" on the dial. By the time I got it, the rear door handles on the inside of he car had broken, and by the time I got rid of it, all of the interior door handles had broken. To exit, I had to roll down the drivers side rear window (drivers window broken) and reach around to open the door.

Classy.

My first car was a 1998 Mercury Mystique LS. I was dark green with tan leather and had the 2.5L V6/auto combo. I really liked the car, except for the fact that it was in for some sort of repair (mostly Check Engine lights) what seemed like every month. Needless to say, I had just taken on a second part-time job, and decided to trade it in after six months of ownership. It was then I got my 2001 Ford Ranger XLT. 4.0L V6, 5-speed auto, 4X4. I still have that truck and have had almost no major problems. However, if things go as planned, within the next two years I will be replacing it with a new (2010/2011) Ford F-150 XLT. Don't get my wrong, I love my Ranger, but I'm closing in on 100K miles and want to sell it when I can still get something for it.

First car: 1990 Acura Legend V6LS

1989 Honda Accord LXi 5MT sedan.

At first, coming from my mothers 1987 305ci V8/AT Camaro I thought would be an unwelcomed change as the Camaro was a lot faster. However, after some time in that Accord I was sold. Not because it was faster (as it wasn't) but it was more of a drivers car as the suspension, chassis and steering showed NO SLOP and its sunroof didn't leak like the T-tops in the Camaro. It wasn't a sports/pony car by any means but it was a hell of a lot more fun to drive.

Looking at the model years of some of these "first" cars I suddenly feel a little old!

2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Still have it and loveeee it. Love bringing it on the beach in the summer!

My first car was a 2001 Mitsubishi Space Wagon. It had a 2.4L gas engine with 150 horses, that believe it or not here in Europe is actually considered powerful.
I drove the hell out of that thing, doing 12 mpg while driving 200 km/h on highways.
After changing suspension, brakes, wheels and tires I could do pretty well on mountain roads.
Needless to say, after 100.000 miles it was destroyed!

After that I bought a used 2002 BMW 330 Ci. I worked and still work to pay for it while studying, but the personal satisfaction I've gotten from paying for it myself is amazing. The car now has over 100.000 miles and I do DIY maintenance pretty well.

Cheers

'87 Blue Pontiac 6000 LE

1985 CRX SI. It was an awesome car, I loved the hell out of it. Perfect college/commuter car that had power and handled great. After 3 years I added a nitrous kit that added 40hp. The car was a rocket. I could beat 5.0 mustangs and corvettes up to about 85 mph before their big V8 would out muscle me but they would see me at the next traffic light and ask what the hell was under the hood. Good times

1998 Acura Integra Type R. It was my high school graduation gift...too bad it also happened to be on the top 10 most stolen vehicles list for the decade. Mine was stolen from my garage in 2005. Man I miss that car.

1993 Geo Metro

I was 16 and didn't have much cash- but found this gem at a government seizure auction and got it for only $1800. It had 92k miles on the clock but ran perfectly well. Had the 3-cylinder, no A/C, no power steering, and the automatic.

The paint job was interesting- dark blue with two GIANT (about five-six inch thick) flourescent pink stripes on the sides that ran along the back. It made an...er....interesting statement at school and started some rumours that, unknowingly to me at the time, became true later on, lol.

I miss that car!

1985 Plymouth Horizon

Bought new in 85 by my grandfather after my father shortened the '83 Aries K. :) It was given to my folks in 88. It then was driven daily by mom and dad untill 96. The odometer would roll over ever 100,000 so we would mark it in the owners manual. I got a hold of it in '96 at the age of 16. My first wheels. It lasted my grandfather 3 years, my parents 8 years and I had it for 6 months before I burnt a valve driving around in "2" of the three speed automatic cause it sounded cooler. All in all, 435,000km. Great little car.

I just got my first car at 20 years old, a 2000 Ford Mustang GT about 3 months ago. I love that thing. Its somewhat of a stretch in practicality (considering we get dumped on with snow where I goto college) and financially but I don't regret it one bit. I got it with 42,000 on it and im almost at 45,000 now. This thing drives like a dream

I was still 15 but my sister wanted to buy a new car after getting her first job out of college so my parents made me buy her car to help her with a downpayment. I wish I still had that car. White 1982 Toyota Starlet 58 hp, rwd, power nothing (steering, brakes or engine)

First car: 1971 BMW Bavaria

First new car: 1990 Miata (still in the driveway , looking a bit worse for the wear, but it runs in the summer)

First car: 1986 Honda Accord LX Sedan
Well, I guess technically my first car was a 1986 Chevy S-10 Pickup. My grandparents gave me the S-10 the day I got my drivers license, and my dad surprised me with the Honda at my 16th birthday party the next day. Major upgrade from the S-10. The S-10 was as basic as you could get. Manual locks and windows. No A/C. AM Radio. That's right. AM radio. No FM. No cassette. Oh, and it was rear wheel drive and I lived in Central Oregon. THAT would have been fun during the snow. Thank goodness for the Accord.

Current car: 2008 Jeep Patriot Limited

A white 1986 Ford Mustang LX with the four-cylinder, three speed automatic. First drove it by myself on public roads when I was 14. Legally when I was 16. No A/C in Florida. It was a hand-me down times 2. (the blessing of being the youngest child) The only rear-wheel drive car I drove regularly. Could put the car in second and accelerate, albeit slowly, from a stop. Highway speeds were a little scary due to road and engine noise.

My first car was a 1998 Ford Escort sedan. When I got it, I thought it was awesome. I loved the fact that it had a 5 speed manual, it could do hi 30 MPG range on a road trip, and if i wanted to thrash it the car was willing (and you'd never be going fast enough to actually get in trouble with the law). However, the seats were extremely uncomfortable, it was extremely loud on the highway, and it starting rusting away at around 90k miles.

That car is now my brothers with about 125k miles, and its starting to look like its death is near. I now have a 1992 Toyota Camry, which is a much better car for a college student I think, but i will never forget the freedom my Escort gave me.

First car was a 1972 Fiat 128 4-door sedan, bought new. It had a manual choke and a hand throttle knob on the dash, amazing interior and trunk space, 32 mpg driven flat out... which it had to be, 49hp from 1,116cc sweet-revving engine. It was tremendously fun to drive, with great steering and handling, strong brakes, terrific winter traction, it could go anywhere in the snow until ground clearance became the issue. It also had the famous old time Italian driving position, pedals in close and steering wheel far away, short legs and long arms required! A fun, fun car that was very practical, but did not excel in the reliability and longevity realm. Still, a lot of character and many miles of hard use for little money in the day. And surprisingly, by planning ahead it could still pass traffic on two-lane roads, and make very good time.

1987 Ford Escort GT. It ended up being a lemon (got it in '90), but it was a fun first car.

2007 BMW 328i manual sedan, bought it from my parents about six months ago and love it!

A 1984 Merkur XR4Ti....bright red. Turbo charged, mnaual trans, loaded! what more could and 18 year old want for their first car! Loved it drove it til it just wouldn;t go anymore.....This was one underappreciated car. Really ahead of its time. I now drive a 2005 Pontiac Aztek and a 2008 Saturn Vue. What can I say I have a thing for buying unique vehicles!

First car was a 1983 Volvo 240 DL (parents got it new, I got it in '98) 4-speed manual with an electronic overdrive 5th gear that rarely worked. It was definitely slow, but I still loved it. Some day I'd like to restore a 240 and put a small-block V8 in it...

1973 Toyota Corona wagon with 1.6L, 3 speed auto, and a cracked block. It died the final death after about 2 weeks and was replaced with a 1976 Plymouth Arrow 2.0 in orange metallic. That car was a nightmare from the design standpoint and something of a POS, but I loved it nonetheless. I still miss it...sometimes.

1967 Corvair 500, 95 HP 3 speed manual, no options! It sounded cool when you turned the air filter top upside down and wound out 2nd gear, it sounded just like a Porsche, then you put it in third and it just sounded loud! It was a hoot to drive with the rear engine, and you never had to change the oil because it all would leak out, so you just added another quart when the oil pressure light came on! It was reliable and fun to drive, I wish I had a Corsa 140 HP 4 speed convertible today!

The stories of Pre-1990's cars are absolutely entertaining! We Gen-Y(and younger) people have no idea how blessed we are to have avoided the "character" of crappy cars from the 80's & 70's.

My 1st car was a 1999 Accord LX sedan, bought used in 2001. I managed to wreck the transmission in the 36K miles I put on it.

2nd car was a 2003 Civic LX coupe. I was much wiser and friendlier with this car. Drove it for 6 years & 178K miles before giving it to my little sister.(She crashed it)

3rd car 2006 A4 2.0T with CVT. Bought May 09 as a CPO, love the car.

1983 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. Loved that car. I'll never forget that loud turbo whistle from its Garrett AiResearch T-3 turbo. One of the best handling cars of its day too.

Inherited one very tired 1985 Dodge Aries. My older brother messed with it for an autoshop class and it never ran quite right after. K-car for the win! That was quickly replaced with a 1989 Ford Escort Pony that had absolutely no options, not even power steering. Gutless little wonder, but got near 40mpg on the highway.

On a side note, I definitely think that every kid's first car should be a piece of crap beater. How else do you fully appreciate moving up? How else do you learn the ins and outs of how cars work? When you start with an Audi A4 or a 3-series as some above have mentioned, how do you upgrade from that?

My first car was a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4X4 hunter green with beige leather. I thought it was the coolest thing on the planet. and I had it a total of 6 months before I totaled it into a tree. It was 1998 so it really wasn't that old and it was a total tank.

1980 Ford Mustang. 3.3 I6 with a 3spd auto. Talk about gutless. Handled ok and the handbrake slides were fun. Also started my love of off-roading. All trucks since then: 93 Ranger -> 05 Tundra -> 95 Land Cruiser. I'm not sure if i'll ever own another car. Trucks are for utility and bikes cover cheap speed and gas mileage. What else do you need?

My first was a 1990 Volvo 240DL. Bought it in 2003 from my mom's mechanic (a really trustworthy guy) for $1800. It only had 130,000 miles. Any Volvo expert would tell you that this car's engine was just getting broken in by then. Got it when I was 16 and drove it for two years. I absolutely loved the car and babied until the day I passed it onto my brother. It was in decent shape for its age. Mainly suffered from cosmetic issues.

After that my next car was a 2005 Scion xB with 18in TRD wheels and Pirreli P-zero tires. Drove that over a year and wanted something bigger and quicker. Traded for an 2002 Acura TL with 59,000 miles on it. One of my favorite cars but surprisingly gave me more issues than the Volvo did. Traded that with 106,000 on the odo. Currently own a 2006 Chevrolet Trail Blazer with the 4.2 V6 and 45,000 on the odo. Love the truck but will definitely trade it before it reaches 100k mark. Seems to be the secret for American cars lol.

But when I get settled down I still want to purchase another Volvo 240 and fully restore it. That car will always have a spot in my heart. ;-)