When you learned to drive what car was it that you used

[LynneSin]

Mine was a mix between the following 3:

My mom had a 1972 Chevy Impala (the Tank - massive Olive Green car that got 8 miles to the gallon) and a 1976 Ford Explorer back when it was a 150 truck with a fancy trim package. I did not learn to drive in the 70s, we just kept cars forever. I learned to drive stick on my grandfather's Plymouth Horizon which was basically a VW Rabbit under sold by Chysler.

At school it was some sort of Chevy Sedan that they would get from Forbes Chevrolet back when it was in Marysville. We had to be able to change a tire to graduate the class.

[Brickbat]

1. 1980 Mustang. Four-banger standard.

[nolabear]

2. Initially my father's big white convertible Deuce and a Quarter Land Shark. Ruined me for years.

Well, actually it was him. He was a mean driving teacher. Later I actually learned (in my 20s!) in a rattletrap Chevy van, four on the floor. The shift linkage was so screwed up you sometimes had to jump out at a stop light and duck under to pound the thing with a hammer. Thank heaven the town was relatively small. It was fabulous. I've never driven an automatic.

[ohiosmith]

3. 1950 Stud Champ w/three on the tree!

[grasswire]

6. adorable

Wow.

[Arkansas Granny]

39. My folks had one of those. It was maroon and had a sunvisor.

[elleng]

4. THIS ONE!

Olds 88 convertible!!!

[grasswire]

5. a 1962 Buick convertible

White, with red interior. That was a nifty little car.

[hifiguy]

7. My dad's 1968 Ford Galaxy 4-door

302 V8 and automatic tranny.

My first vehicle was a '65 Ford Club Wagon van with a six and three-on-the-tree. It held all my bass amplification gear easily, which was its primary attraction.

[HopeHoops]

52. I've got the '68 Galaxie 500 Fastback that my grandfather bought new - 390.

They also came with 428s, but those were mostly for the cop interceptors. The 390's plenty big enough for me.

This model (but mine's all white with a maroon interior...
http://www.holley.com/data/VirtualShow/Pictures/Large2384!2008-5-17!23H18M0S.jpg

[hifiguy]

56. A buddy of mine had a '68 fastback for years.

Green/black, 302/auto. Those cars could haul ass but the 390 was a real rocket. The 428 was kinda nose-heavy - not surprising because that was a truck engine. Surprised that the rear wheels didn't come off the ground from the leverage alone.

[HopeHoops]

57. Actually, the 390, 360, and 330 were also truck engines (and all bolt compatible).

I kept breaking motor mounts. Finally I had them put the cop mounts in, but I still broke those. The owner's manual says not to go over 70 mph in 1st gear. I frequently shifted into second at 75 - talk about a neck-snapper. I wouldn't call it nose heavy with respect to acceleration, even with the 428, but on turns I could see the 428 being a stability problem. You could feel the dip even with the 390. She would burn rubber from a stop (automatic, just brake and gas pedals, not shifter dropping).

She's been in storage for a long time. The frame needs some work and the transmission "hickuped" on me at 70 mph. She still got me 70 or so miles back home at about 55, but it needs to be overhauled or replaced. The time in storage means the brakes and exhaust will have to be replaced too. I don't have the money for that right now, but Carlisle, PA is about 20 minutes away and if you need access to vintage parts, there's no better place I'm aware of.

Right now I'm more concerned with coolant leaks in my Montana and Sable (my bane with every car). The Montana's lower seal is shot and that's an expensive repair. The Sable's leak is somewhere near the steering column but nothing I can see. It's also probably a lower seal problem. Those are on the list ahead of restoring a show car.

[rrneck]

9. 1948 Willis Jeep

Sorta like this.



Kid heaven.

[liberal N proud]

27. I reatored a 47 Willy's Sedan Delivery

It was my dad's, he latter traded it for a golf cart.
It was a fun vehicle.

[digonswine]

10. A reddish Plymouth Reliant K-

called the Maroon Goon. Later a cruddy olive drab Chevy Nova--at least it had some balls. I haven't thought of those in years.

[benld74]

11. 1968 Chevy Impala, learned stick elsewhere

[Broken_Hero]

12. A 1969 VW Beetle, and a mid 80's Eagle, nt

[TrogL]

13. Monte Carlo

Nice roomy back seat.

[RebelOne]

14. A Studebaker. Don't know the year.

I think it was the middle '50s.

[OriginalGeek]

15. I took Driver's Ed

in a 79 or 80 Olds Cutlass. The kind that had been modified with controls on the passenger side.

Never got to drive anything else before taking my driver's license texst - I did that in a 71 Firebird Formula with a 400 cubic inch engine. It was quite a change.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

16. I think it was my parents' humongous land yacht,

a mid- '60s Oldsmobile of some sort (it was yellow). Then I taught myself to drive a stick shift after I bought a used '68 Toyota Corolla. Didn't even ruin the transmission.

[mikeytherat]

17. Dad's 1973 Mazda RX-2 - very cool! Mom's 1983 RX-7 (very cool)!

The beige Pontiac station wagon, which we called The Butterscotch Bomb. Very, very uncool.

mikey_the_rat

RX-2 - so cool!

[RevStPatrick]

18. A turquoise Volvo 244...

...almost exactly like this one:



It had a stick shift and was quite a heavy car.
The folks taught us kids to drive, and the deal was when we could stop on a steep road facing uphill, and hold the car in place just with the gas and the clutch without using the brakes, we could go and take our driver's tests.

Sis and I both became pretty good drivers, and I think that little insistence on Mom's part was a good part of why.

[Kali]

19. old pick up here in the summer

but for traffic it was the 1964 Ford Family Truckster, er...I mean station wagon.

[Submariner]

20. 1963 Nash Rambler 3 speed manual on the column

The DMV license road tester made me stop on a steep hill and then go forward without slipping backwards. That was tough back in the day.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

21. Ford Anglia

Today, the car would be a most-enviable antique/classic. At the time, it was just an old car, underpowered, with an impossible clutch and a quirky/grindy gearbox. A hooptie.

[LiberalEsto]

22. Volkswagen Beetle, probably circa 1964 nt

[shadowrider]

23. 1965 Buick Wildcat

[kcass1954]

24. My mother's 1964 Pontiac Catalina - mint metallic green.

Despite repeated attempts, I could never parallel-park that sucker. And, as it turns out, I didn't need to do it to get my license. I was 17 and had great long legs and very short shorts.

Later, my dad taught me how to drive a stick in his Volkswagen.

[LynneSin]

25. Our parallel parking test was a joke

Make a right turn and pull up against the curb.

To this day if one of the spaces at the end of the street where I live is free I just pull in there instead of dealing with parallel parking.

[liberal N proud]

26. 1964 Plymouth Belvedere

Only it didn't look like that.

[HereSince1628]

28. 58 chevy brookwood wagon

Purrty V8, automatic, a gas guzzler even when gas was so cheap, filling stations didn't use dollar signs.

Much like this one but sans the chrome wheels.

[Teamster Jeff]

29. 1973 Ford Maverick that was

school bus yellow. It was an ugly POS but I loved it.

[hibbing]

55. Not the green weenie?

Hi,
Hehe, my sister had some obnoxious green Maverick.

Peace

[baldguy]

30. '73 Pinto wagon.

NOT the worst POS I've ever driven, but close.

[sakabatou]

31. '98 Nissan Sentra

[greatauntoftriplets]

32. 1964 Chevrolet Caprice...

with what for the time was a standard Corvette engine.



Dratted car was eventually stolen and never recovered.

[Major Nikon]

33. 1950 Willys Jeep

[Xipe Totec]

34. 1961 Ford Falcon nt

[femmocrat]

35. A huge old Chrysler New Yorker.

I don't know what year it was. I had to take the test three times.

[FloridaJudy]

36. My Uncle's 60s El Camino Truck

I know they're considered hot collectibles now, but the effin' thing handled like a tank! I figured if I could parallel park that, I could handle damned near anything.

At that time, you had to be able to parallel park your car to pass the California driver's test. I learned on the El Camino, but took the test with my sister's VW bug, which was much more nimble.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

37. 1963 Buick Riviera, my dad's car

I was 15 and it was 1965. A year later he bought a Ford Mustang and I continued learning to drive with that.

[Arkansas Granny]

38. It was a 1949 Chevy two door coupe that belonged to the guy I was dating.

And, yes, I am older than dirt.

[texanwitch]

40. It was a old 1949 Chevy pickup truck, with no power steering.

The starter button was on the floor.

Wish I had that old truck now.

It had a wooden bed.

[Baitball Blogger]

41. Me too. A green Impala.

[IggleDoer]

42. 1953 Ford Fairlane

[Ptah]

43. 1957 ford country sedan 4 door station wagon.

1957 ford country sedan 4 door station wagon.

[sadbear]

44. See post #2 in the following thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018199814

[Mopar151]

53. Road car - '72 VW "squareback"

[WestWisconsinDem]

45. 1974 Plymouth Duster

225 slant six, three on the tree, vinyl seats, and an AM radio!

[Flaxbee]

46. Blue hatchback Honda Accord.

Stick shift.

I still prefer manual transmission, but haven't had one in ages...

[OxQQme]

47. Mom and Dad's 56 Dodge wagon

brand new, push button shifter, 4barrel carb, three tone



high school sophomore

[JoeyT]

48. 72 Rally Sport Camaro.

My parents were insane enough to let me drive it when I was 14. I didn't learn to drive in the 70s either, my parents also kept cars forever. Right up until they let me drive that.

Looked pretty much identical to this:

[zonkers]

49. Cool rides. I love how we all have car stories. We are so lucky to have caught the tail end of the.

"real" motoring era. Now due to density and other aspects of modern society, including GPS, google maps, cell phones, etc, it just aint the same.

I learned to drive in a 68 Pontiac Lemans Convertible. It was the most unique and awesome shade of blue inside and out . It wsa spooky fast and had an 8 cyl. engine engine. Back then they sold hot rod coups to everybody, even grandma. What a time.

[RiffRandell]

50. 1986 red Honda CRX.

Standard.

[HopeHoops]

51. I took my test in a 76 LeMans sedan (20') and put it in a 26' parallel parking spot.

[hibbing]

54. 1977 Duster

Hi,
I don't know anything about cars, but I do remember driving home from a lake in that thing at some gosh awful hour in the morning and going about 95 in the thing, so it must have had some horsepower.

Blue with blue interior, don't see many Dusters around these days.

Friend of mind had a weird colored station wagon, we always referred to it as the Family Truckster.


Fun thread, thanks.

Peace