Chances are, if you read TTAC as part of a balanced breakfast, you probably had more than a few toy cars scattered around the house like rice at a wedding when you were an OshKosh B’gosh-clad tike. These diminutive metal replicas lurked deep within the shag-pile carpeting, lying with their pointy sides up, waiting to rend bare feet asunder.
In later years, these toys were supplanted by trips to real dealerships, where I no doubt made a nuisance of myself as a prepubescent boy who was interested in examining the new metal for that model year. There are three models whose image remain firmly imprinted on my mind after seeing them for the first time through the lens of a youngster’s eye. Surely, you’ve got one too.
Growing up in a town whose population could easily be housed in a medium-sized Wal-Mart, my youthful opportunities for seeing the new metal I read about in buff books were few and far between. That we resided a 90-minute drive from the nearest showroom certainly didn’t help, and even those were largely single-car affairs. The good stuff was even further away.
Naturally, whenever we made the trek to a larger centre, I made sure my desire to drive through a car lot was well-broadcasted days in advance. If I was lucky, Dad would actually stop the car, leading to an excited 10-year-old being looked upon with a mixture of bemusement and disdain by showroom sales staff.
The Diamond Star triplets had effusive praise heaped upon them after their 1990 model year introduction, so I pleaded with Dad to stop at the dealership during a long haul trip to the capital city, a full five-hours away. Climbing the stairs of Tom Woodford’s dealership (whose showroom was on the second floor, a concept which blew my 10-year-old brain), I found a top-of-the-line Eagle Talon TSi AWD, in Black Cherry Metallic (unlike the Black Clearcoat shown above) with a two-tone grey and black interior sitting amongst the stodgy Dynastys and Acclaims. Image. Seared. Forever.
The pop-up headlamps. The hump in the hood. That driver focused, controls-on-an-angle interior. I incessantly nattered about all these traits to my long-suffering parents on the 300-mile drive home. It’s a wonder they didn’t toss me off a bridge.
Whether it was a result of the styling, sound, or speed … what was the first new car you saw with your own two eyes that seared itself into your brain?
VW Beetle.
79 Mustang Pace car
I was 16
Beat me to it. I was also 16.
The TRX wheels were awesome.
A 1976 Forumula 400 Firebird, in beautiful orange with white vinyl seats. I was dumbstruck. But if you were a suburban kid in the 70’s, then we ALL wanted a Firebird or a Camaro. Every single one of us.
In the TV age of Charlie’s Angels, nobody wanted a Mustang. LOL
“then we ALL wanted a Firebird or a Camaro”
Only if you grew up in a beer commercial. And a lot did.
Many of my classmates of ’72 lusted after 2002s and Z-cars. I only cared about trucks & vans.
It was the 70’s and it was America. So yeah, teenage car enthusiasts were essentially extras in a beer commercial. And long before lowering your suspension became vogue, we were all jacking up our rears with air-shocks.
Similar sh1t, different age.
Nah. Me and my ’68 Galaxie preyed upon malaise era cars. T-top Trans Am’s were a favourite target usually driven by a teenage kid who obviously didn’t buy it.
If one says first car I had memories of would be that same ’68 Ford also 60’s era Ford pickups and 60’s era B-model Mack trucks.
This is true. My green Firebird lust as a 70’s kid grew into an Ontario Grey Firebird as a teen. Many of my friends owned 305-equipped Camaros, and one lucky friend had a 400, 4-speed Formula.
One thing we knew already: There was a 66 GTO in town. We had ridden in it. We watched his father swap the two-speed for a TH400. We left it well-enough alone at stoplights.
One thing we learned: Those ugly little 5.0 Fox-bodies might as well have been rocket-powered.
From my very first car show…the Suburu XT
Two cars at the same time. The Old Man’s 1956 Ford Customline and my uncle’s MGA.
“1956 Ford Customline”
Goddammit, yes!
As far as ’56 Fords go : the Crown Victoria Two Door…..
-Nate
My favorite was the ’58-’60 Thunderbird. Built the Monogram model, and was smitten with it.
Couldn’t afford the Crown Victoria so got the 2-door (Tudor) Customline with the V8. Same beautiful front grill.
Apologies to the ’57 and ’55 Chev fans and I prefer the looks of the 55 to the 57 but the ’56 Ford is in my estimation far better looking than either.
I’m with you Arthur. There is something about the lines of the 55 that appeals to me over the 57.
I cannot argue this ~
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I’m a Bowtie Guy to my toes but the ’56 Fords are simply beautiful Automobiles .
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Me, I’d prefer a ’55 Chevy Coupe but those old Fords are a high standard of beauty .
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-Nate
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado.
Ditto for me
Yes! Along with the 68.
Runners up are the Z cars and the early 90’s 500 SL. I was 5 when I first saw an early Toronado. Love at first sight.
One of my mother’s boyfriends in probably 1970 had a, IIRC, 66 Toronado. Man what a great car. He even gave me a small diecast of it. Damn I wish I still had it.
’86 Mazda 323. Low standards yes, but it’s a long story.
1982 Volkswagen Santana GLX 5. (Quantum sedan in your parts, I think.)
Yeah, I know.
The Ecto-1.
Yup. 5 year old me wanted the real thing soooooo bad.
A combination of 2 cars, I’ve got the General and Mr. Ford to thank.
Dad’s 1967 Ford Mustang convertible (I was born in 1977 and Dad owned it from 1978 until I took ownership in 2013.) It originally belonged to my mother’s cousin and then to her father until his death in 1978. It has the humble 2 barrel 289 but exhaling through dual glasspacks made it sound like a quartet of Harley Davidsons hitting the kick-starter simultaneously. At 5 years old I would run to screen door between the kitchen and garage just to hear him start it up and watch him pull away. (Now my 2 year old daughter can be in the house playing and when I start the beast my wife reports that she says: “Whoa” and starts looking around for the source.)
The first family car I have consciousness of is a 1972 Cutlass Supreme coupe that was a light blue and Dad had repainted a metallic silver. The earliest memory that I have is of a hot summer day (I would have been 2 or 3) toddling out into the garage. Dad had just washed and waxed that car and had the garage door closed all but a foot or two so he would have shade for waxing. The floor was still wet and the sun was setting low. The door faced west and the light was reflecting off of the puddles on the floor. Combine that with the silver color and the car was glowing as if it were supernatural.
It was a 1985 Buick Riviera that my grandmother had, which must have been 11 or 12 years old by then. I’m pretty sure I took my first car ride ever in it. It had the 5.0-liter (Oldsmobile 307) V8 and was brown with brown leather; I affectionately nicknamed it The Brown Car. I don’t recall it being very fast, but it had excellent traction in the Denver winters (on account of its longitude-FWD construction), and the steering was so overboosted, you could turn the wheel with your pinky.
First car I have memories of – 1987 Olds Toronado Trofeo. Black on black, Astroroof, and an NEC car phone. My dad ordered it from Lokey Olds in Clearwater; it was the first Trofeo in the state of Florida.
First car I lusted after – ’95 Olds Aurora. Saw it on the turnstyle at the auto show in Tampa. I later owned/still own one.
First car I ever wanted – ’96 Olds Ninety Eight Regency Elite.
I was born in 1984. I have peculiar tastes.
“1987 Olds Toronado Trofeo”
Loved, loved, loved that car. Don’t actually know why, but I did. (Riviera and Eldorado, not so much.)
Mmmmmmmm…….1996 Olds 98…..yum. You have GOOD TASTE, young man. Still looking for one, but they’re all gone or hopelessly used up (200,000 miles+ on the odometer).
Very nice sir. I think you need to share pics of the Regency in your possession.
The Aurora was the first car that I lusted after, too! I still have my ’98. 245,000km now
I’m an ’85 baby. The car that awoke my passion for automobiles was in 1995 when my parents bought the 92 LeSabre Limited. The 3800 stole my heart and never gave it back.
Not my dream car but the one that started the madness.
Easy question. Lamborghini Countach
Countach has to be it for me, too. When I got old enough to really have any sort of understanding of cars, I fell in love with the BMW Z3/M Roadster/M Coupe.
I think I first saw one in the movie “Splash” with Tom Hanks and (drool!) Daryl Hannah…an E28 5 series that the Hanks character drove. And then I started seeing these euro beasts on the road and I fell hard for them. Far too practical I know for a nine year old to get attached to but there it is. My dad’s second wife also owned two inline six sedans — E12 528i and an E23 733i. But I never really got over the E28 lust.
Had a thing for Trans Ams too in the late 70s thanks to Burt Reynolds films like “Hooper” but never came close to them much “in the wild”.
Later in the 80s I encountered the beautiful as all get out Buick Reatta at the car’/ local launch at a Buick dealership a friend of the family owned. That car was stunning in person, particularly next to Regals and Skyhawks, and Buick Century wagons….
Third-generation Camaro. The styling was a revelation in the early ’80s, especially with the Z28/IROC aero bits. I was a little kid and had no idea that the 305 was a piece of junk or that the interior had the build quality of a furniture store TV prop.
This. When I was eight my next door neighbor bought a brand new IROC-Z and I was captivated by it until he moved away a few years later. The exhaust note was incredible, of course I had no idea that the performance didn’t back up the looks and sound.
Yes. I was 12 in the local Safeway grocery store when the cover of a Car and Driver caught my eye. I had always loved cars, but suddenly the prospect of having a Firebird or Camaro was really exciting. I also was afflicted with the red mist which obscured the fact that the plastic, buttons, and grafix (intentional 80’s sp) of their interiors was pretty much equivalent to cheap robot toys. This article inspired me to take a quick look at Hemmings, and the 3rd Gen interiors did NOT hold up well, even the garage queens).
This was one of my dream cars in the mid ’80’s before I got my license. The other on the list was the Buick Grand National.
Lusted after a Buick GN in myself. A GNX would have been the ultimate.
Third-generation Camaro. The styling was a revelation in the early ’80s, especially with the Z28/IROC aero bits. I was a little kid and had no idea that the 305 was a piece of junk or that the interior had the build quality of a furniture store TV prop.
I would have to say the 63 Buick Rivera, 63 Grand Prix, 63 Plymouth Fury, any 61 thru 67 Impala SS, 64 Chevelle Malibu, 63 Ford Galaxy 500 XL, 63 XKE, any early Corvette, early Chevy IIs, Studebaker Avanti and Golden Hawk, and a host of other 60’s thru early 70’s Detroit metal. I use to assemble AMT car kits and won 2 and 3rd place city wide in a model car competition when I was 12. I also had a fondness for 55 thru 57 T-Birds and 50’s thru 60’s Ford and Chevy pickups. I would ride my bicycle up to the Chevy dealership nearby and look at the new Chevys during their introduction.
1968 Mercury Cougar XR-7.
I was all of 5 years old when I saw the car brand new in the showroom.
The neighbor’s brand new 1988 Cabernet Red Mustang LX 5.0L hatchback with a manual transmission.
Those stainless steel dual exhausts….and the sound…just glorious.
I was 12 years old and my parents had boring-ass Celebrity Wagon and a Volvo 240 wagon and that Mustang was just SO DAMN COOL.
Forget the stupid Lamborghini Countachs and Porsche 911s that other kids loved, I wanted that Mustang so bad.
Eventually I got one, an Jewel Green 1991 LX 5.0L notchback 5sp with 3.08 gears.
LX 5.0 with a manual transmission. That’s the one to have.
1994 RX7.
My parents were buying a Mazda MPV after the guy at the Nissan dealership refused to give us an agreeable price on a Nissan Quest. At that age, all I really knew was that it wasn’t a Miata, and they were much less common.
It was an Acura NSX (the first gen, pre-facelift) for me – yellow with white rims.
They just look so purpose-built and captivating. I loved the Acura badge, my earliest car memory is in my dad’s first gen Acura Integra, coming out a cloverleaf, hearing the front tires claw for traction as he rowed through the gears. I’m a sucker for high redline N/A motors to this day (a decade of riding sports bikes helps) and that NSX just seemed so ephemeral – I was in the back seat of my mom’s volvo wagon and it stopped next to me at a stop light and pulled away so fast after the light turned green. There one moment, gone the next. It may as well have been a spaceship, it was out of reach so fast.
Not sure if I can pinpoint a single “eureka!” moment, but I vividly recall learning how to drive a stick shift on my dad’s old ZAZ-966 Zaporozhets when I was 10 or so years old. I had a very heavy clutch and a reversed shift pattern on the 4spd transmission. The battery was shot so a stall would require pushing the car back to the garage so we could plug it into his home made booster and crank start it with the hand-starter. It was a real sense of accomplishment to finally get a feel for it and not stall out.
My brother and I would spend hours just poking around our dad’s cars, figuring out what all the buttons and levers did, just dreaming of finally being able to drive legally ourselves. My brother brought back issues of Car and Driver home from school where a teacher saw in him a budding enthusiast, we’d read and re-read absolutely everything. Minivan comparisons? Fascinating. Long term test reports about a Chrysler 300M Ooh yeah.
’57 T-Bird parked at the curb on Broadway on the North side of Chicago while walking to Grandma’s. I was 8 or 10.
Hmmm… the first car that really struck me? My old man definitely could spin a good yarn and definitely lived up to that american stereotype of being a,nation of tall tale tellers and his favorite stories always involved a T-5 Mach 1 on the autobahn. Specifically the time he messed around with a BMW and my love of Mustangs was born from that probably more of an unspoken tribute to my dad more than anything else.
But there is definitely one car that came out in 1984 that took me 32 years to actually see in person and that is the Ferrari 288 GTO – the most quintessential FerrarI to this guy’s eyes!
I had the good fortune of visiting some friends in Italy for a coupla,weeks and during that time I made the trek to both the Maranello and Modena museums as well as the Lamborghini museum in Sant’Agata ( neat fact – Modena is about 20 or 30 minutes up the road from Maranello and Sant’Agata Bolognese is 30 minutes or so from Modena making for a,cool way to spend a coupla hours looking at cars ) but the trip to Maranello was entirely to see the 288 GTO!!!!
288 GTO is my answer as well. It lived on a poster on my wall from the ages of 8-16 or so and I could stare at it for hours. Saw my first (and second AND a 288 evo) in person in Daytona last weekend. Sitting right next to each other and being largely ignored because of all the other insane Ferraris that they were sharing the space with.
They had an EVO at the Modena museum as well and the development car for the LaFerrari.
The 288 also came out at a time when cars just werent that special.
In 1984 what was there to lust over?
Nothing.
For me one of the groundbreaking cars was the 1989 R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R… at the time such a car was impossible and incomparable to anything else created.
In 1989 what is one to make of an intercooled twin turbo straight six with two cams 24 valves, six throttle bodies, 4wd, 4ws, sub 5 sec 0-60 and 13 sec quarters?
On a mere (alleged) 280hp?
Amazing car. Even today. Also a car with legendary street appeal, at least in RHD countries.
Showing my age here …..
At 11 years of age,The 1963 Corvette, and then the 1968 Corvette at 16 years of age . 1968 Rally Sport equipped Z/28’s also stole my heart .
I ended up with one of those Diamondstar cars, a 1990 Plymouth Laser turbo. It is sitting in my garage right now in extra fine condition with slightly over 100,000 miles.
The fire chicken Trans Am in Smokey and the Bandit. The Mako Corvette. The 240Z. As a kid in the late 70s those shapes were iconic. From Matchbox cars to models to remote controlled toys I had them.
I owed a ’96 Eclipse GS-T so I understand the Diamond Star lust.
Oh My Good Lord, YES! A black and gold 1977 TA with t-tops and a puking chicken. I’d love to be on the D.c. beltway; T-tops in the trunk and Sister Sledge on the stereo. Since I live in VA, the odds of getting a “Band1” vanity plate is pretty good. I wasn’t driving when the movie came out and I still want one.
Isn’t a Trans Am if it doesn’t have t-roofs. Had a ’79 black on black, 400(not 403), 4SP, WS6. Fun car. Gotta be in black & have the 8″ snowflake wheels, not the skinny 7″.
Plymouth Superbird. I have a pic of my 5-year old self holding up a plum crazy Superbird SST car. My dad was a Chrysler salesman and I’d go to work with him on Saturday’s and sit in all the Road Runners, GTXs and ‘Cuda’s.
A Citroen CX 2400 Pallas that I first saw during a trip to Spain when I was nine years old. I have had Majorette, Solido, Norev die cast models of it but have never had the opportunity to drive one or to even ride in one and it remains an elusive unicorn to me.
Probably the C5 Corvette for me. Most of my memories start around the age of two, and that was right about when it came out. I still remember seeing a bright yellow one blowing by on the highway one day and thinking how badly I wanted ride in that instead of our relatively sedate Subaru Outback at the time.
When I was 10 I determined the car I must have: 1995 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. Because it was big and V8 powered. 31 year old self kinda still wants one….
We’re of the same mindset. Grandma had an LT1-powered Caprice, and she was a bit of a leadfoot. I remember hearing that big V8 roar and being thrown back into the seat as she’d pass people on M-43 on the way to Lake Michigan.
It was a night and day difference from the 2.8L V6 in my Mom’s Eurosport Celebrity Wagon.
As with most depression-era/WWII folks, she kept it well-maintained for a long time and would regularly let me drive it, which was most excellent for a 16-year old.
I had one of these! Yes, this was my 1st car and it was awesome.
I had a black 1994 Plymouth Laser RS turbo. Crank windows, 5spd and 190hp turbo 2.0L. It was an awesome car! Good memories.
Holy Mother:
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Holy Father:
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You are a man of impeccable tastes.
Now what about all the youngsters on this sight craving malaise era autos?
“Now what about all the youngsters on this sight craving malaise era autos?”
Forgive them for they know not what they do!
We are all products of our time! The trouble with older cars as they become rare and prohibitively more expensive they become less relevant.
I remember when 60’s and early 70’s muscle was fairly affordable as were some earlier vehicles and not the province of a bunch of drunk old guys bidding at an auction where even fake muscle is/was fetching six and seven digit bids.
“You are a man of impeccable tastes.”
I claim no connoisseurship, Mr. Daily; I just had the sheer good luck to do my bonding in the late ’50s.
And them poor Malaise kids had to imprint upon what was around at the time. Not their fault they were never surrounded by gleaming, enameled and chromed chariots unhurriedly parading by with rich, deep burbling music rumbling the very sidewalks their little Dr. Scholl’s stood upon.
yes ~ the 1956 Ford Crown Victoria and a (?’58?) Chevy Task Force pickup truck with NAPCO 4X4 conversion ~ the best of the best .
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Same time frame when I was young but ’36 ~ ’39 Coupes, mostly GM Products were the thing for me as a Child .
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Hard to choose the *one* that impacted me the most, prolly the A’ Model Fords .
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Motocycles : InLine four cylinder Indian ‘Ace’, IIRC that was actually a Henderson made with tooling bought after Henderson folded .
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-Nate
My Cub Scout Den Mother’s husband worked for FoMoCo and owned a brand new 1969 Boss 302 Mustang. He drove a car full of us scouts to a University of Michigan football game. I have no idea who they played or who won, but after that unbelievable ride, I knew the Boss 302 was the greatest car, ever.
88 Prelude Si 4ws. It was the car I always wanted and I got it. It exceeded all expectations.
Lotus Esprit. British Racing Green with Yellow Interior. Chicago Auto Show
F
You are a Ford guy through and through…haha. I love it. My next car may well be a Ford (Fusion Energi Titanium). We’ve never had one in my family when I was a kid, but I’d say that since about the 80s, Ford lineups have overall been better than those of GM or Chrysler.
As for the BOF Kia…my mother did have one when I was in middle and high school. It was a 2003 Kia Sorento EX, fully-loaded and with 4WD, green over beige leather with beige lower cladding. It lasted until April of 2009, when she did a too-fast u-turn to go change her shoes (insert woman stereotype here), hit the side what happened to be my best friend’s mother’s Expedition that was going the other way on the road, and then caused it to roll over, totaling it. It’s funny because I remember getting off of the bus and seeing my best friend’s Mom’s Expedition, since their house was the bus stop. Then, when I got home and my grandmother told me my mom had been in an accident, and said I’d never believe who she hit…I put two and two together and figured it out before she could tell me. My mother replaced the Sorento with a Murano (two Asian cars in a row named after Italian cities, haha), but said the entire time that she missed the truck-like ride of the Kia, although I don’t think she did. She then replaced the Murano with a Sonata, but is making noises about sitting up high off the ground once more. I’ve been hinting that she and my stepdad should look at either a Grand Cherokee or an RX. My stepdad’s DEFINITELY a Ford guy, so I could probably convince him to check out the Explorer or Edge, though.
Kyree, I’m actually looking at a 2006 Sorento now. It is not my first choice, being an automatic and 2wd, but its intended purpose is to be an Uber car, so it isn’t one for my “personal” fleet.
What annoys me is I found a 4wd manual up near Seattle for around the same asking price. If only there wasn’t a 6,000 mile trip (combined there and back) between us.
Actually, its gone (the 5spd/4wd). It would be worth keeping after I retired it from Uber. The 2wd/auto? Not so much. Oh well.
For those wondering, Uber requirements in my area specify 2005 or newer with a clean title, the Sorento fits the bill and is only about $1500. It needs minor repair I can do myself, but its clean otherwise and in good mechanical condition, 160K miles. I plan to replace the timing belt if I get it.
I’ve never been an Uber driver, but it would seem to be the perfect job for someone who loves to drive, but has to take day(s) off at times to deal with a physical disability (almost intolerable pain). I can think of no other job with that kind of flexibility.
I picked the Sorento over a 2005-2007 Taurus because of the high failure rate of their torque converters. Besides, the ones I see under $2k are in far worse shape (usually) than the Sorento. There are other cars that fit the requirement, but I don’t want to drive a Kia Rio, Chevy Classic or a Chrysler Sebring. I believe I would be better off in the SUV. It also has more room for rider’s luggage/etc.
My Dad’s younger brother had all sorts of cool cars when I was a kid in the 70’s. But my all time favorite was a Gobi Beige 1966 Chevy Biscayne 2 door sedan (hence my name). This car was the real deal, no clone: 427 engine, 4 speed transmission, 12 bolt rear, radio delete. That thing pulled like a freight train!! I loved that car and the day he wrecked it I almost cried. Left a big impression on me. He went on to own several different Corvettes (big and small block) as well as a Buick Grand National GNX. Now he drives a Ford truck and deals with horsepower of the 4 legged kind.
De Tomaso Pantera
I saw one on the street and thought it must be a Ferrari or Maserati but soon found you could buy a new one off the Lincoln Mercury lot, just like a Capri, Cougar or Marquis.
My dad had a Talon JUST like that one. The Black/grey. Great car to drive.
“QOTD: Do Remember the First Car That Hooked You?”
Complicated question. Depends on what is meant by “hooked”.
But, if it means getting “sucked in” to the automotive culture in which vehicles are no longer considered just appliances to get from point A to point B, then I’d have to say, increasingly in order:
1) First car: a used 1959 Rambler Classic, which I could (and did) get used to fixing myself; THEN…
2) 1968 VW Beetle, which I modified to be a little hot rod while in Germany for 2 years,THEN…
3) (and this may surprise some) 1974 Dodge D100 pickup truck: unpretentious, tough, fast, very easy and cheap to maintain, and could do “everything”.
So, there seems to have been a “sucked in” sequence, with each vehicle drawing me deeper into my enthusiaitis, a very severe pathological condition… (^_^)…
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My family had a 61 Rambler Classic. What a wonderfully bad car. After the car was T-Boned, we held the rear doors shut with rope. The more kids that sat in the back seat, the tighter the doors were. What is insane is that my father was an insurance executive.
Delorean or Porsche 930
Similar, bud. I went shopping for an Eagle Talon with my brand new wife (less than 1 year); came home with the Chrysler Sebring Coupe with a 2.0 and 5-speed stick (yes, clutch on a Chrysler) — same car & platform as the Eagle, but with a back seat.
2nd best decision I made that year.
Good thing you didn’t trade the wife in for the car if she was brand-new. That first-year depreciation is *steep*! :P
Ha! 19 years later; I still have the wife. Wish I still had that car, too.
The bug eyed 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX.
Where were you in ’62 (autumn, that is)? Hitting the trifecta with the Corvette Sting Ray, Studebaker Avanti, and Buick Riviera.
Then just 2 years later, the 1965 Pontiac Bonneville — oh those hips!
Seems like I was in elementary school, in second grade. But as guys often are, I’d already developed an interest in planes and cars.
Lambo Countach. With the AWESOME green Alpine system!
Tiny little town (in Canada) and this car was on the tour circuit. Have no idea why.
’80 Z-28 Camaro was my first car. Still want it back.
My only true love if i’m to be honest was a 70 (71?) 240 Z. Sold my ’73 Kawasaki motorbike for it. Well…straight up trade.
I actually miss that bike. Shat brown and puke orange…but THE POWER,THE POWER!!! (Which far exceeded the brakes…and the frame…and my riding ability.)
1993-97 Chrysler Concorde. My favorite colors are white, dark plum, hunter green or wheat gold, all with grey body cladding.
Growing up, my aunt Terry owned a 1994 Concorde, plum with grey cladding. I loved that car so much that I wanted one of my own.
Fast forward several years later. I bought one as soon as I became driving age: a wheat gold 1997 Concorde in mint condition, eight years old at the time with less than 40k miles. It didn’t have the grey cladding that I liked so much (as that was dropped in 1996) but that didn’t matter a whole lot.
Unfortunately it was sideswiped on a parked street and my insurance totalled it. That’s when another door opened. I purchased a 2004 Dodge Intrepid ES.
Oldsmobile Aurora
I was 16….my uncle’s 1985 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz. Took me until 2010 to buy one of my own.
I’d just gotten out of high school and car rags were full of the Ferrari 288 GTO and this oddball 4-banger turbo Mustang with an offset hood scoop. I didn’t see a 288 GTO in person for another decade or so, but got to see an SVO Mustang at my first auto show in the “big city” 2.5 hours away that year. I still have a soft spot for SVOs even though they ended up an evolutionary dead-end (at least until the EcoBoost resurrected the turbo-4 Mustang.)
Numerous cars had caught my attention before then, but being in a small town where few people could afford to buy new the interesting cars were primarily older (1960s) iron.
Probably my Aunt and Uncle’s Series Land Rovers and VW Beetles. It was all they drove from before I was born until I was a teenager in the early 80s, then she switched to VW Rabbits. Which also made a good impression on me. My uncle taught me to drive in those trucks. I never got to drive the Beetles, but the Rabbits were a blast.
My Gram’s big blue/green ’58 Buick impressed me, as did Dad’s ’61 black Chrysler Newport. My the first car I configured fully in my developing mind was a green ’71 Scamp with a slant six. Low standards, I know.
For me me it was seeing the Jaguar Mark 2 on the Inspector Morse series on TV. At first I had no idea what it was and about a month later I was downtown at one of those magazine/news stores that had magazines from all over the world. There on the cover of one of the British classic car magazines was a comparison between all of Jaguar’s small saloons in the 60’s, including a red Mark 2 just like on TV.
Many years later I bought a 1966 S Type and stripped it to a bare shell and restored it. I blame PBS and Inspector Morse for introducing me to Jaguars! I’m down to 4 of them now, and yes they all run.
Great show and an iconic car. The one used in the show was auctioned for a phenomenal price.
My uncle traded his MGA for a Mark 2. He was a dentist and always had one phenomenal American vehicle and a British vehicle. My favourite was his Cheverolet SS (Impala) I believe a MY 1967. First car that I ever sat in that had seatbelts, a floor shifter for an automatic and if I remember correctly head rests(?).
I remember seeing a new BMW 320i at a local car show and just letting its perfection wash over me. Mind you I was still about a year away from driving a real car at the age of nine, but the E21 BMW spoke to me in a way that it could only speak to someone who didn’t understand the limitations of a pure MacPherson strut suspension with just a sway bar to locate the front wheels in any direction other than vertically. I was smitten though, and would spend a bit more than the next decade working towards getting my hands on my first new BMW. Ultimately, I learned quite a bit by how many years and terrible BMWs it took for me to lose an affinity based on only a couple decent products in a span of decades of Baroque Angels, Isettas, rusty CSs, thermal reactor-equipped 3 liters, profile gasket M42s, bio-degradable E36s, Nikasil V8s, Mini Cooper lemons, throw-away 7-series, and everything since Chris Bangle left Fiat.
Dad’s 1977 F-250 Ranger XLT SuperCab. Yes, really! I was enamored with how it had room for all of us but still had a bed and could pull the camper. From a very young age, I was helping him load and unload that thing at all the farm toy shows around, all the shelves and banana boxes full of tractor literature and that beaten-up spinning rack that went “spwwannng” when you flicked it.
Of course, Mom’s minivans were much comfier on long road trips. And IIRC, the three-door models had an HVAC control panel on the driver’s side passenger spot, so a kid could fiddle with it and pretend to control things even if Mom had turned it off.
The 1970-73 Camaro (I would have been about 7 at the time). For some reason, the round taillights stuck with me–and this was before I knew how many Ferrari styling cues the second-gen Camaro had.
The 1970-73 Camaro is another car I liked when they first came out, and I still like them to this very day. I will mention that they didn’t debut in the fall of 1969, like most other 1970 model cars as a result of a GM strike at the plant building them. Thus, it is often considered a 1970 1/2 car in it’s first new-body-style year.
Love the 2nd Gen Camaro’s. Give me a tribute Z28 so I can drive it (no trailer garage/queens) w/modern updates to the motor, brakes and chassis.
I’m showing my age here, much older than most of you.
1- 1962 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk. I was 12, it was way exotic. Finally bought a 1964 version in 2005 as a gift to myself for my 50th birthday. A very cool variation on the Raymond Loewy ’53 coupe, updated by Brookes Stevens.
2- 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado. Amazing style and American technology in its day.
When I was a kid playing in front of my grandparents Brooklyn row house there was a neighbor who had a red Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk. It always caught my eye but what struck me was the roof line mirrored the personal luxury coupes of the era, the Thunderbird and Riviera.
Studebaker actually bought a Thunderbird and grafted the top onto a Hawk to see how it looked as they were developing the Gran Turismo.
At a motor show, the then-prototype Dodge Viper. Maybe muscle cars like this are no big deal, but this was in Ireland where every other car was a diesel Toyota sedan.
In a dealer 2 cars stick out, going with my dad to the Citroen dealer and they had the new XM – it looked unlike anything else on the road, totally futuristic looking for the late 80s.
The second one was a trip to the Mitsubishi parts counter for something or other for a diesel Mitsubishi van, they had a 3000GT (aka Dodge Stealth) that looked incredible – long, low, sleek, big engined.
This manufacturer of vans, hatchbacks and utilitarian SUVs (the first gen Shogun) had created something like this!
My dad’s 1963 Buick Skylark and a 1963 Corvette Stingray that belonged to a friend of his that he gave me a ride in. I was between 4 and 6 years old when these events occurred (dad buying the Skylark and giving me a ride in the Stingray) and together they had me hooked.
I also vaguely recall my father owning an old Chevy pickup that was very loud, and toddling toward it giggling (I couldn’t have been older than 3) while my older brother and sister ran away in fright. I’ll have to ask him about that, just to make sure my brain isn’t inventing memories.
More recently, the first time I drove a Viper home rekindled the magic, and probably started the flame in my kids’ hearts for cars. That was the day I decided my career change was a good choice :)
A red Honda NSX – to me, it was a Ferrari I could touch. And the year was 1990.
I lived in the city raised by my mother and we couldn’t afford a car. As a kid I remember being crazy about late 60’s Mustangs. Still love Mustangs to this day, but two cars that really made an impression on me were from boyfriends my mother had in the late 60’s/early 70’s. One was a beige-gold 66 olds Toronado. Wow what a great car. And a 71 Buick Opel Manta in yellow with black stripes.
The very first car I went to test drive with my friend was the 1986 Acura Integra. It was amazing. Of course I couldn’t afford it. We then went to drive the Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX AWD – 200hp AWD screamer. AMAZING! Of course, that was even less affordable, so we drove what we really could afford – a base model Mitsubishi Mirage – 1.5L 4 speed stick, vinyl interior – base. But on a rainy night on a wet road we beat the crap out of that little car and literally brought it back smoking. And that’s how we ended up buying matching baby blue Plymouth Colts with no options whatsoever except the rear window defroster. I used to chase down real cars and annoy them just because with that little car. I still regret trading it in for nearly nothing a few years later when I got my first post college car – the 94 Acura Integra GS-R.
I was 14 in 1965, and one day when dad got home, he was in a 1960 Impala he just bought to replace the dreadful 1955 Dodge Royal Lancer he and mom drove for a few years, seemingly in the shop every other month. Beautiful car, but nothing but problems, especially the transmission (prototype Ultradrive, perhaps?).
Yeah, I was hooked immediately: white w/tan interior, sports sedan (4 door pillarless hardtop), 283 V8/Powerglide and a nice AM radio that actually worked!
This was the car I learned to drive in and I became a lifelong Chevy fan.
I have to admit, Zackman, that 1960 Chevy was in it’s day, and still is IMHO, a great looking car. I also liked the 1959 and 1960 Cadillacs with their tailfins.
Yes, it sure was. What a fun car to cruise in, too. That vacuum tube radio with one 6×9 speaker sure sounded great, believe it or not. They paid more attention to how AM sounded compared to now, but that was before FM overshadowed it.
After finding the Popular Mechanics 1960 import car guide as a 7 year old I was enamored with the Citroen DS. I had an unknown model Lancia sedan HO car that I thought was cool, and then built a Mercedes 300 SL model. I can’t off hand think of any domestic cars I aspired to as a kid*. Then in 1978 I bought my first car, a 1961 Citroen ID19. I have to say I loved it, it taught me a lot, and it cured me of orphan cars (saving me from a new Renault Fuego the dealer was all but giving away in the mid 80s). I have since tended towards appliances.
*My dads last domestic car was a Studebaker, followed by a Loyd, DKW, and a SAAB 96 they bought on European delivery. I come by it honestly.
OK, I started junior high school in the fall of 1967. This was the fall the new-for-1968 coke-bottle shaped Dodge Charger debuted. And, the principal at that school bought one of the first ones in town. I got to see that car every day and I just couldn’t get enough of staring at it. The following year, in 8th grade, my classrooms were on the second floor, and I could sometimes look out the window at that Dodge Charger. Then, in 9th grade, again there were times I could look out the window and look at that great styled car. That 1968-70 Dodge Charger to me was simply The Great Shape for a car. And, I did own one, a 1969 Charger R/T – prior to The Dukes of Hazard – for a year or so, around age 19 or 20.
Now as a car nut from a young age, this was obviously NOT the first car that caught my attention. The first would be the tail-fin era cars, especially the Chryslers, Plymouths, Dodges and DeSotos. Both my father and maternal grandfather each had a shiny, new 1957 Dodge. But, the 1968-70 Charger was the first car that really, really, really got my attention and held it. In a way none of the other cars I liked ever did before. You could get that great-looking car as a base model with a small V-8. Or, for the performance minded, the R/T model with a large V-8 and other performance goodies. Then, there was the S.E model that was more luxuriously appointed, and offered a small or medium sized V-8. And, there was even the RT/SE which gave you all the luxuries along with performance. And, I can’t overlook the wildest and most outrageous car of the time, the 1969 1/2 Dodge Charger Daytona, which was designed to be raced on the NASCAR oval-tracks, but had to also be sold to the public first in order to be legal for NASCAR. And, that is my all-time favorite Charger and the one I’d have loved to have been able to afford to buy and drive and insure.
The B5 Passat. Six years later I bought an ’04 new, and it’s still my daily driver.
BMW 1600/2000 and then the 2002. But the love of the car may well have had more to do with the love for the man that introduced me to them. I grew up in Germany, and when my father was stationed in Korea, we had to vacate government housing and live out on the German economy. We wound up renting a tiny apartment in a three-story family-owned home. That family instantly took us in and became as much a part of our family as any blood relative. Herr Kuehn always made sure to include me in his activities and the many rides we took in his BMW are some of my absolute fondest memories. His father would show up from time to time in his Isetta and there was always an old BMW motorcycle around for good measure. In later years, whenever we would return to visit (well into my adult years), Herr Kuehn always had some form of basic BMW (always manual trans, and usually a three-series derivative) in the driveway. Always. He never strayed from the brand, but never bought new or top-end loaded. I cherished that man, and my love of BMW was born from that.
The “lust” factor came years later when I went to the Frankfurt Auto Show and picked up a massive book that had every new car known to mankind listed. Inside that treasure trove was the listing for the new E30 series and there was a glorious color picture of a two-door 318i, resplendent with those coke-bottle rims. I know the car is basically a box on wheels, but I loved it. I went on to own both a 1974 2002 and a 1985 318i, and wish I had both to this day.
My first new car, and the first car I ever loved, was a 1991 Plymouth Laser RS that I purchased through AAFES car sales in Germany. I had wanted a turbo version but there were none left at the time as it was near the end of the model year and I didn’t want to wait. My girlfriend bought a Dodge Shadow at the same time and we picked them up together at Bremerhaven when they came in. She’s now my wife of 24 years! I never missed having the turbo. I had a blast on the autobahns in that car but would usually cruise at a sedate 95 mph because that was as high as the cruise control would set. When my girlfriend got stationed in Italy after her tour in Germany ended I used to go down and visit her on occasion and some of the people down there thought it was an exotic sports car because they’d never seen one before. Ah, good memories!
Probably the Peugeot 205 GTI. I don’t recall if it was the 1.6 or 1.9, but it was the first car I was in that had acceleration that pushed me back into my seat.
Needless to say, it wasn’t my family’s car. We had a procession of shitmobiles. Datsun Bluebird, Talbot Alpine, Morris Oxford (in retrospect, a cool car, but being dropped off at school in it was a little embarrassing.)
The futuristic taxi in Back to the Future Part II. Even had the Micro Machine. I found out much later it was just a redressed Citroen DS…which everyone knows came from the future.
I spent most summers immediately prior to getting my license fixing up a ’72 Plymouth Duster so clearly that car will always be my first love.
But the first new car that I got excited about for no other reason than automotive infatuation was the reborn Mini Cooper. I was a fan of The Italian Job and I just thought it was a slick looking little car. They ran a neat ad campaign (a semi-ARG involving a Mini that transformed into a robot) as well.
Later I learned that it was FWD and derisively lost interest. Then later still I learned that it really doesn’t matter and fun is fun and now I kind of want one again.
In ’79 my family had just escaped communist Poland, into Germany. I was a kid.
Up to this point in my life, I had only seen the communist type cars. Fiat Maluchs and such. I’d seen other cars in magazines but never in person.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw a Porsche 928 accelerating past us on the autobahn. It looked like a spaceship. And it was so fast!
I was 7. The family was celebrating my grandpas birthday. Uncle Chuck drove up in a 1953 Jaguar Sedan. All my uncles stood there for a hour discussing the car.
That started my love of cars. My 1st wow car was a 1957 Porsche Speedster.
After a terrible 1959 Ford and decent 1963 Chevy Biscayne, I got a 1959 Sprite. Never been quite right since.
I feel your pain Fred .
British cars big or little (my favourite) are a disease that’s *very* hard to overcome not that it’s a ad thing if you just roll with it .
=8-) .
-Nate
Actually it was my best friend’s girlfriend’s MGB. We skipped school and borrowed it and drove out to Stinson Beach. Never had so much fun just driving. A couple of years later I bought the Sprite.
KITT.
There probably still exists a polaroid of my 4-year-old self sitting in a replica (I assume) at a car show.
Learned to live with a 4 door 1966 300 Deluxe Chevelle that turned into a 283 powering a beat 1 speed power-glide, That reality and a Motor manual learned me the wonders of car fixing and shifting into D at 70 mph.
I must be older than any of you.
When I was a little kid I was enamored of the stepdown Hudson (48-54). Years later, in 1972, I got married and got a 50 Hudson at about the same time. I still have the Hudson, and I’m still married.
Bob
Wow, that’s great to hear that you are still married AND still have the Hudson. Great story.
I never had more than a casual interest in cars when I was a kid. Didn’t develop that until I was an adult with a house and money to spend on cars. Then I saw an ad for a SE-R in the local paper, went to check it out, and bought it.
Sticking with in the flesh new cars only per the question: there was a ’70 Plum Crazy Hemi Challenger that frequently managed to line up at the nearest stop light controlled multi lane intersection to my house. There was a 76 station there selling that good stuff… The curves, that bright COLOR, it was always shined, and then it *shamed* whatever muscle was silly enough to rev back at it. I think that car is responsible for my love of the smell of roasted tire.
Slightly off topic I sought out any model, slot car, hot wheel, picture whatever of the can am cars. I’d stare at them imagining air flow…
As a teenager in the 90’s, I was biking past a dealership one day when I saw it: a dark blue (metallic) ’69 Dodge Superbee, with a white bumblebee stripe. 383, auto on the column, black vinyl interior with a bench seat. Instant love. I think they were asking about $3800 for it. It would probably go for $25K, today, easy. I would go visit it on a regular basis just to look at it. It was sold by the time I was old enough to buy it, however.
Around this same time, the Nashville Network (which eventually became Spike TV) was rerunning the Dukes of Hazzard. So my lifelong love of Mopar muscle cars was kindled. At 19, I was finally able to get my hands on a ’70 Charger. Purchased it at an auction, for $2200.
As a 7-year-old already-car-kid in 1958, I remember being blown away by the extravagantly befinned 1959 GM cars, especially the Cadillacs with the two pointy taillights mounted halfway up the huge fins. Looking back later, I decided the Buicks — with the slanted headlights echoing the similarly angled tailfins — were the best of the bunch.
I was a strange kid I guess…the first cars I remember admiring were Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagons…
I do remember in the fall of 1984 when my parents were looking for a new car for Mom, we stopped at the former John Lee Oldsmobile in Ann Arbor, and the salesman showed us a new 1985 Cutlass Supreme Brougham, it had just came off the truck. I thought it was the most beautiful car in the world! Unfortunately it was a bit out of range for my parents, they went on to select a 1985 Buick Skylark (that eventually became my first car). A couple of years later my Dad finally went back to John Lee and got into a bidding war on a slightly used 1986 Cutlass Supreme Brougham coupe, black with claret leather and chrome super stock wheels. That was it, Oldsmobile was the greatest car company ever, and I just knew that one day I would have one! In 1995, at the ripe age of twenty, I bought the only Cutlass Supreme Brougham for sale in the state of Florida, a 1987 model in Light Chestnut…so luxurious and stylish. I miss that car. Today I live vicariously through my work as founder of The Brougham Society :)
Nope, that was too long ago.
Edit: But, I do remember drawing the taillights of the first-gen Ford Cortina on paper, cutting them out, and taping them on the back of my steel Radio Flyer red wagon. I was probably six or seven.
’92/93? Pontiac Bonneville SSEi with the supercharged 3.8.
I’d driven to the auto show in an old Datsun 200SX and that Bonneville was The One.
The first time I saw the General Lee jumping toward the camera in the intro of the Dukes of Hazzard when I was eight, I knew I was hooked.
First car that hooked? Incredibly, a Kaiser Jeep Wagoneer.
Buick 350 with TurboHydramatc…which I didn’t know at the time, was the primo auto box. Not being a GM family, we didn’t truck with Powerglide Bel-Airs.
It was a 1968, the last year before smog stuff choked off much-bigger newer mills.
That thing was an adventure. Sitting high, with a view, all the mechanical sounds and senses. And it would stand up and dance when you mashed the pedal. Compare it to a 1978 Trans-Am in weight, power and performance.
Now, of course, negotiating S-curves was another matter. But you could take it places no Camaro would dare to trek.
For me it was a Porsche 951 (always 944 turbo in my mind) in Guards Red. I had to look it up and figured I had to have been too young when it first hit the car shows in 1985 but no, that was the same year as the Probe V concept that inextricably linked itself to the Porsche in my 6-year-old mind.
This is an easy one for me. When I was a kid I had my first encounter with a ’69 Plymouth Road Runner. Just seeing one elicits an emotional response to this day.
Damn those are sweet.
I tried to buy my neighbors non-running Road Runner, it was just a 383 automatic, but it would of made a good high school hot rod. He said it was worth a lot of money because Richard Petty sold his for big bucks. After 10 years he finally realized he wasn’t Richard Petty and sold it, unfortunately not me.
I would have to say that the first car that really grabbed me was a gold with a white stripe 1957 Plymouth convertible when I was 17. Then some rich guy at the college I went to had a new Toreador Red 1958 Plymouth convertible. I ended up buying a very similar red 1958 convertible in 1967 and keeping it for 32 years, as well as owning several other 1957 and 1958 Plymouths, a 1957 DeSoto or two, and a 1957 New Yorker 4-door hardtop.
I’m pretty much done with owning fin cars but I will always like the looks of them.
The first time I realized I loved cars was when my cousin’s boyfriend pulled up in a 1970 BB Corvette. I was about 10 at the time and the guy was cool enough to give my brother and I a ride. I’ll never forget the torque and the sound! My god I was in love with it. I still love Corvette’s to this day (And managed to own two different C3’s).
For me it wasn’t necessarily one car. It came from, I think, some racing heritage in my family (small-time stuff of no consequence). As well as my grandfather’s interest in cars. And, my father, although he did not work for the automotive industry, enjoyed sketching futuristic car concepts on his engineer’s notepads. I think I picked up on these things and carried them forward. But, if I had to choose one particular vehicle, I’d insist on instead picking two. The two: the late 60’s MGB and the early 80’s RX-7.
my first automotive love was the 1966 series one, 4.2 liter, jaguar e-type coupé [primrose yellow over black, plus chrome wire wheels w/knock-off hubs] which i bought back in 1970, at the age of 21 years, from my dentist.
I had that exact 1990 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD picture, but in solid white with the white wheels. I modded it quite a bit for both power and looks (wheels, suspension, gloss black factory spoiler and side mirrors instead of the matte black factory piece) and a bunch of HKS performance parts.
Rev it up to 6000 rpm and side step the clutch and you were guaranteed low 13s in the 1/4 mile, even with the factory turbo. So much fun and so well built to take those kind of abusive launches over and over again without breaking. Absolutely loved that car!
I remember having schoolyard discussions about the Volvo 740 when it came out. Really liked it, it looked so modern and stylish. Must have been 1983 or so, it was such a departure from the mainstream at the time.
I did eventually own one, but after years of BMWs I didn’t think it was all that fun to drive. I can totally see how people fall in love with them though.
It was closer to being a truck than a car and it looked like this:
https://www.hobbydb.com/catalog_items/firetruck
It was 1959.
Going to get shouted out of the room for this as my timeline is a bit off, but the first new car that set my timbers aquiver was the 95 Taurus SHO. I was about 7 at the time and dad had a 93 Festiva and mom had her 92 Aerostar or the Escort at the time and I always thought the SHO would have been a fun rig.
Something about the simplicity of that design sticks with me.
mine was a 67 mustang fastback, i was totally blown away by the styling, eventually owned a 70 mach 1 which was my 2nd car and several other 60’s stangs, second car i was in awe with was the 5.0 5 spd mustang which i owned a 83 gt 5 spd-car was dam fast, beat a 396 ss chevelle with that car !, then my third car i would drool over when ever i saw one was the thunderbird SC, eventually bought a 94 royal blue SC which i would probably still own if the lady in the minivan had decided to use the brakes instead of my rear bumper to stop her van :(
Always a car fan, first one that NAILED it was the 1992-1995 Civic Sedan; first new car was a 1994 EX in Torino Red Pearl!
I’m incredulous that no one has said 300ZX TT yet. That was mine.