Remember your very first set of wheels? Maybe it was something cool or possibly a real piece of junk. Have any memories of where you used to take it, or where you wrecked it?
34 comments:
Anonymous
said...
1965 Ford Galaxy. Cost me $40.00. I drove it for over two years until the brakes finally completely dissolved. Traded in at Hazelbakers Chevrolet and got $750 trade in value. Never wrecked it, though.
1969 Toyota Corona. It took me all of three months to roll it in a ditch and total it. Almost everybody I knew wrecked their first car. Some more than that. I know one guy who wrecked two limousines the same prom night.
There used to be Drive-In theaters in Carroll, Boone, and Perry. We would go to them every weekend. There was also one on the west edge of Ames. I remember hating it when they dumped using speakers and switched to piped-in sound via your radio. It seemed like my radio never worked.
I bought a new 1964 white Pontiac LeMans from Morehead Motor Company. I went on a trip with a friend out West. We even drove to Vancouver, but on the way back looking for a gas station I ended up in the median totaling my car. State Farm was good to this kid, so I still use their car insurance. Of course I came back in a $100,000 vehicle called a Greyhound Bus. Wanting as few people to know that I wrecked my car I bought another white vehicle, a 1966 Chevrolet Impala from Finch Chevrolet when they were at 219 E. Lincolnway. It served me well for many years.
Like a lot of guys I know, my first car was a used VW beetle. It was hard to start in the winter, and colder than hell. I still remember many times fitting four and even five people in it and going on road trips. I honestly don't remember what became of it.
My grandmother owned one car her entire life. Bought it when she was in her 30's, and sold it after she retired. I mostly remember it sitting in her garage. Talk about one car serving well!
Kids are rough on cars. I was in at least seven wrecks by the time I was 18. And that was before cell phones or texting.
I know what you're going to say - alcohol was involved. The fact is, it didn't seem to matter. We were just a bunch of bad, inexperienced, unattentive drivers. Anybody else notice that?
I'm sure that statistics would show young drivers are better drivers than senior citizens. They are a hazard on the road and they don't even know how to text.
I still drive my first car and have never been involved in a wreck of any kind.
My 1st car was a Datsun B210. With that or an orange Vega, I was going through a quart of oil in a few days. Rich & I went up the Boone hill on Hwy. 30 and cars turned their windshield wipers on when they passed us, bcz it was smoking so ba
It is a wonder that JHS students were such bad drivers. Look at the Driver Ed teachers we had back in the 70's. We had a former JR High math teacher that fell asleep all the time driving around the state, from country roads to interstate highways in Des Moines. The other instructor, a science teacher, kept putting his hands on the girl's knees when they drove everywhere. They may not have gotten much driver's ed training but they knew how to keep a pervert from touching them when they drove.
When I took drivers ed in Jefferson, I had never touched the steering wheel of a car before. My instructor told me to take a lap around the parking lot, then we headed out on the highway into traffic. Pretty cool.
My instructor was Anley Twedt. I also had never driven a car before. We got in, buckled up, and he said,"Drive to the mall in Ames". Very cool also. He read his golf magazine.
The problem is that old people like to drive in the left lane at exactly the posted speed limit. The left lane should be reserved for those who are in a hurry, for whatever reason, and if you aren't willing to keep pace, you are just causing a bottleneck.
It's true they drive slow, but that's just because they can't see and have poor reactions. Not only are they slow, they are bad.
The reason the old folks drive in the left lane is because they can see the travel lane line out of the driver's side window and they know where they are on the roadway. It is a solid line. Think about it. Test them often.
Quit picking on old people. It makes me madder than blazes for you young whipper snappers to accuse me of driving poorly. I see just as many young people with no experience who are injured, maimed [so permanent] or die in car accidents. I used to think I was a good driver at 16, 18 & 25. Totally my car at 27. Haven't done that 40 years, just little dents in a parking lot accident while backing. If I live to 90 I still want my drivers license. Now stop beeping your horn!
Here's the thing. Yeah, young people probably are just as dangerous or more so than old fogies. But we make it hard for them to get and keep licenses. We just mail them to old folks!
And youngsters pay through the nose for their insurance. Old people might see a slight rise in their premiums, but almost imperceptibly so. Where's the justice?
Weak effort? No different than Vince Hawking being related to Steven. Youngsters pay through the nose for their insurance to pay for their accidents. Old people pay insurance for 40 years and don't report any accidents making the insurance companies rich. I like licenses mailed to me. That is a great service.
Actually, the vast majority of people over 65 HAVE reported accidents, and still pay lower rates than young people who HAVE NOT reported accidents. This has more to do with senior lobbying efforts than anything else.
I like my license mailed to me. My grandson comes by and opens my mail because I get lost on the way to my mailbox. Then he reads it to me, as my eyesight isn't so good these days. When he hands me my renewed license, I jump in my car and go for a spin. It's great to be old.
I remember having to get a job and save up the money to buy a car when I turned old enough to drive. Almost all I hear now is that parents just buy their kids cars. Wonder what changed?
Back then you could probably walk to lots of places or bike. Now, young kids are going across town to their jobs or school. Parents can either spend all day driving them around or providing them with safe transportation.
34 comments:
1965 Ford Galaxy. Cost me $40.00. I drove it for over two years until the brakes finally completely dissolved. Traded in at Hazelbakers Chevrolet and got $750 trade in value. Never wrecked it, though.
1969 Toyota Corona. It took me all of three months to roll it in a ditch and total it. Almost everybody I knew wrecked their first car. Some more than that. I know one guy who wrecked two limousines the same prom night.
There used to be Drive-In theaters in Carroll, Boone, and Perry. We would go to them every weekend. There was also one on the west edge of Ames. I remember hating it when they dumped using speakers and switched to piped-in sound via your radio. It seemed like my radio never worked.
I bought a new 1964 white Pontiac LeMans from Morehead Motor Company. I went on a trip with a friend out West. We even drove to Vancouver, but on the way back looking for a gas station I ended up in the median totaling my car. State Farm was good to this kid, so I still use their car insurance. Of course I came back in a $100,000 vehicle called a Greyhound Bus. Wanting as few people to know that I wrecked my car I bought another white vehicle, a 1966 Chevrolet Impala from Finch Chevrolet when they were at 219 E. Lincolnway. It served me well for many years.
Like a lot of guys I know, my first car was a used VW beetle. It was hard to start in the winter, and colder than hell. I still remember many times fitting four and even five people in it and going on road trips. I honestly don't remember what became of it.
I actually knew a guy who totaled every car he ever owned. And he owned several.
Chevy Vega. What a classic.
My grandmother owned one car her entire life. Bought it when she was in her 30's, and sold it after she retired. I mostly remember it sitting in her garage. Talk about one car serving well!
First ride for me was a 67 Chevy II red duece I bought from old man Olsen on W Adams St. He had the bicycle shop. Think I gave 400 bux for it.
'69 Cougar Sport w/351 Cleveland.
Kids are rough on cars. I was in at least seven wrecks by the time I was 18. And that was before cell phones or texting.
I know what you're going to say - alcohol was involved. The fact is, it didn't seem to matter. We were just a bunch of bad, inexperienced, unattentive drivers. Anybody else notice that?
Oh yeah, 1977 Ford Maverick
I'm sure that statistics would show young drivers are better drivers than senior citizens. They are a hazard on the road and they don't even know how to text.
I still drive my first car and have never been involved in a wreck of any kind.
The reasons you still drive your first car and have such a stellar record are:
1. you are still a very young driver, and
2. you live in a very small town without much traffic
The difference is that young drivers tend to drive too fast, while old drivers tend to drive too slow.
Iona nailed it.
My 1st car was a Datsun B210. With that or an orange Vega, I was going through a quart of oil in a few days. Rich & I went up the Boone hill on Hwy. 30 and cars turned their windshield wipers on when they passed us, bcz it was smoking so ba
It is a wonder that JHS students were such bad drivers. Look at the Driver Ed teachers we had back in the 70's.
We had a former JR High math teacher that fell asleep all the time driving around the state, from country roads to interstate highways in Des Moines.
The other instructor, a science teacher, kept putting his hands on the girl's knees when they drove everywhere. They may not have gotten much driver's ed training but they knew how to keep a pervert from touching them when they drove.
When I took drivers ed in Jefferson, I had never touched the steering wheel of a car before. My instructor told me to take a lap around the parking lot, then we headed out on the highway into traffic. Pretty cool.
My instructor was Anley Twedt. I also had never driven a car before. We got in, buckled up, and he said,"Drive to the mall in Ames". Very cool also. He read his golf magazine.
The problem is that old people like to drive in the left lane at exactly the posted speed limit. The left lane should be reserved for those who are in a hurry, for whatever reason, and if you aren't willing to keep pace, you are just causing a bottleneck.
It's true they drive slow, but that's just because they can't see and have poor reactions. Not only are they slow, they are bad.
The reason the old folks drive in the left lane is because they can see the travel lane line out of the driver's side window and they know where they are on the roadway. It is a solid line. Think about it. Test them often.
To anon. above - in addition, they know that no traffic to their left is a threat. Very shrewd.
Quit picking on old people. It makes me madder than blazes for you young whipper snappers to accuse me of driving poorly. I see just as many young people with no experience who are injured, maimed [so permanent] or die in car accidents. I used to think I was a good driver at 16, 18 & 25. Totally my car at 27. Haven't done that 40 years, just little dents in a parking lot accident while backing. If I live to 90 I still want my drivers license. Now stop beeping your horn!
OK, weak effort, you wannabe.
Here's the thing. Yeah, young people probably are just as dangerous or more so than old fogies. But we make it hard for them to get and keep licenses. We just mail them to old folks!
And youngsters pay through the nose for their insurance. Old people might see a slight rise in their premiums, but almost imperceptibly so. Where's the justice?
I find that smoking up a big doobie or two just before my commute greatly reduces an incident of road rage.
Weak effort? No different than Vince Hawking being related to Steven. Youngsters pay through the nose for their insurance to pay for their accidents. Old people pay insurance for 40 years and don't report any accidents making the insurance companies rich. I like licenses mailed to me. That is a great service.
Licenses should not be mailed to people who can't see the road in front of them.
Actually, the vast majority of people over 65 HAVE reported accidents, and still pay lower rates than young people who HAVE NOT reported accidents. This has more to do with senior lobbying efforts than anything else.
I like my license mailed to me. My grandson comes by and opens my mail because I get lost on the way to my mailbox. Then he reads it to me, as my eyesight isn't so good these days. When he hands me my renewed license, I jump in my car and go for a spin. It's great to be old.
Ask yourself this - "Who would you rather loan your car to, your dad or your teenage son?"
I remember having to get a job and save up the money to buy a car when I turned old enough to drive. Almost all I hear now is that parents just buy their kids cars. Wonder what changed?
Back then you could probably walk to lots of places or bike. Now, young kids are going across town to their jobs or school. Parents can either spend all day driving them around or providing them with safe transportation.
I think personally that young people are far worse drivers than older people. I know I wrecked the first three cars I owned - all my fault, of course.
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