What was your first car?

[Atterbury Dodd]

Ford tempo.

It was insured...if they only hadn't looked........

Kinda wishing something like that would happen to my first truck--it has electrical problems and has been a big pain. Either that or get rear-ended by somebody in a way that does not kill me

 

[AntTxSon]

Ok, I believe you.

I am sure. My friend had one of those. Imagine a 57 Chevy racing a 66 mustang.

I can indeed visualize such a scenario. I wasn't in with that crowd however. A straight 6 cylinder kept my Pony Sitting in the Pizza Shop parking lot most Friday nights. haha

Revenge these days, comes in the form of my heavily modified Jeep Rubicon. I'm afraid that I will forever be a big kid at heart... sigh. lol

 

[AtomicEraTom]

That's funny. Part of why I liked my Colony Park when I bought it. It had the more modern front end than the 87's and earlier. Then, people just commented on how 'old' it was all the time anyways lol I always get told that I drive a 'classic' car and when people use that term, I think of a '57 Chevy, not a grocery getter lol

The different front ends that the Colony Parks had:

1987

1990

(I do like that this looks exactly like my car lol)

I do wish that mine had the wing windows like the older ones did, though.

Perception is a funny thing. The '65 Ford I've been driving regularly since 1983 doesn't really seem "old" to me, but everyone always remarks about my "old" or "classic" car.

 

[jamespowers]

That's funny. Part of why I liked my Colony Park when I bought it. It had the more modern front end than the 87's and earlier. Then, people just commented on how 'old' it was all the time anyways lol I always get told that I drive a 'classic' car and when people use that term, I think of a '57 Chevy, not a grocery getter lol

The different front ends that the Colony Parks had:

1987

1990

(I do like that this looks exactly like my car lol)

I do wish that mine had the wing windows like the older ones did, though.

That is because a 57 Chevrolet IS a classic car.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

It is, always will be. I just don't consider what I drive to be classics, never shoulda been obsolete anyhow. If they still made body-on-frame, rear drive, square-body, woodies, I'd have a new one.

That is because a 57 Chevrolet IS a classic car.

 

[jamespowers]

It is, always will be. I just don't consider what I drive to be classics, never shoulda been obsolete anyhow. If they still made body-on-frame, rear drive, square-body, woodies, I'd have a new one.

Yeah like that is going to happen. I told the salesman at the dealership that I would buy a new one when they made them like my 57. He asked if I wanted them to go broke---then they did anyway.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

You'd think it'd be cheaper if they didn't have to put seatbelts, air bags, computers, and such in them. The modern conveniences run up the prices. Give me a basic model with manual steering, brakes, AM radio, carburetor, and such and I'll get along fine (though I admit power windows and fuel-injection are nice now and then)

Yeah like that is going to happen. I told the salesman at the dealership that I would buy a new one when they made them like my 57. He asked if I wanted them to go broke---then they did anyway.

 

[jamespowers]

You'd think it'd be cheaper if they didn't have to put seatbelts, air bags, computers, and such in them. The modern conveniences run up the prices. Give me a basic model with manual steering, brakes, AM radio, carburetor, and such and I'll get along fine (though I admit power windows and fuel-injection are nice now and then)

It ain't cheaper if they have to use real metal from bumper to bumper, real chrome and real glass in it. There si very little you can get today that they didn't have then----power windows, power brakes, air conditioning, fuel injection etc, etc. You just had to pay more.
A tincan with all the conveniences is cheaper to make.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Oh, I know, in fact, 57 was Chevy's first year for fuel-injection if I remember correctly.

Yeah, these unibodies are cheap to build, and the profit margin is higher, too. Since they went to it, more people seem to trend toward trucks and SUV's. People seem to still value solid construction and plenty of room, and ample horses under the hood.

I'm a bit biased, looking at my Americana inspired, nostalgiac view of automobiles. A station wagon and a nice sedan in every driveway lol

It ain't cheaper if they have to use real metal from bumper to bumper, real chrome and real glass in it. There si very little you can get today that they didn't have then----power windows, power brakes, air conditioning, fuel injection etc, etc. You just had to pay more.
A tincan with all the conveniences is cheaper to make.

 

[vitanola]

That is because a 57 Chevrolet IS a classic car.

Tell that to the CCCA, sonny!

They coined the term, some sixty years ago. Of late it has been sorely misused.

"The Classic Car Club of America defines a Classic as a “Fine” or “Distinctive” automobile, American or foreign built, produced between 1925* and 1948. Generally, a Classic was high-priced when new and was built in limited quantities. Other factors, including engine displacement, custom coachwork and luxury accessories, such as power brakes, power clutch, and “one-shot” or automatic lubrication systems, help determine whether a car is considered to be a Classic."

Is a '57 Chevy one of the following makes?


A.C.
Adler
Alfa Romeo
Alvis
Amilcar
Apperson
Armstrong-Siddeley
Aston Martin
Auburn
Austro-Daimler
Ballot
Bentley
Benz
Blackhawk
B.M.W.
Brewster
Brough Superior
Bucciali
Bugatti
Buick
Cadillac
Chrysler
Cord
Cunningham
Dagmar
Daimler
Daniels
Darracq
Delage



Delahaye
Delaunay Belleville
Doble
Dorris
Duesenberg
duPont
Elcar
Excelsior
Farman
Fiat
Franklin
Gardner
Georges Irat
Graham
Graham-Paige
Hispano-Suiza
Horch
Hotchkiss
Hudson
Humber
Hupmobile
Invicta
Isotta-Fraschini
Itala
Jaguar
Jensen
Jordan
Julian
Kissel
Kleiber



Lagonda
Lanchester
Lancia
LaSalle
Lincoln
Lincoln-Continental
Locomobile
Marmon
Maserati
Maybach
McFarlan
Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz
Mercer
M.G.
Miller
Minerva
Nash
Packard
Peerless
Pierce-Arrow
Railton
Renault
Reo
ReVere
Roamer
Rohr
Rolls-Royce
Ruxton
Squire
S.S. Jaguar
Stearns Knight
Stevens Duryea
Steyr
Studebaker
Stutz
Sunbeam
Talbot
Talbot-Lago
Tatra
Triumph
Vauxhall
Voisin
Wills Sainte Claire,
Willys-Knight



If not, then it is not a Classic Car.0
Note that not every example of the above listed makes is a Classic, either. For example, the four cylinder Buick models of the 1920's do not qualify under CCCA rules.

The CCCA made a grievous error when they did not register the term "Classic car" as a trademark.

 

[Rathdown]

Pardon me while I pass out umbrellas to those standing around while the CCCA rains on their parade... with the greatest respect for the CCCA, their list of cars really only serves to limit their membership and is rather out of touch with the real world. As someone who has been involved in the old car hobby for 49 years, I would suggest that the dictionary definition of "classic" is the proper one to apply to all cars: (1) Being of the highest class or rank; (2)[a] Serving as an outstanding representative of a kind or model; Well known and typical <a red Ferrari>; (3) Having lasting significance or recognized worth.

To the above, at least as far as cars are concerned, I'd suggest that age largely enters into the equation, and that most would agree that if a car is still considered desirable by a large segment of society after 25 years, then it has achieved classic status.

As far as the CCCA list is concerned, it was devised to eliminate, as much as possible, the disparity of speed between members' cars when touring, and should not be used as some sort of absolute scale in defining what is, or is not, a classic car.

 

[scottyrocks]

Did you live in a salt region? In Wisconsin, the cars still rot away lickety split, because of all the salt. While modern cars got nothing on the classics with looks and user friendly mechanics, they are incredibly reliable. If your car had 75,000 miles on it in the fifties, it was a high-mileage car. 10 years was a long time to get out of a vehicle. Now, my Silverado has 145,000 miles and is 15 years old. I know I'll have it many more years. A friend of mine has the same truck, and he's got over 500,000 miles on the original engine. They just keep going if you treat them right.

I think I'm in a salt region. NYC salts the streets when it snows big. That'll kill a car's frame quicker than sand, that's for sure.

But cars are better protected today. They don't seem to rot as quickly. Then again, there's so many leased cars on the road now, who can tell? But someone buys those leased cars and they stay on the road. I know that I see far fewer rusty cars than I did many years ago.

 

[scottyrocks]

They all had their individual quirks. Mine had a starter switch that didn't work, so there was a push-button installed under the dashboard -- turn the ignition key, and push the button to turn over the engine. Before I had that installed, I did a lot of parking on hills and hoping for the best.

Mine also had a mysterious leak -- I could never find where the water got in, but whenever I drove in the rain, the driver's side floor pan would fill up. I finally had to punch a hole in the floorboard with a cold chisel to make a drain for it.

Right before I junked it, the turn signals died, and I had to use arm signals. A true vintage motoring experience, made more harrowing by the fact that most people at the time didn't know what arm signals mean.

My dad's biggest gripe with his Beetle was the forced air defogging/defrosting. The car had to be moving for any air to be directed up to the windshield, and even then, bloeing on it yourself would have done a better job. Any sort of precip or ice made driving a sight-impaired affair.

Most of my cars from the 80s on back had leaks. My '75 Duster was famous for its wiper transmission leaks. I'd open the door after a rain to find pools of water in both foot wells. SOme well-placed drilled holes, there and in the trunk (another lake) 'fixed' that problem.

On that car, I replaced just about every component there was, except the engine and transmission, and the car had less than 100k miles. I finally got rid of it when I was told that the entire braking system, all 4 wheel calipers and the master cylinder, needed to be replaced which would have cost more than what I had paid for the car, and I had already put enough money into it.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Yes, that's a definite salt region.

I think part of why cars don't rust as much is because so little of them is metal. Back in the day you'd see rusty bumpers, now they have plastic 'bumper covers' on them. They still rust as they ever did in the wheel wells, where there's still metal, at least in my neck of the woods.

I think I'm in a salt region. NYC salts the streets when it snows big. That'll kill a car's frame quicker than sand, that's for sure.

But cars are better protected today. They don't seem to rot as quickly. Then again, there's so many leased cars on the road now, who can tell? But someone buys those leased cars and they stay on the road. I know that I see far fewer rusty cars than I did many years ago.

 

[Gromulus]

Vehicles are definitely more corrosion resistant than in past eras. The quality of steel, pre-treatment, coatings technology, and application methods are far beyond what they were in the past. The seventies and early eighties were especially poor in these areas.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My dad's biggest gripe with his Beetle was the forced air defogging/defrosting. The car had to be moving for any air to be directed up to the windshield, and even then, bloeing on it yourself would have done a better job. Any sort of precip or ice made driving a sight-impaired affair.

Ah, happy days. Mine was the same way -- when driving in sleet I'd have to have my left arm stuck out the window with an ice scraper, to keep the sleet from building up on the front of the windshield.

The ultimate was driving to work around 4 AM one morning in a blizzard -- and having the windshield wiper actually work off its stud and blow away. I had to stop the car and go back and wander around in the snow until I found it.

But you know, even with all that I still loved that car. It might have been a hazard to life and safety by modern standards, but it had personality. And the radio was pretty good too.

 

[deco_droid]

My first car was a 65 Mustang coupe I got back in 86. That was probably when I really started getting interested in vintage "anything". New cars of the mid 80s I could not afford, so in looking at used, quickly found I liked the designs of older cars much better. I remember finding a 59 Cadillac for about $2500 I would have loved to own, but my parents thought it would be too big for me to handle safely. These days I am looking to buy a 1950 bulletnose Studebaker...

 

[jamespowers]

My first car was a 65 Mustang coupe I got back in 86. That was probably when I really started getting interested in vintage "anything". New cars of the mid 80s I could not afford, so in looking at used, quickly found I liked the designs of older cars much better. I remember finding a 59 Cadillac for about $2500 I would have loved to own, but my parents thought it would be too big for me to handle safely. These days I am looking to buy a 1950 bulletnose Studebaker...

I wish I could find a 59 cadillac now for that much----I mean one that doesn't look like a junk pile.
About all you get for that now is this:

 

[Benzadmiral]

My first was a 1975 Ford Maverick 4-door, bought new. (Well, actually, my then-fiancee bought it, but we both drove it, and I was assigned to "take care" of it.) A light metallic green color -- Mustangs today can be found in almost the same shade -- with a matching foamy-cloth interior, it featured the larger of the six-cylinder engines, A/C, power steering, and an AM radio. Since it was a slightly more upscale model, there was a little more chrome and fake wood trim inside, but brakes were manual, as were the windows.

Didn't matter. After years of riding buses in all weather and of cadging rides from friends, I thought it seemed like a Cadillac. I learned how to change oil, air filters, fuel filter, and even the coolant once, before I decided to farm that out. We drove it all over Lafayette, LA, and down to NO at least once a month, so it got plenty of highway time. My then-wife and I separated six years later and she kept the car; it probably had 60,000 or 70,000 miles on it then.

It would probably seem tinny to me today, after a decade driving first Mercedes and now my big Buick, and after the enormous strides cars have made in technology, safety, and ride quality. But I loved it.

 

[chanteuseCarey]

my first car was a 1966 Ford Mustang, bought when I was around 18-20yo, way back in 1977-1978 must have been. Cost me $500.00, I had earned half working part time while going to community college, my Dad made me a loan payable back to him for the other half. The car ended up being passed/sold to my younger sister at one point, and then a younger brother.