I would guess that most of us remember buying our first car. It is usually one of those occasions that we have waited, dreamed and worked hard to make it happen. As I remember, it was a major rite of passage when I learned how to drive and got my first driver’s license. You had to be 16 to take the test in order to get your license. I took that test on my 16th birthday. When I first had my license, I only occasionally drove my Mother's car but I loved the independence. The summer after I graduated from high school, I got my first full time job as a waitress in a restaurant. I wasn't crazy about the job but I saved every penny I earned so I could buy my own car.
When I had saved what I hoped was enough money my Dad and I went to a used car dealer. I found a 1964 Pontiac Tempest convertible and I was in love! This was in 1970 so the car was six years old and in excellent shape except it needed new tires. I paid $500 cash for the car and I still had enough left to buy new tires.
 |
| 1964 Pontiac Tempest |
I owned that car for eight years and it served me well. When I left home it took me from central Arkansas to Memphis, Tennessee. What an adventure it was being a small-town girl in a big city. I rented my first apartment and found a job doing office work. A year later I drove my car to California where I got married and lived for three years. I still had the same car when I moved to Colorado for a year and eventually to Kansas City, Missouri where I currently live in a nearby small town. When I was just out of high school the $500 I paid for my car seemed like an awful lot of money but it was a good car and I think I got my money's worth out of it.
What was your first car? Do you have special memories about how you got it or how you felt when you got it? Did you have any adventures with that first car that you still remember?
