A boy and his 1st car

Between crew, marching band and driving my sister around, my parents had decided to get me a car when I turned sixteen. It was made very clear that this car wouldn't be anything special. When I asked my mother to make sure it had a radio, she said that I'd be lucky if it had A/C.

I was drinking coffee and playing cards with my friends at our favorite hangout on a Sunday afternoon. I knew that my parents were out on the car search. They didn't let me go along because my father was sure I would screw up any deal he made. I didn't expect them to bring the car to the Cafe, but I jumped up with a shout when I saw my father get out of the Tercel you see here. I already had my license, so he sent me around the block after assuring me it was mine.

I should have been warned. There was an A/C switch, but no cold air came out when you pushed it. The car had no power steering, the driver's seat was tilted to one side and the door lock didn't work. The odometer read about 54000. There was no sixth number beyond the 5, so we weren't sure if that meant 154000 or 254000. The seller wasn't sure either, as it had been his mother's. My parents had spent $500. They added another $700 fixing the lock and the seat.

This was a 1980 Tercel hatchback. It had a three-speed automatic. There had never been power steering on that car, so it couldn't be added. There was no A/C compressor to fix. I spent $300 (a princely sum for a sixteen year old) for a new radio and speakers.

It was called "Beene's Bomber" or "Skuban's Slider" by my friends. Other, less complimentary names based upon the color of the car won't be mentioned here. I never cared, it was a great car that got better gas mileage than my friends, leaving more money to spend on coffee and food at the Cafe. It was also very light, making the drive to crew a lot of fun as I floored that ancient motor up a twisting country road.

The car finally gave up just before I graduated when the back struts rusted through the body, leaving the rear wheels "squatting" and grinding against the body. Some lunatic wanted the engine and paid us $500 for it. It was a great car for a teenager, and I'll always miss it, even though I nearly sat in the back seat to drive it.

Categories: Memories, Personal, Photo