My first car was absolutely fantastic. I have wonderful memories of that car. It wasn’t the best looking car, or the best running car, but it was mine, and I loved it. It was old even then, but this is the closest picture I could find:
The one notable exception (besides those bizarre rear view mirrors) was that mine read SUBARU in ginormous letters down each side. It screamed "I"M A SUBARU!" Just in case anyone might momentarily forget, or something.
It was my father’s Moving Out, Getting Divorced Car that i later inherited when I got old enough to drive. We kept thinking it would quit running, and I suppose eventually it did - but not until i bonded well with it.
The radio - all AM - worked for a little while. Then I used a ‘jambox’ that i carried with me, and cassette tapes.(Early Alan Jackson, Forrester Sisters, and Marty Stewart. Am I sounding old yet?!)
The little gear stick thing didn’t always MEAN it was in ‘park’ if the "P" was showing. It might actually mean it was in neutral, and then you might accidentally get out, lock the doors - who knows why - and walk away only to realize your "I’M A SUBARU!" is rolling along behind you headed for the Burger King. Fortunately, when this happened, a guy came running out of the BK, and tried to stop my "I’M A SUBARU!" from ramming into the building while i unlocked the door and threw it into park. Successfully, this time.
Most memorable about this car? Ahh, it shot you in the face with bird seed. Whoever owned it before it became the Moving Out, Getting a Divorce Car, had possibly put a bag of birdseed on the dashboard, and that birdseed might have spilled. Because when driving along with the air (ha! no a/c, just vents that didn’t blow cold air) on full blast, the "DID YOU FORGET? I’M A SUBARU!" would hurl birdseed at your head. And those stupid seeds would STING your face, they’d hit so hard. They coulda put an eye out, but HolySister and I got good at dodging those flying seeds as if everyone’s car did that. You’d think that after a few years, the seeds would quit flying, but they never did. The a/c vents held an unending supply of missiles.
A friend and I were driving around the subdivision where we lived at the time, in the "I’M A SUBARU!" She didn’t drive yet, and neither one of us had really had much experience with cars of any kind. On top of that, our parents had always driven really nice cars, and mine wasn’t anywhere near what we were used to. So one summer day not far from her house, we pass a group of guys playing basketball in a driveway. She tells me to slow down to see if she recognizes any of them. We start to pick up speed again when we hear it. TWO LOUD SHOTS. We scream, and both of us duck down. I remember to step on the brake, but only after I’ve already ducked and can’t see where we’re going, and we both look at each other and scream, "They’re SHOOTING at us! They’re SHOOTING at us!!"
Eventually we catch our breath, she looks up, and sees they’re still playing basketball. Oblivious to us, not targeting us with shotguns. Then my friend says, "You know… Maybe those noises were the car."
"The CAR?" I ask. Incredulous. My car might spit birdseed in your eyes, but it doesn’t shoot at you.
"Yeah. When my dad Moved Out and Divorced, he got this really old car and it would do that sometimes too. He said it was ‘backfiring,’ or something."
I’d never heard of such a thing, but it made a whole lot more sense than what we thought had occurred. So, once we decided it was the car, and not the boys, we drove off, giggling at our stupidity. Because it was just the "I’M A FREAKING SUBARU!" yelling, "TAKE THAT!!"
You probably can’t tell, but i loved that car. That car was character building in a way that a new one, a socially acceptable, non-spitting kind of car would not have been.
I hope one day Mike and I buy our kids cars like that.
(But yaknow, stay married!)
What was your first car?
I like your...
11:57 pm
OMGOSH! I’m soo excited that I’m the 1st commenter! You always have a million and I’m always like #40 something! Woo HOO!!!! Ok, I didn’t actually finish reading your post in feear that someone else would beat me to the comments, I’m at the bird seed part. gonna go finish now! It’s great soo far!!!
12:00 am
ok, now I’ve read the whole post! My 1st car was a 1986 escort! Nice! No air in the summer, no heat in the winter! Man did we freeze! But no one cared cuz I was the only one with a car! Yeah!
12:03 am
De-lurking here to say that I have tears streaming down my face after that one…..what a riot!
12:20 am
I love your bird seed story! My first car was a 1970 VW bug repainted cherry red. I absolutely loved my bug! I learned to spin “cookies” by putting it in first gear and cranking the wheel (on snow) No A/C, no FM radio, the heat really didn’t work. Black vinyl seats. The first summer I owned that car, I burned my thighs at least 3 times. I learned real quick that just cuz it didn’t feel real hot the instant I sat on the seat doesn’t mean it won’t burn you in the pattern of the seat before you get out of the parking lot. Do you have any idea how hard it is to drive a stick shift while you legs bake to the seat? LOL. Ah good times. I would have loved to have seen or been with you when you thought you had been shot at, I just died laughing reading that. Maybe cuz something similar happened to me(?) Ummm…
Thanks for sharing and asking. I still think to this day that was the best car I ever owned. I cried like a baby when I sold it.
Hugs,
Suzi
1:54 am
OhMyGoodness! It took me a minute to stop laughing long enough to be able to see straight and click on the comments! I, too, would’ve loved to have been there when you thought you the guys were shooting at you! Too funny!
1:59 am
that is too funny about your birdseed spitting car!!! my first car was a Dodge K-car….baby blue…1984 I think….it was my granparents and my grandpa gave it to me when he FINALLY realized he shouldn’t be driving anymore!! much to our relief! It was baby blue interior too and had fuzzy blue seat covers much like Monster Harry or the Cookie Monster from Seasame Street!!! it was great….great lessons on not being prideful too…it would keep running after you turned the ignition off….you know sputter sputter sputter choke choke gag sputter shake ratter and roll!!! but I was SO thankful to have a car of my own and back then it only cost $11 to fill the tank!!!
thanks for the comment on my blog!!
2:36 am
My first car was a silver 1990 Geo Metro. Great Gas milage. I ran it until the poor little three cylinder engine died. I drove that car over 100 miles down a mountain going to visit my boyfriend in Flagstaff. Wheeee!
7:15 am
Ok, being the oldest of 5 and my parents were divorced at the time, I got my license and became the “bus” driver. No, not kidding! I inherited the 79 Chevy Custom van, fully equipped with sink, frig., and pull-out bed, carpet on the walls, and a beautiful mural of a sunset or something on the side. I was THE coolest kid in high school. (not really, but…). I would come out after school (because I NEVER skipped class…:) ) and there would be soda cans and empty chip bags and the bed pulled out where others had obviously use MY van to skip school and take a nap. Quite convenient, they never had to leave school grounds and they could hear the bell ring for the change of classes.
I hated it, but everyone else loved it.
I still see it driving around town sometimes (I can’t believe it is still running) and all those old memories come flooding back. There are so many more, so thanks for bringing that memory back to me…now I gotta get ready for church. Have a great Sunday!
7:16 am
A ‘73 Audi 4-door. Also very quirky. Although it never did roll away in park, it did drink a lot of oil. My dad rebuilt the engine in it twice in two years. I was not sad to see it go, nor do have have fond sentiments towards it.
Now, if it spit birdseed at me, I might have felt differently.
7:34 am
K - regarding the Bumbo seat - it recommends up to 14 months old unless your child has balance problems. There are some disabled children that are using them up to ages 8 or so - just to help them sit during therapy. The manufacturer is in the process of making a larger one for that purpose. I think it’s great.
As to the car - what a great story. My first was aJavelin - much older than me which had a passenger door that flew open when you took right curves - even if it was locked. I got a new car when I accidently forgot to put it in park and it rolled down the driveway, over a 15 foot drop, through the neighbors yard, taking out several bushes, across their driveway and ended up with the back end up a tree. I didn’t know what to do because my parents were out of town so we called my uncle who was on the fire department and they came - sirens blasting - to get the car out of the tree. I promise it was an accident - but have yet to convince my parents.
7:48 am
My family loves pulling pranks on people who are getting married, so when my cousin was getting hitched we filled the dashboard with confetti. Like your bird seed shooting car, the confetti kept coming out of the vents (in this case long after my cousin and his wife divorced).
9:14 am
This is hilarious! I especially loved the spitting birdseed.
First car: my brother and I shared in buying a two-tone ‘75 Honda Civic when we were in college. Already an old car, but it ran fine. Eventually the heat and AC went out, and we’d just bundle up to go anywhere in the eastern Washington winters, and wear as little as modestly possible in the summers. Loved that car!
Everyone’s first car should be a character car. We gave Stepson a Honda civic that is moody about whether the headlights work and has all kinds of other quirks. Stepson occasionally complains, but he’ll have lots of stories to tell his own kids someday….
9:23 am
Oh my goodness, that’s hilarious! I’m picturing you and HolySister dodging birdseed while casually carrying on a conversation in your car. Too funny!
My first car was a metallic blue VW Rabbit. It started out with license plates with the letters NBB, which I translated as No Better Bunny. I was so disappointed when I went to renew my plates and they gave me new ones with the letters EVL.
I did love that car despite the fact that it would just quit on me often and usually in the middle of the night as I was passing through a bad neighborhood. It finally went up spontaneously in flames at the end (no kidding!) which is partially how I ended up with my husband.
I suppose I should probably blog about that someday. hmmm.
9:24 am
My first car was a white AMC Hornet that my dad helped me pick out. He died a couple years later, and somehow that made the old clunker even more precious to me, since my daddy had picked the thing out for me…
Mary, mom to many
1:33 pm
My car post is coming up tomorrow for Monday Memories. You’ll have to pop over tomorrow to read about my car memories.
Loved the part about the shooting birdseed!
1:56 pm
Hey HM~ I used to have a tomato red Subaru! Ah, vinyl seats, plastic floor mats, funny little engine noises…those were the days.
But my first car was a banana yellow Capri. Black velvet on the back dash, louvres, a golf ball for a gear shift lever–sweet! Too bad it caught on fire while I was driving on Sunset Blvd. near Hollywood, CA. sigh.
2:10 pm
Hah! I love it, spitting birdseed! First I’ve ever heard of something like that. My first car was a 1973 Buick Century. It was a beauty when I bought it. Only took about 3 years before it was held together with rubber bands and duct tape. Yea, I’m good with cars like that.
6:07 pm
oh wow. what a memory!
nothing like a cup of coffee and a wet head to start your day off right. 
my very first beauty was a 85 chevy cavalier. it was red and rust and when it rained - the roof leaked on me. !
it also had a REALLY LOUD squeak so my family could hear me coming from 2 blocks away.
AND only one of the 4 doors openned and shut. so i had to crawl through the back seat to get to my drivers seat to drive.
life was good.
7:46 pm
1969 Rambler Rebel. Gold. 3-on-the-tree. 4 bald tires and the smoke was so thick on the windshield it took a putty knife to get it off!
I hated that car!
8:41 pm
Mine was a 1979 Toyota Corona complete with a big fleece blanket with two kissing elephants covering the torn backseat. It was a prize indeed, but I loved that car.
I really have to stop reading your posts when my kid is in the next room trying to go to sleep, I can’t help but laugh out loud.
8:44 pm
There is nothing like a car with character. Sounds like you had a doozy.
9:00 pm
My Lord, did I LAUGH at this! I so did not even see the birdseed coming. HA!
I used to have to drive my 1974 extra long bed pickup truck with a dishtowel over my foot on the gas pedal because it would BLOW SCALDING HEAT all over my foot. Yeah. Three years.
I so deserve my pimp-mobile now and so do you ;).
10:33 pm
HAHAHAHA!!!!!
My first car was so not as exciting as yours!! It did go on a lot of road trips though!!
10:58 pm
My first car was a tiny 1979 Honda Civic. My dad spray painted it silver - it was ugly but I used to listen to my first cassette tape - The Cars, Heartbeat City - while cleaning the dash. I wrecked the car before I had my license .. I was *practicing* my parallel parking and hit my moms new Chevy Citation.
My second car was an 85 Plymouth Sapporo … it was an awesome car and my mom was soo mad @ my dad for getting it for me… I would have been too, if I were her .. she was stuck w/the Citation!
11:55 pm
Thanks for visiting me
Loved reading your car story. My first was a blue 1959 VW bug! I had to learn to drive a stick shift to drive it. I’ve always been glad I did…
8:26 am
My first car was a little white Chevette I bought from my brother for $500. I loved that little car, even though the floor boards were so close to the motor that you’d swear you had your HEAT on even in the middle of the summer.
1:24 pm
Kels, you left out the part about how the “I’m a SUBARU” actually announced its presence from miles away. That little car was the LOUDEST car I have ever heard. Like, motorcycle with extra high volume loud. And before we learned to love it for it’s personality, that car embarrassed us to death. We used to slink down on its turquoise vinyl insides and try to ride/drive with only our eyes showing above the dash - like frogs in a pond.
There was also the summer when I brought my college roommate home to visit - she was from New Jersey originally and thought a trip to Texas was a sort of oven-baked trip to a theme park. To be fair it was over 100 degrees the entire time she was there. I took her on a day trip in the I’m a SUBARU - no a/c. We wondered if the car was going to overheat so would occasionally pull over and pour water into it. Later we found out we’d been carefully refilling the windshield wiper fluid thingy rather than the actual reservoir. We were very bright. We also came very close to getting heat stroke that day. The I’m a SUBARU was not a great car for extreme weather conditions, much as we loved it for other reasons.
1:45 pm
Oh, that is so wonderful!
My first car was a 1980 Toyota Corona, and I constantly had to say, “No, not Corolla. Yes, like the beer.” It had the shakes so bad that I had to keep the back doors locked at all times or they would fly open of their own accord when I hit about 40 mph.
1:52 pm
Okay — hold on a sec, I simply MUST catch my breath before going on.
Okay. Now I have a stich in my side from laughing so hard at your “I’M A FREAKING SUBARU” shooting at the boys, who were probably thinking … “man, look at those HOT girls — why are they driving such a lame car!” Yeah, you probably scared them to death, and serves them right! Because, they were probably trying to figure out how to get your door unlocked to get in and steel your jambox and tapes… and I’m sure they had their eyes on re-selling the bird food for money, too!
1:54 pm
You know what? Now that I think about it, I wonder if my beautiful, and ever so sporty 1970 mustard-yellow Ford Pinto Station wagon with the vinyl brown seats ever gave your car a run for it’s money? Because I would reach top speeds in that little baby… like 30 or 40 miles an hour! I was dangerous!
3:17 pm
Ha! I love your story!
My first car was a Suzuki Samarai that was red. I had it for a month and when I was driving it a back tire blew and it spun around, hit the edge of the highway and picked up, turned over, smahed in one side of the roof, flipped over again and smashed the other side and then landed upright. I remember looking up and seeing the ground and knowing I would die. I didn’t want to. But it was weird because:
I didn’t have a seatbelt on but never left my seat even an inch.
Angel for sure!
SO,
Besides getting a bashed head from my stereo hitting me, and deciding that I did like my life after all, and not having a car anymore, I was okay. And I grew up a little too!
Wish my story was as funny as yours but as usual I am a spass!
Great post! More more!
8:31 pm
Funny looks from the hubby again because this one made me laugh so hard I had tears:.). My first car was a 1992 red Pontiac Sunbird. I was always bumming rides in highschool so finally my dad surprised me with this brand spankin new car, woo hoo, right. Not really. I felt like the coolest thing in town until…one night while driving with an ex-beau, a deer decides to run right into the side of the 1 month old car!! I never even seen it coming, then very weird feeling and almost in the ditch(due to covering my eyes and yelling OMG). Soon after that my dad took away the car because I didn’t find a job to pay for the insurance. Even after pleading and begging for just two weeks to find a job, Dad still put it up for sale. I was very upset with my dad for quite a while but now respect his decision and I would do the same thing with my girls. Great story HM, I used to do such silly thigns in HS and this post brought back a ton of memories, thanks:)
8:48 pm
Bird seed! Too funny! Yes, first cars definitely build character. Ours was a Toyota Corolla OLD, really old, so old most of the time my boyfriend had to pust it and pop the clutch to start it. I had to hold the door when we drove on the highway because it felt like it might blow off.
This was the car my he had when we first met. Once, as we were leaving my mother in laws she gave me a look as if to say “You’re not going to let him drive this? I tried to give her a look that said “He’s your son, you know there’s nothing I can do to stop him.”
But, he was a good driver by their family’s standards. They had a steep driveway that sloped down towards their house. TWO of his brothers ran their cars right into the basement!
10:37 am
HAHA! Too funny! Do ya know, I got married at sixteen, so I never had a car of my own, but thank God We’ve always had cars. No great story though, our first one was new. We’re prety boring like that!