1:1 Cars that had an effect on you, and why.

[Rodent]

In no particular order.

64 Galaxie 390. Parents' first new car. Took my driving test in it. Would lay 100+ feet of rubber. Buried the speedometer needle with 5 friends aboard.

1974 ish Porsche 911. Junior High car wash. Guy gave me the keys and told me where to park it when we were done. Good thing I had some concept of driving a manual transmission.

60 Chevrolet C10 PU, 283 with granny 4 speed. Trial by fire learning to drive a manual transmission.

There are plenty more for me. Discuss?

[randx0]

Opel GT I vividly recall climbing from the drivers front seat to the back seat the white seats with the perforations stand out for some reason I was 2 or 3 years

old . No idea why this would stick with me .

1977 Seville my first car .

Shelby Daytona coupe just my favorite car .

[JollySipper]

Dad's '72 Road Runner that he had when I was 16. He pretty much let me drive it when I wanted to. It was a 340/slapstick car and was the fastest thing I had ever driven at the time........

'85 Mazda GLC, ugly little hatch back car but the most dependable car I have ever owned, it had 250,000 miles on it before I retired it.......

[slusher]

My dad liked big cars and he had a 68 Pontiac Catalina so I like roomy cars. All my cousins had Mopars in the late 60's and have always been a Mopar guy. I have a Chrysler Sebring now and not the little one. My wife said when we was dating why do you like big cars and told here the story...

[disabled modeler]

1975 Pontiac Trans Am I once owned...bored out 400ci,huge cam,ram air heads and exhaust manifolds,automatic,373 posi,slapstick shifter,160mph speedo....nothing in my area could touch it off the line or top end...I loved that car.

My dads 67,68,69,70 Bonnevilles and 69,70 Grand prixs...beautiful cars.

My moms old station wagons...64,69,70 Bonnevilles,67,69 Impala,68 Fury and more...still remember riding in the very back of them.

My first car...72 Olds Toronado...super nice and running car.

My dads old 73 Chevy van...he drove it for years,gave it to my brother then he gave it to me....when I got rid of it it had 479,000 miles on the same un-touched engine other than for normal maintenance still ran great but the body was gone.

and others.

[cobraman]

I guess it will not come as a surprise to most of you that mine would have to be the AC Cobra. Saw one in a Ford showroom back in the 60's when my dad was car shopping. Went back to that dealer a few days later to pick up the car he bought and that little Cobra was being driven away by it's new owner. Looked great, sounded great and the guy had a smile on his face a mile wide. I was hooked. Loved them ever since.

[ZTony8]

'65 Olds F-85 coupe.My first car-Freedom!

'71 Firebird Formula 455 H.O.-my 2nd (and,to date,most powerful)car.I never had that car floored it was so scary fast.In retrospect,I never should have bought that car.It was only 3 years old but it was already trashed when I got it(for $2400!).

1927 Chevy woodie.Bought by my Dad as a project in 1957.I adored that car as a little boy,especially the oogah horn.Traded away by Dad in 1967,I bought it back in 1982.About ten years ago it was wrecked by a Lincoln driver 15 minutes from my house while being towed back from Greenfield Village,having quit running.The bent carcass sits in my garage awaiting it's restoration.

The Buick Wildcat II show car.My Dad was service manager at a Buick dealer in the early 60s when GM apparently used to loan out show cars to dealers for display.I got to sit in that car when it was displayed where Dad worked and for an 8 year car nut that was something very special.

Federal Engineering Special Indy roadster.Like the Wildcat II,on display at the dealership where Dad worked.Got to sit in that one too.

'63 Buick Riviera.The nine year old car nut in me thought the interior of that car was so cool,kinda like a jet airplane with that console shifter.Fifty plus years later I STILL want a first generation Riviera.

1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico.I was 6 years old when I saw a picture in a Fuller Brush catalog of the car driven by Phil Hill and Richie Ginther in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana.With it's long hood and all those decals,that car then defined "race car" to me.

Edited October 15, 2014 by ZTony8

[1972coronet]

My parents' 1969 Dart 'Custom' (trim level) 2 door hardtop . 273 / 904 , AM radio , etc.

It was a gift in 1971 to my parents . My paternal grandmother stopped driving (age 75) , so she gave it to us . It was the family car from 1971 - 1976 (kept until 1985) , when its 'family' status was upstaged by a ...

1976 Mercury Monarch . 2 door coupe , Ghia edition . 351-W . Silver , cranberry-coloured leather interior , with a silver Landau top .

Bought new in March 1976 . The odd thing about that car was that it had no sound system from the factory (!!) . An upscale , $6,000 car ... and no radio !

Whittier Radio & Television ( 213-OX.-89451) was chosen to install an AM/FM / 8-Track , speakers , and antenna .

[mikemodeler]

First Gen Camaro. Growing up as teenager in the 70's, there were two brothers who lived down the street who had a '68 & '69 Camaro that were the subject of constant wrenching and engine swaps. Spent many nights helping them and learning about cars.

First real job (at a car dealership) and met a couple of employees who were into first Gen Camaros as well. They had some really nice cars and from there I have been hooked.

I have always had a soft spot for GM muscle cars, old trucks, and street rods but First Gen Camaros remain my favorite.

[CJ1971]

Without question.. The Most famous TV car of all time... The General Lee. ? Got me into cars & modelling that has, so far, lasted 37 odd yrs. it is also the reason why Mopars are my favourite cars of all too ??

[drodg]

My best friend had a cousin that had a brand new 1965 Pontiac 2+2 convertible. The first car I had ever been over 100mph in. Also my Uncle's new 68 Charger R/T in buffed silver. Both beautiful cars.

[drodg]

The 2+2 was triple black. Wow a pretty car.

[rmvw guy]

'55 Chevy, my first car, learned to drive in it.

'67 VW, my first really cheap car to drive, drove it everywhere and never got a speeding ticket.

'37 Ford Coupe, my first real collector car, started my passion for flathead engines.

[Skip]

1965 Pontiac GTO, first car I bought and owned myself, right during the early '70's gas crunch, gas went up to a dollar overnight. Couldn't afford to feed the Goat on a daily basis, so it became a weekend cruiser. Enter a '57 Oval Window VW Bug complete with oil bleeding 36 fire breathing horses! Got better gas mileage, until I discovered Volks motors could be Hot Rodded 36 hp banished to a far corner of the garage in went a stroker big bore motor and all the other go fast goodies,,, soon learned to build a transaxle that didn't explode, next it was axles... I'm pretty sure I shoulda just left that leaky old 36 hp motor where it was in the first place.

Then there was a ride in a real Mk II Austin Mini Cooper (it wasn't an "S" not all Coopers were S models), speeding around those narrow twisty Scottish Lanes. What a thrill! That memory stuck with me through my adult driving days, through Hot Rods, Camaro's and other cool cars. I kept going back to that little Mini how fun it was, how it made me smile, how it felt like you were doing 90 even though you were zipping along at 25 MPH! How it felt like a go kart! In 2000 I realized that memory, all those same goofy feelings rushed back, I get the same silly grin every time I drive it! My neighbors look at me like I'm nuts, or speeding through the neighborhood at 10 MPH! As silly as it sounds it's one of the most fun and eye catching cars I've ever owned, no ones a stranger, lots of people have Mini stories embellished or not! Kids think it's the coolest car they've ever seen, even a five year old claims he could drive it and he probably could! Lots of people remember the Mini's Ralley Days, winning the Monte Carlo, being cheated out of it for tons of modifications or other reasons besides the real one. It's non-stock headlights, which caused it to be disqualified. One guy with a strong Brit accent told me where he was from there were Mini's all over, well Duh and just how many of 'em have you seen here in the U.S.? Er uhm.... To say this funny little car made an impression on me would be an understatement!

Edited to correct stupid alternate words inserted by IOS8's autocorrect, what will they give us next!

Edited October 15, 2014 by Skip

[KevinMoparFord]

I remember helping my Dad work on a 60 Thunderbird. Was the first old car he bought. Went to look at a lot of cars with him, and I know he always wanted a 55-57 Bird, but with 3 kids he had to get a 4 seater. Was thrilled when I was able to buy the car back and still own it today.

Winged Mopars are my next favorite. Went to the Hoosier show at Indianapolis with my family when I was 10, the Thunderbird meet was held there. We got to go on the track and I remember seeing a club of winged cars there on the track as well. Really like the 68-70 Road Runners, the cartoon character, the beep beep horn, and the colors.

[Greg Wann]

My 72 Buick GS 455. My older brother ordered it and I bought it from him in 1976. I sold it to a friends dad who kept it about 26 years, the youngest son Bruce drove it. The last known owner is Robert Helms somewhere around Indianapolis.

[Danno]

Too many to try to list! My head hurts from just thinking about my answer to this! Great question, though.

[chunkypeanutbutter]

The '88 Ranger XLT.

I see it everyday when I get home from school, sitting proudly in the driveway, like a little consolation from the monotony of geometry and participle phrases I endured.

Others would be...

Dad's old red '82 Audi Coupe GT (which we're trying to locate, we had to sell it back around 01 or 02 for a trip to the UK). Remember the S-turn in Lamoine where Dad would drift into really fast... Sitting in the back on the "seat" made of plywood covered with carpeting, a cellphone antenna hitting me on he back of the head... Jumping the railroad tracks.... Drifting in the snow...

VW Karmann Ghia, one of the first cars I saw a full resto and paint job done on

[Nova-ss]

For me 1974 Nova SS.that car today I love.the kid next door had one.I was to young to drive

but loved the look and sound.

1977 Chevrolet C-30 crewcab.it still today had the most different looking paint work I ever saw

on a factory paint job.loved that pickup...lots of fond memories. ..driving it when stepfather wanted me to, and the law did not.

1965 Ford Galaxie 500 XL.my fathers car.it was fast for a kid of 5 years old.it had the same engine that Leno has in his.

has in his....only the factory version.

And my first car 1974 Nova.I put so much work in that car, that there was so much done that its to long for this post to mention.

But did have a 400 CID SB with 12/1 compression! 4000 stall converter, 373 12 bolt w/pos reared...loved it.and

I named her "STEF" I had alot of fun and good times back then.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Nova-ss

[Ramfins59]

1958 Chevy Impala.

When I was 12 years old, back in 1959, a guy who lived in our apartment bldg. in The Bronx, NY, had a Black '58 Impala that he would park at the curb in front of the building every day. His name was Johnny Kenny and he was into the Custom car scene at the time. His Impala was nosed, decked and shaved and it had a custom tube grille, half moon headlight shields, 4 bar Lancer spinner hubcaps on wide whites, dual mirrors, dummy spotlights and twin, swept back antennas, full length lake pipes, full cruiser skirts with the chrome trim, 6 '59 Caddy bullet taillights and a full width continental kit...!!! I would drool over that car every day. Since then the "bolt-on" customizing of that era has always appealed to me, and still does. I built a model of how I remember that car using the Revell '58 Impala kit. I've also built a few other models using the "bolt-on" or "J.C. Whitney" method of mild customizing. I just love it.

1959 Dodge

I bought a '59 Dodge Coronet from a friend back in the Fall of 1996 for $1,200 after my '86 Chevy Caprice burned due to a fuel line leak. I had to have the Dodge's tranny rebuilt because it had sat in the guys yard for 4 years and all of the seals were dried up and it was leaking tranny fluid at every spot possible. I tried doing the "bolt-on" customizing thing with it, putting on half moon headlight shields, twin mirrors dummy spots and dual swept back antennas, '59 Dodge Royal Lancer spinner hubcaps, full length lake pipes, '59 Caddy taillight lenses and some pinstripe tape flames. I learned a lot about working on a car while I owned it. I wound up selling the car in 2005 for $2,500 since I wasn't driving anymore due to partial vision loss due to my stroke. I miss the heck out of that car... A LOT.

[Agent G]

1994 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1 with the LT1 engine option.

After 15 years of driving the worst of the worst, this car reaffirmed my beliefs as to what a copcar should be. This was only the second year we had cars with AM/FM radios, power windows and seats and, Gasp, CARPET!

I kept mine for two and a half years, which is an eternity for a copcar.

G

[forthlin]

My Mom's '55 Olds Starfire conv. She had it from 1959 - 61. I was a wee one but I do remember that gorgeous car.

'56 Mercury Monterey. I bought it for $40.00 in 1970 & sold it for $75.00 in early '71. I still regret it.

'63 Olds 88 conv. I owned 4 of these between '71 & '82.

[ianguilly]

1968-1970 Dodge chargers. The general Lee, Bullitt both inspired me. I fell in love with those body lines. I thought the back window design was the coolest thing ever. I still love them, I'd love to own one one day. Until then I'll just hoard the mini versions.

Edited October 15, 2014 by ianguilly

[Lunajammer]

Green '73 Pinto Squire Wagon. It's what we got to use in high school and while we lived at home. Say what you want about the engine, I've said it myself, but it was a beautiful car that handled quite nicely and a great hauler. Just couldn't get up hills. Sentimental value. (Disregard the grossly out of scale dude loading that giant car.)

[unclescott58]

The Cord 812. In Junior High they had a book written by Bob Stubenrauch called "The Fun of Old Cars." In there I saw a profile on a Cord 812 phaeton for the first time and was blown away. It was the most beautiful car I had ever seen! Later I found Mr. Stubenrauch follow up book, Runabouts and Roadsters. In that book he had a profiled on a Cord 812 convertible. Later I found other books showing more Cords. And when I saw my first Cord in real life, I was not disappointed. To this day, I love all Cord automobiles. The L29s, the 810s, and the 812s. Supercharged. Or un supercharged. All body styles. I even like the Corvair powered, Glen Pray replica built in the mid 60's.

Scott

Edited October 15, 2014 by unclescott58