A rites of passage shot for my 17 year old son Sam.
Today, after he finished school for the day, we went to collect his new car, a 1 year old Vauxhall Corsa.
Here he is after he had driven it home, and he did ok considering I was his passenger, it was a new car with new clutch and gears and it was rush hour.
He is taking driving lessons, and I will be taking him out in it during the evenings and at the weekends.
How the times have changed, my first car was a handpainted Renault 5 where you could see the brush strokes!! I loved it nonetheless!!
Well I suppose I'l have to let my dear old Dad take a pic or two as he's just bought me a car!! No seriously congrats to Sam and may he enjoy many years of safe and happy driving. A lovely happy pic. Ps my first car was an Austen 1300 in a yucky mustardy colour - and I chose it!!!!
First car - ours was a Riley Elf. It had no shock absorbers, no synchromesh and we had to keep a sponge in the door pocket to bail out the water when it rained. We loved it and travelled thousands of miles in it all over the country!! I hope Sam enjoys his first car as much as we enjoyed ours.
Mine was a 1969 Fiat 850...dark green with no first, second or third gear...and reverse was tough to get into too. It frequently shot sparks from under the dash and the car smelled of gasoline...yep, I loved that old car...:)
Excellent candid and I can tell he's very happy to enter this phase of life...good luck on the evening drives!
£35 Ford Anglia!!! I gave it a bit of a polish and sold it for £50. Those were the days. I think Sam will be a lot safer in his car than I was in mine. Wonderful rites of passage photo.
@tasian Fantastic Ken, I am thinking of building a car with all the idiosyncracies people are mentioning, your Fiat really adds to the charatcter of said motor!!
My first car was a one year old Peugeot 309, the most boring model ever made. I bought it when I got my first job in 1990 and had my father persuading me to buy it. Within three months I traded it for a one year old Peugeot 405 which I liked much more. One time going back to the garage for having a dashboard light replaced (warranty) I parked my car on the hill in front of the garage. I only used the emergency break (I use first gear ever since) and saw my car going downhill and crash into a brick wall. I had it repaired but it has costed me years to get over the financial consequences; I had been so stupid to take a loan from the bank to buy the car, being overoptimistic about the development of my salary in the years to come. It's half a century ago and if I do make an effort I can now laugh about it.
@seanoneill Just don't add the tranny...I still have nightmares of trying to leave intersections without the whole car shaking itself into a wrecking yard!
@jocasta Wonderful, what a car the Ford Anglia was Jocasta, they just don't make 'em like that anymore. My in laws had one that they called Florence, and I think it had a painting of Florence from the Magic Roundabout on the doors!!
@hjv Great story Huib, I can imagine how you felt, and I know someone, who will remain nameless who KNOWS how you feel, but that is another story, and if I tell it I will be going hungry for a week or two, ahem, I may have said too much there!!
Great shot and freedom for him soon...mine was a B reg old yellow mini and I loved it to death even when it used to stop running if it rained too much lol...
@clarita_71 Classic car, classic problem. In my placement year from Uni (86/7) I worked at ICI in Runcorn. My housemate (and still best mate) had a mini that was always breaking down in the rain. He did also forget to put petrol in once or twice as well!!
My first ride was a Honda CB500 that had room for me, my wife and luggage for vacation and weekend getaways. When "Little Gray" ended up in a ditch I got a Renault Clio.
Great for Sam, independence calls ! My first car was an old Fiat 127 which gave me so much freedom from the little village I was brought up in- and my mum and dad!
My son and daughter still have their first cars, nearly 7 years on, and love them dearly!
Congratulations, Sam, here's to years of happy and safe motoring!
I didn't pass my test 'til I was nearly 39 and my first car was a Metro. I still remember the registration, it ended VUM and I thought it sounded like an engine being revved. :-)
@gooner46 I'm used to trade shows Chris, so it was what I expected. Not a lot new but far too busy to really find anything. I planned my visit and knew which 20 or so trade stands I wanted to visit. I was there for 10, got front row seats for McCurry who was excellent, and was gone by 2pm having joined the RPS, subscribed to Hungry Eye, picked up literature and bought 2 lenses! Home by 3pm. Verdict, nothing special.
Well done, Sam. And Dad! Love all the stories. My first was a Morris Minor - not the 1000 - the one with the split front windscreen. Bought from a work colleague, it drank oil like an Australian with a crate of 4X (sorry Oz!) I soon changed it for a Morris Minor 1000, previous owner an academic from Uxbridge - why do I remember that?! Loved it, KMU 596. Went to mainland Europe with it, first time abroad, marvellous car.
Oh nice!! Very awesome. My first car was a baby poo coloured Toyota Corona... the roof lining was all gone so it had a sarong pinned up to it instead. You could start the car with a screwdriver lol... who needs keys, right?
A 1976 Holden Torana with the 1900cc 4 cyl engine which sounded like a chaff cutter. It was the entry level version, not even a radio. Kids are spoilt these days!
Wow. New car but no license. How times have changed. My first car was a red Honda Civic. I couldn't drive a standard so my Dad drove it home from the dealership. Didn't take me long to get the hang of a standard.
My first car was a '54 Buick, but my first one in the UK was a '52 Hillman that I had to crank to get started. Sam looks like a very proud owner of a very nice car.
First, this is so well done! Fabulous b&w, awesome processing! Too cool! My first car was a midnight blue 1964, Chevy, Impala convertible, with light blue leather interior. Wish, I had a photo! Yay, for Sam!
Well done Sam - great shot of a great moment. My first car was a Renault 14 that had no reverse - truly - had gone round the clock on the mileometer and the gear box cogs for reverse were, um, interesting. I could reverse downhill or on the flat, maybe, if I held the gear stick in, so had to plan parking very carefully. Driving the Dorset lanes in it had some more exciting moments, because I genuinely couldn't back up very far for anything. More irate idiots in cars with flashy paintwork who expected everyone to back up for them than the tractors with trailers, which I could see coming and tuck into a passing place first.
Congratulations to Sam!!! Your narrative made me laugh........I always remember taking driving lessons in my dads mini.......he gave me 2 lessons, and said "never again....I'll pay for an instructor" lol :-)
Great shot of a proud owner. Our first car was a1954 Hillman Minx. Alan passed his test on the Thursday and we went off the the south coast on the Saturday. I had to navigate which wasn't so good but have improved
since!
he is a lucky chap - my first car was an automatic mini - can't remember how old it was -------hahahaha -I loved it even though it had no oomph - probably a good thing for new driver --------------enjoy Sam and take care
March 10th, 2014
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Excellent candid and I can tell he's very happy to enter this phase of life...good luck on the evening drives!
My first car was a one year old Peugeot 309, the most boring model ever made. I bought it when I got my first job in 1990 and had my father persuading me to buy it. Within three months I traded it for a one year old Peugeot 405 which I liked much more. One time going back to the garage for having a dashboard light replaced (warranty) I parked my car on the hill in front of the garage. I only used the emergency break (I use first gear ever since) and saw my car going downhill and crash into a brick wall. I had it repaired but it has costed me years to get over the financial consequences; I had been so stupid to take a loan from the bank to buy the car, being overoptimistic about the development of my salary in the years to come. It's half a century ago and if I do make an effort I can now laugh about it.
Sam looks very proud
My son and daughter still have their first cars, nearly 7 years on, and love them dearly!
Wasn't too impressed with the Photo Show - your verdict. Sean?
I didn't pass my test 'til I was nearly 39 and my first car was a Metro. I still remember the registration, it ended VUM and I thought it sounded like an engine being revved. :-)
It was a 65/66 HD Holden that overheated if we drove too far!
since!