Have you ever thought about what kind of car your teachers had when they were young? Well, here are some of the best memories teachers had to share about their first cars. If you think you have it tough, think again.
Doug Mandrick – His first car was a 1986 Ford Escort, a car he only paid $200.00 for. Here is his best memory with that car: ¨The first time I washed the car it left a rust ring on my parents´ driveway and I was no longer allowed to wash it on the driveway unless I swept afterwards. I collected used motor oil to put into it as it burned more oil than gas. It burned so much oil there was a blue gray cloud behind it that took 20 minutes to completely clear on my slow neighborhood road when there was stale air. My neighbor asked me what time I was going to leave so he could leave at a different time in the mornings so he wouldn’t drive through my cloud. I also could only put two gallons of gas in it at a time as the gas tank was rusted out and any more gas it would slosh out when stopping or if there was more it would just pee out leaking. There were holes in the doors that I could see the road through as well as the rear floorboards. That [way] my riders in the rain needed to put the plastic grocery bags in the holes to stay dry. The car would accelerate from 0 to 60 in 60 seconds. Bikers and runners who left at a light the same time as me could generally beat me across the intersection.¨
Victor Perez – His first car was a 1972 Volkswagen Rabbit, a car he paid $450.00 for. When he bought the car the floorboard was completely rusted out and the heater was on all the time. He says his clearest memory in the car was when ¨The accelerator got stuck and I could not reduce the speed. Was going about 60 mph for about 5 miles. Thankfully, it was a country road with very little traffic. Shifted gears to Neutral until it completely decelerated. Fortunately, did not die, nor killed anyone. Got a different beater after that.¨
Joe Diekevers – His first car was a 1988 Oldsmobile Ninety-eight, a car he paid $500.00 for. The best memory he had with this car was when, ¨I went to pick up my homecoming date and opened her passenger door; she thought I was being polite until I hopped in her door and scooched over to the driver’s seat. The driver side door didn’t open. When it rained my car would leak and then give me or my passengers a shower on every turn. On the highway I almost lost the hood of my car as it was being held down by a twisted coat hanger. My plan was to stick my head out the window if I suddenly lost vision, but I don’t think the windows opened either. Speedometer did not work either, but I never got a ticket. For my senior mock elections I won the worst car in the lot award.¨
Loretta Vaara – Her first car was a 1978 Pontiac Sunbird. She paid nothing for it because it was a gift. This is one of her best memories: ¨My muffler was falling off and I had to drive home from college for the weekend. I asked a guy (who lived in my dorm) if he’d help me wire it up, so it wouldn’t drag. He wired it to the drive train!!! That didn’t last…it was dragging again when I was about half way home. After that, my Dad’s advice was, ‘Just because they’re male doesn’t mean they know anything about cars…but they’ll never admit they don’t!´ So true.¨
Bethany Willcock – Her first car was a 1990 Buick Le Sabre she paid $700.00 for. The best memory with this car was when ¨The ceiling was falling down. The back middle seat had a hole cut in the middle so one could reach through to the trunk (the guy from Craigslist said he use it for skis). It was HUGE and magnificent. I had to let it go when it started spraying poison through the vents. I remember driving my cats to and from college while getting A LOT of stares.¨
After reading this article ask yourself, ¨How bad do you really have it?¨ Did you ever have poison spraying from the vents or even opening the passenger door to drive your car. Well think again.