tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post6488902474149984070..comments2024-03-29T08:07:36.632-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: Girls in CarsJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-34943756328024467412017-02-01T13:20:38.450-05:002017-02-01T13:20:38.450-05:00Love the photos.
I remember one of my neighbors k...Love the photos.<br /><br />I remember one of my neighbors kept a car that was made before I was born.. Not sure if it was from the 1950s or 1960s. I called it the car with cat ears because the rear had fins.<br /><br />My first car was the family car and I loved driving it. The car was a 1988 four seater Volvo and it was easier to drive than the honda and toyota cars that I practiced on during driving lessons. The driving school had used toyota and used honda and I suspect they did not take care of their cars well because the steering was difficult!<br /><br />The steering on the Volvo was so simple. We bought the car in 2000 and I loved the cloth seats because I could wear shorts in the summer. The leather seats sticked to my legs if I wore shorts!<br /><br />The car died after 15 years because the new owners of the car garage hired mechanics who were not familiar with Volvos - in hindsight we should have switched car repair shops when that car garage started selling other car brands. <br /><br />Thank you for sharing. Loved everyone's stories!bib-li-o-philehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00622118991020988370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-56372912072260051872017-01-30T23:48:50.506-05:002017-01-30T23:48:50.506-05:00Marianne, I am so jealous. I'd love to drive a...Marianne, I am so jealous. I'd love to drive a Model T. We have a 1949 Willys Jeep, civilian model. It's not driveable at the moment, but doesn't need much more to be so. I did drive it in the past. It was a hoot!<br />Pat Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-30265775510723276762017-01-30T20:46:30.207-05:002017-01-30T20:46:30.207-05:00I am such a car geek. I love this topic. And the...I am such a car geek. I love this topic. And the pictures are great!<br /><br />I learned to drive in my parents' Country Squire wagon - with the third row seat facing backwards. When I went to college they got "the family car" which is what my sister called the first non-station wagon they ever had, a '70 Pontiac Catalina. My own first car was a British import, a Hillman Avenger aka Plymouth Cricket. I prefer to call it the Hillman. (We had rented one in Ireland and I loved it.) It was on-the-job training for the stick shift. I haven't given up my manual transmissions since.<br /><br />When I married my husband he was driving a 1968 Cadillac Sedan deVille. That sucker was gigantic! I swear there was a helicopter landing spot on the hood AND the trunk. I loved riding in it but it was too big for me to feel comfortable driving. He traded it for a pickup.<br /><br />We had 3 Firebirds/Trans Ams, a Pinto, a Chevette (two actually - we were part of a "syndicate" that bought one as a race car and rented it out (long story) - a Ford Probe GT and then our string of Hondas: an 87 CRX-Si, an 88 Civic Wagon (AWD), and we now have our third Fit - a 2013 with 110,000 miles. I love Hondas. I want a Civic Hatchback Sport now but it's almost impossible to find them with manual trannys.<br /><br />I have to tell you that my "weekend car" in summer is either a 1914 or 1915 Model T Ford. I am a driver at a transportation museum on the Maine coast and give rides to visitors. This is wicked cool and a lot of fun. I am their first female driver!Marianne in Mainenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-59584870553398279152017-01-30T20:20:07.535-05:002017-01-30T20:20:07.535-05:00I always figure red is best because other drivers ...I always figure red is best because other drivers see you!!<br /><br />My current Honda Accord is a sort of silver-green. The invisible car. Not good on Texas crazy roads.<br /><br />And the bad thing about Honda is that unless you buy the sporty Civic or the sporty V6 Accord, they come in the dullest damned colors.<br /><br />I may buy a Ford next just to get my red.Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-38252689969928346162017-01-30T19:47:51.640-05:002017-01-30T19:47:51.640-05:00Just saw the comments on colors. I had a Toyota fo...Just saw the comments on colors. I had a Toyota for a while, it was grey. I paid more for insurance on the car because the agent told me that grey cars blended (who else just heard that line from My Cousin Vinnie play in their head) in rain and fog and thus were in more accidents in bad weather. Fact, fiction, or stichk they pulled on women in the 1970s? Hum, not sure. I always wanted a red car. The next one YES!Kaithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07758348842858993203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-87153942190378063902017-01-30T19:42:48.761-05:002017-01-30T19:42:48.761-05:001964 Chevy Corvair Monza Spyder. Yes, the Ralph Na...1964 Chevy Corvair Monza Spyder. Yes, the Ralph Nader Car. Rag top, roll bar, four speed. I loved it. Not sure what color it should have been when I bought it someone had spray painted it flat black. I always meant to do a psychedelic paint job to cover the yuck black, but never got around to it. Libby, I always wanted a Willys. If I couldn't have a Willys, I wanted an International Harvester, but the year I saved enough money for one, they stopped making cars, quel dommage.Kaithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07758348842858993203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-12075083254909977602017-01-30T18:26:53.467-05:002017-01-30T18:26:53.467-05:00Hank, that's the best!
My first car was a fam...Hank, that's the best!<br /><br />My first car was a family friend's father's 1950 Willys Jeepster. It had snap in windows and a heater that was maybe a 9" cube (cold). But I got to drive t!Libby Doddhttp://www.libbydoddart.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-56572991864322688832017-01-30T17:18:51.596-05:002017-01-30T17:18:51.596-05:00Senior year in college, my brother's castoff ...Senior year in college, my brother's castoff Plymouth Fury III. It was a boat.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11746409987008989925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-24837480165170461672017-01-30T15:43:32.798-05:002017-01-30T15:43:32.798-05:00Fun reading! My first car was a Chevy that my par...Fun reading! My first car was a Chevy that my parents were done with -- I had it when I got married and we drove it across the country to Berkeley, CA where my husband started law school and I started teaching high school. It's funny all the mention of rust -- when we tried to sell the Chevy (we found a used Saab for sale at a bargain in the married student housing complex), everyone who looked at is asked, "Where did your have this car??"<br /><br />Rusty cars were, at that time, unknown to Californians.<br /><br />Since we are on the subject of butterscotch, we had a great "peanut butter" VW bus for many years when our kids were young. Gosh, I loved that car. I plastered it with bumper stickers. <br /><br />A few cars after that, we discovered auto air-conditioning!Denise Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02790883493798517829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-90647188926735197232017-01-30T15:27:57.549-05:002017-01-30T15:27:57.549-05:00Aimee, you really did build character driving that...Aimee, you really did build character driving that car!<br /><br />Our current car is on its last legs. Among the various problems the mechanic recently diagnosed: a rodent nest in the car's inner workings. It gives me the willies just thinking about it!Ingrid Thofthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04063912686011336076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-48687357194270782252017-01-30T14:55:23.007-05:002017-01-30T14:55:23.007-05:00I should first note that my mother didn't driv...I should first note that my mother didn't drive, and she and my father had four children. Luckily, my father was in real estate and had a somewhat flexible schedule. Unfortunately for him, he had four kids to drive around to activities. We each got a car when we got our license. When it came my time, I can imagine that my father must have been celebrating for sure. <br /><br />So, my first car was a 1968 gold-colored (many of us seem to be in that color family) Ford LTD with a black vinyl top, two-door. I was most happy, but looking back on it, it was a rather large car for me. It served me well through high school though. For some reason that I think had to do with my mother talking him into a smaller car for me, when I went to college I got a new powder-blue Dodge Swinger, which was much sportier for me. I think my father got a good deal on it, too, as he was quite the car negotiator. He bought a new car every two to three years, so he got lots of practice. Boy, was I in for a shock when I married and my husband thought ten years was a good amount of time to keep a car. We've comprised on that. Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-60991349875026226762017-01-30T14:53:45.039-05:002017-01-30T14:53:45.039-05:00A guy growing up in Southern California in the Fif...A guy growing up in Southern California in the Fifties? Of course I was a car nut. When I was a Junior in high school, at age 16 I bought my first car, a 1949 Ford Tudor with a flathead V-8 and 3-speed stick on the column. Yes, it was a little ratty, but what can you expect for a $125 13 year-old car? I loved it. I sold it when I graduated high school, and had no car my first two years of college. Then I had a Honda motorcycle for a couple of years before it was stolen.<br /><br />Next I bought a 1962 Pontiac Tempest, which held out for a couple of years until the timing chain broke. It wold cost more than the car was worth to replace, so I sold it for parts and bought a 1963 VW beetle. A good solid car until 1972 when I traded it in for a used Dodge van (I worked for a landscaper and had a gardening route and need to put the tools somewhere).<br /><br />Finally, in an office job, my first brand new car was a 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass. But the timing was bad, and the oil shortages hit me hard. Finally in 1980 I bought a Toyota Celica, which I kept for 14 years. I've had Japanese cars ever since, a Mazda, an Infiniti and now a Subaru OutbackRick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978136287154214297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-10375913898854047172017-01-30T14:31:15.343-05:002017-01-30T14:31:15.343-05:00I moved back home during college to help out when ...I moved back home during college to help out when my youngest sister got ill. So now I was a townie and a commuter. Dad bought a giant Impala car, probably late 60s model, for me to get to school. I was attending Loyola U. of the South in New Orleans. Kind of a change from U.Texas at Austin. The campus was in the Garden District and there was only street parking. It was a BITCH to parallel park that car. And it was enormously ugly. Dad had gotten a deal on it because it had been parked by a lumberyard during a hurricane and one side of it was all dents. And it was some sort of pale color not found in nature. After he got tired of my whining he took me car shopping and we picked out a 67 Mustang, automatic transmission, but not the big engine. It was a pale green they called Diamond and had a black vinyl roof and interior. And an A/C that needed help. I melted in that car in the summer, but I loved it. Now, after numerous cars because my husband seems to have an addiction that doesn't allow him to keep a car too many years, I drive a 2003 Jeep Liberty I bought brand new. That was my Minnesota car and it is currently my Houston car. I love it. It slips in and out and does Ueys with ease. It is stickshift and has 4WD if needed. I think I will be buried in this vehicle!<br />It is a dark blue termed Patriot Blue. In the past I've gone for silvers and grays. I consider them stealth colors; they will not call attention to me if I am going over the speed limit slightly.Pat Dnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-38060306709189024962017-01-30T12:47:05.302-05:002017-01-30T12:47:05.302-05:00My first car was a 1970 VW Fastback, which I bough...My first car was a 1970 VW Fastback, which I bought from relatives, so I was aware of the car's repair history. I generally keep a car until my mechanic tells me that for safety's sake I really ought to get rid of whatever I'm driving! He LOVES my current car, a 2003Honda Civic, which I bought ten years ago. There's 94,600 miles on it and I hope to get to 200,000. If I'm still allowed to drive then, I'll probably be in my 80s. I love this car. I wish I had one like it back when I had to commute some distance to get to work.(My current commute is 3miles!)<br /><br />There were two cars I hated, a 1986 Mazda 323, which cost me thousands in repairs due to a faulty engine. Fortunately, it was involved in a recall for that very problem and the manufacturer refunded most of my repair costs. The other was a 1995 Saturn SL2, which constantly needed a new alternator. And then of course, a new battery. And there was an oil leak that I had to stay on top of. <br /><br />But LOVE my Honda!<br /><br />Deb Romano Deb Romanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01650858888197217258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-24007904796694287052017-01-30T12:46:40.560-05:002017-01-30T12:46:40.560-05:00I think Honda is winning the reliability contest h...I think Honda is winning the reliability contest here! You can't kill them! I thought about trading in my Accord last year, but my then eight-year-old car had less than 60,000 miles on it and I decided that was stupid.<br /><br />But, Hank, I do LUST after red car. I've had two. The first was a little red MG Midget when we lived in England. It was terrible. The drivers seat was sprung, so I couldn't see over the steering wheel, and the heat poured out of the under-dash vents all year. It would literally roast your feet...<br /><br />The second red car was a 1997 Honda Prelude. It was fabulous. I drove it for three years. Then, when the warranty ran out and I found out how much it was going to cost to fix or replace anything, I traded it in on a CRV, which I regret to this day. The Prelude was a gorgeous car. And my daughter learned to drive in it.<br /><br />Julia, thanks for including the Marc Cohn video in with your wonderful car photos, even though it didn't fit your theme. That's a song to give you a Monday morning boost, especially when he hits the "Don't you give me no Buick" chorus!!Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-20848533815676871822017-01-30T12:34:47.398-05:002017-01-30T12:34:47.398-05:00Susan, we sold a 1992 Accord that I'd driven f...Susan, we sold a 1992 Accord that I'd driven for several years, and then two of my daughters had driven in turn. By the time our friend bought it from us the car had 150,000 miles on it. The last I heard he was still driving it and the odometer was close to 400,000.<br />Karen in Ohiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18002794561817071780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-39476117733560152522017-01-30T12:31:00.615-05:002017-01-30T12:31:00.615-05:00FChurch, when I bought my first Honda Civic (CVCC,...FChurch, when I bought my first Honda Civic (CVCC, the first of their little cars that didn't have a motorcycle engine), I had the choice of an automatic, a four-speed, or a five-speed. Checking out the gas mileage, during the gas crisis of the mid-70's, I decided to buy the five-speed. 52mpg!<br /><br />However, I'd never driven a manual transmission. So I asked my boyfriend to take me to get the car, and to teach me to drive it. He was a good teacher, and I got so good at shifting on hills (Cincinnati is full of steep streets), and the car was so tiny, that I could park just about anywhere.<br /><br />I still miss shifting. Now I'm shiftless.Karen in Ohiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18002794561817071780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-60402609786888633822017-01-30T12:28:13.984-05:002017-01-30T12:28:13.984-05:00Hank, I joke about the Aspire all the time!!! So h...Hank, I joke about the Aspire all the time!!! So happy to know someone else sees the humor in that the same way I do!Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08292993485984273172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-84636161434569008902017-01-30T12:26:53.634-05:002017-01-30T12:26:53.634-05:00My mother had not known how to drive until my fath...My mother had not known how to drive until my father died when I was 13, so she was a very skittish driver and VERY happy to provide me a car so she wouldn't have to drive me around any more when I turned 16. So I started off in a 1966 AMC Rambler (this was the late 1970's.) By the time I finished high school, the defroster worked so badly that a tall male friend of mine would usually ride shotgun in the winter and periodically lean out the passenger door to scrape ice off the windshield. <br /><br />When I graduated, I bought my first car of my own choosing -- a gently used Ford Mustang II. It was a stick shift and I didn't know how to drive one, but I figured if all these other people can do this, so can I. I had a (different) male friend drive it off the lot for me and show me how to use the clutch and shift. I drove that car for at least six years. <br /><br />I still have a tendency to keep a car for a long, long time. My current Honda is only a year and half old, but the one it replaced had 212,000 miles on it. Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08292993485984273172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-7405278156839526762017-01-30T12:26:05.075-05:002017-01-30T12:26:05.075-05:00AH HA, Mary! That's pretty interesting! Yeah,...AH HA, Mary! That's pretty interesting! Yeah, I'm thinking about a red car, too. Hmm. <br /><br />Got to love car names, too. Monza. Encore. Tercel. I had to make up car names for DRIME TIME, and came up with Cambria and Umbra.<br /><br />Remember the Nova controversy? And can you imagine, these days, saying you have a Chevette? <br /><br />And I always laugh at Aspire. What, you aspire to a real car? And Maxima. Is there a Minima?Hank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-7498014220004571512017-01-30T12:15:09.585-05:002017-01-30T12:15:09.585-05:00My first car was a 1978 Dodge Colt. My parents had...My first car was a 1978 Dodge Colt. My parents had bought it used. When they were ready to get rid of it, they sold it to my grandparents who then gave it to me a few years later. It had been in the family six or seven years by the time I got it. <br /><br />My next car was a 84 Honda Accord. My uncle had bought it new and he passed it on to me. <br /><br />I bought a 2001 CR-V new in November of 2000, the first car I bought. I just replaced it with a 2016 CR-V last month. Mark Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11567392254011373198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-11558590900455902632017-01-30T11:55:53.595-05:002017-01-30T11:55:53.595-05:00Hank, I have been told white, silver, and black ar...Hank, I have been told white, silver, and black are the cheapest paint colors (in order) for automakers and that is why you see so many of them.<br /><br />I'm looking at a Buick Encore for my next car (The Hubby is driving a RAV4 with all the trimmings and I'm lusting after his heated seats especially in the winter - plus I like being up higher a bit). It will be blue or red. Not sure. But I am determined. NO WHITE!Liz Millironhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04919409969263609919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-81302181941377445642017-01-30T11:30:44.012-05:002017-01-30T11:30:44.012-05:00These stories are fantastic and Julia, I really lo...These stories are fantastic and Julia, I really love the vintage pictures of girls and cars.<br />There's a flamingo pink completely restored Mercury Comet(?) for sale up the road from<br />my house. I want it desperately because I am pretty sure the hooligans won't want to <br />drive a pink car :) Plus, it's super cool.Jenn McKinlayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03214926031147370862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-28800645220376701282017-01-30T10:57:53.820-05:002017-01-30T10:57:53.820-05:00Ah, yes. This is a topic I do well with and usuall...Ah, yes. This is a topic I do well with and usually win but this round it seems like it may be a tight race.<br /><br />My first car as a Chevrolet Monza, one of the three most structurally unsafe cars ever made. It was older than I was and it stalled any and every time I came to a complete stop. It ate cassette tapes. When I say ate I mean even when we could get the cassette out we couldn't find the tape. Not even taking the dashboard apart which we did numerous times trying to chase down the stalling issue.<br /><br />The passenger seat was rusted in place with the seat back stuck pushed slightly forward so no one could ride "shotgun" but it was nigh on impossible to get in the back.<br /><br />The driver's door was dented, badly, right at the hinge so it wouldn't open all the way. No problem. I could go in and out the window if I had to ... except I went to Catholic school and wore a uniform skirt every day.<br /><br />It also had a faulty gas gauge so I continually broke down/ran out of gas because I never knew how much gas I had. This drove my father nuts because he insisted I should some how know when I needed gas - with a broken gas gauge and therefore no way to mathematically work out the miles per gallon. He yelled at me every time he had to come pick me up and put gas in it until I finally explained to him that it would be like me yelling at him for giving him a gallon of paint but not telling him the size of the room I needed painted and it not being enough.<br /><br />The best thing I can say about it was that I developed A LOT of "character" driving it. And it cemented my love of using profanity.Aimee Hixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06045158961269334826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-37213890928206464092017-01-30T10:46:41.466-05:002017-01-30T10:46:41.466-05:00My first car was a Corvair convertible that had be...My first car was a Corvair convertible that had belonged to my mother. Remember Corvairs? They inspired Ralph Nader's book "Unsafe at Any Speed." But oh, I loved zipping around Southern California at age 17 in that death-mobile. When my mother bestowed this gift upon me, she said one curious thing, however: "It's such a good car...never gave me a bit of trouble...you never even have to change the oil! That's how good it is!" Aaaaaaaaannnnddddd....well, it didn't really HAVE any oil in it by that point. Just a bunch of tar-like strings. So it didn't last all that long. But it was fun while it lasted.Maddie Dawsonhttp://www.maddiedawson.comnoreply@blogger.com