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A 2001 Toyota Highlander on New Year's Day, 2007, down a quarter-mile long driveway. I had turned 14 a week earlier.
The first car I drove on public roads was a 2000 Chevy Cavalier sedan as part of driver's ed, a week before my 18th birthday, December 19, 2010.
The first car I drove licensed was a 2008 Honda Accord sedan. I got the car May 4, 2012 and got my license July 30 of the same year.
I went to a high school where it was unusual if you didn't have a license even 6 months after your 16th birthday. When my dad let me drive his Highlander down that old driveway it was hoped I'd have my license in about two years. Wasn't meant to be.
1989 Mazda 323 DX - 4-speed manual, no tachometer, no power steering, no power brakes, no passenger side mirror, no A/C, no radio, and had very short 1st-3rd gear ratios. This was bare-bones even though one variant of the car had a turbocharger with AWD.
I was 14 years old and after watching my older brother frustratingly learn to drive stick-shift and stalling all the time, I learned from his experiences. I had two friends who lived 3 doors down from each other on a man-made island in Huntington Beach, Ca. My brother left the car running to go to one house, I hopped in the driver seat and just got to 2nd gear before I reached my destination...500 ft to my other friend's house.
My brother was pissed that I had no trouble at all. He stalled about 20 times before getting his driver license; I stalled for the first time 2 years after getting my driver license. One of the virtues of having older siblings is that you can learn along side them despite the age difference.
The first of my Dad's cars I remember was a 1949 2-door Chevy 'Torpedo Back' with the six and 3-speed column shifter. I vaguely remember something funky would happen with the shift linkage and he'd have to stop, open the hood, and realign two pieces of the linkage.
I'm still very fond of the GM Torpedo Backs from that era, sometime in the '80s or '90s I had the opportunity to buy an original '49 Cadillac Torpedo Back and had no place to put it , for me it's the one that got away.
My brother-in-law ended up with that 48 Chevy after my Grandma passed, and I remember he had trouble sometimes with that column shift. IIRC the neutral gate was tricky (and probably a bit worn) and if you tried to shift to quickly it would jam between two gears. I remember him going under the hood to fix it as well.
1962 Pontiac Tempest with a 4 cylinder in front and the transmission by the rear axle. My friend’s father (who had a GTO at the time) said it sounded Ike a sewing machine
Had to learn how to drive with an Olds Cutlass however, on summer vacations, Dad would have his '67 Camaro and we'd take turns driving. So 1/2 and 1/2, maybe?
My Dad let me occasionally borrow his 67 Camaro Not going too far from home though.
1967 Dodge Coronet 4 dr. 225 cid slant six, 3 speed column shift manual transmission, no power steering, no power brakes, no A/C, no power windows, no power locks or any other fluff. Plastic seats, rubber flooring. He did splurge on an AM radio, though. My dad special ordered that car and I can still remember the day he picked it up at the dealership. All the power stuff was for sissies and was "just something else to break". Dad died on February 26, 2020 at 92 years old. God broke the mold after he made my Dad.
1966 Chevelle with no power anything, my Dad eventually put 225K on that car powered by a fine workhorse 283, still had the original starter and slip 'n slide Powerglide.
Our 1966 Malibu had power steering and manual brakes. The brakes did not take much effort, unlike the 1975 Maverick, which was tiring to drive. It also had drum brakes, so I do not know why it took so much more effort.
The Malibu power steering had 4 1/3 turns lock-to-lock, and virtually no effort or road feel. Our 1970 Pontiac Catalina had variable ratio power steering. Under 3 turns lock-to-lock, a smaller steering wheel, and much more road feel.
Our 1966 Malibu had power steering and manual brakes. The brakes did not take much effort, unlike the 1975 Maverick, which was tiring to drive. It also had drum brakes, so I do not know why it took so much more effort.
The Malibu power steering had 4 1/3 turns lock-to-lock, and virtually no effort or road feel. Our 1970 Pontiac Catalina had variable ratio power steering. Under 3 turns lock-to-lock, a smaller steering wheel, and much more road feel.
My ‘97 Civic has manual steering. I’ve always been a manual steering fan, but I’ll be darned if Honda didn’t master it. Still slow at 4 turns lock to lock, but it has beautiful feeling and is normally so light, that after the test drive I actually thought it had a bad power steering. Imagine my shock when I popped under the hood again and there was no pump. But for needing a lot of input to corner, it’s just about the ideal steering setup.
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, for me it's the one that got away.
Not going too far from home though.
