This Valentine’s we’ve mixed things up a bit and asked our colleagues what made them fall in love with their first cars.
We’re less concerned with grand gestures and even grander assortments of flowers you can’t pronounce – we want to know more about your first time behind the wheel of your own car.
From a Hyundai Getz tackling a Noah’s Ark-esque storm on its way to a haircut appointment, to learning how to build and repair a car with your dad, we’ve found some great stories.
Paul and his Citroen 2CV
“I remember unlatching the seats and using them as deckchairs on the beach.”
The first on our list is perhaps one of the most iconic vehicles ever, the Citroen 2CV. Starting in 1948, production ran for over half a century and churned out nearly four million units – one of which Paul had.
His fondest memory with the car was taking it down the beach, removing the seats and using them as deckchairs. We give his improvisation top marks.
He also used to help his local garage work on other 2CVs to cover his running costs.
Heather and her Ford Escort
“It cost £20 to fill it, and it was great!”
The Escort – a true Ford great. And as it only cost £20 to fill, it was an ideal run-around for Heather’s first car.
The excitement of it all lasted only four weeks, however, as Heather was involved in a crash within a month of passing her test.
Thankfully she was OK, but she had to swap the Escort for another motor.
Chris and Getzy, the Hyundai Getz
“I salute you, Getzy. It was a pleasure sailing with you.”
Chris’ lasting memory of Getzy took place on ‘Thunder Thursday’.
On June 28 2012, the North East suffered its worst spell of bad weather in recent times, with a month’s worth of rain falling in only two hours. Chris, however, had a haircut appointment to get to in Whitley Bay – a 16-mile journey from work in Sunderland.
Against the odds, and outperforming submerged SUVs and 4x4s, his plucky hatchback battled through and got him there just in time for his trim. I’m sure you’ll agree it would make a great Disney animation.
Olive and her Datsun 1200
“It was awesome – it was snowed in for three days and started first time.”
In another weather-related tale, Olive’s first car – a Datsun 1200 Coupe – proved its resilience.
During a period of heavy snow, the little Datsun was snowed in for three days straight and completely undriveable. However, when the roads cleared and Olive jumped back in, it started first time.
It’s a shame we couldn’t source an image of the car wing mirror-deep in snow.
Greg and his Renault Clio
“It made a lot of noise and I spent a small fortune on it, but I saw through that because it was mine.”
According to Greg, his Renault Clio Biarritz was noisy, uncomfortable and had a leaky sunroof and boot.
It was rusting a tad, too, but he saw through all of that because he could call the Clio his own.
The Clio was fitted with a homemade hi-fi system and he would spend many an hour in a McDonald’s carpark, boot open, like a mobile DJ booth.
Daniel and his Eunos Roadster
“The best memories I have are of building it up with my dad.”
After buying the car for only £900, Daniel’s best memories are of his dad and him building it up into a Japanese street drift car and learning about car mechanics and bodywork repairs.
They managed to get it out of the garage and pass its MOT first time. Sadly, Daniel’s dad was in a motorcycle accident a few months after and lost his life, but he says he’ll always have the memories of building his first car with his dad.
Let us know in the comments below if you have any memorable tales of owning your first car.
