Every boy will always remember his 1st car. I know I remember mine. I bought a 1985 Cutlass Supreme for $50 from my Dad’s cousin who lived in the USA for 1 year. He needed to get rid of it quick, and I was happy to take it off his hands. $50 was a steal, but that did not mean it was in tip top shape. Let start with the outside; the back drivers side corner of the car has been hit four times in the same spot. After the 2nd time of it being hit and repaired the original owner had determined that it was jinxed and just let it be. It took two more blows before getting to me. The radiator leaked around the hose. The hose was fine just the lip on the radiator. It had been patched with glue, and every other product on the market so there was just a huge blob around the leak. I kept a half dozen two liter bottles in the trunk so I could fill up at red lights when it got to over heating. The inside was also a treat. The seats were in fantastic condition, it was by far the most comfortable drive I have ever had; huge lazy boy seats. There was no key to start the car, just a little L shaped bar that was used to push the ignition switch, located halfway down the steering column. There was no felt on the roof inside the car, actually there was, but it was tacked up with thumb tacks. I took it down because it annoyed me when it would fall down as I was driving. This tank drank gas like water. I remember looking at the dial as I went up hills and watching it all get sucked away. My hard earned burger flipped hot dog making money all being drank by this beast.

The 1st morning I drove it to school I left about 5 minutes before my dad and sister. We had a gate at our old house that EVERYONE has hit at one point or another, it sits at a weird angle and it’s tricky to back out of. Well as I was backing out I hit the gas to hard and the passenger side of the car slammed right into the fence. I cut the wheel left and floored it, I just ripped right out of there because just then my dad and sister were coming out the door, and I sure did not want to get caught wrecking the car my 1st morning out.

The whole way to school I am praying that it is just a little ding and nothing to worry about, when I got to school and parked, I looked at the damage and my heart sank, I had pushed the side fender over the wheel right up onto the front window. It was bad. The good thing about having a best friend is they will do anything for you. Jake and I went straight to his house after school, and took the hood off, and the side fender, and beat the mess out of that fender, we smoothed it out as best we could, and put the hood back on. Our 1st attempt at putting the hood back on failed, because it closed at an angle, but we got that sorted out. Sure you could see the damage on the car, but it looked nothing like it did. I told dad I hit the gate, he called me a git and we moved on. I have never told mom or dad the real story of how bad it really was. I guess now the truth is out.

I sold the car for $400, about 1 year later the police showed up at my house and asked me to come pick up my cutlass car from the impound. I was confused for a moment, until I learned the person I sold it to never transferred the title. I still owned the car. It was $700 to get it out. I let them keep it. I am sure it’s a small little crushed cube in some field now. I loved that car, despite all its problems, I owned it and defined me as a person at that time in my life. It was little beat up, it wasn’t the prettiest, and just needed some love to get it moving. Not much has changed.