Ha someone tried to give me an Austin 1100 (more or less the same car to those who don't know) as a first car but even at a tender age of 17 I realised that I couldn't tackle that much rust!

First car: '73 Chrysler Newport. With the 400 2-barrel engine it was faster than my 300D in a straight line, but not by much. Handling and braking were much much worse. I crashed it more than once in the course of teaching myself to drive after the state of Georgia somehow decided to grant me a driving license.

The first diesel I had regular contact with was an '80 Ford LNT 8000 cement truck that I wrenched on a lot and got to drive a little. It had the Cat 3208 NA backed with an Eaton Fuller 13 spd. Not fast, but that was okay for a young sailor just learning to use air brakes.

The first diesel I owned was the 300D that I bought in 2005. Still driving it daily.

When I got my first car Diesel had not been invented yet.

It had stone wheels too.

And the bottom was open for better traction with my feet.:P

Actually my first car was a 54 Cadillac....which was plastic and had a fifth wheel and little nuts holding on the wheels and a wrench so I could change from a flat tire to a good one. (A toy car given by my beloved aunt)

My first real car was th 1960 Simca..... a little french four door with sweet spot on handling, ride and good brakes and a fragile POS engine and transmission.....paid $200 for it when it was five years old.....kindof like Kias used to be before they got all grown up and people started considering them real cars.

Mine wasn't the least bit rusty ( only 3 years old at the time) but came with that unique 4 speed autotragic transmission that shared a common ( 8 qt) sump with the engine. I soon realized that the transmission was going to be a disaster and went to find manual car (MGB) that I could beat on. IIRC , I actually made money on the flip for the first and only time in my life.

There really weren't ANY diesels available to high school kids in the US in the early 70s before the first of the oil troubles in '73.

we ought to list the first cars we can remember in our families... for me it's a LOOOOOOONG list...

the first diesel I had in my family was likely a tractor... I grew up on farms... although I really don't remember any tractors as a kid... first diesel car was in 79 or 80 we got a 79 Caprice Classic wagon with the WONDERFUL GM 5.7L head blower... we got that to tow a 38' Prowler camper for traveling the US cause we missed it so much after living in IRAN!!!

My first was almost a Diesel in 1981...
 

My dad got a 1979 Olds Delta 88 Royale with the same awful 5.7L for his company car.

In those days my dad got new company cars every 2 years. I turned 16 in 1981 so my dad was going to buy it from the company and let me drive it.

Of course the engine self destructed before I got my license. It was repaired under warranty, but after that my dad did not want me driving the car since he was worried about the reliability. Even his company did not want it back, so my dad sold it to someone. I wonder how long that new engine lasted...

I still have memories of having to plug in the block heater in the Chicago winters, even in the garage it would drop to nearly zero ambient when it was -30 outside with the wind blowing.

They had two normal-sized batteries in parallel to provide the extra oomph to start the engine. Delco Freedom with the green eye indicator.

I ended up with a 1976 Ford Maverick. :eek: total rust bucket. Luckily my late grandfather owned a body and fender shop in Chicago, his helper was still running the place when I was in high school after he had passed on, so I was able to fix it up.

Dad walked me through my first engine build at 10 years old; it was a 1959 Honda 305cc twin.

My first two cars I built as learning projects; the Austin-America, with its 4 speed automatic, that ran on SAE 30 engine oil, and the Peugeot 504 Diesel. Dad insisted I learn on obscure cars, which is where I gained Ferarri/Lamborghini/Borgward/Iso Grifo experience early.

My high school car was a hand built 1969 Dodge Charger RT/SE. I owned it from 1980 to 1989. This was my first paint job and the car I learned to do body work on.

I traded it in 1989 for a 1967 Hemi Coronet R/T

Not my first car but it was the car I took my drivers test in when I turned 16 :D

The car I took my driving test in....

I really don't know why they wanted engines and transmissions to share oil - especially an automatic.

Same here!!! I think about that some times. My dad owned the Toyota Tercel (5 speed) and a F350 (5 speed) and his company truck ( I wasn't allowed to drive) and the SD. So when I took my test it was in the SD because it was the only car with an automatic.

Ironically I love the SD now that its a stick.

I love the fact that my car has been in my family since I've been in the family. I remember being a little kid thinking that grandmas car was so fancy. When my dad had the car I was always doing extra work around the house to get to use the car to take girls out and what not. Now its how I get to work :cool:

My first car personally was my '82 SD. Still have it, nearly 10 years now. :D Its probably going to be retired and parted this summer though, its getting pretty rough for my standards...(rust, sigh.)

First car I ever rode in was my dad's '86 VW golf. It gave itself to save me and him in '92 when we were rear ended on the way to bring me to kindergarten one day.

I came home from the hospital in a 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air with a 283, dual fours and a 3 speed column, all from the factory....

My first car was an Austin Healey Sprite Mk3. I think the car had 46 hp in a 1098 cc engine. I kept it to the floor. I would pass other cars on interstate entrance and exit ramps. Sometimes on the inside and sometimes on the outside. Felt good. Somehow I have survived 45 years since those days.

Your son needs a ride in my diesel. It's a rocket compared to my first car, a 1970 Ford Maverick powered by a 200" six with 115 screaming horsepower.

My E300 will do 0-60 in the high 7's and pulls like a freight train at highway speeds.