Column: What was your first car?

Do you remember your first car?

Sea to Sky Gondola’s general manager Kirby Brown’s first car was a Datsun 710.  

“I loved that little steel speedster. I paid $600 for her,” he said. “She looked like a dehydrated Jag.”

Local conservationist John Buchanan’s first car was a 1971 Austin America. “My aunty Nancy gave it to me,” Buchanan said. “Beautiful car, leather seats. Unfortunately, I drove it like an off-road truck and it didn’t last long in my irresponsible days of youth.”

Squamish RCMP Staff Sgt. Jolaine Percival recalls her first car was a 1993 Honda CRX. Grey with red pinstripes. 

Coun. Ted Prior’s first was a 1956 Buick special, two-door hard top. 

My first car was a blue 1972 Chevrolet Impala bought in 1986 from a neighbour. 

It was rusted right through the floorboards so it had a piece of plywood under the pedals, protecting my feet from going through to the pavement – like a car from The Flintstones.  

The ’72 Chevy Impala was a six-passenger sedan we nicknamed “big blue boat.” 

The day I got it, I drove it to show a friend and pulled the side mirror off against the rock wall of her driveway. 

I didn’t give it a second thought.

The thing about first cars for those raised in smaller towns is, it didn’t really matter what shape it was in or the trouble it caused, it embodied freedom.

Unlike in the big city, for those of us raised in towns like Squamish where transit was scarce, the car symbolized adulthood and control over one’s own destiny. 

I twirled my new teddy bear key ring obnoxiously in front of anyone I could. 

“Oh, this?” my twirling would say. “Just a girl, with a car who can load six friends into its wide seats and hit the open road.”

These days, the first car doesn’t seem such a right of passage. Of my sons living in Squamish only one wanted a car of his own. The other son rides his bike or takes the bus. 

My oldest son lives in Vancouver and he and most of his friends don’t see the need for a vehicle. The city transit system gives them all the freedom they desire.
Ultimately, for the environment’s sake, I hope we get away from our car dependence. But for those of us raised in the car’s heyday, that first car will always remain a cherished memory of new freedom.