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Subject: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/09/08 at 11:58 pm

I think that passing my written and road test to get my drivers license when I was 17 is still number "1" in my life's top 10 list of ultimate highs. It was like getting paroled from a life that was full of rules and regulations that held me in childhood, now that little cardboard in my wallet gave me the right of passage to adulthood and having my own car gave me my own little world to explore it with...oh! the memories!

Am I right? you too?

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: quirky_cat_girl on 11/10/08 at 12:06 am

I loved it when I got my license. I waited until I was 17 years old, when I was good and ready. It was so enjoyable being able to take rides all by myself, listening to my favorite tunes on the radio...with the road ahead of me. Ah...good times. :)

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/10/08 at 12:30 am


I loved it when I got my license. I waited until I was 17 years old, when I was good and ready. It was so enjoyable being able to take rides all by myself, listening to my favorite tunes on the radio...with the road ahead of me. Ah...good times. :)


Yes, those drives to nowhere where you could just be by yourself and your AM radio playing while trying to sort out out your life. Hey! you could have gotten license before you were 17? what state?

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: gibbo on 11/10/08 at 3:35 am


Yes, those drives to nowhere where you could just be by yourself and your AM radio playing while trying to sort out out your life. Hey! you could have gotten license before you were 17? what state?


I was just talking about this today....  After I got my license, it suddenly dawned on me that I had very few boundaries. I got in the car one Sunday and told Mum I was going for a drive and ended up 500 miles down the coast before I had another revelation.....I didn't bring much money and had better turn around while I still had enough fuel!  :o  But it was fun......... ;)

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: danootaandme on 11/10/08 at 7:30 am

The best part for me was my father handing me the car keys when we got home and letting me take the car on my own.  :)

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: Mushroom on 11/10/08 at 11:32 am

I still remember getting my first license.  It was 1979, and I had just turned 15.  I would have had it a year earlier, but the school I was going to did not have a drivers training program, so I had to wait for summer school to take it.

Oh those were the days.  Now because of the interference of the "do gooders", the driving age in Idaho has increased from 14 to 16.  What a shame.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/11/08 at 1:21 am


I was just talking about this today....  After I got my license, it suddenly dawned on me that I had very few boundaries. I got in the car one Sunday and told Mum I was going for a drive and ended up 500 miles down the coast before I had another revelation.....I didn't bring much money and had better turn around while I still had enough fuel!  :o   But it was fun......... ;)


Hi Gibbo, you wrote Mum and fuel, it sounds like you're from England, if you are, did you drive down the coast in a car with the steering wheel on the right side of it and drove it on the the left side of the road? and if you did, you really earned your license to do drive a car in England. Navigating an automobile in England is completely confusing to me, I wanted to try driving a car with the wheel, as I saw it, on the wrong side of the car and into traffic that was going the wrong way, but I got cold feet thinking I'm going to get into an accident. Even walking across the streets was a dangerous trip for me, cars coming from all angles all the wrong way, it took a few days to get use the reverse driving habits. I guess it's the same problem for the Brit's driving in the USA...Tally Ho!

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/11/08 at 1:31 am


The best part for me was my father handing me the car keys when we got home and letting me take the car on my own.   :)


It was the greatest feeling in your life that even till today can't be duplicated.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/11/08 at 1:34 am


I still remember getting my first license.  It was 1979, and I had just turned 15.  I would have had it a year earlier, but the school I was going to did not have a drivers training program, so I had to wait for summer school to take it.

Oh those were the days.  Now because of the interference of the "do gooders", the driving age in Idaho has increased from 14 to 16.  What a shame.


14 years old!!!! oh why wasn't I born in Idaho!

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: gibbo on 11/11/08 at 6:09 pm


Hi Gibbo, you wrote Mum and fuel, it sounds like you're from England, if you are, did you drive down the coast in a car with the steering wheel on the right side of it and drove it on the the left side of the road? and if you did, you really earned your license to do drive a car in England. Navigating an automobile in England is completely confusing to me, I wanted to try driving a car with the wheel, as I saw it, on the wrong side of the car and into traffic that was going the wrong way, but I got cold feet thinking I'm going to get into an accident. Even walking across the streets was a dangerous trip for me, cars coming from all angles all the wrong way, it took a few days to get use the reverse driving habits. I guess it's the same problem for the Brit's driving in the USA...Tally Ho!



No...I am in Australia!!  But have driven in Hawaii and had to remember to keep on the 'wrong' side of the road.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/11/08 at 6:57 pm


No...I am in Australia!!  But have driven in Hawaii and had to remember to keep on the 'wrong' side of the road.


Are you saying Australia drives the same way as in England? I didn't know that, I wonder how many other countries drive "stay to the left" and is a law that the sterring wheels have to be on the right also or it doesn't matter?

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: gibbo on 11/12/08 at 2:28 am


Are you saying Australia drives the same way as in England? I didn't know that, I wonder how many other countries drive "stay to the left" and is a law that the sterring wheels have to be on the right also or it doesn't matter?


Not certain of the law...but we have right hand drive here. I DID see someone driving a Chevy with left hand drive the other day. Whether or not he was legal is anyones guess.....

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: cooper street relic on 11/12/08 at 12:22 pm

Ah,the first day of having my drivers license, getting my Dad's Pontiac Strato Chief,picking up my girlfriend, pulling into my local A+W drivein and immediately hitting a garbage can with the front end :-[ :-[

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: CatwomanofV on 11/12/08 at 5:47 pm

I had 2 learner's permits. It wasn't that I had trouble learning. My mother had this "thing" that I couldn't get my license until I was 18 (by law 16 was the legal age). So, I took driver's ed in my senior year of high school. Mind you, prior to that time, I had never been behind the wheel of a car save one time when I was 13 but that is another story. The guy who "taught" driver's ed didn't really teach it.  ::)  I guess he assumed that everyone really "knew" how to drive but just needed practice. I had no idea what I was doing and basically had to wing it myself.

Anyway, when that course was over, my parents took me out driving one time and then they said that they didn't have insurance for me so they weren't going to teach/let me drive.  ::)

It wasn't until I got married when my husband taught me how to drive. However, he was an awful teacher. He was constantly yelling, screaming, & cussing at me as I'm trying to drive. I remember when he was teaching me how to parallel park-it was a Saturday at the DMV so it was just us. He started yelling at me and I stopped the car and told him to get out. He did and I parked with no problem. After all the hassle, I was 23 when I FINALLY got my license. The funny thing was, I had my car before I had my license.

Unfortunately, my driving days are over. I have not driven a car in at least 7 years or so.  :-\\ :-\\ :-\\ 



Cat

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: Mushroom on 11/12/08 at 8:21 pm


Are you saying Australia drives the same way as in England? I didn't know that, I wonder how many other countries drive "stay to the left" and is a law that the sterring wheels have to be on the right also or it doesn't matter?


That is the way it is in Japan also.  I was stationed for over a year in Okinawa, and I never had a problem staying on the "correct" side of the road.

In fact, one of the reasons (in addition to the high tarrifs) that US auto makers do not do better in Japan is because they refuse to manufacture most of their cars in right side drive models.  Most of those sold in Japan come from factories in England that were never sold in the US (Ford Prefect as an example).

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/12/08 at 10:42 pm


Not certain of the law...but we have right hand drive here. I DID see someone driving a Chevy with left hand drive the other day. Whether or not he was legal is anyones guess.....



I learn something new everyday. Does Australia manufacture cars or only imports them, and guessing General Motors cars are not a big over there since you only saw one Chevy there.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/12/08 at 10:50 pm


Ah,the first day of having my drivers license, getting my Dad's Pontiac Strato Chief,picking up my girlfriend, pulling into my local A+W drivein and immediately hitting a garbage can with the front end :-[ :-[


Been there, done that! embarrassing isn't it? Me, I had a bunch of kids in my car, being real cool, showing off alittle and BAM! I slammed into a curb and blew a tire, need I say more, but we did get better.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/12/08 at 11:06 pm


That is the way it is in Japan also.  I was stationed for over a year in Okinawa, and I never had a problem staying on the "correct" side of the road.

In fact, one of the reasons (in addition to the high tarrifs) that US auto makers do not do better in Japan is because they refuse to manufacture most of their cars in right side drive models.  Most of those sold in Japan come from factories in England that were never sold in the US (Ford Prefect as an example).


We are an arrogant country sometimes, because we know what's good for the world and our car companies don't need Japan for a customer, we don't care that Honda and Toyota are kicking our ass in sales in our country and putting us on the brink of bankruptcy, we still won't put steering wheels on the right side our Chevy's we'll just buy the Hummer company and try to sell the brand new 2005 models we're stuck with.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/12/08 at 11:12 pm


I had 2 learner's permits. It wasn't that I had trouble learning. My mother had this "thing" that I couldn't get my license until I was 18 (by law 16 was the legal age). So, I took driver's ed in my senior year of high school. Mind you, prior to that time, I had never been behind the wheel of a car save one time when I was 13 but that is another story. The guy who "taught" driver's ed didn't really teach it.  ::)  I guess he assumed that everyone really "knew" how to drive but just needed practice. I had no idea what I was doing and basically had to wing it myself.

Anyway, when that course was over, my parents took me out driving one time and then they said that they didn't have insurance for me so they weren't going to teach/let me drive.  ::)

It wasn't until I got married when my husband taught me how to drive. However, he was an awful teacher. He was constantly yelling, screaming, & cussing at me as I'm trying to drive. I remember when he was teaching me how to parallel park-it was a Saturday at the DMV so it was just us. He started yelling at me and I stopped the car and told him to get out. He did and I parked with no problem. After all the hassle, I was 23 when I FINALLY got my license. The funny thing was, I had my car before I had my license.

Unfortunately, my driving days are over. I have not driven a car in at least 7 years or so.  :-\\ :-\\ :-\\  



Cat


Cat, he sounds like a perfect teacher, that's the way us guys teach, you should see when we lose our patients.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: karen on 11/13/08 at 12:21 am


Hi Gibbo, you wrote Mum and fuel, it sounds like you're from England, if you are, did you drive down the coast in a car with the steering wheel on the right side of it and drove it on the the left side of the road? and if you did, you really earned your license to do drive a car in England. Navigating an automobile in England is completely confusing to me, I wanted to try driving a car with the wheel, as I saw it, on the wrong side of the car and into traffic that was going the wrong way, but I got cold feet thinking I'm going to get into an accident. Even walking across the streets was a dangerous trip for me, cars coming from all angles all the wrong way, it took a few days to get use the reverse driving habits. I guess it's the same problem for the Brit's driving in the USA...Tally Ho!



It's actually fairly easy to swap over particularly if you've got a hire car or other car built to drive on whatever the local side of the road is.  It's harder to drive on the right hand side in a vehicle with the steering wheel on the right because your view of the on-coming traffic is more restricted.



I think this thread would make more sense in the More Than A Decade board because I didn't pass my test until 1988

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/13/08 at 3:38 pm


It's actually fairly easy to swap over particularly if you've got a hire car or other car built to drive on whatever the local side of the road is.  It's harder to drive on the right hand side in a vehicle with the steering wheel on the right because your view of the on-coming traffic is more restricted.



I think this thread would make more sense in the More Than A Decade board because I didn't pass my test until 1988


You're right about posting it there, but when I posted it I was dreaming of my first car, a 1960 Oldsmobile and all the drama around getting it and just posted it where I visit 90% of the time, it's to late now...but everyone's welcome no matter when you got your license, I liked your reply and learned something new again today, thanks!

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: CatwomanofV on 11/13/08 at 5:19 pm


Cat, he sounds like a perfect teacher, that's the way us guys teach, you should see when we lose our patients.



Well, I do have to give him credit for helping me get my license-but it was not a good thing to be married to him.  :P



Cat




Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: Marty McFly on 11/13/08 at 7:23 pm

Sorry to deviate from the topic a little, but I just thought of something. Can I ask you guys from the older generations something--

It seems like before maybe the mid-late '90s it was almost a given that when you were in high school, you got a car or at least your license. Both of my parents did. I haven't seen that in the last ten years nearly as much.

I honestly didn't know almost any 16 and 17 year olds who had their own car (and this was several years ago around 1999 and up into a few years ago when I took classes or worked with some younger folks). There were a few who did, but it wasn't typical. With 18-20 year olds it seems iffy, but these days it doesn't seem common for everyone to be driving until they're maybe 21, sometimes even older. Is this the same deal across the country?

Out here in California I think it's because insurance is so high, and also the rules for getting your license are a bit tougher now (thanks to the percentage of idiot teen drivers, the other ones suffer for it). Or maybe a couple people in a group will have cars, and their friends will just ride around with them. I was never a big party guy with billions of friends, but even with me that's usually the way it was. Ofcourse I was one of the riders (my limited peripheral vision stops me from getting a license, unfortunately).

It might also have to do with living more in a big city where you can depend on public transportation more. I bet teens in Iowa still commonly drive for instance.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: karen on 11/13/08 at 8:41 pm

I think the situation was totally different in the UK compared to the US.  I learnt to drive (as a 17th birthday present) because my parents thought it was an important skill to have.  however a lot of my friends didn't learn to drive until they were much older.  Also most (not all) of my friends had to buy their own car.

Talking to parents of high schoolers here in town (in Connecticut for those that don't know) recently car ownership still seems high.  In fact the complaints were about how good the cars are now not the old 'bangers' they had been allowed to have as teenagers.  The law has tightened up here for teen drivers as well.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: quirky_cat_girl on 11/13/08 at 8:45 pm


Yes, those drives to nowhere where you could just be by yourself and your AM radio playing while trying to sort out out your life. Hey! you could have gotten license before you were 17? what state?


Yes..I could have obtained my license when I was 16...but I just wasn't ready yet. I live in Pa, btw.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/13/08 at 10:07 pm



Well, I do have to give him credit for helping me get my license-but it was not a good thing to be married to him.  :P



Cat







If I can remember correctly...your date at my prom?

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/13/08 at 10:40 pm


Sorry to deviate from the topic a little, but I just thought of something. Can I ask you guys from the older generations something--

It seems like before maybe the mid-late '90s it was almost a given that when you were in high school, you got a car or at least your license. Both of my parents did. I haven't seen that in the last ten years nearly as much.

I honestly didn't know almost any 16 and 17 year olds who had their own car (and this was several years ago around 1999 and up into a few years ago when I took classes or worked with some younger folks). There were a few who did, but it wasn't typical. With 18-20 year olds it seems iffy, but these days it doesn't seem common for everyone to be driving until they're maybe 21, sometimes even older. Is this the same deal across the country?

Out here in California I think it's because insurance is so high, and also the rules for getting your license are a bit tougher now (thanks to the percentage of idiot teen drivers, the other ones suffer for it). Or maybe a couple people in a group will have cars, and their friends will just ride around with them. I was never a big party guy with billions of friends, but even with me that's usually the way it was. Ofcourse I was one of the riders (my limited peripheral vision stops me from getting a license, unfortunately).

It might also have to do with living more in a big city where you can depend on public transportation more. I bet teens in Iowa still commonly drive for instance.


Marty, I guess I was lucky to have parents who bought me my first car, it was 4 years old at the time and cars were cheap then, mine only cost $1400. and that was because it was a convertible, otherwise the same car in a hard top would have cost around $1,100. and the insurance was only about $200. a year fully covered. Times have changed, today you can't touch a decent 4 year old car for under 5 Grand and hope your insurance isn't as expensive as your car, it's crazy.

I did alot of riding with my friends in their cars before I  was 17 and managed to call shotgun first.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/13/08 at 10:58 pm


I think the situation was totally different in the UK compared to the US.  I learnt to drive (as a 17th birthday present) because my parents thought it was an important skill to have.  however a lot of my friends didn't learn to drive until they were much older.  Also most (not all) of my friends had to buy their own car.

Talking to parents of high schoolers here in town (in Connecticut for those that don't know) recently car ownership still seems high.  In fact the complaints were about how good the cars are now not the old 'bangers' they had been allowed to have as teenagers.  The law has tightened up here for teen drivers as well.


I guessing in the UK they thought of driving as more of a luxury then a necessity like here in the US? Cars are made much better today and safer but the laws are to controlling telling you what's good for you and you and car loses it's personal relationship with each other and it's just becomes a machine doing it's fuction of transportation only, the old days your car was your life...it knew you as well as you knew it.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/13/08 at 11:02 pm


Yes..I could have obtained my license when I was 16...but I just wasn't ready yet. I live in Pa, btw.


My neighboring state PA, that's a big state with a lot of room not to collide with each on the roads, maybe that's why it's 16 years old?

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: karen on 11/13/08 at 11:05 pm


I guessing in the UK they thought of driving as more of a luxury then a necessity like here in the US? Cars are made much better today and safer but the laws are to controlling telling you what's good for you and you and car loses it's personal relationship with each other and it's just becomes a machine doing it's fuction of transportation only, the old days your car was your life...it knew you as well as you knew it.


Certainly until fairly recently there wasn't as much car ownership as there is here.  For example in the seventies in my street of about 70 houses there was about 14 families with a car.  Nowadays most houses have two or three cars outside.

The towns are more compact and public transport locally is better in the UK than I've experienced here.  I could walk to the town centre where I lived and could walk to the (open 24 hour) supermarket if necessary when I lived in England.  I certainly can't do that here!

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: CatwomanofV on 11/14/08 at 3:02 pm


If I can remember correctly...your date at my prom?



No, no. My date for your prom is my husband NOW. The one who taught me to drive was my first husband. Two totally different species.




Cat

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/14/08 at 10:30 pm



No, no. My date for your prom is my husband NOW. The one who taught me to drive was my first husband. Two totally different species.




Cat


I thought so, he was to cool to be the type to yell at a women...a better choice.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/14/08 at 10:59 pm


Certainly until fairly recently there wasn't as much car ownership as there is here.  For example in the seventies in my street of about 70 houses there was about 14 families with a car.  Nowadays most houses have two or three cars outside.

The towns are more compact and public transport locally is better in the UK than I've experienced here.  I could walk to the town centre where I lived and could walk to the (open 24 hour) supermarket if necessary when I lived in England.  I certainly can't do that here!


Yes, it's pretty much the same here as over there in the UK,  big cities you don't need a car and in the suburbs you need more than one.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: Marty McFly on 11/15/08 at 3:49 am


Marty, I guess I was lucky to have parents who bought me my first car, it was 4 years old at the time and cars were cheap then, mine only cost $1400. and that was because it was a convertible, otherwise the same car in a hard top would have cost around $1,100. and the insurance was only about $200. a year fully covered. Times have changed, today you can't touch a decent 4 year old car for under 5 Grand and hope your insurance isn't as expensive as your car, it's crazy.

I did alot of riding with my friends in their cars before I  was 17 and managed to call shotgun first.


Ah, good stuff. :) Yeah, I think my dad had a newer car too (he was 16 in 1954) or at least borrowed my grandpa's car to ride around in on weekends.

It's ironic that these days most people's first car is usually a beater or a hand me down. The most common cars on the road seem to be maybe ten years ago. Vehicles from, like 1994-2000 seem to be all around now. I guess because they're old enough to where almost anyone could afford it, but still recent enough to be pretty dependable without mechanical problems and stuff.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: AL-B Mk. III on 11/15/08 at 2:48 pm


Ah, good stuff. :) Yeah, I think my dad had a newer car too (he was 16 in 1954) or at least borrowed my grandpa's car to ride around in on weekends.

It's ironic that these days most people's first car is usually a beater or a hand me down. The most common cars on the road seem to be maybe ten years ago. Vehicles from, like 1994-2000 seem to be all around now. I guess because they're old enough to where almost anyone could afford it, but still recent enough to be pretty dependable without mechanical problems and stuff.


It's funny, but it seems that the cheapest used cars are the ones that are about 15-16 years old, and cars that old usually are on their last legs but they're not quite dead yet.

Meaning that when you're in high school, the cheapest (and most common) cars are those that were built right around the time you were born. (My first car was a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass, after that I had 2 1968 Chevrolet Impalas, and I was born in 1970. Coincidence?)

Since my classmates and I were born in the late 60's-early 70's, that meant that one of the best things about being a teenager in the late 1980's was that there was an abundance of late 60's-early to mid 70's V8 powered American cars that were cheap, big and fast. (Mid 70's Monte Carlos were especially popular back then.) Plus gas was still under a buck a gallon.

So that means if you go through your average high school parking lot today, you can expect to see a lot of cars that were built in the early to mid 90's. It's kind of a trade off though. I imagine that you rarely see cars from the classic "muscle" era at high schools, but on the other hand cars built in the 1990s have so many more standard amenities (power windows, cruise, working A/C, good factory stereos and CD players), plus they don't really rust much anymore (60's cars were terrible for that) so they look good for a lot longer.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: CatwomanofV on 11/15/08 at 3:41 pm


I thought so, he was to cool to be the type to yell at a women...a better choice.



The understatement of the century. Karma to you.



Cat

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: Marty McFly on 11/15/08 at 5:22 pm


It's funny, but it seems that the cheapest used cars are the ones that are about 15-16 years old, and cars that old usually are on their last legs but they're not quite dead yet.

Meaning that when you're in high school, the cheapest (and most common) cars are those that were built right around the time you were born. (My first car was a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass, after that I had 2 1968 Chevrolet Impalas, and I was born in 1970. Coincidence?)

Since my classmates and I were born in the late 60's-early 70's, that meant that one of the best things about being a teenager in the late 1980's was that there was an abundance of late 60's-early to mid 70's V8 powered American cars that were cheap, big and fast. (Mid 70's Monte Carlos were especially popular back then.) Plus gas was still under a buck a gallon.

So that means if you go through your average high school parking lot today, you can expect to see a lot of cars that were built in the early to mid 90's. It's kind of a trade off though. I imagine that you rarely see cars from the classic "muscle" era at high schools, but on the other hand cars built in the 1990s have so many more standard amenities (power windows, cruise, working A/C, good factory stereos and CD players), plus they don't really rust much anymore (60's cars were terrible for that) so they look good for a lot longer.


Hey dude I was thinking the exact same thing! :) I know you're a big car guy too.

Yeah, cars don't seem to rust and wear out the way they used to. I started paying attention to stuff like that when I was about 12 and I can remember some muscle or classic cars on someone's driveway in, say 1994, but they were usually not drivable. Whereas nowadays seeing square '80s cars isn't unusual. Some of them are junkers and they look retro and less common among the newer ones, but I guess because they were designed so well, the better ones are still dependable. What's messed up about current cars is they seem to focus more on luxuries inside now (i.e. DVD players, GPS) and aesthetic appearance, so I'm sure they won't last that long in the longterm.

What's funny is that alot of early-mid '90s rounded cars still seem kinda newish (even if some are showing wear). Hondas seem to last forever. It's astonishing to me that the Accords are as old as they are, especially if they're still in good shape and shiny. That was the last time where they seemed to make them fairly well (even if that's when they started installing those painted-on bumpers). :D

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: CatwomanofV on 11/15/08 at 6:39 pm


It's funny, but it seems that the cheapest used cars are the ones that are about 15-16 years old, and cars that old usually are on their last legs but they're not quite dead yet.

Meaning that when you're in high school, the cheapest (and most common) cars are those that were built right around the time you were born. (My first car was a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass, after that I had 2 1968 Chevrolet Impalas, and I was born in 1970. Coincidence?)

Since my classmates and I were born in the late 60's-early 70's, that meant that one of the best things about being a teenager in the late 1980's was that there was an abundance of late 60's-early to mid 70's V8 powered American cars that were cheap, big and fast. (Mid 70's Monte Carlos were especially popular back then.) Plus gas was still under a buck a gallon.

So that means if you go through your average high school parking lot today, you can expect to see a lot of cars that were built in the early to mid 90's. It's kind of a trade off though. I imagine that you rarely see cars from the classic "muscle" era at high schools, but on the other hand cars built in the 1990s have so many more standard amenities (power windows, cruise, working A/C, good factory stereos and CD players), plus they don't really rust much anymore (60's cars were terrible for that) so they look good for a lot longer.



And I'm sure you know all about the Chevy block.  ;)



Cat

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/15/08 at 9:25 pm



And I'm sure you know all about the Chevy block.  ;)



Cat


I'll bite...No Cat, tell about the Chevy block.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/15/08 at 10:48 pm


Hey dude I was thinking the exact same thing! :) I know you're a big car guy too.

Yeah, cars don't seem to rust and wear out the way they used to. I started paying attention to stuff like that when I was about 12 (around 1994) and I can remember some muscle or classic cars on someone's driveway, but they were usually not drivable. Whereas nowadays seeing square '80s cars isn't unusual. Some of them are junkers and they look retro and less common among the newer ones, but I guess because they were designed so well, the better ones are still dependable. What's messed up about current cars is they seem to focus more on luxuries inside now (i.e. DVD players, GPS) and aesthetic appearance, so I'm sure they won't last that long in the longterm.

What's funny is that alot of early-mid '90s rounded cars still seem kinda newish (even if some are showing wear). Hondas seem to last forever. It's astonishing to me that the Accords are as old as they are, especially if they're still in good shape and shiny. That was the last time where they seemed to make them fairly well (even if that's when they started installing those painted-on bumpers). :D


Marty, your correct, today's car look so much alike you can't tell a 2008 from a 1998 and buying a mid to late 90's car for your first car for a fraction of it's original cost is not a bad investment because with a little basic mechanical upkeep and some Turtle Wax people won't know if it's a new car or a 15 year old one. I bought a new 1981 Accord and after 140K I sold it in 1993, it was the best car I ever owned.

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: CatwomanofV on 11/18/08 at 1:28 pm


I'll bite...No Cat, tell about the Chevy block.



That is for Al. He knows all about it.



Cat

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/18/08 at 2:06 pm



That is for Al. He knows all about it.



Cat


OK Al, now that Cat teased us all with the Chevy block thing that you only know about, what's the story?

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: CatwomanofV on 11/18/08 at 2:31 pm


OK Al, now that Cat teased us all with the Chevy block thing that you only know about, what's the story?



http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?topic=34672.msg1801162#msg1801162

http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?topic=26057.msg1259049#msg1259049


There were others but I couldn't find them.



Cat

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 11/18/08 at 2:41 pm



http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?topic=34672.msg1801162#msg1801162

http://www.inthe00s.com/index.php?topic=26057.msg1259049#msg1259049


There were others but I couldn't find them.



Cat


Sorry I asked!...I thought it was some kind of a Knock Knock joke and I was waiting for a punch line!

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: MrCleveland on 12/04/08 at 6:09 pm

I'm STILL hoping to get mine!

Being 26 and a non-driver really sucks.

Even my younger siblings are driving. The way things are going, I'll be driving in the year 2000 and never. :\'(

Subject: Re: Remember getting your drivers license?...the freedom to a new life!

Written By: hot_wax on 12/04/08 at 9:43 pm


I'm STILL hoping to get mine!

Being 26 and a non-driver really sucks.

Even my younger siblings are driving. The way things are going, I'll be driving in the year 2000 and never. :\'(


Take a lesson or two from a driving school, get a pre-test book from your state's motor vechicle agency study your states driving laws and when your ready, take your writen and driving test in one day, it's easy, you can do it, just do it! and get back to us when you do...ok?

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