The only car I ever owned was a maroon '95 Ford Ranger. It was beat up, no carpet, and the ceiling leaked if it rained hard enough. But I loved that little engine and it ran to almost 200k miles.

Now I don't own a vehicle, don't want or need one, and the anxiety I feel from being a passenger in one means I rarely ever see the inside of one.

'93 Corvette. Best. Car. Ever.
'07 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Best. SUV. Ever.

I've had both and loved them. Of course, the 93 Vette might be surpassed by a new '09 ZR-1. <grin> For the Jeep, get the Overland if you want to go offroad and the SRT-8 for street only use. The SRT-8 is a Hemi, but doesn't have the suspension and ground-clearance of the Overland.

But congratulations on getting your permit, your parents are in for one wild ride.

The first time I drove I kissed mirrors with another driver on a 4-lane street and nearly gave my grandfather a heart attack.

Haha my first driving experience was about an hour ago, in complete darkness on basically unlit streets, and I wasn't allowed over 25 mph, so no near death experiences for me:]

never owned a car, don't plan to.

I hope i don't end up getting a great job which happens to need one...
Reduce you gas/petrol costs, stop burning fossil fuels! (we still need them for farming, but that doesn't mean we shuld cut down usage by taking advantage of public transport and cycling) but peak oil discovery was reached in the 70s so we are going to have to find an alternative sooner or later (reducing usage is just a step so we can save it for longer) </rant>

enjoy your new car.

My motherfucking 1991 Oldsmobile Delta 88

Holy shit. Car was older than me.
You had to press a button in the glove compartment while simultaneously turning the ignition key to get the car to start, at which point there was a loud screech from the engine the whole neighborhood could hear. And you couldn't roll down the windows lest they got stuck. And there was no AC. And I lived in Houston. So.... yeah. And of course the roof lining sagged... but everyone's old cars do that.

Oh yeah and when the poor thing finally broke down we sold it off for fifty bucks. Haha.

Loved the thing. Called it "The Blue Limo"

Nice Thucy, my sister's old car was a 1991 dodge spirit, also older than her, also no AC, but I live in PA, so that wasn't too bad. And it was high tech, it had power windows:]

'69 Chevy with a 396 fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor

but if you just want some fun try a little red corvette

That reminds me of a story Thucydides...

I once bought a '68 Plymouth Fury back in the mid 90's. It was a beast...a tank. Paid $800 for it, drove it for the summer and t-boned a full size van...damn near flipped that van and we were only doing 20-25 mph in a parking lot. I hit the passenger side and the van was so f'ed up, the driver couldn't open his door...had to climb out the window.

I drove the Fury home that night. :)

But the best part was when I sold it...for $800. =D

I distinctly remember learning in a '64 Rambler, 3-speed stick shift on the column. Thankfully, Mom totaled it. I never got it off the dirt roads. Oh, yes - - the color, sort of that drab brown of those colorized black and white films, only less exciting.

I sure hope a worse car was never created.

The only car I have ever had, still have, and ever plan to have. My '74 Volkswagen Westfalia Camper. Its a big orange loaf of bread looking monster, with a popup roof, 2 beds, a sink, stove, and refrigerator. And sweet orange plaid interior!

I was going to comment, but as I've only ever owned European or Japanese cars (you know design, handling, comfort, economy etc) I won't bother......

The Big Doak currently has my 94 toyota camry....

I have a friend who still drives a 92 toyota camry. haha and it doesn't even have 150K miles on it yet.

Haha that too. I'm borrowing it while my orange monster is in a coma. ;)

My favorite was the '89 Jeep Cherokee I bought from my parents. I drove out to the east coast twice and to Arizona and back twice. The Arizona sun turned it from red to a pinkish color! I could cram a ton into that thing and it ran great. We went through a lot together. I loved that jeep.

The only new car I ever owned was a '00 Saturn. It just died (along with the company...). I put a lot of miles on that thing too. RIP old friend!

I now own my very first non-U.S. made car. Coming from a family that has worked for the U.S. auto industry for 60+ years I guess that's a big step.

American: Corvette, classic muscle car (you pick), Jeep.
European or Japanese: Nissan Z-car (loved my 280 ZX), Mercedes SL, BMW M-series, or Mazda RX family.

Of course, I wouldn't turn down a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Aston-Martin, but I can't afford them.

1986 Cadillac DeVille. Huge gray boat of a car with leather powered seats. Learned to drive on it. My dad wouldn't let me take it out on my own until he said I was good enough. First day (night) out with my friends, I'm rear-ended while I'm stopped at a light by a pickup going 65 mph.

Hood flew off, trunk crumpled like a sardine car, every window smashed, seat backs broken, and all five of us has terrible whiplash. BUT we survived. Bastard totaled my car AND the one in front of me. If we were in a smaller car, all five of us would have been dead.

Favorite car - my parents old 68 Cutlass Convertible.
First car - 76 Pontiac Grand Prix. That thing was a beast. 400 4-barrel carb.
Worst car - 80 Chevette. Completely emasculating after driving the Prix.
Current car - 05 Audi A4 Cabriolet 1.8. Bought because it reminded me of the old Cutlass

I love my Smart Fortwo

My favorite all time is the Jeep Grand Wagoneer from the 80's-90''s, with the woodgrain on the sides. I've owned my share of them - hit a deer at full speed with one, my wife rolled one in an ice storm,.... but they run forever. There's actually one in the neighborhood for sale presently, and if I can sell my Suburban for enough, it'll be mine!

God, I remember my dad's Chevette. What a piece of shit. There was a small hole in the floor so when driving around in the winter there would be a steady stream of snow blowing up onto you. I also have vague memories of my parents' Gremlin.

My first car was a 1994 Ford Explorer. I got rear ended at 60mph when I was stopped at a stopsign and i didn't have a scratch on my car other than a dinged up steel bumper and the little sports car was completely totaled.

I also hit a dumpster in that car, dented the dumpster in but my front bumper was also immaculate.

I had a rear left tire blow on the highway (tread came off) and whipped around and cracked my rear window and dented the door, but I drove on the tire metal (air stayed in somehow) for 10 miles, got home, and realized what happened. The bang I heard while driving, I figured I ran over something and it hit inside my car.

My first car was Moskvich:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eastern_European_car,_unknown_model,
_seen_in_Sofia,_Bulgaria_September_2005.jpg

Second one was Lada:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lada_1200.jpg

Two BMWs afterward - really great driving experience.

@Rare Eagle - try this for first car: 76 Olds Custom Cruiser, 455 Pontiac with 4-barrel. And it held an airmattress when the back seat was down. I (and my girlfriend) lost our virginity in the back of that beast. Had that car from 82-87 when I blew the engine in it. I even got it airborne once going over some RR tracks. Bottomed her out when she landed, but she kept on going. Not much of a looker, but a sleeper under the hood and a great drive-in makeout mobile.

I'm driving a new Audi A4, 2.0TFSI. (For the Americans: real cars use turbo, not a big loose engine. Not that I don't like the sound of V8's.)

For the next summer, I've been planning to buy a BMW Z4 cabriolet. That should guarantee nice rides to our summer house. :)

Needless to say, I am into German cars.

@Draugnar - nice. Got busted by a park ranger in the back seat of the Prix. My parents always had big old Olds. I think they had a 73 Delta. I had my Prix from 1985-1987 when it died a horrible transmission related death. I was left with only reverse. The local junk yard had a $50 tow it in $100 drive it in policy, so I had a friend with a truck drag it across the street and then backed it into the junkyard to collect my $100. I think I paid $400 for it in the first place. God I loved that car.

@Sys_Error. I have the 1.8 T now, and while it jumps, it doesn't have the raw power of a mid-70's GM big block. Of course, my mpg was probably measured in gpm.

Rare Eagle: 1.8T is a great engine too, I've driven it. It's a marvellous choice for everyday use. 2.0T has a significant power boost to it, but I don't know if it's ever needed in reality. Well, maybe the torque becomes necessary when you need to overtake. The roads in here are pretty curvy sometimes. But naturally you are right in there. I like the old American rides a lot, but something has gone wrong during the past 2-3 decades. (Although the latest Corvette, C6 doesn't seem that bad. Haven't driven it yet. The Mustang GT was pretty ok too.)

A big engine usually has nice sounds which can give a lot of additional experience. Last summer I rented a MB SLK 55 AMG for one week at the French Riviera, and it fit the atmosphere of the place real nicely. The engine sounds were at least half of the reason to drive with roof open. The sun of course the second half and the babes the third half. A 150% good choise, that is then. :)

I will buy the Z4 with 3.0 litre engine, which has to my taste a proper combination of power and yet civilized nature. My friends are more into Porsches though, but I've never had that expensive taste. :)

Unfortunately in this country the speeding tickets are the most expensive in the world. My biggest ticket has been 650 euros (only) but the record is around 120.000 euros. :/ In quite many countries you'll survive a murder with lesser consequences.

My sister got a good deal on a 2nd hand Getz, definitely a fine standard issue car, nothing to complain about

(Her bf was a mechanic though, so naturally I left buying our car to them, and it worked out well. Couldn't tell you about the technical specs of it though)