Cars...

My first car was a 1951 Studebaker Champion.  I got it when I was just over 16 years old...so it had seen its better days long before I did my learning-to-drive-damage to it.

My car was more maroon-ish in color.

The Champion was the least expensive Studebaker produced in 1951.  It was designed as basic transportation and "bells and whistles" were not included in the base model.  I did have an AM radio; but no other "options" were on the car my dad bought for me.

Rusted-out areas came standard.

It was my first car!  I thought it was great!

When I moved my family to Los Angeles (from Lydick, IN) in 1964, I owned a 1961 Rambler American.  It was the style and color shown below.

Pretty nice, huh?

That little car more than pulled its weight.  Three trips between Lydick and LA, as I recall; and four years of weaving thru crowded southern California traffic jams.

I have owned a goodly number of cars over my driving lifetime...53 years.

A 1969 VW Bug was the car I put the most miles on...right at 260,000.

That little car just ran forever.  It was inexpensive to own...and except in the bitter cold of winter, fun to drive.



The biggest car was an Olds Delta 88.

The cars I enjoyed driving the most were two of these Acura Integras.

I could no more get into and out of a low-slung vehicle like that now-a-days than I could jump off my roof and fly.

The worst car I ever owned...bought it brand new in L.A. in 1968, drove it back to Indiana and got rid of it as soon as I could...was a 1968 Chevy Malibu like this one.

It was yellow.  The color of lemons.  I shoulda known.

On an impulse...really, just walked into the dealership one day, saw one, and bought it...I owned two of these.

These days I am driving my second one of these. A Honda CRV.

These days my cars, like yours, are far superior to that Studebaker I started out with.  Air conditioning.  Power everything,  Cruise control.  Not only an AM radio, but FM, XM, CD and Ipod enabled.  The engines run smoother and last longer. 
My car now has seatbelts.  The Studebaker didn't.
Today, air bags.  Then, those safety devices were not even heard of.
The CRV has impact crumple zones.  The Champion had massive chrome bumpers.

What hasn't changed is the fact that the cars we purchase and drive are an extension of who we are...of who we would like folks to think we are...of how we see ourselves fitting into the society in which we live.

BTW...
Pretty Lady has her first one of these...a Hyundai Tucson.