What was the first car you ever remember catching your attention?

"WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe" (wesbarton89) 11/29/2014 at 16:00 • Filed to: None

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Maybe you weren't into cars from birth, and if you weren't, what was the first car that made you truly fall in love with cars?

I think for me, it was a Sassy Grass Green 1970 Cuda, that I saw, probably 12-13 years ago. I never paid too much attention to cars before that point, but I just loved how crazy it looked at the time. I still wasn't as much into cars as I am now, until my stepdad came along, and kind of got me hooked, in high school, and it was mainly classics at that point. For more "modern" cars, I have to say, it was looking at cars in a local exotic dealer that used to be around here. They had a 1987 Ferrari 328GTS, a BMW Z8, and an '06 V8 Vantage, and I just loved the way they looked. From that point, I was pretty much a total car-nut. But still, I give initial credit to that Cuda for impregnating me with the Jalop gene.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:05

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05 Ford GT in 2004 (when I was 7)

Metallic Grey with white stripes... sweet looking car!

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:06

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Huh.. I guess what made me fall in love for real was when my uncles girlfriend drove a Peugeot 205 GTi (white, black interior, red belts and floormats), back in 1994. But I've alway been into cars, my dad have had 50 or so cars, and I've probably had thirtysomething myself (I'm 33).

El Rivinado > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:07

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This bad boy

Still my favorite car of all time.

Mercedes Streeter > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:08

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I can't remember the first physical car (because as a kid, I always loved my little Matchbox cars) that made me fall in love, but the one that does stand out is the McLaren F1.

My mum bought a poster of a yellow F1 speeding through a gorgeous green forest (there was an entire list of spec data under it too), framed it, and gave it to me. While it may not be the first, it is the most memorable.

I've been looking for a copy of that poster (or at least, a picture on the net) for years, no no avail. :(

jkm7680 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:09

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I don't even remember, Haha. I just remember loving them from the start.

Takuro Spirit > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:10

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My dad's '77(?) Celica ST. Yellow. Like the one I googled. That flip forward hood.

I was 4.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:10

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My grandparents 1964 Impala sedan. It was a 327/250hp car with a powerglide. In the early 2000's, it still looked brand new. Just over 60k original miles. Of all the cars I'd love to own, that is the one. Too bad they sold it in the early 2000's. It was dark blue, with blue interior. It was also the last car my Great-Grandfather bought new. One family since new.

CAcoalminer > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:11

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Mercedes SSK

My citroen won't start > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:11

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Grandpa loved cars, Dad loves cars and I guess I was born loving them too.

Tina Corbett > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:12

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People are going to laugh at me but...it was my 99 Catera.

*waits for the jaws to come up off the floor*

I've only ever driven huge land boats or POS beaters an inch away from the end up to that point. The kind you wouldn't take on the freeway or were terrified to get up past 65.

So, when I got my Catera it was the first car where everything worked, had leather, and it was also RWD and had traction control that I could turn off. The previous owner had done some mods to it so it actually had some oomph. Well, as much as a Catera could have.

I LOVED that car. I took it out to the lake, turned off the traction control on the dirt back roads and hooned the ever luvvin shit out it. It made me realize that a car WAS more than just a way to get from A to B.

Granted, it had the wrong engine in it and was waaaay too heavy, but dammit...I loved it and it made me want more. :-)

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:12

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Apparently I was always into cars. Long before I can remember. The earliest car that I can remember catching my eyes was bug eye STI in the classic Blue and Gold combo. I thought it was so cool when I was like 7 or 8.

Goshen, formerly Darkcode > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:13

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The Dodge Viper, back when it was a relatively recent car.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > Tina Corbett 11/29/2014 at 16:15

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Ahh.. "The Caddy that zigs" :) Always wanted an Opel Omega, rather nice cars they are.

Jedidiah > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:15

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There was several:

I loved Jeeps, Hummers, Vipers, and the McLaren F1

My Dad's 442 and our Town Car limo helped seal the deal

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Tina Corbett 11/29/2014 at 16:17

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Hey, I can't hate. I kinda like the Catera. It had some cool stuff for its day. (different drive modes, one touch down AND up windows, among others). I still wouldn't mind having one, even if it is looked down on a bit.

ViperGuy21 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:17

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My favorite car has really always been the Viper. I saw one at first about 8yrs ago, but my full on fascination with cars started with my uncle, his 997 GT3, and Top Gear about 3.5 years ago

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > El Rivinado 11/29/2014 at 16:18

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There's a yellow '67, and a purple '67 around here. Love them. My mom has a '65 Bonneville convertible. A lot of styling similarities there. Gorgeous cars.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen 11/29/2014 at 16:19

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I saw a Ford GT once, and only once, and did it have presence. It was so low to the ground, and it just commanded attention. Heck of an exhaust note on that baby too.

Tina Corbett > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:22

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My recent problem was at the last 24 Hours of Lemons I was in and I got LAPPED by one. I had serious shame......

Tom McParland > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:26

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Porsche 928...I was in elementary school and my bus passed on in my neighborhood every day. I thought it was amazing. I had no idea at the time the engine was in the wrong place. Many years later when I was shopping for my first "sports car" at 19, I found a V8 928 for $8500. The only reason I didn't buy it was the fact it was an automatic.

Jesse Shaffer > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:32

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Valley Road. Cumberland, MD. This thing. My dad would hammer this stiffly sprung truck ( that was technically owned by my grandfather [Potomac Valley Industrial Supply])so hard across that road that I used to sit on the bench seat in a "popcorn" shape as a four year old and bounce to the ceiling like a corn kernel in an aluminum jiffy-pop pan. Roller-Coasters seemed tame compared to what my Dad did behind the wheel. I come from a family of dare-devils. I survived.

scoob > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:33

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Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:42

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This happened like a week after deliveries started... the guy driving gave us a WOT pass!!! I loved it!

For the lulz (this was at Blacktop Nationals on August 23, 2014)

Yep, that's me!

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Jesse Shaffer 11/29/2014 at 16:47

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Y'know, being a fellow Cumberlander, I think I've actually seen that exact truck. My stepdad had one that was pretty similar. Valley Rd. is just a few blocks from my house. That's awesome though.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:50

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A blue C5 Z06 that was at the dealer when my dad was buying his Silverado. It was sitting smack in the middle of the showroom and I just sat there and stared at it the whole time my parents were inside negotiating. Finally a sales person opened it up and let me sit in it. 5 year old me was elated.

Jesse Shaffer > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 16:56

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For a two-tone pickup - It's one of the best ones I've ever seen. Although, I am certainly biased. It is still running around the region. I'm in Bedford, at the moment, taking a Holiday break from NYC. I'm looking forward to a Curtis' weiner from Liberty street next week. I swear, that place is like a better and more established version of NYC food truck. I went in the last time I came back and it was an odd reminder of my new "home."

We've tried to buy the truck back from the second owner on multiple occasions. He won't sell it. My dad is all about it, meanwhile I just want to swap a 4BT in to anything tiny.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 17:13

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Earliest one I can remember at the moment is one of these a neighbor had when I was little:

SwedishMachine > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 17:15

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Neighbor of my parents when i was growing up had a super clean 1988 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 in the requisite guards red/black. My bedroom was on the side of the house bordering theirs, and every morning when he left for work I got to hear that sweet air cooled flat six song. I would look out my window and gaze longingly at it's graceful curves and lines, hoping someday I could have one of my own. I was maybe 3 years old when i first saw that 911, and it was love at first sight. I eventually got to ride in it, which only increased my desire for one. The neighbor was a huge, huge car guy he was always more than happy to oblige my childhood self in some car talk about the car or would let me sit in the driver's seat. They moved away when I was 11 and I never saw that 911 again. Here I am at age 26 and that memory still stays with me, and I still want a guards red 911.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Jesse Shaffer 11/29/2014 at 17:29

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I was actually at Curtis' over the summer, and I wasn't that impressed. It just didn't seem that great, but for the price, it could be worse. Just be warned, there's a lot of road construction near Mechanic and Centre St. Getting to Liberty St. should still be easy enough, but there's a lot of road work going on in that area.

Jesse Shaffer > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 17:42

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Food carts in nyc aren't impressive either, by any means. It goes beyond the food. It's about the experience in the local Coney Island. The food trucks are the same. If you have any real money and you really know what you're doing - you never eat from them. If you want grand dining in the tri-state area, around C-land - I recommend The Baltimore Street Grill out on the bricks downtown between Liberty and Center, Appel's bar off the I68 west-bound ramp, or maybe even the Hen House in Frostburg.

Curtis's is good for one thing - a cheap trick. A quick thrill. I'd rather grab a 'dog from their shop than order Micky D's death burger for the same price, any day.

Eazy-O > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 17:46

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WRC Cossie. In pretty much this exact colour scheme. But needs to be #5.

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Jesse Shaffer 11/29/2014 at 18:04

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I agree with you on that. Baltimore St. Grill is good, as is Hen House. I'm a big fan of Sand Springs, myself, if I can get there when it's not super crowded. I've never been to Appel's, but I'd like to try it sometime.

Sn210 > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 11/29/2014 at 21:07

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I was always into cars, but the one that put me over the top was the Mercedes 300sl. I remember seeing an ad for one in my dad's Hemming's catalogs when I was in the fifth grade. The gullwing doors blew me away.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 12/01/2014 at 08:47

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I was always a die-hard GM guy (still am), but really the only things I knew were "305", "350", and "Corvette". The first two seemed to be engines, the last was a car that people said was fast.

Then the C6 ZR1 came along and hooked me—I've been following cars ever since.

and 100 more > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe 12/01/2014 at 12:15

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It would be my dad's old Datsun pickup:

I'm not sure the model or year, or engine size or number of gears, but I remember some very basic things about it.

I remember, being 6 or 7, walking by the truck sitting in the yard, hanging off the tiedown hooks with my feet on top of the tire, and opening and closing the tailgate latches.

I remember the contours of the flared character line that starts at the door mirror and arches up to meet the edge of the bed. And that awkward vent. And that "baby-shit brown" color, as he called it.

His was as basic as possible - 2wd, manual transmission, stock suspension, stock engine, stock everything. Being a fan of driving on old powerline and mine access roads, which are abundant in the area where we lived, he'd take that truck just about anywhere; certainly down trails that people with 4wd's were wary to tackle, however capable their rig might be. I remember being the passenger on a number of these journeys, just me and Dad, looking out the window and feeling both scared at the prospect of rolling sideways down the hill, but also completely trusting of my dad's abilities. As I now understand physics better, I wonder if I'd be less scared in the same situation now, or even moreso.

(34°09'35.4"N, 116°11'33.9"W)

I've thought about buying one and restoring it, giving it to him as a gift ( I've had the same notion about my Mom's old Corolla ), but I can barely keep food on the table these days, let alone keep my own car up and running.

My Dad's Datsun was his daily driver, and his weekend machine. He used it to haul ass to work, and haul lumber to help add on to the house. That was the first car in our yard that really caught my attention.