Do you remember the first time you took the wheel? How old were you? What were you driving? Automatic or manual? Who was your co-pilot?

I was thinking today about the first time I took the wheel. I drove though some of my old neighborhood on the way home today, and some memories came to mind.

I was 16. As soon as we were 16, (if we had saved the money to pay for it) we went to drivers' education school. In MA, you could get your permit at age 16, license at 16 1/2 if you took Driver's Ed. I know some of you probably lived in the country and drove the family car before it was legal. We lived in the city, so that was not going to happen.

My Dad had a 1963 Chevy Impala, automatic. It was a blue four door sedan, V8 engine. I can't recall for certain,where we were going, I think we were heading to the hospital where I worked part time, and he gave me the keys. I can still remember that feeling I got when I gave the car some gas and the wheels started turning and off we went. I thought I was pretty


Dad was pretty patient, or maybe just numb as I was the fourth one of his children to get to this stage.

I also remember being in the car when my older brother (9 years older than I) was learning to drive. We had a 56 Ford wagon, three on the tree. My father ended up with a gash in his forehead from the bucking and stalling.

I learned to drive a stick on a VW bug while in high school.

What do you remember about your first time at the wheel?

 

I first drove a 1970 Imapala (huge car). I had a hard time centering it, I kept over compensating. It had power steering and you could not get a good feel for the road since it was so big. It drove like a boad.

Since I grew up in NYC you could not get a permit till you were 17 and a lic. till you were 18.

My first car was a 1970 Javelin.

 

I think the first car I drove was a generic automatic sedan the driver's ed school used. No idea what it was. The other car I learned on in the spring of 1966 was the family's 1959 Chevy. It was a four door with the bubble top styling, a three on the column and an in-line 6. The rear wings were functional...at 60 mph they started to provide lift.

 

I'm pretty sure the first car I drove on the highway was my dad's 64 Falcon, I must have been about 14 when he told me to take the wheel and drive on some back roads. From then on he'd take me out about once a month for a cruise. It was an automatic. The first time driving a stick was when I was 16 and had I just got my drivers license. I remember I was an usher in a wedding for a cousin. Someone had to drive his souped up 56 Chevy to the wedding reception and I got volunteered. Luckily I made it without any problems. Shortly thereafter I got a 64 Chevelle with a 3 on the tree and have been driving sticks since. I bet there are going to be plenty of good stories in this thread, great idea Lainey.
Levi

 

First drove in a 1954 Plymouth Savoy, flathead six with three speed. Drivers ed had simulators that you "drove" with a movie. Drivers ed cars were some mid-size Ford - I think maybe Fairlanes, also 6 cylinder, three speed. My first car was a 1959 Simca Aronde.

 

It's been a long time since my first drive. My dad had a 51 Chevy and when I got my permit I got to drive it a little. I was a small kid so I had problems reaching the throttle, brake & clutch and even seeing over the dash was a pain. Anyway my first accident was backing that old chevy out of the driveway into the side of a car parked next to the curb on the other side of the street (a narrow street). I think it cost about $35 to replace that car's door. :/

 

The first time at the wheel I was probably 4 or 5 sitting in my Dad's lap on the way home from my grandparent's house on a dirt and gravel road in a 4 door '58 Chevy automatic. I recall that some of my steering inputs were overridden.

The first time at the controls I was 12 in Dad's '69 Beetle. We, more precisely he (I was the tool gofer, my older brother was chief observer), had just finished a brake job in the back yard. Dad said " Take her around to the front and park her in the driveway".

Eager to please, I hopped in, put the clutch in, and started her up. I managed to release the parking brake, shift into 1st, and ease out into the alley behind the house. From there it was only a couple of hundred yards to my destination.

About halfway down the alley it occured to me that while I had seen my Dad run up and down through the gears many times I had never done it myself. I had also never come to an intersection with the possibility of having to yield to oncoming traffic.

My improvised plan was to just not stop and not change gears until I reached my destination as it was only two right turns away. This resulted in pulling out into the street directly in front of the only patrol car Chickamauga Ga. had on the road. I then made the run up to my next right turn, signalled, and pulled into the driveway with the cruiser still in tow.

When I shut the car off I looked back in the mirror to see the Chief Of Police laughing his a$$ off as he drove by.

 

My grandfather had a '63 Comet. When I was about 16 he let me slide over and take the wheel. He was the one who taught me to drive. We lived in NYC and it was chaotic to say the least.

My first car was a 1959 Corvette. I bought it from my cousin after it was recovered from being stolen. The thieves were chased by the cops and they clipped off about a quarter of the front end fiberglass in the crash which ended the chase. My parents let me drain my savings account to buy it. We used to rent garage space down the street. I had the car there under a blanket. My father walked all the way back from the garage to tear me a new one because the wind blew the blanket off and he saw the wreck that I spent my entire savings on. He was angry with me all summer but when I finshed the body repairs and had it on the road again, I could tell he was very proud of me.

 

My first time behind the wheel was in a driver's ed car. It was a mid 70's Datsun B210 with an automatic. The rear seat had been specially modified to have a third set of seat belts. That allowed the car to carry 1 instructor and 4 students. It was a bit cramped, but I liked being jammed up against the one cute girl in our group! I don't remember much about the first drive except that coming to a smooth stop was much harder than I had expected.

My first solo was in my family's 72 Ford Galixy 500 wagon. What a boat! I remember the panic I felt the first time I found myself stuck half way through a U turn without enough room to finish it.

 

Do trucks count? The first vehicle I drove was a 1949 Chevy truck. The first car I drove was a 1962 Chevy Impala. Three on the tree.