Inspired by Kimblebee, anyone else learn to drive in a "deathtrap"?

[yoopermom]

I learned to drive stick on my then boyfriend's souped up big block 1971 Chevelle, and for an everyday car drove a two door, 8 cylinder Delta 88 (hand me down that grandma couldn't handle).

They both seemed like a step up from the farm tractors, etc, that I had driven for years with bad brakes, steering, etc. (Not to mention dirtbikes, snowmobiles, dune buggies, etc).

It's amazing I survived the 80s .

I understand wanting our soon-to-be drivers to be safe, but somehow I survived, how about you?

Terri
(Disclaimer: this thread is tongue in cheek, no outrage needed....)

 

[Capang]

I never drove it but back in high school I had a boyfriend that drove an old Aries with leather or vinyl seats. No seat belts. He'd armor-all the seats before I'd get in and then take right turns super fast so I'd slide in to him.

I loved that car.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

Not a deathtrap, but like many kids, I learned to drive in my mom's suburban. My parents were so worried about little me in that big vehicle, but actually the adjustable pedals made it more comfortable to drive than my car now!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Well, didn't learn to drive on it, but was a young driver when I had it. An old, ugly, rusted out Ford Torino. We called it the cockaroach. Didn't complain because it was free, but literally the side panels were sort of swaying in the wind, lol. Anyway, one night on a girls' camping trip out of state and up in the mountains, I went to put my high beams on and my foot went through the floorboards causing all the lights to suddenly turn off. Thankfully we had another car of friends with us so instead of sitting in the pitch dark in an unfamiliar place we elected to follow them with their lights on. Well, long story short, I got pulled over by the chief of police while driving through the center of town, and it wound up being quite a headache for me (ticket, court appearance, missed court appearance, fines, etc.) while I was still a struggling college student. Ah, the trials and trepidations of youth... Was so glad when I finally got rid of that car!

 

[Southernmiss]

My first car in 1985 was a 1973 Ford LTD v 8 forest green. It was a tank. My dad loved it. Great pick up

I sold it in 1986 for $300 more than I bought it. And got a 1985 Mercury Lynx. Much smaller and suited me much better

 

[tvguy]

Learned to drive on a 1960 Buick Le Sabre. Prior to the 1965 model year, seat belts were not required to be installed from the factory. My dad put seat belts in the front. So, when I was DRIVING it, it wasn't a death trap. But the 12 years prior, when I was a kid riding in the back....WITH NO SEAT BELTS....it was a death trap.

 

[kimblebee]

I learned to drive in a 90's tank style station wagon. It was army green with wood paneling and a rumble seat in the back. I hated it at the time but it was what we had as a car.

To this day, I never worry about parallel parking because I learned in that station wagon.

ETA- I'm honoured to be the inspiration for the s/o thread LOL

 

[firecracker725]

1979 Chrysler LeBaron. Got my first speeding ticket in that car doing 87 in a 55. We could fit 10 girls easy, so made it super handy for going to softball practice.

 

[hereyago]

My first car was a 74 Pinto,lol.

When I was 16 dad bought my mom a Pontiac Sunbird?/turbo. She liked the car because it was red and on the show room floor, when it wasn't in the shop(this was before lemon laws),I drove it mostly because it was too much car for her,lol.
At this point I had a Mazda GLC that she drove, it had a third brake light that you glued on but the glue didn't adhere so at might she drove and hit the brake the car would light up red lol and to top it off, I had a I Stop For Sex sign,so she made me take that down.

 

[willowsnn3]

To this day, I never worry about parallel parking because I learned in that station wagon.

I learned to parallel park in a 1961 Cadillac. The one with the big fins, lol

 

[Squirlz]

My Wife learned to drive in a VW Thing. Now she drives an even worse deathtrap than that. Nothing I can do.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I learned in my dad's old Plymouth. No power steering or power brakes. It was a PITA doing 3-point turns and parallel parking.

 

[MillauFr]

1979 Chrysler LeBaron. Got my first speeding ticket in that car doing 87 in a 55. We could fit 10 girls easy, so made it super handy for going to softball practice.

How did you get a LeBaron up to 87 mph? Did you have the fine Corinthian Leather seats?

 

[QueenIsabella]

One of the cars I learned to drive on was a crappy old Pinto--it was the first standard shift I mastered, so the thought of it brings back fond memories. In college, a guy offered me $100 if he could be the snot out of it.

All our family cars were beaters. Or station wagons. Or both. My BFF's dad fixed cars--they always ran well, but had interesting names, like "Queen Mary" and "Nimitz".

I don't understand the concerns with learning to drive on huge, ugly, crappy cars. My dad always felt they were safer, because they'd have all that metal to protect the driver. Plus, they were cheap to insure. And imagine--once you've learned to drive a boat of a station wagon (minivan, SUV), then driving something small and nimble is going to be a piece of cake.

 

[Disneylover99]

Learned to drive on a 1960 Buick Le Sabre. Prior to the 1965 model year, seat belts were not required to be installed from the factory. My dad put seat belts in the front. So, when I was DRIVING it, it wasn't a death trap. But the 12 years prior, when I was a kid riding in the back....WITH NO SEAT BELTS....it was a death trap.

My dad used to cut the seatbelts out of the cars in the 70's. Lol.
He rued the day wearing a seatbelt became law.

 

[snapppyd]

I learned to drive in a 1963 Valiant, mint green. No power steering, no power brakes, push button transmission. I don't remember seat belts.

I briefly owned a used 1969 Cutlass, that thing was FAST. I needed two feet on the brake to hold it back at red lights!

 

[Owlpost23]

My dad used to cut the seatbelts out of the cars in the 70's. Lol.
He rued the day wearing a seatbelt became law.

So did my dad-on our gremlin.Lord...

 

[tzolkin]

1979 Chrysler LeBaron. Got my first speeding ticket in that car doing 87 in a 55. We could fit 10 girls easy, so made it super handy for going to softball practice.

I had a later model (late 80s-early 90s range) LeBaron turbo-charged convertible. Mine could only fit 4 people because the back seat was very narrow. I got a similar speeding ticket when I was 16 (my only one ever). My parents did not find out until I was an adult...

It also had the "fancy" digital speedometer, so it was fun to drive it over 100mph-- which I did regularly. I was an absolute maniac and super confident in my driving abilities (which was a contributing factor to my hesitance to let my DD have her own car as a young teen like I mentioned in the other thread). I lived in FL, so the roads are flat and mostly straight so it's easy to drive at excessive speeds. But, there are also a lot of elderly drivers so there was a good deal of weaving and maneuvering when you're flying down the road.

I would not have thought a LeBaron would be quite as powerful as it was, but I guess the turbo made a big difference. Many of my classmates were "rich kids" who lived on the beach and owned very expensive cars. Not one of them ever beat mine.

I'm now a very conservative and cautious driver who never goes more than 5 over the speed limit and I do often think about how fortunate I am to have survived my youth with that powerful car.

 

[Klayfish]

Anything built before about 1990 is a "death trap" by today's standards, even the "tanks" of the 60's and 70's, so most of us here learned to drive in death traps.

I taught myself how to drive... with a 1979 Chevy Malibu, learned to drive stick shift on a 1987 Ford Escort.

As car crazed as I am, I refuse to drive a total death trap car. That's why I'd never buy a "classic" from the 50's or 60's. Just no way.

 

[Klayfish]

I would not have thought a LeBaron would be quite as powerful as it was, but I guess the turbo made a big difference. Many of my classmates were "rich kids" who lived on the beach and owned very expensive cars. Not one of them ever beat mine.

I'm now a very conservative and cautious driver who never goes more than 5 over the speed limit and I do often think about how fortunate I am to have survived my youth with that powerful car.

When you're young, any car feels fast. I remember driving a Buick Century that had the V6 optional engine and thinking it was a rocket. Looking back, reality was it was a dog. The Lebaron was never a very fast or powerful car, even the GTC Convertible (which I assume is what you had). Sure was a cool looking car in its' day...my father had a Chrysler E-Class, which was essentially the same car in 4 door version. It had the digital dash too, and it talked. I thought that was the most amazing thing ever.