The First Car You Ever Owned: A Memory You Never Forget

There is nothing like the freedom of getting your driver's license and being able to drive without your parents in the car for the first time. But you still have to rely on them for a vehicle to drive. That is, until you get a car of your own! Do you remember the first car that was all yours?

As a child of rural Iowa, I rode the school bus far longer than I care to admit. My mom would give me a ride to school when I had early activities, and older friends would often give me a ride home. But my junior year in high school, I finally got a car that was all mine. My parents unexpectedly inherited a bit of money from a relative who had passed. They took that money and purchased a new Ford Explorer. They didn't even trade in their two-year-old Chevy Blazer, and that vehicle became my first car.

The Blazer was a two-door had four-wheel drive, and was one of the first vehicles that had a digital dash speedometer. I knew that I was lucky to have it, so I took care of that Blazer until it simply stopped running.

That Blazer took me to high school football games, homecoming dances, proms, and eventually to college. I met my wife in that Blazer, and did plenty of other things in it that I won't mention on these pages!

As a parent, we managed to get vehicles for our three children as well. They weren't new or fancy, but they helped get them from point A to point B! Do you remember your first car and the memories you made in it?