Photo Credit: Dusty_73

The first cars I drove, as a 10-year old, were family cars – my grandfather’s 1949 Buick Roadmaster and my father’s 1946 basic Dodge.

But, my first car, bought the day after I turned 14 (yes, Texas really was different back then), was a 1950 Chevy two-door. I bought the car for $200 at the local Oldsmobile dealer, and then cheerfully paid another $200 for insurance. While the Chevy was basic, it was mine. I bought white-walled tires and paid for a bilious sky-blue paint job.

Overnight I became king of my circle of friends, since I had the only car. My reign continued for the next several years. The car was eventually passed on to a series of nieces, who each inherited the cool status that accompanied car ownership.

K.