My First Car!!

[SirRaven]

Here we go I will finally post some pictures of my current ride. It is the first and only car I have owned so far, I have owned it for 7+ years. I bought it when I was 16 and most of the mods I did to it where then (so have fun with some of the stuff on the car). Hopefully will be replacing soon.

1989 Mercury tracer
1.6l I4 - 82 HP
Manual
Power Mirrors, Cruise and AC, but not much else
NO CUP HOLDERS ARE IN THE CAR!!

Things I did
CD Player/New Speakers (I blew the old ones with the new CD player)
New Horn

I have had a lot of good times with this car, I kinda sad to get rid of it. I have hauled a kayak as well as a 4x8 sheet of plywood and many other large load trips. I somehow have only got under 30 mpg, even in city once. That was up in the upper peninsula of Michigan in the winter and all city driving, and it was still around 29. I have even slept in the car once. The best part is the car was cheap, has not cost much to up keep, and has never left me stranded, a perfect first car.

My Car in the snow over Christmas:













Here are some nicer weather pics









Engine Bay shots




Interior Shots










Feel free to make any comments, statements or snide remarks. Or reminisce of your first car.

[Tomko]

I remember my first love...

[casket_demon]

Originally Posted by Tomko

I remember my first love...

We're U looking through the bottom of a beer mug when U spotted it as well?

[91 s-10baja]

werent those mazda's?

[SirRaven]

Originally Posted by 91 s-10baja

werent those mazda's?

Ya, a Mazda 323

My cars a Mercury, designed by Mazda but the key says Ford, go figure.

[TiburonJT]

Originally Posted by SirRaven

Ya, a Mazda 323

My cars a Mercury, designed by Mazda but the key says Ford, go figure.

My dad had a GLC, which changed to the 323 when it was redesigned. It was a decent car that lasted over 300,000 miles.

[t-rex]

Don't get rid of it!!!!! Trust me on this.

Keep the plates current and get that super-cheap insurance for driving under 5,000 miles a year! If you let her go, you'll simply pine for all eternity.

I'd pay stupid money to get back my first car, "Liggy" a brand spankin' new 1982 Subaru hardtop. She had little touches to let the world know she was mine, namely the "Back off man.... I'm a scientist" bumper sticker and the Pioneer stereo and Rockford-Fosgate amp and Punch speakers (are those even big names any more?) that I'd use to wake my neighbors with the latest Frankie Goes To Hollywood cassette!

Even my friends with "cool" cars loved Liggy. There was just something about her that endeared you. On more than one occasion, we'd leave the Trans-Ams and Celica GT's behind and take Liggy on a road trip. She endured the abuse of me learning how to master the clutch pedal (7 clutches in 3 years!). Nevertheless, Liggy soldiered on, with that smile on her face, and those dashboard "tittties" to turn on the wipers and lights. She had an appetite for CV joints and often in a tempestuous fit that only a woman could perpetrate, could spit Buss fuses straight out of the fuse box and scald your left leg! It was her way of telling me to take it easy on her.

When I got my 'stang GT for graduation, I shed a small tear of fondness as I handed the Liggy keys over to my kid brother Seth, who was getting his license in a few months. She became a cherished member of the Caro family, with brother Seth and sister Jill cutting their driving teeth on Liggy's haggard gearbox, worn clutch, and shaken chassis. She made countless runs to Padre Island or whatever fun-in-the-sun venue we sought. She trekked through the Ozarks, and across the Texas deserts, like a loyal dog serving her master. Unwavering and with elan, she helped us have the freedom that only youth can enjoy.

I think we all cried that day in 1988 when, due to sister Jill's inattention to basic maintenance, Liggy slung a piston rod clean through her little heart. The damage was severe. We begged Daddy to have her repaired, even offered to chip in to save her, but sadly, his fondness for the old girl wasn't as strong as his love of his checkbook. We had a tiny squeak of hope when our hillbilly Cajun cousin Chet offered to tow her out to his farm and fix her up. But it never panned out. On a visit out to his place a few years later, I spotted her sitting there next to the barn in tall grass, her visage soiled with mildew, her saddened face pointing skyward from having her little boxer-engine of a heart excised. I couldn't bear it. I paid a salvage company to haul her off and have her destroyed in a dignified manner. The nice people at the wrecking yard let us watch her being crushed. They were stunned how three siblings watched with sorrow as she was compacted into a simple cube of scrap. Seth wept openly.

Daddy called us crazy for having such an emotional attachment to the little car, but I guess he just didn't understand. Liggy was more than just a car, she was part of the many memories of our youth. She was there the first time Mom & Dad let me drive out of state, shuttling my friends and I to Panama City, where I also got arrested for the first time . Seth lost his virginity in Liggy and I'm sure Jill has her fond memories as well; I vaguely recall a story about someone sleeping in Liggy's trunk at Gulf Shores...

Needing a new "extra" car in the family, Daddy treated Seth and Jill, who being a year apart had to share a car, to a brand new Toyota Cressida, who was quickly baptised "Minerva". Minerva too became a familiar sight in the family driveway, later as training wheels for brothers David, Derek and Heath as they began their driving adventures. We liked her, but she could never fill Liggy's shoes.

I've even toyed with the idea of buying and old 82 GLF Hardtop, but it's just not the same. Sure I could add some Ghostbusters memorabilia or even perhaps replicate Seth's losing-his-virginity stains on the upholstery, but it still wouldn't be Liggy.

Call me crazy but 20 years on, I still very much miss that little car.

If you've got anywhere near the attachment to that little Tracer that we had for a certain blue Subaru, try to hang on to her.

[mbukukanyau]

The interior is very clean. My advice, Keep that car

[SirRaven]

Ya I would end up "giving" it to my parents and my dad would take car of it, but they are now 8 hours away and it would be a little bit of a hassle to get it over there. If the one person I have who might want the car does not end up with it, it will go to my parents and stay in the family for at least another 4 years. Then who know, maybe ill take it back from them if I have a garage and an extra spot to put it. If I had the time, money, garage and another car to drive around I would like to fix it up a bit as a fun car, but who knows. Im in one of those times in my life where I just got out of college, got a new job, and just want a nice car to drive around rather than my old car, and don't have any extra space to put this car.

mbukukanyau, its funny that you said the interior of my car is clean, considering I haven't cleaned it in over 6 months, but I would clean it every month or two until now.

I am still waiting for certain comments on random things on my car. My favorite bumper sticker, besides the Packers, is the one that reads "I'm only driving like this to piss you off", I got that at the Yoopers Tourist trap.

[shadams]

Man, that dash and almost all of the controls look just like my Mazda B-2000 I had in highschool. Oh, and here was my first car....



I beat the everliving snot out of this car. Wrecked it 2 hrs after I got my license and destroyed the front end. I drove it for another yr with a wrinkled up hood and a primered nose piece. I did put the obligatory 5 star wheels on it though, 13 inchers baby!!!

[firebird1324]

It's crazy how attatched you can become to your first car. I got mine when i was 14, and i still had two years to go before I could drive her on my own. I've become so attatched to that car that i'll have dreams that something happens to her and i wake up with tears in my eyes. it's bad. I'm only 18 now and i still have tons of memories with her. I know i'll never ever ever be able to let her go...that little red Firebird is gonna stay in my family for years. She's already gone through one engine, which had about 190,000
miles on it. Now she's got her 350 out of a 71 monte, and she's ready to go untill I can start restoring her. God I love that car...

[Odin]

Nice mercury, they were sold in australia as the ford laser, "laser the amazer" as the tagline went. Nice solid bubble car

[GMfan1111]

Nice Merc I still have my first car and I've gotten somewhat attached to it. I plan on getting a second used car in a few years from one of GM's other brands to try something different but until then i'll hold on to the Bu for as long as i can

[yaknowhowebe]

my first was an 86 tempo im sorry quadturbo tempo

[boston boy]

Nice car I bet you can get another 100,000 miles I would keep it as a second car.