My first car was this little red 4-door Holden (GM) Torana, it was 1973 & I was 17. Its very small 1750cc. engine was totally gutless. My Dad came with me the day I bought it to ensure I wasn't ripped off. We went to my future Brother-In-Law's older brother's Used Car lot. Dad thought that because we were almost related we should give him my business, but as we soon found out, being a relative doesn't suddenly turn a rogue into a choirboy, we got well & truly done over! By the time I'd driven it home the one mile from the lot, we'd determined that it ran better on only 3 cylinders rather than the 4 it left the factory with & Dad made the necessary 'adjustments' in our driveway.
That little car was OK, but what I really, really, really wanted was this.
A Jensen Interceptor, that most awesome of all '70's icons. It just oozed style, with its 7.2 litre, 440 cubic inch, V8 engine, not to mention the deep Wilton carpets & six-hide cream leather seats - oh la la!
However, if I would have been lucky enough to score a Jensen over the dodgy Torana, I would have needed these to drive in..........
........this to throw into the cassette player
......and this
......Patti B's. big fringe & ringlet curls
...... a gorgeous Prue Acton coat to toss ever so nonchalantly over the back seat
...... a pair of tight, tight white boots to slip into if the platforms became too awkward
.......& a pair of flared, hipster jeans to finish off the look perfectly.
Any great memories of your first car or, what you really, really coveted?
Images: 2-6 Great Escapes Cars 7: W 8: Discogs 9: Good Lifer 10: Virgin Media 11: Museum Victoria 12: Flickr 13: The Fashion Police
you are sooo adorable.. we learn something new about you every day! my first car was a yellow mustang... boy did i think i was cool... (HA) what a joke...
ReplyDeleteLOVE THE POST... xxxxx pam
I had a gorgeous pair of very high wedges (just like the beauties in the image 7) - all was going well until our spaniel puppy got in the way. Over I went and broke a bone in my foot - when I returned from the hospital my father had destroyed said shoes. I was far more upset about the shoes than the fracture and the fact that I was banned from ever owning another pair of these walking time bombs! Leigh
ReplyDeleteOh how very fun! Loved all those photos! And our boys! How do they ever survive to adulthood I'll never know! LOL!
ReplyDeleteah, millie, i try to suppress the memories of my first car as they're not very good ones. my sister and i shared a chevrolet chevette in high school. we retermed it the "sh$t-vette" after it left us on the side of the road one too many times.
ReplyDeleteloved the marlena/millie post! i was a dool fan until marlena levitated. that sent me over the edge. no more.
pam
I LOVE the Prue Acton coat. Adore! What a fun post. :)
ReplyDeleteOh the Jensen Intercepter. That car was way cool.
ReplyDeleteMy husband had a green Aston Martin DB7 for a while. Lovely car but very very firm on the road, and no aircon or heating. I wouldn't mind having it again, but not as a day to day car.
When was a teenager I used to drive a black Celica. I am certain I looked like a drug dealer but it got me from A to B.
Love that Prue Acton coat. Wasn't she great? I think she is a painter now.
Not sure I could drive anything in those wedges! My first car was a Mitsubishi station wagon - the best I could get for my $2000. My revving woke the neighbours up and parking it was a total nightmare, but on the whole it behaved for me and it was sad to sell it on. i try not to think too much about what cars i would like to drive as I am well and truly stuck with the people mover for the next 18 odd years - not the sexiest cars around by any means.
ReplyDeleteClare x
Hello dear Millie! I was very close to getting a black comfortable Volkswagon bug. My parents had a VW bus, which took us all over the western continent of the United States on family vacations,...BUT the parents ended up 'steering' towards a new VW Fox. It wasn't as cool, much lower end than the Jetta, and it was white. So not nearly as mysterious as the black would have been. And I had the hippest pair of platform boots that I got to wear quite proudly ONCE. They hurt my feet so badly I practically threw them across the room when I took them off at the end of the night! xoTrina
ReplyDeleteYou really are a 70's girl aren't you? That's good 'cause I am too.
ReplyDeleteMy first car was a metallic blue Honda Civic which I loved with all my heart. It had a Starsky and Hutch racing stripe down the sides which made it go nearly as fast as GTS Torana!!
I drove from Brisbane to Cairns and back in that thing. On my days off, I would put the dog in the hatch and head for the beach.
Ho, hum, those were the days.
Hi Miliie,
ReplyDeleteMy first car was a Major Minor!! We/I bought it off a little old 80 year old lady for $900.00. It didn't have any sync in the gears and I so struggled to change gears in that I would spend hours going up and down the country road near our house in reverse as it was the only gear it would go into easily. I would put my tape recorder on the passenger seat with a battery in it as it didn't have a radio and put my favourite 80's tape in it. Hence to say I can reverse without breaking into a sweat!!! I've had other doosy cars, had a mission brown torana with rust happening and a dent (not my doing) and I would roar up the drive on my way to work, hit the dip in the road and have it air-borne. Mum and Dad could hear me going out of the drive way every morning and still often talk about it (the legend that I am!!!!lol). The car that I really, really wanted was a red gemini, my sister-in-law had one and it just made me want one more. And it had to be red ('cause as you know red cars go faster)and to this day I have never had a red car (go figure!). Now I would LOVE a V8......just to hear the purr of the engine, makes me come out in goose bumps!!! Love the post......enjoy the rest of your day Millie, can't wait to see what tomorrow's topic is going to be!!
Take care
Janine
XXOO
N.W. Coast Tassie
Love cars too. My Dad restored Jaguars and Porsches for my WHOLE life. When I was younger I thought, "Oh, he's bringing another junker home!".
ReplyDeleteFor someone who loved beautiful cars I guess he felt I needed to be "brought down several knotches" in my young sure of myself life because my first car was a 1978 Toyota Landcruiser - mustard yellow! At the time I didn't realize what a cool car it was, just my Dad's old hunting truck he brought home from the farm but now I understand and will be passing a "junker" onto my Lucy when she turns 16. It gives you purpose when you want your own nice car and you have to work to pay for it. I now have a really nice car and always will!
My first "car" that is, was a grey mustang..It had the best ever cranking stereo AND a sunroof, so I could pile my over processed, very dry, over coifed hair up as high as I wanted, you know, higher the hair, closer to heaven..Crank up my nasty boyfriend Billy Idolon my casette player and tune the parents OUT! all the while wearing my finest skinniest pegged tight levi 501s and my 3 inch spectator heels...oh.my.goodness...
ReplyDeleteWhat a life!
Thanks for the memories!
Nothing as stylish as this. That coat!
ReplyDeleteOh Millie - you are speaking my language! My dad bought a '67 Jaguar XKE soft-top for my mom one year as an anniversary present...I totally fell in love with that car. I was probably 12 years old and all I wanted to do was drive it.
ReplyDeleteMy first car that I owned was a white Camero Z28. I was so cool in the 80's.
The car I wanted my parents sold just when I got my licence... Au revoir little red VW beetle...
ReplyDeleteNow it's a wee 'taupe' coloured Fiat I'd love for zipping round the city. But it's a UTE I'd really need (and adore for the property). Our neighbours have the most gorgeous ice blue Maserati I've ever seen and that one just Purrrrrs...
Oh, what a fun trip down memory lane. It's funny that at every stage of my 'driving' life, I always wanted a car that was out of reach and by the point in life when I could have really afforded it, there was something newer and better I wanted. I don't know if I'll ever get my 'dream car' and at this point, I'm not even sure what it is, but I do love beautiful cars.
ReplyDeleteI want that Jensen Interceptor car, and all those accoutrements you've featured with it, particularly the beautiful coat and shoes. And a fulltime gardener, seeing as I want a lot anyhow.
ReplyDeleteYour own little red car is great - those lovely lines are gone now and cars are bulbous monsters.
Just love your post as always so glad to be back blogging, I missed your posts Millie xx
ReplyDelete