I came home from the hospital in my Dad's '56 Bel Air, third car on the right:
Photograph Courtesy Nissan
What was the car your family drove when you were born? Were you brought home from the hospital in a Volkswagen Beetle? Was your car seat installed in a BMW 3 Series? As a toddler, were you strapped into a station wagon?
As a baby, my parents’ ride was a blue 1980 Datsun B210 hatchback, a car I would love to have today if I could somehow transport one from the past to the present. We also used a bicycle when the car wasn’t available.
How about you? Do you have a soft spot for your very first vehicle?
I came home from the hospital in my Dad's '56 Bel Air, third car on the right:
My oldest sister had a 1975 Datsun B210 5 speed notchback in that same blue.
My Dad was not a car guy, but he was absolutely a Mercury guy. I probably came home from the hospital in his 1963 Meteor, white with red interior. My earliest memory was riding in the back seat of that car on the way to the dealership to trade it in on a new green Montego when I was 2 1/2.
I believe my parents had a Morris 1300 when I was born -- either that or a Morris Minor, I'm don't remember which (not sure of the year, mid 60s). Then a '72 Torino and mid 60's Falcon, then an early 70s Austin Maxi, then a 1980 Malibu wagon and mid 70s Comet as we moved to the US, then back to England, then to the US again.
The only one I really remember much at all was the Malibu and that was such a heap of junk that I have no desire to own one. :)
1951 Austin A40 Devon. 1200 thundering CCs of awesomeness. No heater, and we lived northwest of Montreal.
A 1953 Chevy station wagon.
One of these bad boys. Except ours was maroon with a matching maroon vinyl interior
My parents didn't have a car until two years after I was born. Side effect of being poor hippy college students in liberal arts fields that made no money.
My father told me that he had to sue Mercury dealer in small claims court for $100 (and lost) because he said he ordered the Meteor with rear seat belts and it came in without them.
Beetle baby here - 1960, I think, with an umbrella handle for a shifter and an ignition switch that apparently sometimes needed a heated key to use.
Turns out you can't cast a lock cylinder with wax to make a replacement key pattern. Who knew?
My family did not own a car until the late 1950’s when I was about 12 years old, and appropriately it was a Standard 12! I’m sure most North Americans haven’t seen one so I’ve attached a picture, although this is not “our car” as we didn’t own a camera at that time!
The Standard Car Company also produced Triumph cars becoming Standard Triumph until taken over by British Leyland and then BMW and the names Standard and Triumph disappeared. I don’t know too much about these cars except ours seemed quite luxurious to a lad who had only ever traveled by bicycle or double-decker bus! Up until this purchase my Dad and both brothers owned motorcycles which shouldn’t be a surprise if you realize we lived on the Isle of Man.
By-the-way, if you don’t know about the history of Motorsport on the Isle of Man, check out this link: https://www.isleofman.com/visitor-guide/6476/3154/isle-of-man-motorsports
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