my first car

 I've been thinking a lot about cars recently, probably because I'm participating in a memoirs writing class and also have been dealing with getting repairs for my Fiat since my recent little side swipe accident.  My first car, a 1961 Corvair, also involved me in my first accident.  You remember the Corvairs, there was a book written about them, "Unsafe at Any Speed."  They had a tendency to roll over. The Corvairs had the engine in the back, which, as it turned out was great for driving on snowy, hilly streets in upstate New York.  But, before I drove it to New York, I did roll it over.  Happily, my mother had insisted that I have seat belts installed, and I walked away from that accident with just a tiny scratch on one knee.  I have been a true believer in seat belts ever since.  I bought that car, used, for $800 in July of 1965, the summer before I started my first teaching job.  I knew I needed to have a car to drive.  I got my driver's license after I bought the car, and rolled it over in August.  I was insured on my father's insurance at that time, so he took care of negotiating with them about repairs.  They wanted to call it totaled. It had rolled over and up on it's wheels again, popping the windshield out on it's way over.  The insurance company offered to pay me $400.  Daddy didn't think this was fair, since I had just paid $800 and he had never had a claim on his insurance in his life.  They told him the other option would be to fix it.  Daddy said "Fix it."  And they did.  $2500 (estimated repair costs) and a new 1962 top later, my Corvair was returned to me, probably as good as new.  I drove that car for the next six years, to and from New York state twice, to work every day and on many short trips.  Three years after we married, my husband and I traded it in to buy our brand new VW bus/camper conversion.  By that time I could see pavement through the rusted out patch in the floor in front of the driver's seat, so I wasn't too sorry to let it go.