QOTD: Do Remember the First Car That Hooked You?

Chances are, if you read TTAC as part of a balanced breakfast, you probably had more than a few toy cars scattered around the house like rice at a wedding when you were an OshKosh B’gosh-clad tike. These diminutive metal replicas lurked deep within the shag-pile carpeting, lying with their pointy sides up, waiting to rend bare feet asunder.

In later years, these toys were supplanted by trips to real dealerships, where I no doubt made a nuisance of myself as a prepubescent boy who was interested in examining the new metal for that model year. There are three models whose image remain firmly imprinted on my mind after seeing them for the first time through the lens of a youngster’s eye. Surely, you’ve got one too.

Growing up in a town whose population could easily be housed in a medium-sized Wal-Mart, my youthful opportunities for seeing the new metal I read about in buff books were few and far between. That we resided a 90-minute drive from the nearest showroom certainly didn’t help, and even those were largely single-car affairs. The good stuff was even further away.

Naturally, whenever we made the trek to a larger centre, I made sure my desire to drive through a car lot was well-broadcasted days in advance. If I was lucky, Dad would actually stop the car, leading to an excited 10-year-old being looked upon with a mixture of bemusement and disdain by showroom sales staff.

The Diamond Star triplets had effusive praise heaped upon them after their 1990 model year introduction, so I pleaded with Dad to stop at the dealership during a long haul trip to the capital city, a full five-hours away. Climbing the stairs of Tom Woodford’s dealership (whose showroom was on the second floor, a concept which blew my 10-year-old brain), I found a top-of-the-line Eagle Talon TSi AWD, in Black Cherry Metallic (unlike the Black Clearcoat shown above) with a two-tone grey and black interior sitting amongst the stodgy Dynastys and Acclaims. Image. Seared. Forever.

The pop-up headlamps. The hump in the hood. That driver focused, controls-on-an-angle interior. I incessantly nattered about all these traits to my long-suffering parents on the 300-mile drive home. It’s a wonder they didn’t toss me off a bridge.

Whether it was a result of the styling, sound, or speed … what was the first new car you saw with your own two eyes that seared itself into your brain?