My 1st car memories date from the mid-'50s in Chicago: Dad's black bullet-nose Stude coupe and green '50 Ford. I think the Stude predated the Ford.
I was fascinated by the various things that combined to allow going places, the sound, smell, shapes & colors, the sensory pleasure of their operation.
In 1956, Dad & Mom drove a new black T-bird for someone from Chicago to L.A. and I thought that was fantastic.
Won my 1st bet with a neighbor kid proving I could read "Powerglide" on the back of Dad's '53 Chevy.
In '57, having moved to SoCal in that Chevy, Dad ordered a Plymouth wagon; I was smitten by how different they looked, Dad was impressed with the engineering, and all that probably sealed it for Mopars.
Sometime in '57, some friends of Mom & Dad's took us to a sports car race in SoCal; between that and riding around in the same guy's Triumph TR3, I've been hopeless ever since.