wow some cool stories..... my 1st car i bought in dec 1968 was a 63 fury, red, pushbutton auto, with neutral stuck pushed in... it had 135k miles, couldn't leave a patch of rubber if the tires were sitting in water- cost me 135bucks... i bought the car and paid the insurance with my own $$$ , my parents were not poor, but certainly not rich... if i wanted a car, i was on my own..

i was always envious of the guys at school who cruised in with their gto's, chevelle's etc... with their girlfriends sitting by their side.... tough getting a girl wanting to sit in a ugly red 63 fury... espec when the driver like his car are ugly...

i do think tho having to foot the bills for myself gave me some self-esteem for later in life... tho it would have been cool to have rich parents and drive around in a gto in high school