The first car I ever owned was a small pickup by Mazda. The model: B2000, the year: 1982.
This car taught me so much. In the end, we sold it to somebody for quite a bit less than it should have been worth. But by the time I sold it, I had really learned how to drive — and it showed.
Some things you learn trying to drive a truck at higher than suggested speeds.
Traction: The rear is so light, it's easy to lose traction on wet or loose dirt surfaces. This makes sliding the rear end out more of a skill than something to avoid.
Spare tires: I didn't have any money as a teenager, so when I used the full-size spare to fix a flat ( probably from hitting a curb or something ) I failed to replace it because: No Money.
Cornering: I didn't know anything about high-speed cornering and the video games we had at the time were 2D - so when I ignored the sign that said 25 mpg in the California foothills, the 50mph I was attempting seemed fine, until... The front left tire came off the rim. We slid across the road sideways, then somehow got flipped around 180 degrees and slid back across the road the other way. We flipped up on the driver's side of the vehicle. We had our seatbelts on. My buddy, now hanging above me said calmly: "You ok?" I was.
There were no mobile phones back then and the spare tire from the previous scenario was already on the vehicle. We had to hitchhike home to get help.
I should have died in this awesome vehicle. I'm glad I didn't.
This car taught me so much. In the end, we sold it to somebody for quite a bit less than it should have been worth. But by the time I sold it, I had really learned how to drive — and it showed.
Some things you learn trying to drive a truck at higher than suggested speeds.
Traction: The rear is so light, it's easy to lose traction on wet or loose dirt surfaces. This makes sliding the rear end out more of a skill than something to avoid.
Spare tires: I didn't have any money as a teenager, so when I used the full-size spare to fix a flat ( probably from hitting a curb or something ) I failed to replace it because: No Money.
Cornering: I didn't know anything about high-speed cornering and the video games we had at the time were 2D - so when I ignored the sign that said 25 mpg in the California foothills, the 50mph I was attempting seemed fine, until... The front left tire came off the rim. We slid across the road sideways, then somehow got flipped around 180 degrees and slid back across the road the other way. We flipped up on the driver's side of the vehicle. We had our seatbelts on. My buddy, now hanging above me said calmly: "You ok?" I was.
There were no mobile phones back then and the spare tire from the previous scenario was already on the vehicle. We had to hitchhike home to get help.
I should have died in this awesome vehicle. I'm glad I didn't.
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abrahamKim