When I Googled the phrase, You can tell a lot about a person by the car they drive, the following response was this:
The car a person drives can provide some insights into their lifestyle, preferences, and possibly their financial situation. For example, a person driving a luxury car might be seen as someone who values status and luxury, while someone driving an electric or hybrid vehicle might be perceived as environmentally conscious. However, it's important to remember that these are generalizations and may not always be accurate. People's choices in cars can be influenced by many factors, and it's best not to make assumptions based solely on the type of car someone drives.
While its true that you can't judge a book by it's cover, one can definitely say that the cars of my youth screamed the fact that A) I had little money and B) I really didn't give a RATS ASS about cars in the least!!! A car was just something to get me from point A to point B. My cars were so cheap that most of the early ones had no heat, no air conditioning, no seat belts, no power steering, no FM radio, CD, cassette or any rear speakers. Tires were bald, windshield wipers were usually torn. Its a wonder that my cars even started half the time... as I was left stranded on many occasions.
It's not like a treated my cars with any concern for proper maintenance. I rarely changed the oil, which drove my dad crazy. But when I did, I did change it myself. My tires were always under inflated and the fluids were often neglected.
In my defense, I didn't know what tire pressure needed to be maintained, I didn't understand the importance of pistons or their need for lubrication. As far as a heater, I just wore a big PARKA everywhere. Air conditioning??? What was that??? Who needed that? Power steering??? I could maneuver the wheel ok. Defrosters? Hey, I just used my windshield scraper on the inside windows and learned to drive while looking out tiny holes above my dashboard. As long as the AM radio worked and the back seat was big enough for my amplifier and or my girlfriend and I, everything was fine by me. Let's go back and revisit some of my fine automobiles in more detail
THE PIMPLE
My first car was a 1960 Ford Falcon that my dad heard about from someone he worked with. It was bright red and looked kind of sporty in an old fashioned way. The one issue.... it didn't run!!! That was no problem for my father who was a Master Sergeant in the Peoria Air National Guard's MOTOR POOL. He worked on vehicles for a living, so I wasn't too worried about that minor hiccup. The bright red Falcon was christened THE PIMPLE because it resembled a giant ZIT about to POP!!!
Dad and I drove out to a guys house in Elmwood and he and his buddy hooked the PIMPLE up to another car via a tow bar. Soon, we were ready to ride!!! For good measure, I asked if I could sit in the front seat of the Pimple as it was being towed from Elmwood to our house. They said YES!!!! which I'm sure was probably against the law even in 1975. I'd only recently finished Driver's Ed...so if the Pimple had come unhooked from the tow bar, I'm not sure I would have had the amount of experience needed to bring her to a safe landing.
So it was, we began our journey from Elmwood to Peoria. I felt like a sea Captain sitting high in my $30.00 bright red vessel, with the nose of the car tilted slightly in the air as we roared down the Highway!!! I smoked Winston cigarettes and hung my left arm out of the open window while Good Lovin' Gone Bad by Bad Co played loudly through the speakers mounted in the steel dash board!!! At least the Radio worked. It was one of my fondest teenage memories!!!! I could have been driving a 1975 Corvette...in my mind, it didn't matter. I had a car. It didn't run yet...but it was mine!!!!
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