2. Tell us about your first car.

At first, it was the car I was allowed to drive. I had to ask, of course, and I had to put gas in it if I drove around too much, which I did. I liked to just…drive. To the store, around town, just to get out and be free. Luckily, my friends liked to drive more than I did so it was not always me expending gas needlessly. But the brown Mazda 929 was great, as first-timers go.

While my 1989 Mazda 929 was a slightly lighter shade of brown, it essentially looked like that. It was roomy and had that “floaty” quality, the way old-school Buicks did. I loved driving it around because it felt like a tank. I could squeeze a lot of friends in that backseat!

When I went to college, I didn’t need a vehicle while living on campus so my parents waited until I moved into an apartment in my sophomore year and then they brought the car up to me. I don’t recall why we got rid of it but I only drove it for that one year before they bought me a 1993 Infinity G20. That car was cool too; zippier. But I missed the Mazda. I missed the way it glided over the road, the way the middle air vents actually oscillated side to side. Never seen that in a car before or since! I miss that car in a lot of ways, even though I have owned two cars after it – the Infinity and then my Element, which I was also miss fiercely. Until then, I still drive it and take good care of it.

My dad is pretty certain he’s going to gift my son with his car when he turns 16 and can you guess what it is? It’s a Mazda! LOL. It’s a Mazda 6 with a hefty mileage but for a first car, I know it’ll be great for him.