Earlier this week, the Car Autance crew got to reminiscing about our childhood automotive adventures. I’m sure some of you have fond photos and memories of those days too. Let’s chat!
Hooptie Happy Hour is our weekly chat session in which the Car Autance writing staff knocks off work specifically to hang out in the comment section here for a hot minute. Well, 60 hot minutes, I did say an “hour” after all. We try to answer comments as much as we can all week but HHH is designed to spark live conversation.
As your host, I’ll kick it off with some backstory on the photo above. Yes, that’s me. No, I have no idea what enormous item I was smuggling in the side pocket of my cargo pants.
That picture must have been taken in 2004, when my folks helped me buy my first car: the five-speed non-VTEC 1996 Integra LS you see me leaning on. It was cheap because it was a base model with a salvage title, but it was a pretty sweet set of wheels for a 16-year-old even by my current standards. It was also all one color when I got it…
An hour after I passed my driving test and my temp paper driver’s license was printed, I took my first legal solo mission and promptly crashed into a guardrail. I deserved it, too – I was an absolute maniac and I had no clue how to control an automobile.
I got that aftermarket bumper but never got around to getting it painted because I crashed the car again not long after, and that time the damage was catastrophic enough for the insurance company to take the car.
That car taught me some expensive lessons, but frankly, I still have a bad habit of finding limits the hard way. I’d like to think I’m less of a danger to the general public these days, though.
Now I’m hoping you all have some more fun pictures and memories from your days as a young driver, so come speak your piece! The Spot.IM commenting system below is easy to use – just make an account with a social media handle or email address and you can jump right in.
Welcome to Hooptie Happy Hour!
Update 03/12/21: It’s 5:00 p.m. in California and Hooptie Happy Hour is technically over. You’re welcome to keep hanging out with other stragglers, but the Car Autance crew might be shuffling off soon. If you didn’t get a reply this evening, sorry about that, we’ll try and hit you back next week! Remember, every Car Autance post has a comment field and we hope you feel welcome in all of them. Thanks for coming by!
