Feature Stories

My First Car
By Jim Prueter and Michelle Donati

Most of us remember vividly the significant events of our lives — our first job, first kiss, who we took to the senior prom, even tragic events like 9/11 or the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

So too, I’ve found, that everyone remembers his or her first car. Mine was a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible in tutone Regal Turquoise over India Ivory. I paid a hefty sum of $300 for that car back in the mid-1960s. Had I kept it, today I could fetch upwards of $75,000.

Recently, I asked several Arizona celebrities to reminisce about their first car. I also asked what they drive now and if they have a “dream” car. While their stories were varied and cars diverse, each had a story to tell.

Dan Davis
As an anchor for “Good Morning Arizona,” Dan is one of the most recognizable TV personalities in Arizona. Dan has been on the air for 30 years, 27 of them at KTVK 3TV.

“I was still going to school at Ohio University when I got my first car, a 1966 Pontiac Tempest two-door. The Tempest was my older sister’s first, and when she got a new one, my dad paid her $400 and gave it to me.

“At college, my friends thought the gas gauge was stuck on empty, but I would often put just a dollar’s worth of gas in it. The needle would just barely nudge off empty — good enough for a couple more days of driving.

“I made three cross country trips with the Tempest before getting my first TV job in Flagstaff. It lasted one winter, and after getting tired of trying to start it each morning I moved up to a 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass. I sold the Tempest to a Northern Arizona University student for $100.

“My current ride is a full-sized Nissan Titan pickup truck, which I just love. I’m a truck guy, so while I don’t really have dream vehicle I’m sure it would be another big pickup. I did recently buy a new Toyota Prius for my wife and must say I’m really impressed with it.”

Todd McFarlane
Though he may be best known as the creator of Spawn, one of the most successful comic books in the world, Todd McFarlane’s business and entrepreneurial enterprises span the realms of sports, movies, manufacturing and media.

In 1997, his comic book franchise scored big when Spawn’s movie incarnation cleared $50 million at the box office in just 19 days.  His work on award-winning music videos for groups like Pearl Jam and Korn earned him a Grammy nomination in 1999 and, until recently, McFarlane was also part owner of the Edmonton Oilers NHL team. 

He is the owner of McFarlane Toys, which produces detailed action figure collectibles of professional sports figures as well as media icons such as Shrek, the Beatles, The Simpsons and NASCAR greats to name a few.

An avid sports fan, McFarlane gained perhaps his greatest notoriety when he purchased Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball for a record $3 million.

“My first car was a 1985 Pontiac Fiero. I was taught by my parents that you don’t buy anything until you can afford it. That’s why I didn’t get a flashy car. I got the Fiero because I thought it was pretty sassy, at the time. I went in and paid cash for it, and I got the rock-bottom price because I kept going back to negotiate for it.

“I almost got sideswiped coming off the dealer’s lot. At the time I was living in an apartment complex and three days after I brought it home someone tried to break into it by taking a crowbar to the sunroof. I couldn’t believe it. I waited my whole life to have a car and someone tries to steal it.

“I had it for six and a half years, but after I had a child I had to sell it because it was only a two-seater and we needed the extra room. I sold it to someone who worked for me.

“Today I drive a 1997 Dodge Ram with a turbo-diesel engine. I love cars but the practical side keeps me from buying them unless I have a good reason or excuse. I also have a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Aire I bought at Barrett Jackson. I go to all the car shows. If I were single, I would have 20 of them and just line them up. I’d collect them like I collected Hot Wheels as a kid. I also have a funny car that I use for promotional purposes for my business.”

Diana Taurasi
Considered one of the greatest college basketball players of all time, Diana led the University of Connecticut to three straight NCAA championships before becoming the number one pick of the Phoenix Mercury during the 2005 WNBA draft. She was the youngest player on the 2004 gold-medal Olympic team in Athens, WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2005, the league’s leading scorer in 2006 and, along with her Mercury teammates, a WNBA champion in 2007.

“My first car was a brown 1995 Toyota Corolla that was passed down to me from my parents. I had the car for all four years of high school. My friends and I had so much fun in that car! We used to take it to the beach and we played ‘bumper cars’ with it in our school parking lot.

“It was a very reliable car, and never died on me the entire time I owned it. After high school we sold it to a family of immigrants who had just come to the United States.

“Right now I drive a black 2006 Range Rover and have had it for a year and a half. My dream car is a Bentley GT Continental. I think its is very ‘presidential.’ I would also love to buy my dad his dream car, a 1980 Mercedes SES Class.”

Larry Fitzgerald
A star wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, Larry was the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft and made his second Pro Bowl after the 2007 season. He led the NFC with 100 receptions in 2007, gaining 1409 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns. He recently re-signed with the Cardinals to a four-year contract worth a reported $40 million.

“I didn’t even have a driver’s license while attending Academy of the Holy Angels High School in Minneapolis. My friends had cars and they drove me around so I really didn’t need one. I got my license and my first car when I was a freshman in college at Pittsburg.

“My parents bought me a burgundy 1997 Cadillac De Ville. It was used and had just 20,000 miles on it.”

Larry currently drives a 2007 Range Rover sport and a 2007 Mercedes S Class.  He previously owned a big-bodied Range Rover, a BMW 760 iL and a Mercedes SL 500, which he really enjoyed because it was a hardtop-convertible. 

“I do have a few dream cars I would like to own one day — a Rolls Royce Phantom and a Lamborghini Gallardo.”

Shane Doan
Team Captain and right wing of the Phoenix Coyotes, Shane was the seventh pick in the 1995 draft. He was the final first-round pick for the Winnipeg Jets before they moved to Phoenix.

“My first car was a 1981 Toyota Tercel SR5 hatchback that I bought from relatives in 1993 for $1000. It was probably the worst vehicle I have ever owned. It didn’t even come with tires, so my parents had to buy them for me. The car was so small I could lift the entire back end off the ground. It was black and gold, which did a good job of hiding the rust. It had no gas gauge, shocks, struts or muffler.

“I remember having to make the drive from Alberta to British Columbia — about a 12-hour drive — and was told not to drive it over 35 miles per hour or it would fall apart, so I didn’t. I had that car for about a year and a half and then gave it to my sister who drove it for another three years.

“Right now I have a 2008 Ford F150 pickup, a 2007 Ford Shelby Cobra and a minivan, which my wife and I just traded our Suburban in for. My wife grew up with minivans and wanted one, since we have four kids. I agreed to the minivan as long as she promised me that I’d never have to drive it.

“My Shelby is my favorite to drive, although I drive the pickup more, probably because I grew up on a ranch. My dream car would be a vintage, original Shelby Cobra.”

Leslie Nielsen
Star of motion pictures and television, he has appeared in more than 100 movies and countless TV programs in a career that stretches back half a century. He is perhaps best known for his “Airplane” and “Naked Gun” series.

Leslie grew up 100 miles from the Arctic Circle in the Yukon Territory. After serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force he worked as a disc jockey in Calgary. He studied Radio Arts in Toronto before moving to New York for playhouse work. It wasn’t until he signed a contract with MGM and moved to Hollywood that he owned his first car, a 1955 Buick Century convertible.

Leslie bought the car new and remembers how the salesman tried to pull a fast one on him at the time of the sale.

“Not only did the salesman try to change the price on me, when I went in to pick it up, he had switched cars. I told him to either give me my money back immediately or give me the car I bought the day before. I eventually prevailed but later found out there was no spare tire in the car.

“A few years later, I was working in England and fell in love with a tutone dark green and seaweed green R Type Bentley. I just had to have that car. I paid $4000 for it and had it shipped back to the U.S. Since then, I’ve owned three Bentleys and have a 1965 Flying Spur that I only occasionally drive.”

Lyn St. James
Lyn completed her first Indy 500 in 1992 at the age of 45, becoming the second woman in history to race in the event. She took eleventh place, and was the first woman selected as the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year. She went on to race in six more races. She was the first woman to go over 200 mph on an oval track and holds 31 international and national speed records.

“My first car was a brand new 1967 Pontiac Catalina 2+2. It had a plum exterior and white interior and was heavy-duty everything. At the time I wanted a GTO but my mother, who was driving a Pontiac Bonneville convertible at the time, thought it was a little too macho for a woman. What my mother didn’t know was that I was racing GTOs with my buddies on Saturdays at the local drag strip.

“I kept the car for two years and now have been secretly searching for a ’67 2+2. The worst car I ever owned was a Saab with a two-cycle engine.

“Throughout the years, Ford has supplied a car for me because they were a sponsor. In 1991, I bought a new Mazda Miata, which I still own and drive. It has just 30,000 miles on it and I will keep it forever.”

Diana Gabaldon
With millions of fans worldwide, Diana is the author and creator of The New York Times bestselling Outlander series. A Breath of Snow and Ashes, the most recent in the Outlander series, opened at number one on the bestseller lists of four countries, winning both a Quill Award and Corine International Literary Prize for fiction. She also writes historical mysteries featuring Lord John Grey.

“My father bought my first car for me to take to college in California — a new, 1971 lime green Ford Pinto with a textured vinyl roof. I kept it for seven years.

“I remember driving the Pinto — with a U-Haul trailer filled with our worldly possessions — from Flagstaff to Philadelphia and back.  We were desperately poor and couldn’t afford much gas so we drove it very little while living in Philadelphia. 

“Pintos had a reputation for catching fire if they were hit in a rear-end collision. After returning to Arizona, we bought a new car and my husband gave the Pinto to his secretary. A couple of years later, she was driving it in Phoenix and was involved in a rear-end collision. As reputed, the car blew up.

“The worst car I ever owned was either a 1974 or ’75 Ford Escort station wagon. We bought it used and I had two toddlers at the time. The engine threw a rod and left us stranded in the middle of the street.

“I currently drive an Audi A6 Quattro and love it. It’s nice, safe and I drive it back and forth to Flagstaff quite frequently.”

Congressman Harry Mitchell
Congressman Harry Mitchell, a native of Tempe, currently serves the fifth congressional district of Arizona.

“My grandfather bought a new 1939 Ford. He was a state legislator from Tempe. Tempe was an agriculture community back then and my father never bought a new car. He always kept two of everything he did buy — one he drove and one he kept for parts. Cars were pretty simple and easy to work on back then.

“My grandfather eventually gave me that ’39 Ford. It was painted white and I didn’t like the color so I painted it metallic maroon, a color used on the 1956 Oldsmobiles at the time. Ford made two models of the ’39 Ford, a Tudor sedan and a Deluxe four door sedan. 1939 was the first year for hydraulic brakes, it had two tail lamps, a column manual shifter and no radio. I remember hanging a transistor radio from the rearview mirror.

“In the late 1950s, there was a drive in at the corner of Missouri and 7th Street in Phoenix called the Cinema Park Plaza, and I remember taking my wife on dates there in that car.

“The last time I drove the car I was a freshman at ASU, so it would have been in either 1958 or 1959. I actually still have the car and keep it at a friend’s house in Tempe. Because it has been sitting all these years it needs quite a bit of work.

“I now drive a 2001 Ford Taurus and my wife has a used Dodge Grand Caravan. My son drives an ’81 Dodge pickup that I bought new and later gave to him.

“My dream is to one day restore the ’39 Ford and drive it in a parade.”

Jennie Finch
Jennie is widely regarded as the most famous softball player of all time. She was a three-time All American while pitching for the University of Arizona. During the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics, Jennie’s 2-0 record helped lead the U. S. team to gold. She most recently was seen as a contestant on Donald Trump’s NBC reality show, “The Celebrity Apprentice.”

“I had a sky blue, 1962 Chevy Impala that my Dad completely restored by himself. He gave it to me when I turned 16. I didn’t realize how special or how “cool” it actually was until all my friends and everyone in high school made a big deal out of it. I even tied for “coolest car” at my high school.

“I had the car for about a year until it was totaled when I was hit by a red-light runner. I was so scared to tell my Dad the car was totaled but all he cared about was that I wasn’t hurt.

“We replaced the ’62 with a bright red 1999 Geo Tracker. I was so excited during the test drive because it was so much easier to park and drive than my Impala. I also thought it was cool that you could just unzip the windows and it became a convertible. My parents warned me that I wouldn’t like it, but I didn’t listen. I ended up hating that vehicle but did drive it for three years.

“Right now I’m driving a 2007 Volkswagen Touareg SUV. I’ve had it for less than a year.

“My dream car is definitely the ’62 Impala. Right now my Dad is restoring a 1960 Chevy Impala convertible that will be painted white and has a black canvas top and black and white checkered interior. My brothers and I are all fighting over who’s going to get it after he’s finished restoring it.”