LIKE their first love, everyone remembers their first motor. And whenever I talk about mine, I get all misty-eyed. It was a Toyota Corolla - the three-door Liftback model. I told all my mates and quite a few strangers in petrol stations that it was modelled on a 60s Ford Mustang.
Of course, no one ever believed me, but I still say it's true - if you look at the front end, with your eyes half-shut, in the dark, with your hand in front of your face Anyway, after weeks of dedicated and loyal service, I'm sad to say that I smeared it down the side of a Volvo estate and wrote it off.
Now I'm all smug as I've got a genuine 60s Mustang, but it didn't exactly turn out badly for the Corolla either. It became the most successful passenger car of all time. Martin Brundle, ex-F1 racer turned commentator, also had an early Corolla. He says: "My family owned a Toyota dealership and at the back of the garage we had this Corolla coupe SE which had been in an accident - it had no front end. My dad let me have it as long as I fixed it myself.
I was 16 so this was about I only resprayed the front so it was two-tone. I put Wolfrace wheels on it and lined the inside with black fur. It did mph, which is what I did in it. It had very smart alloys. I loved it. But I crashed it many times. But I wrote it off - and then I wrote off a second van as well. Dad went mad. If you are looking for your first car there's plenty of decent options from a few hundred pounds. But the big expense can be insurance, which can cost far more than the car itself.
It may be wise for a youngster to be a named driver on a parent's policy. IT looks cute, or at least different, is smart inside and loads of fun to drive. Ford's Ka is the perfect first car. Its 1. YOU might not look as cute as Nicole remember the ads?
