What was your first car and why did you buy it? Ford Fiesta 1.1 3 Doors in White called Dennis. Bought it to be independent.
What did you pay for it? £110 or £100 I think I used my charm to get £10 off
How did it change your life? It was fantastic. I could sing (to myself in the car) as loud as I wanted (to anything), especially French and Arabic music (brilliant) and even better I could go anywhere, whenever I wanted, at any time.
What was the longest trip you ever took in the car? Edinburgh to Glasgow (since my fuel tank could only hold £5 of petrol at a time (with most of it coming out when it was topped up) it made any journey over 40 minutes rather complex
What was your best memory or most memorable moment in the car? There were a few.. the windows steaming up at a petrol station and driving into cones (my brother who was with me was mortified! I had also forgotton my glasses.. but to this day I blame the steam..) Nearly crashing whilst putting a new tape in and remembering the song “every day do one thing that scares you” and finding this rather amusing (not impressed with that 18 years later!!)
What was your worst memory associated with the car? When Denis failed his MOT (NCT) for having a corroded fuel tank (very very sad day..)
How long did you keep your first car? Most of my final year at uni
Jennifer Tonin
29th May, 2012