My first car

My first car was actually my father's. He had bought the car with me in tow in 1993 right after I graduated from college as we needed to have a vehicle we could use during weekends when he didn't have his company car. Tatay didn't want to use the company car for personal trips as he believed it was inappropriate. I like to think that I acquired my father's thinking in so far as what is appropriate and not in cases where official or office matters are concerned. I have a vehicle assigned to me at the office but I only use it for when I have official or office-related meetings and seminars. Only in the extreme cases have I asked to be driven to or from home. These exceptions include when the road to our house is flooded and I can't use my car. Our office vehicles all have good ground clearance and could easily wade through flood waters (except the Ondoy and Habagat types, of course).

I have many fond memories with this car. It was the car by which I learned how to change a flat tire. It is the same car that ran out of gas one time the gauge wasn't functioning and my father had to come to my rescue as I didn't know what to do or troubleshoot the engine. It was the car I drove when I was dating and later when I was married. It had been borrowed by friends and my brother-in-law on days when their cars were "coding." These stories deserve their own posts.

The car was totally submerged by the floods brought about by Ondoy (Typhoon Ketsana) and was all covered with mud including the interiors. I had it towed from my parents' garage and practically gave it away to a good friend who knew something about cars and particularly this one, which he drove and helped troubleshoot before.

The Toyota Corona 1982 Wedge had a 4R engine but this was replaced by the previous owner with the T2 engine shown in the photo. This is a more powerful engine that allowed my Corona faster speeds along the highway. You can feel and hear the difference when your behind the wheel.

The plate ended with a 2 and so coding was Mondays. That's Roy, our office driver, who acquired the car after Ondoy. It took him 3 years to finally have the car running well and the confidence to take it to trips with his grandchildren. I am happy that the car is of service again after its resurrection from the muck of Ketsana.

It looks almost the same as when we got the vehicle back in 1994, after my graduation from college and as I was taking my graduate studies in UP. Roy's fixed the electrical and the headlights are back on. These "eyes" are quite bright for night driving and having all four on is enough to make those newer cars (or those who changed their lights so that they could be brighter, sometimes more than what is legal) switch to low beam when encountered in undivided highways.

The paint job is still okay and from the looks of it in the photo, magara pa and macho. The only thing that needs to be fixed is the air-conditioning. The car used to have a strong air-con that had two modes, manual and automatic. Manual was appropriate for city driving and particularly in heavy traffic where the compressor compensates for idling. Automatic was good for highway driving where the engine is in gear and the compressor is able to deliver the comfort required of the air-con. The only other thing left for fixing would be the interiors. But that should be easy.

For me, the car had tremendous sentimental value to it. It was the car I drove to one date when at the eve of my departure for my studies in Japan in 1996, we watched the Sting concert at what was then known as the ULTRA. Years later, it was the car the Clairvoyant and I used on our first formal dinner out after I had returned from my studies in Japan. I have lots of fond memories with this car and I hope that its new owners would have more as well.

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