Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Remember when driving was our biggest thrill? We couldn’t wait to get our drivers licenses.

We would pile out friends into the car and just cruise all day and night. If you had wheels you were a popular person.

When I got my license at The Armory on Highland Ave. in 1971 gas cost about 40 cents a gallon. I was so happy when the that scary Registry cop gave me my temporary license (pink slip) I ran home and begged my dad to let me use his car. I had flunked two previous road tests so I didn’t tell anyone about the third one in case I failed.

Some of my friends took Drivers Ed at the high school and some went to Andersen or Pleasant Auto, where I learned.

Some of my Somerville friends shared their memories of their first cars:

“1947 Ford I was 16. I totaled it 1/2 hour after buying it. I went through a stop sign. I was 16 years old.”

“I had a ’61 bug I bought for $25 in ’68.”

“1968 2 door Teal Blue Plymouth Satellite. Sharp! I chased two guys away at 1 a.m. on Heath St. breaking in to it. I was alone and said, “Hey, what the hell are you doing? They took off. #somervillegirl.”

“Mine was a 1969 Olds Delta 88. I’d like to say it was white, but the front fenders and hood where green and the trunk was red. The rest was in fact white, well sort of…”

“Mine was a 1970 green Buick Estate Wagon. You probably got into a few accidents with my father driving home after gigs with it.” (I was in a band with his dad)

“1963 Chevy Biscayne. 3 speed on the column.”

“65 Corvair… should have kept it!”

“1968 Buick Skylark convertible.”

“I had a 65 Chevy Bel Air. Paid $50 and had it for 2 1/2 years. Thanks Gramma and Grampa! ”

“This is an actual picture of my first car. A ’62 beetle I bought in ’76 for $50. This is when I lived in Maine.”

“1966 Ford Fairlane, bought it for $100. Five payments $20.”

“1983 Silver Dodge Daytona, with sun roof. Thought I was a big shot, got my first speeding ticket on Lake St., Arlington, with the radio blaring.”

“64 valiant slant six, pushbutton trani.” (the 225 slant six was one of the easiest motors to work on)

Although I was thrilled to get my dad’s ’67 Dodge Dart free, the best car deal I ever got was my 1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham complete with foot rests in the back seat. After admiring this car, which was parked up my street for three years, the owner sold it to me for a whopping $30. After putting a Nissenbaums purchased recycled radiator in it she lasted almost three years. Best memory was when my pal Dave chauffeured six of my festively costumed crazy friends around the city on my 30th birthday.

The 1959, a Ford Fairlane my pal Mike had saved our lives. In 1972 we were on McGrath Highway going towards Lechmere. A car sped through the red light at Cross Street and broadsided us. We all woke up tossed out of the car and all over the street. There was a humongous dent where the guy smashed into us which totaled it. That 1959 tank of a car saved our lives.

Today we pay more for one insurance payment than a lot of our first cars cost. But if we had to pay for all our car memories we’d be broke.

I still have a box of 8-track tapes in the cellar just in case I come across another 1979 Mercury Cougar. That car was cherry!