[Sporin]

I'm not a safety nut, I let my kid drive around the Miata sometimes, but for a daily, I'd want something a bit newer, with ABS, and airbags, and reasonable crashworthiness that I can count on to be reliable at least. My son did most of his early driving in a 2010 Prius, which I think was a perfect first car. Slow, but not dangerously so, efficient, super reliable, old, and cheap enough not to fret about.

If you want her to get to drive a fun old car sometimes, then get a fun old car you will both like and share it with her when it makes sense. But this thing seems like a penalty box for penalty box's sake.

If you want an old V8 wagon, then get yourself an old V8 wagon.

Also, remember that you will have to deal with every little thing that goes wrong with this. When it won't start at school, flat tires, when it dies by the side of the road, all of it. While I grew up with dodgy old cars that weren't guaranteed to start every time I went out to them, it was out of necessity. If you can afford something a little newer and better for your daughter, you should do so.

 

[Son]

I always thought it was weird that these cars had those really modern looking, aerodynamic mirrors and otherwise the cars still looked like they were 1970s models.

 

[naiku]

Then he can get a job and by the time he can buy his own passion project, he should have enough experience/brain development that it isn't nearly as much of a potential disaster. Mixing the two together can too easily lead to distractions, and there's no need to rush that stuff.

Right, when I told him not happening, he said that he will just get one later. Fine, after he's been driving a while if he wants to buy himself one, have at it, for a first car, nope.

A 5.0 Foxbody isn't fast by today's standards, but it has a lot of potential (a lot more than an economy hatchback). The kid could easily get it into the 13s if he's savvy about his pocket money and learning to wrench. Plus, it enables things like burnouts and donuts that aren't really on the table for a modern economy car.

As to whether the kid will hoon it... that depends somewhat on the kid. My biggest reservation would be lack of airbags and other safety equipment if they do end up binning it (due to either bad choices or inexperience). There's has to be some cars from the late 90s or early 00s that can provide a similar experience with much better safety.

Exactly, it's not so much that it is fast or not, he could get a Camry that is faster than the Mustang, the point is that is has no real safety equipment. We have about 8 miles of twisty roads to get from the house into town, I've seen a handful of cars off the road, upside down and more than 1 fatality in the last few years. Putting him in something that has no safety other than his brain and right foot, that I know he will want to mod at least to some degree, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

Regardless of what he ends up with, I'll teach him as much as I can about wrenching on it.

 

[ADDvanced]

Exactly, it's not so much that it is fast or not, he could get a Camry that is faster than the Mustang, the point is that is has no real safety equipment. We have about 8 miles of twisty roads to get from the house into town, I've seen a handful of cars off the road, upside down and more than 1 fatality in the last few years. Putting him in something that has no safety other than his brain and right foot, that I know he will want to mod at least to some degree, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

Regardless of what he ends up with, I'll teach him as much as I can about wrenching on it.

You sound like the type of parent who takes their kids trick or treating when it's still daytime.

 

[Tommietank]

I dont have kids but IMO, the best first car for a teen is a Nissan Leaf.

• Short range so we know they cant go far and will need to come home
• Slow
• Ugly
• Crazy Reliable
• Cheap
• Safe

 

[chucchinchilla]

^I'm with you on the bullet points but I want my kid to love cars, not hate them. For just a couple grand more I'd rather have my kid in an e-Golf or an i3.

 

[dr_spock]

As a guy that drove the family wagon on dates in HS, I would never, ever, never buy my daughter a car with folding seats in the back.

My daughter preferred to drive the tiny New Beetle 5-speed than the roomier Honda sedan. Would have to be contortionists to use the back of the mk4 Beetle. The rear seat can fold down but there is no "trunk" space either.

 

[naiku]

You sound like the type of parent who takes their kids trick or treating when it's still daytime.

Because not wanting my teenage son to be driving a car with zero modern safety features must mean I keep him in a bubble right? **** me, the **** that gets posted here.

 

[GLI Dan]

You sound like the type of parent who takes their kids trick or treating when it's still daytime.

And you sound like a moron.

 

[r_fostoria]

Because not wanting my teenage son to be driving a car with zero modern safety features must mean I keep him in a bubble right? ** me, the ** that gets posted here.

Don't worry, it's just ADDvanced. He's a notorious c***.

 

[ADDvanced]

I'm definitely a moron. lol

How did any of us 90s kids survive driving 80s deathtraps without airbags?! The coddling I see for kids today is insane. In HS, every single one of my friends had a crapbox that was extremely unsafe by today's standards, all of us survived. The only kid that didn't had a motorcycle... and even then he was just sitting at a traffic light and some Karen plowed into him with an SUV. Rip Andy.

 

[2 doors]

^I'm with you on the bullet points but I want my kid to love cars, not hate them. For just a couple grand more I'd rather have my kid in an e-Golf or an i3.

As long as the battery doesn't **** the bed in the next 2 years, my oldest will be driving our e-Golf when she turns 16. If it does, I'll be looking for a 2019 e-Golf.

 

[unhappymeal]

I'm definitely a moron. lol

How did any of us 90s kids survive driving 80s deathtraps without airbags?! The coddling I see for kids today is insane. In HS, every single one of my friends had a crapbox that was extremely unsafe by today's standards, all of us survived. The only kid that didn't had a motorcycle... and even then he was just sitting at a traffic light and some Karen plowed into him with an SUV. Rip Andy.

Statistically, fewer of you survived then teenagers starting out driving today (U.S. Department of Transportation, Fatality Analysis Reporting System [FARS], 2019). It might have something to do with cars being safer, who knows?

 

[Senior Member]

I'm definitely a moron. lol

How did any of us 90s kids survive driving 80s deathtraps without airbags?!

How? hairspray, lots of it.

 

[Air and water do mix]

Statistically, fewer of you survived then teenagers starting out driving today (U.S. Department of Transportation, Fatality Analysis Reporting System [FARS], 2019). It might have something to do with cars being safer, who knows?

Yep, there's no doubt about it. Crashes are far, far more survivable today than 30+ years ago. That doesn't mean a first car has to be a Camry, as even an NC Miata would be many times safer than a car such as this in most crash scenarios.

That said, you never know what kind of accident you may have. Sometimes a heavier old car would be better than a lighter newer car, but that's very much the exception to the rule. Crashworthiness is mostly about the structure not collapsing around you rather than weight. Now, if you have a head-on with a heavier car and you wind-up going backwards you're going to suffer more G-forces than the heavier car that slides forward after impact. That's more energy for the airbag to absorb in the same amount of time, but on the other hand if you're in a heavier car and hit a bridge support then your car's structure has to absorb more energy than the lighter car. I always like to ask people "What kind of accident to you plan on having?"

 

[Air and water do mix]

How? hairspray, lots of it.

Damn. If you came to a sudden stop and she wasn't wearing a belt the crunching sound from that hair/hairspray hitting the dashboard would be deafening.

 

[unhappymeal]

Yep, there's no doubt about it. Crashes are far, far more survivable today than 30+ years ago. That doesn't mean a first car has to be a Camry, as even an NC Miata would be many times safer than a car such as this in most crash scenarios.

That said, you never know what kind of accident you may have. Sometimes a heavier old car would be better than a lighter newer car, but that's very much the exception to the rule. Crashworthiness is mostly about the structure not collapsing around you rather than weight. Now, if you have a head-on with a heavier car and you wind-up going backwards you're going to suffer more G-forces than the heavier car that slides forward after impact. That's more energy for the airbag to absorb in the same amount of time, but on the other hand if you're in a heavier car and hit a bridge support then your car's structure has to absorb more energy than the lighter car. I always like to ask people "What kind of accident to you plan on having?"

The most likely way to die, by a large margin, is a side impact ("angle") collision in a "passenger" (read: non-large truck) vehicle. That old wagon he wants to get for his daughter is going to be many, many times worse at both avoiding and absorbing a side impact than a 10 - 15 year old Camry.

 

[redzone98]

10Mpg, 160 foot 50-0 stops, 0-60 in 14 seconds. Rear wheel drive with an open Diff. YEA sounds like a great car for a new driver!

 

[Senior Member]

License plate frame for that wagon

 

[Ace_VR6]

The way my 2 brothers and I were brought up was if you wanted a car you bought the car you put the insurance on it yada yadda. Spending your hard earned money on a car will give you a much greater respect for the unit and you treat it with a whole different mindset than just having someone give you a car.

ON THE OTHER HAND.
You can be the safest driver in the world, but if suzy rottencrotch blows a stop sign in her highlander that mom and dad bought and tbones your beautiful 89 Mustang, it is going to hurt.

It is also the biggest reason I would never own a motorcycle. I can ride a dirtbike plenty fine in the woods for hours at a time no issue but all it takes it one person updating the ol twitter or dropping a milkshake and it will be game over.

Solution? Don't have kids and live in a bunker underground!