My first car was a '31 Model A Ford 5-window coupe, which bought in
college for $40, followed by a '52 Mercury convertible like James Dean
drove in Rebel Without A Cause (tho his was a hardtop).  Rebel came out
when I was a senior in high school in the fabulous '50s, the same year
that Rock Around The Clock stood pop music on its ear and where it
remains.  Later beasts included a '54 Morris Minor (bomb), '52 Plymouth
2-door (alltime great car), '60 Plymouth Valiant slant-6 (great Detroit
iron, some still around), a '54 Triumph TR3 Roadster -- long-gone dream
car -- an '80 Honda CM400 Custom (bike) and, ta-ta! -- a '68 VW bus,
which hauled 4 kids about 300,000 miles through the California '70s and
ran through about a half-dozen (blown) engines due to a lead-footed,
silly owner.  After an interval involving Japanese cars (retaining a
great small Toyota), drifted back to VW with an '82 Vanagon which may be
the best car I ever owned, having been babied by a PO and treated to a
rebuild about 15,000 miles ago by the seller so that it's about like
new.  I hafta thank the list, especially Joel Walker, for steering me
toward this model, the last of the great air-cooled vans.  And, I say,
air-cooled IS cool.  I just turned 60 (didn't hurt at all), spent 34
years as a wire service (UPI) and newspaper (Sacramento Bee) reporter
and feature writer, am semi-retired now and, as you can see, a
minimalist when it comes to paragraphing.  Cheers and thanks to all who
enrich this list. Art McGinn