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My First Car: Jennifer Shaw Wolf

By Jennifer Shaw Wolf

Twice this week I put my life in the hands of my fifteen year old son as he learned to drive a stick shift. He’s learning so he will be prepared when we turn over borrowship (NOT ownership) of his first vehicle, a Honda Accord that’s the same age as he is. We’ve already started the countdown, T-minus 73 days until he has that all-important piece of plastic that says he’s a legal driver.

Besides teaching my son (or just hanging on) I’ve been working on a car story. Naturally, all of this reminds me of my first car.

1974 Ford Maverick

First let me give you a little backstory. My Dad was a mail carrier. There was a woman on his route who was blind and she owned two cars that had hardly been driven. One was an ugly bright blue Ford Maverick, and one was a red and white 1970 Cheville Malibu. Since she couldn’t drive the cars anymore she sold them to my Dad. He bought the Maverick first, so that car went to my older sister. Then he bought the Malibu. For some reason, that neither my sister or I can explain (at least not in civil terms) I got to drive the Malibu.

1970 Chevelle Malibu

It was a nice car and it was in pretty good condition when I got it. Not so much (as my brothers like to point out) when I was finished with it. But it was still a very cool car.

I have some great memories of the Malibu. Like the time I tried to follow a guy who was driving a truck into the sand dunes and I buried it up to the axles (statue of limitations is over on that one, Mom). Or when the heater got stuck on high for an entire summer. Or when there was a short in the horn, so whenever you touched the brakes it would honk. My boyfriend got pulled over for honking at a cop when he had to stop at a stoplight.

My mom still has the Malibu. My brothers won’t let her sell it even though it doesn’t run anymore. Whenever I go home I have to take a moment to visit my old car and reminisce.

Clunker or souped-up hot rod, I think we all have fond memories of our first car.

_______________

My cousin, Jennifer Shaw Wolf is a mother of four, videographer, avid reader, and obsessed writer. Her book, Breaking Beautiful comes out in April, 2012.



Our thanks to Jennifer for sharing her story with us. For more information on Jennifer, please visit: www.jennifershawwolf.com or follow her blog, Wolf Tales.

The Vettes for Vets All Corvette Show is November 5th

Sacramento, CA — The California Automobile Museum will host a special display of Vettes for Vets 2011 “America’s Sports Car,” the Corvette, leading up to the annual “Vettes for Vets” all-Corvette car show on Saturday, November 5th from 10:00am to 3:00pm.

At the Museum, there will be unique examples of Corvettes from October 29 through December 3. The public is invited to come to the Museum during normal business hours and see the display, which will include six generations of Corvettes and is sure to thrill guests of all ages!

On November 5, the Corvettes on display at the Museum will be joined by many other Corvettes at the all-Corvette car show honoring all veterans. This car show will benefit veteran’s groups as well as the California Automobile Museum. Military (retired and active duty) and spectators are encouraged to come and enjoy the day both at the car show and at the Museum where, with their military identification card, they will receive free admission for the day (and on Veteran’s Day, November 11).

The car show will be located just south of the Museum at 2400 Front Street beginning at 10:00 a.m., where spectators can enjoy (for free admission) the sights and sounds of vendors, food, veteran displays, raffle prizes, and trophies for the cars.

Corvette owners can join hundreds of their sister Corvettes for the all-Corvette car show by either pre-registering ($10) at www.CalAutoMuseum.org or at 9:00 a.m. at the gate on November 5 for $15. Registration for the car show includes two free Museum admission passes. This event is located on a paved and partially covered lot and will be held rain or shine. The “Vettes for Vets” car show is sponsored by Performance Chevrolet and Corvette Care.

The Museum is a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve, exhibit, and teach, the story of the automobile and its influence on our lives. The Museum’s collection of more than 150 cars gives visitors the chance to witness first-hand the evolution of the automobile from its invention to today’s alternative-fueled experiments that will someday be tomorrow’s cars.

The Museum is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., taking the last admission at 5:00 p.m. and stays open until 9:00 p.m. every third Thursday of the month.

J.R. Hildebrand Starts 15th in Las Vegas, Racing for Rookie of the Year

LAS VEGAS, NV (October 16th, 2011) – IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year hopeful JR Hildebrand will start Sunday’s IZOD IndyCar World Championships at Las Vegas in the 15th position, while teammate Buddy Rice will have to start 33rd after his qualification attempt was nullified because Rice went below the white line during his run.

J.R. Hildebrand of Sausalito with teammate Buddy Rice.

Hildebrand posted a combined two-lap average of 220.639 mph and will start just one position behind James Hinchcliffe, who leads the Rookie of the Year battle by just six points going into Sunday’s 200-lap race. Rice made a qualification run in the Fuzzy’s Vodka entry, completing a two-lap average of 220.392, but IndyCar officials penalized Rice for driving below the white line during his run and he was sent the rear of the field.

The Kentucky Indy 300 will be broadcast live on Versus on Sunday, October 2nd at 2:00pm with additional coverageprovided by the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 94 and Sirius channel 212.

JR Hildebrand, No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda:

“This is actually faster than we were expecting to go, but it’s really close up there. Practice has been side by side, ten rows deep so I think it’s really going to be about what kind of racecar you’ve got and what you and your team can do in the pits. We feel pretty good about where we’re at right now. The kind of side-by-side racing her in Las Vegas has been crazy. I think we have got tohave to run mistake free, and it looks like James (Hinchcliffe) and I right now are going to be right next to one another. We’re really stoked to be where we’re at right now, and it really comes down these guys, they give me great equipment every race and we just fight to the end every time. And that is most certainly our plan this weekend.”

Buddy Rice, No. 44 Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka Dallara Honda:

“I think the Fuzzy’s Vodka car is pretty good, I just missed out a little in qualifying. We were a little slower than we were in practice; I thought we would have picked up a little time in qualifying. We’ll be ok, the car is really racy and will be pretty good. We’ll just have to work a little harder come Sunday to get this car up front. I don’t think the car count is going to be that much of a deal. I think it’s going to go back to pack racing like it did 3 or 4 years ago. Some guys have run that way and some haven’t, so we’ll just see how it plays out. It’s just going to be a big chess match, so you have to make sure you have no mistakes.”

www.JRHildebrandRacing.com – www.pantherracing.com – www.NationalGuard.com.

– Panther Racing, Press Release