Hot Wheels The Best Teen Relationships Just Might Be On Tires

Only $600 separated the best from the worst in Our Generation’s first-car contest - but what a difference a few bucks make!

Stacy Bruce, a junior at North Central, bought his 1965 Studebaker Commander for $1,000 in April. He tinted the windows, lowered the front, bought new wheels and tires and turned it into the hottest car in the parking lots of Spokane area schools, according to our judges.

“It’s my baby,” he said. “I like to think it’s one of the nicest cars around.”

On the other hand, there’s Cory McLaughlin, a senior at Jenkins High School in Chewelah. He helped his grandpa fix up a 1978 Subaru Brat, then bought it from him for $400. His friends call it the Bondo machine. The passenger-side door doesn’t open and it has what he calls a manual blinker. You know, the kind you have to jiggle up and down to make blink? “It has a lot of personality,” McLaughlin says with a laugh. “It’s unique.”

Enough to earn it the “I can’t believe it still starts” award from our judges.

There was plenty of competition in both categories; you’ll see some of their pictures here and on Page 2. The winners get a tank full of gas, everybody else gets a car air freshener. Notable runners up are Mike DeCaro from Rogers and Julie Ogle from Lakeside.

Mike bought his 1973 Camaro, without engine or tranny, for $200 and rebuilt the whole thing, spending about $2,500. It’s now a hot black-onred machine that he’ll keep forever.

Julie Ogle has no illusions about her $200 rust-brown ‘57 Chev pickup.

“Everyone will definitely think it’s cool,” she said. “My friends and I can’t wait to get it on the road.”