1958 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia

Name: Clayton Wright, 49, Spokane.

Purchased: Before I was old enough to drive it.

Why I love it: It taught me bodywork and perseverance. It came from Wisconsin, where they salt the roads, and after spending all summer repairing holes as big as my head and thinking I was ready to paint, the slanting rays of the rising sun one morning revealed 102 low spots that had escaped my notice! Back to work! This little beauty sported 36 adrenaline-pumping horsepower. My most vivid memory is following for miles a truck laden with reeking pea silage up a slight incline on a roaring hot day near Yakima, praying for a downhill grade so I could pass.

My next car will be: Something a little newer (and more powerful) along the same lines.