Chevrolet SSR

[Belair62]

Tough crowd !! But COPO is the only one who knows how level headed his girl is. My daughters first was one of those crappy Toyota Novas or whatever they were. It took its share of rubs and "gee I don't know how that happened" parking lot scrapes but she did pretty good. My only unbreakable rule was that SHE drive and never get in anyone elses car. I trusted her. Not other peoples kids.My strongest advice was to always look each way at intersections and dont think those other cars are going to stop just because that light is red. She is an ER nurse now . She is pretty level headed. It didnt hurt to scare the crap out of her every now and then with a horror story or two either ! Maybe a used Cobalt or a few year old mint Cavalier.

[COPO]

Guys, I appreciate everyone's opinion. As background, I had a paper route, cut grass, and flipped burgers in order to buy a '70 Z-28 when I was 16. A car that I still own and still has its born with drivetrain.

Through hard work, good fortune, and some good decisions along the way, I am in a position to pretty much buy what I want within reason. When my daughter turned 16, we purchased her a year old Lexus SUV. It has 17 airbags and is big and heavy. She was and still is a straight "A" student, but very busy with two full time sports. She is now going away to college in two months with a full scholarship. She has taken good care of her car, and fortunately, no tickets or accidents. She is extremely responsible and in the little spare time available, manages to do some volunteer work.

My son, is also a strong student, and very responsible for a 16 year old boy. His school, about 5 miles away, has no transportation and with my daughter going to college, he will no longer have big sis to take him. He is a top Jr. tennis player, with a busy practice and tournament schedule, which really precludes a part time job. He too will probably get a full scholarship to college.

I thought the SSR would be reliable, fun, have modern airbags, and being a heavy vehicle would hold up well if an accident occurred. It is also a two seater which would preclude cruising with a bunch of buddies in the car. Now, it certainly has some power, but with my car interests, he has grown up with fast cars. Some of our other cars include a BMW M3 Conv. and a 911 Carrera 4 conv., which are no slouches, but probably not good cars for a 16 year old either.

My other thought was a year or two old full size truck with airbags, and while not as cool as the SSR, wouldn't be too bad with some new chrome rims. If he proves to be responsible, like I believe he will, then perhaps an upgrade would be in order at some point and I'll keep the pick-up for myself.

Thanks, again.

[x Baldwin Motion]

Charlie, I'd hold out for the 67BM Chevelle if it were in my dads garage.

[427king]

Belairs first car was a camel[Nomad]

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

You guys suck! I was like COPO, et al, and worked my tail off for my first ride - but heck, if I could hand a set of keys to an SSR to my responsible son - I wouldn't hesitate 'cause I know he came from a good gene pool. Just because I had to, doesn't always mean my son has to.

[Salvatore]

COPO, I like the full size truck for now. No matter how smart or how good an athlete he is, these kids are still very young and impressionable. Its easy to get in trouble these days. I would rather be safe than sorry. Plus they don't really need the best of anything for their first unless of course it is an education or medical attention. In the long run kids always appreciate things more down the road when they have to do some things on their own, make their own decisions and work their way up. Sam

[427king]

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In the long run kids always appreciate things more down the road when they have to do some things on their own, make their own decisions and work their way up.


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Get your kid the most expensive car you can afford. Once he gets married his wife wont be impressed with his car,let him impress the girls while hes young.Plus he will meet girls with wealthier parents proibably,and you wont get stuck with paying for the entire wedding.Look at it as an investment for the future.

[ORIGLS6]

[ QUOTE ]
You guys suck! I was like COPO, et al, and worked my tail off for my first ride - but heck, if I could hand a set of keys to an SSR to my responsible son - I wouldn't hesitate 'cause I know he came from a good gene pool. Just because I had to, doesn't always mean my son has to.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm gonna ride the fence on this one. First; I'd like to agree that he should pay for his own first ride, however, I've met Charlie's son and he seems to be a lot like my son.
I didn't follow my own advice here. When my son was 15 (not quite, actually) I bought him an '83 Z-28. Hi miles, and cheap, but still.........
My hopes were that he would work on the car and be a responsible driver when he turned 16. Where we live he got quite a bit of time behind the wheel long before his 16th birthday. Yeah, it's not legal but it paid off. The only minor problems he had with the car were a couple of scrapes on the rear quarter and the front facia because he was still learning just how much space one of those things takes up!

Yes, maybe we were lucky, but I felt I knew my son well enough to be able to trust him with a car that was fully capable of killing him and whoever might have been with him. He grew up around hi-perf vehicles. Heck, I brought him home from the hospital in a 427 Corvette. The kid still knows what it feels like to be pinned to the backrest when you stab the throttle. And BTW, I did the same for my daughter. They're both still around and have turned out to be safe responsible drivers.

Charlie, you know the boy better than we do. Do what you think is right for him and for you, and like ALL the rest of us, Pray that you've trained him well and that he'll be safe.

[Xplantdad]

Holly is never going to get car keys...

[ORIGLS6]

[ QUOTE ]
Holly is never going to get car keys...

[/ QUOTE ]

That word almost ALWAYS comes back to haunt.