Famous people’s first-car stories range from a college Volkswagen bought with savings to a family car used for learning to drive. These ten retrospective accounts show how cars were acquired and remembered, but “first” can mean a personal purchase, a shared or family vehicle, or a first new car—not one standardized milestone.
The details below are attributed recollections, not a definitive ranking or a representative survey. Reported prices are reproduced as stated by the sources, without adjusting or comparing them for inflation.
Ten famous people and their first-car stories
1. Tom Selleck: red Volkswagen Beetle
The Los Angeles Times reported that Selleck’s first transportation was a red Volkswagen Beetle, bought for $1,900 in 1964 while he was an undergraduate at USC. He recalled that it got him through college; after the hood was damaged, its replacement never quite matched the original paint.
2. Cal Worthington: family 1924 Dodge touring car
Worthington recalled to the Los Angeles Times that his father bought a 1924 Dodge touring car for $200 and drove the family around Oklahoma. After it rolled over, the family sawed the body in half and turned it into a pickup. Worthington learned to drive in that family vehicle; the account does not describe a car he personally bought.
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3. Pat Morita: burgundy 1954 Chevrolet
Morita told the Los Angeles Times he bought a burgundy 1954 Chevrolet from his uncle for $300, paying in installments. He remembered the car as giving him a first sense of independence and a lesson in consumer economics.
4. Betty White: new 1949 Ford two-door
White recalled to the Los Angeles Times that she borrowed $1,200 from her father to buy a new, Palladium-gray 1949 Ford two-door. She paid him back from her steady work.
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5. Danielle Steel: white Ford Cortina
Steel told the Los Angeles Times that she bought a white Ford Cortina in 1973 for $425, with its ability to run being a chief virtue. She recalled that it later collapsed, after which she bought a five-year-old Austin Morris.
6. Jay Leno: 1934 Ford pickup
Maxim reports that Leno bought a 1934 Ford pickup at age 14 for $350, saving the money through jobs. He spent two years preparing it before he could drive it after getting his license. This is the first-car story as presented in Maxim’s feature.
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7. Guy Fieri: 1976 Datsun 280Z
Fieri told Maxim that he saved up to buy a friend’s brown metallic, five-speed 1976 Datsun 280Z. He recalled falling asleep at the wheel and crashing into a telephone pole, leaving him seriously injured.
8. Steve McQueen: different meanings of “first”
Maxim describes the MG TC, bought in 1952, as the automobile McQueen loved first; the same account says his first motorized possession was an Indian motorcycle with a sidecar. Separately, Porsche Newsroom calls a black Porsche 356 A Speedster, bought by the end of the 1950s, his first new car. These are different categories, so there is no single unqualified answer here.
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9. Keanu Reeves: British racing green Volvo 122
Porsche Newsroom, drawing on a Christophorus profile, says Reeves bought a British racing green Volvo 122 at 17. The account says it carried him from Toronto to Los Angeles in 1985.
10. Andy Richter: shared 1974 Buick Century coupe
In a first-person recollection featured by GQ, Richter described sharing a used 1974 Buick Century coupe with his older brother. He remembered its oversized bench seat and its eventual mechanical decline.
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What these first-car stories reveal
These examples include personal purchases, a family car used for learning, a shared car, and a reported first new car. Several accounts describe practical circumstances—saving from jobs, paying a relative in installments, or borrowing from family—rather than a luxury-car ranking. Because the accounts are retrospective and use different definitions of “first,” they should be read as individual stories, not as a statistical picture of famous people’s cars.
FAQ
What did famous people drive before they were famous?
These accounts include Tom Selleck’s college Volkswagen Beetle, Jay Leno’s teenage Ford pickup project, and Betty White’s new Ford bought with a loan from her father. The recollections come from the Los Angeles Times and Maxim; they are examples, not an exhaustive list.
Was each vehicle actually the person’s first car?
Not always in the same sense. The accounts distinguish a personal purchase, a family vehicle associated with learning to drive, a shared car, a first automobile loved, and a first new car. McQueen’s accounts make those distinctions especially clear.
Which first-car story involved the most work to get on the road?
In Maxim’s account, Leno saved for his 1934 Ford pickup through jobs and spent two years preparing it before he could drive it after getting his license.
Are the prices comparable today?
The cited figures are historical amounts as reported in the sources. They have not been adjusted for inflation, so they should not be treated as directly comparable with one another or with current car prices.
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