Everyone remembers his or her first car.
It required an elaborate process to start, leaked oil, went uphill real slowly, didn’t have a working radio and wasn’t all that comfortable.
But it had character.
Jerry and Carol Weiler are the proud owners of not just any first car but a milestone — a 1907 Buick, the first car ever sold in Clallam County.
The Weilers are the car’s sixth owner. They bought it 10 years ago from Port Angeles’ Ruddell Auto Mall, where it had sat for two years.
It had been fixed up 30 years ago for Dr. Harlan McNutt by Herb Hanson, who restored cars for a living.
Hand crank
The car has a 10-gallon gas tank underneath the hood. The engine is located underneath the passenger compartment and is started with a side-mounted hand crank.
It gets a very respectable 20 miles per gallon, but the fastest speed is about 25 mph.
It also features a two-speed transmission that includes a reverse gear.
Illumination is provided by carbide lights on the car’s front bumper and kerosene lanterns located next to the windshield, which came as an accessory.
Carol said the ride is “bumpy and slow,” but the car does have leather seats.