Remember your first car? Mine was a 1980 Chevy Nova, but it doesn’t stand out for me as much as the Gremlin, like the one in this picture, purchased by my brother Steve when he was 16 and I was 15. My Nova had been our family car before I got it. But Steve brought his Gremlin into the family himself, so it was all his.

As a 10th grader, I occasionally got to ride with Steve to school in the Gremlin. It had a unique smell, like the inside of a tire shop. More importantly, it had a cassette player built in. No more having to listen to whatever the deejay played.

The Gremlin playlist included Elvis Costello, the Ramones, Devo, and more. Devo’s Jocko Homo will forever be associated by me to that car.

Last Saturday, while driving in our Seattle neighborhood, I spotted this Gremlin. I made Melinda circle the block so I could get a picture to send to Steve.