I bought my first car when I was 20 years old. It cost me $300 and I needed to repair everything. I spent the next year rummaging through wrecker's yards looking for scraps and bits and pieces of anything because I couldn't afford to buy anything new. I was lucky enough to find the occasional tool. I bought two second-hand store leather beanbag covers and used those to repair the seats. I fixed the rusty spots and used fiberglass to repair the body. I even made my own windshield wiper fluid to save a few dollars.

I taught myself how to maintain that car. I made many mistakes and learned from them all.

Sadly, the car was 20 years old when I bought it. Although it ran well and was super clean and shiny inside and out, the engine didn't last more than six years.

But I could diagnose almost any problem with that car simply by listening to the engine and I could fix almost any problem with that car myself.

It wasn't very safe and it's fuel economy was horrific, but it's design was so simple. There was almost nothing under the hood and no computer chips.

One of my happiest memories from my youth was taking that car for a test drive after tuning the engine, idling at the traffic lights and listening to an almost totally silent, perfectly tuned engine and being able to hear the footfall of crossing pedestrians.

I wish we could return to simpler times.