Ernie Boch, Jr. January 29, 2006 My first car was a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle, British racing green. I bought it in 1974, when I was 16, from the used-car department at my family-owned Toyota dealer. It came in on trade, and I really liked it because it was pristine, had low miles (17,000) and was cool because it had a crank sunroof. It was a little unusual because everyone else in my high school had big domestic cars, like GTOs, Skylarks, and other stuff like that. I had this little bug that was kind of nerdy while other guys were working on '55 Chevys. It drove real well. It didn't give me a stitch of trouble. It was great on gas, which didn't matter that much at 34 or 35 cents a gallon. I drove it to Providence, New York City, Lake Winnipesaukee. It was a cool car to take girls out in. I had it for only one year. It was 4 in the afternoon in the summer. I was with some friends, and we pulled into McDonald's. We ate and I remember when I was walking out of McDonald's, a truck backed up right at my car. I yelled, ''Stooooop!" But he didn't hear me and ran the truck right over my car. It was totaled. He said he was sorry, but back then, there wasn't collision insurance. That was it. My next car was nothing like it. It was a 1970 Corolla wagon. It was a fine car, but just didn't have the same vibe. People are always coming in buying cars for their sons and daughters and everyone says, ''I want a safe car." I tell them they should just be clear that I don't know anyone who doesn't smash their first car -- or have it destroyed, one way or the other. Ernie Boch Jr. is president of Boch Automotive. © Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.