MY First Car

But the A30 was my Dad's & wisely perhaps, I didn't get to drive it. However before we left Perth I learnt to drive on a 1948 Buick that was supplied to my salesman cousin in his job.
He taught me about the pedals & gearchanges - how to double declutch & to release the brake at the very last moment when stopping, so that the car doesn't jerk to a stop. Most people haven't mastered those skills, I observe, by the way. I also was taught to use the manual choke to move the car a bit before managing to balance the clutch with the throttle. I expect the Buick looked something like this old Chevrolet. It was a very simple & easy car to drive, with just 2 or perhaps 3 forward gears, mounted, as they say, "on the tree".

Later on, when I could afford it, I was able to purchase my own car, a Ford Consul. Used, of course but still in reasonable shape. I think it was a 1956, with 2 tone paint. The Consul was the cheaper of the mid-sized Fords, the better & more well-equipped model being the Zephyr, but fundamentally they were the same car. But the Consul had less chrome, no heater nor, gulp, the ultimate luxury for the day, windscreen washers to enable one to clear the screen without having to stop, get out, find the rag, rub away, pour a little water from the bottle you carried onto the viewing area, rubbing again before hopping back in - only to usually find that streaks had been left, so it was either out again to finish the job, or restart the engine, because, of course, the wipers were not electric but needed the engine running to provide the vacuum. One other drawback of that system was that just when you needed the wipers most, say at speed in heavy rain, the wipers wove back & forth very slowly, depending on throttle position. But once you backed off the gas, they beat away like crazy, making a puff with every stroke! I think my Consul looked just like this, except being green where red is shown here.

By the way, after so many decades of cars mostly having just one colour, I think I perceive a trend back towards 2 tone cars, but time will tell.
The Consul was quite a roomy car, especially after the cramped Austin. But even though Melbourne doesn't ever have below freezing temperatures, it can get pretty close, & the lack of heat meant that I'd often have to drive with a blanket around my knees!