Embarrassing Car Stories

We've all done it. Some of us even got away with it. But more often than not, we got busted.

I'm talking embarrassing car stories, and do I know some great ones.

My mom was 15 when she snuck out and borrowed my grandad's precious 240Z to drive to the grocery store and buy a pack of cigarettes. She was pulling out of the parking lot when she backed into a parked car. And like the teenage rebel she was, left a $20 on the windshield of the car she hit, then peeled out and parked the Z exactly as she left it. Mom passed away in 2013; her secret was safe for 40 years, or so she thought. Last summer, my grandad recounted the story of the mysterious scrape on his Fairlady and he asked me if my mom had ever mentioned it. It turns out that the owner of the car she hit was a close friend of his and had seen the whole thing. He had known the truth all along.

My stories (yes, plural) are a more embarrassing.

First, at age 16, my friends and I decided that we would all take our 4-wheel-drives off-road and sling some mud. I have a tendency towards what my family and friends refer to as "going full-Fennell." I always prefer to go all out, most often to my own detriment. I still have the slip from the most accurate fortune cookie I ever opened: "You are adventuresome and prone to notions."

On this particular occasion, my notion was taking a large muddy hill on an interstate construction area at about 40 miles per hour in my 1989 Chevy Silverado 4x4. As it turns out, the standard retaining bolts that hold the batteries down in the 6.2L Detroit Diesel are not built to withstand such adventures, and I wound up with a battery lodged firmly in the backside of the radiator.

After a little roadside Macgyvering, I managed to limp back home, hose her down, and park like nothing had happened. Of course, when my dad went to start up the truck the next day, it overheated almost immediately.

Busted.

I have countless other examples, like the time my best friend tried to use duct tape to hold up the exhaust on his mom's Camaro, or one buddy who was too cheap to get the speedometer fixed in his Cadillac and instead carried around a little chalkboard to write down how fast he thought he was going in case he was ever pulled over.

I'll leave you with my all-time favorite. I was in high school and I had the privilege of driving my neighbor, Becky Emmers, to school on the final day of exams. Becky was probably the prettiest girl I had ever seen in real life, and was the head cheerleader and all-around queen of everything.

I was so flustered when she got into the car that I put my travel mug of coffee in the wrong cup holder. As I was turning onto the main street of our neighborhood, the mug tumbled out and spilled burning hot coffee all over my crotch. Next thing I knew, I was parked in someone's front lawn, on top of their mailbox.

Needless to say, Becky Emmers never really spoke to me again. I also learned that fancy mailboxes are quite expensive.

So what is your most famous or embarrassing car story? Email us at media@cocomats.com and the best story will get a free CocoMats t-shirt!

-Trey Fennell

1973 Datsun 240Z Coco #23 Grey