When I was fifteen years old, I saw a car like no other going north on Oxnard Blvd., Oxnard, CA. I knew then, my first car would be a Jaguar. After graduating from Oxnard High School and the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, I started teaching high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. During that first year and a half of teaching to save money, I walked to work, rented a room, took my lunch to school, helped my brother financially with college, and thought about the Jaguar I wanted to own.
After a year and a half year in Arkansas, I returned to Oxnard, and with the help of my mother, purchased my first car, a Jaguar XKE 2+2, December 17,1968, at Encore Motors, 911 So. Oxnard Blvd., Oxnard, CA.
The Jaguar’s color is sable with tan interior, the price of the Jaguar was $6,300.00; a Chevrolet at that time was $3,100.00. My dream had come true, but not without a lot of sacrifices along the way. After purchasing MY JAG, I drove it to Arkansas where it was the only car of its kind and quite a sensation in the state. Being of African-American descent, just purchasing gas in Arkansas in the 60’s was quite a conversation all to its own. The Arkansas Highway Patrol and Little Rock Police would stop me, not for speeding, but because the officers wanted to check out the Jaguar.
Since I was alone and not in the state of California, I purchased a German Sheppard, Thunder, who traveled with me wherever I went in the Jag. Thunder was a real deterrent.
When it came time to have the car serviced, I would have to drive to Tulsa, Oklahoma, sometimes leave the car, fly back to Little Rock, AR, then return to pick up the car. At other times, I would drive to Tulsa, OK and just wait for the car to be serviced. The only major problem I ever had with the car was an electrical problem that was repaired in Tulsa; it was the last time I ever had any major problems. After three years in Arkansas, I returned to California in 1969.
The mechanics who have serviced my Jaguar have been:
Encore Motors, Oxnard, CA
Wilkerson Motors, Tulsa, OK
Sports Car Service, Ventura, CA
Chuck’s Classics of Ojai, Ojai, CA
Der Barron Imported Cars, Oxnard, CA
Tony’s Foreign Car Service, Oxnard, CA
Bill Erickson Auto Repair, Ojai, CA
I have enjoyed my Jaguar immensely. As an educator in Oxnard, the Jaguar has served as a goal-setting lesson to students. Several former students have returned to see me over the years, informing me that they also purchased a Jaguar because they thought the one I drove was so cool.
Daisy at 15
Daisy's Jaguar
I am so happy that my first car was a Jaguar. I still get chills when I see it and drive it. I have so many wonderful stories about the Jaguar and me.