Whoa Matilda — Janet Lambert

Candy Kane is 16 and still in the shadow of her impatient mother and whiny sister, and even her best friend Barton is quite unreliable. The family is living in a crowded DC hotel while Colonel Kane works for the government. Barton turns up with an old coupe named Matilda, which he begs Candy to adopt since he cannot keep the old jalopy once he is in the Army.