On 6/28/2014 6:41 AM, jmcquown wrote:
> On 6/28/2014 2:33 AM, Opinicus wrote:
>> "It's easy" they said and gave me a few pointers: push this, move
>> that, etc. I sat in the driver's seat. My Saudi counterpart, assigned
>> to ride shotgun, sat in the passenger seat anxiously clutching the
>> marble slab. I started the ignition, did what they told me to do, and
>> took off. I barely got a few meters before "muscle memory" took over:
>> I stepped on what I*thought* was the clutch and shifted what I
>> *thought* was the gear shift. That ended my first and only automatic
>> driving experience. My Saudi counter part was installed in the
>> driver's seat (even though that was against company policy) and I took
>> over as shotgun, happily clutching the marble for the rest of the day.
>> -- Bob
>
> The few times I've driven an automatic in recent years I, too, found
> myself reaching to shift and my foot went to where the clutch should be.
> I'm not comfortable driving an automatic. I can certainly drive one
> if I have to but I'd rather not. And let me take it around the block a
> couple of times first to get used to it, okay? :-D
>
> Jill
I learned on a stick and always drove one. I felt more in control with
the stick. My Freightliner medium duty truck, which was my daily driver
when we lived on the road only needed the clutch for first and reversed.
It had a computer that read the RPMS and automatically shifted gears.
I did get an automatic when we bought the Honda Civic in 2005 and I got
quite used to it. We needed a car and were buying off the lot.
The Chevy Spark is a stick so it can be towed behind the motor home.
My next car will be an automatic mainly for two reasons: 1) there is no
warranty on the clutch (you have to buy an entire assembly for $$$) and,
2), the newer cars come with packages. You can't get many of the toys
and gizmos on a stick. For example: The stick model of Spark is the
base model and you can't get cruise control.
--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.
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