The Old Lady's New Car is a Stick

On the old vw bugs the windshield fluid was pumped from air pressure that came from the spair tire. If you didn't pay attention your spare tire would be flat when you went to use it.

 

Several years back Woodwidow's Vice Principal asked if she could run an errand with his F 350 ,4x4,double cab, eight foot box, with a stick shift but was not quite sure she would be able to handle it. She produced her Class one license! He said no more!

Myself, I grew up on standards. When first encountered an Automatic, it took about an hour or so before I quit hitting the brake every time I thought it was about time to shift.

 

The truck didn't have running boards. It was harder to get into the truck than to drive it.

 

Finally figured out why you liked flying so much! YOU COULD LOOK DOWN ON PEOPLE !

 

You betcha!!!

 

Nice work Griz. I learned to drive on a stick, every car I ever owned was a stick till I bought the truck this year. When we got married I tried to teach my wife, she actually did really well at first but got discouraged and didn't want to take it out of a parking lot.

5 years later and with kids we tired of her not being able to drive both cars so we got my new truck in auto.

I miss my stick


I will say, when my kids get to 16 Im buying an old stick beater to teach them to drive on. Its a good life skill.

 

Another thought on automatics. Back then only the folks with money had them , that option could add another 25 %t0 30 % to the purchase $$$$$.

 

Same thing here. I want to make sure my daughter can drive anything she may need to drive. It could come in handy some day.

 

"When first encountered an Automatic, it took about an hour or so before I quit hitting the brake every time I thought it was about time to shift."

I can relate Allan. My Dad used to have one of those long nosed Oldsmobile Delta 88s with the 8 foot wide power brake pedal. He let me drive it one time headed to a store. Now, I drove standard shift school buses for work and the clutch was a bear to get down. After a while, it was second nature and I could slam it down all day. Well, I guess I just had to show off to Dad how good I was at driving that clutch down... and bounced him off the windshield, with my first "touch" of the power brakes going into the store's lot. He hollered at me "What the hell are you doing"... and, I'll be dammed if I didn't roll ahead 10 feet and do it again... ... He was not impressed... and drove back it home...

 

That's the part I did not tell!

 

After driving my 4speed truck, I often feel myself trying to clutch and reach for the shifter in my girlfriends automatic mustang when I'm trying to open it up on the highway

 

I do that all the time too. Glad my truck is a stick since my starter crapped out 25 miles from home today. Got my baby home on her own power.

 

I run mostly manual trans. It's funny when I get used to running a big truck and get in my little Jetta. I have about put the clutch pedal though the floor forgetting it requires like 2lbs to push!

It's even worse on equipment... get used to something and have to switch. I keep going for the wrong switch/pedal/etc which would be correct for another machine.