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I always had an easier time getting up snowy/ice hills (in Boston) than my friends did in their autos. I remember once driving up a hill in front of a friend so

I always had an easier time getting up snowy/ice hills (in Boston) than my friends did in their autos. I remember once driving up a hill in front of a friend so he could use my tire indentations to get up behind me.

tyingq 8y ago
Getting up was fine. Stopping at the precipice at a 4 way stop, then trying to start again was the tricky bit. With an auto you can hold the brake while you slowly press the accelerator, then release the brakes. Need a third foot to do that (or a hand brake) with a manual. Edit: Hill lock definitely sounds nice. Didn't exist when I was young, poor, and had crappy old American made manual shift cars...
- JoeAltmaier 8y ago
  Or a hill lock feature (?) that won't let it roll back until you accelerate. My Subara Forester has something like that
- peeters 8y ago
  Just a note on that, most premium manual models come with hill assist these days. Automatically applies the brake while you accelerate from a stop.
  - blattimwind 8y ago
    Premium is relative. By that standard, a VW Golf is premium. (Arguably you can nowadays get it with options that were very much premium not that long ago)
    - peeters 8y ago
      I said most premium models have hill assist, not that all models with hill assist are premium.
- MrMember 8y ago
  My WRX has hill start assist and I love it. If you're stopped on an incline and let off the brakes it will keep them applied automatically for a moment while you give it some gas.
- mikestew 8y ago
  Didn't exist when I was young, poor, and had crappy old American made manual shift cars... You just didn't go old and crappy enough. Studebaker had "Hill Holder" back in the 1930s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill-holder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill-holder
- esaym 8y ago
  Not sure how old you are, but on my grandpa's 1950 Ford there was a hand operated parking brake (under the dash). I had to use it once after stopping to get gas and the driveway to get back onto the main road went down into a steep ditch and then out onto the road. Of course some nitwit pulled up right behind me as I was trying to pull out into the road. I tried easing up on the foot brake and allowing the clutch to grab some as a quick test but the car still started to creep back. I said screwed it and yanked the parking brake as hard as I could while getting off the foot brake and meshing the gas while at the same time letting up on the clutch and undoing the parking brake. Not the hardest thing, but mainly made an issue by modern drivers getting right on your bumper...
  - tyingq 8y ago
    It was cars with a foot operated emergency brake that locked into place with a separate lever to release it. Not useful in these situations. Even on cars with a hand brake, it was still a bit dicey, because they only operated the rear brakes, and could be mis-adjusted/weak/etc. Pretty common on late 60's, 70's, and some 80's cars.
    - esaym 8y ago
      Whether foot operated or hand pulled, you will have to use your hand to disengage it so not seeing the difference.
      - tyingq 8y ago
        You had to reach down pretty far, and look down to find the release. A handbrake is a one handed operation you don't have to look at.
        esaym 8y ago
        I agree is sucks. But the option is there.
- mcjiggerlog 8y ago
  As you said - that's what the hand brake is for. Performing a hill start correctly is often part of driving tests in the UK.
  - tyingq 8y ago
    Not all cars have hand operated emergency brakes.
    - mcjiggerlog 8y ago
      I've never in my life seen a manual car that doesn't have a hand brake.
      - anticensor 8y ago
        He means hand brakes with direct mechanical action. Electronic emergency brakes do not count.
        mcjiggerlog 8y ago
        Yeah I know - I'm saying that in Europe every single manual car has a proper mechanical hand brake.
        tyingq 8y ago
        Many US cars had foot operated emergency brakes when I was younger. Also, in the US, pickup trucks are the most popular personal vehicles, right now...and they typically have foot operated emergency brakes.

tyingq 8y ago

Getting up was fine. Stopping at the precipice at a 4 way stop, then trying to start again was the tricky bit. With an auto you can hold the brake while you slowly press the accelerator, then release the brakes. Need a third foot to do that (or a hand brake) with a manual. Edit: Hill lock definitely sounds nice. Didn't exist when I was young, poor, and had crappy old American made manual shift cars...

JoeAltmaier 8y ago
Or a hill lock feature (?) that won't let it roll back until you accelerate. My Subara Forester has something like that
peeters 8y ago
Just a note on that, most premium manual models come with hill assist these days. Automatically applies the brake while you accelerate from a stop.
- blattimwind 8y ago
  Premium is relative. By that standard, a VW Golf is premium. (Arguably you can nowadays get it with options that were very much premium not that long ago)
  - peeters 8y ago
    I said most premium models have hill assist, not that all models with hill assist are premium.
MrMember 8y ago
My WRX has hill start assist and I love it. If you're stopped on an incline and let off the brakes it will keep them applied automatically for a moment while you give it some gas.
mikestew 8y ago
Didn't exist when I was young, poor, and had crappy old American made manual shift cars... You just didn't go old and crappy enough. Studebaker had "Hill Holder" back in the 1930s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill-holder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill-holder
esaym 8y ago
Not sure how old you are, but on my grandpa's 1950 Ford there was a hand operated parking brake (under the dash). I had to use it once after stopping to get gas and the driveway to get back onto the main road went down into a steep ditch and then out onto the road. Of course some nitwit pulled up right behind me as I was trying to pull out into the road. I tried easing up on the foot brake and allowing the clutch to grab some as a quick test but the car still started to creep back. I said screwed it and yanked the parking brake as hard as I could while getting off the foot brake and meshing the gas while at the same time letting up on the clutch and undoing the parking brake. Not the hardest thing, but mainly made an issue by modern drivers getting right on your bumper...
- tyingq 8y ago
  It was cars with a foot operated emergency brake that locked into place with a separate lever to release it. Not useful in these situations. Even on cars with a hand brake, it was still a bit dicey, because they only operated the rear brakes, and could be mis-adjusted/weak/etc. Pretty common on late 60's, 70's, and some 80's cars.
  - esaym 8y ago
    Whether foot operated or hand pulled, you will have to use your hand to disengage it so not seeing the difference.
    - tyingq 8y ago
      You had to reach down pretty far, and look down to find the release. A handbrake is a one handed operation you don't have to look at.
      - esaym 8y ago
        I agree is sucks. But the option is there.
mcjiggerlog 8y ago
As you said - that's what the hand brake is for. Performing a hill start correctly is often part of driving tests in the UK.
- tyingq 8y ago
  Not all cars have hand operated emergency brakes.
  - mcjiggerlog 8y ago
    I've never in my life seen a manual car that doesn't have a hand brake.
    - anticensor 8y ago
      He means hand brakes with direct mechanical action. Electronic emergency brakes do not count.
      - mcjiggerlog 8y ago
        Yeah I know - I'm saying that in Europe every single manual car has a proper mechanical hand brake.
        tyingq 8y ago
        Many US cars had foot operated emergency brakes when I was younger. Also, in the US, pickup trucks are the most popular personal vehicles, right now...and they typically have foot operated emergency brakes.