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Six years ago, I spent an hour learning to drive manual transmission in my friends car. I did not get very good in that hour. Then I went and bought a manual

by IvyMike 12y ago

Six years ago, I spent an hour learning to drive manual transmission in my friends car. I did not get very good in that hour. Then I went and bought a manual transmission car of my own. The drive back home from the dealer was one hell of a trip. I learned very quickly how tricky it is to get a car moving when you're stopped on a hill. So I totally could have used this back then. :)

Serow225 12y ago
Yes, the hand brake is your friend when starting on hills, but it's tough when you're starting out because it means you have to coordinate three things at once :)
IvyMike 12y ago
I don't get the downvotes. Repurposing something for another useful purpose is exactly what hacking is all about.
Stratoscope 12y ago
Oh man. I learned to drive in my parents' automatic mid-sixties Impala, so when when I bought my first car - a yellow 1969 Toyota Corolla - I wanted an automatic. The salesman said, "You know, this is just a two-speed automatic, and it doesn't perform very well. I really think you'd be happier with the stick shift." I told him I didn't know how to drive a stick shift and he said, "That's no problem, I'll teach you." So we drove a few lurchy blocks around San Francisco - yes, San Francisco, the city of seven hills. Ah, if it were only seven! After a while he said, "Doing great, drive me back to the dealership and you're on your own." I knew my way home, but I couldn't remember where the hills were. I could have used elevation data that day... "...sweat beading upon his brow, he might recount that Damp Morning when he drove his Manual Transmission up the Impossible Grade, and was forced to stop, just below the top! In frantic pantomime, he’ll pull the emergency brake and disengage the clutch. Crane his neck to peer anxiously at the car sniffing his downhill bumper. Bulge his eyes. Gun the engine. Pop the clutch. Release the brakes. Lay down some rubber with a piercing squeal. Float his steed slowly onto the flat. Wave the smoke from his eyes. Pump his arms in brief celebration. And finally, grouse about that sadistic driving instructor who got him into the pickle in the first place. What a jerk!" http://www.datapointed.net/2009/11/the-steeps-of-san-francisco/ http://www.datapointed.net/2009/11/the-steeps-of-san-francis...
aeberbach 12y ago
Yeah, bought my first car from a town about an hour from my home, a manual car. On the drive home I learned to drive a manual. That weekend I learned to change a clutch :-)

by IvyMike 12y ago

Serow225 12y ago

Yes, the hand brake is your friend when starting on hills, but it's tough when you're starting out because it means you have to coordinate three things at once :)

IvyMike 12y ago

I don't get the downvotes. Repurposing something for another useful purpose is exactly what hacking is all about.

Stratoscope 12y ago

Oh man. I learned to drive in my parents' automatic mid-sixties Impala, so when when I bought my first car - a yellow 1969 Toyota Corolla - I wanted an automatic. The salesman said, "You know, this is just a two-speed automatic, and it doesn't perform very well. I really think you'd be happier with the stick shift." I told him I didn't know how to drive a stick shift and he said, "That's no problem, I'll teach you." So we drove a few lurchy blocks around San Francisco - yes, San Francisco, the city of seven hills. Ah, if it were only seven! After a while he said, "Doing great, drive me back to the dealership and you're on your own." I knew my way home, but I couldn't remember where the hills were. I could have used elevation data that day... "...sweat beading upon his brow, he might recount that Damp Morning when he drove his Manual Transmission up the Impossible Grade, and was forced to stop, just below the top! In frantic pantomime, he’ll pull the emergency brake and disengage the clutch. Crane his neck to peer anxiously at the car sniffing his downhill bumper. Bulge his eyes. Gun the engine. Pop the clutch. Release the brakes. Lay down some rubber with a piercing squeal. Float his steed slowly onto the flat. Wave the smoke from his eyes. Pump his arms in brief celebration. And finally, grouse about that sadistic driving instructor who got him into the pickle in the first place. What a jerk!" http://www.datapointed.net/2009/11/the-steeps-of-san-francisco/ http://www.datapointed.net/2009/11/the-steeps-of-san-francis...

aeberbach 12y ago

Yeah, bought my first car from a town about an hour from my home, a manual car. On the drive home I learned to drive a manual. That weekend I learned to change a clutch :-)