Jeff is Published!
08-05-2014, 09:13 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Jeff is Published!
Just got a PCA email with a link to driving the stick shift....FYI, both my 17 year old girl and 20 year old son are SO happy that I got them a car with a stick. They were not at first, but now so thankful.
Congrats Jeff!
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/con...eation-leisure
Congrats Jeff!
http://exclusive.multibriefs.com/con...eation-leisure
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08-07-2014, 02:30 PM
#9
Instructor
Jeff, great read!
I never learned to drive manual transmission till I was in college and had to. My unlce, who always bought manual, was getting a new car and instead of trading it in decided to sell me his car. This was back around 1999. He was going to sell me his 4 cylinder, 5-speed 1994 Mazda 626, green with tan interior and about 148,000 miles on the odometer. I, having never learned stick-shift before, had to figure it out, because, hey, I needed a car. I was in college, at what’s quite commonly known as a commuter school, so being stranded on weekends with no wheels was seriously affecting my ability to, as we would say back then, “kick some game.” So, I needed a car to take me to all those glorious and fun filled places that Glassboro, NJ and the surrounding area had to offer. Besides, how else was I going to make a beer run to Monster Beverage to buy such delectable 6-packs like 3 Stooges Beer and Hooper’s Hooch. (Now that I think about it, this was the beginning of another interest; sampling different beers.) A friend of mine was currently driving a Dodge Neon in manual, complete with the standard “paint peel and rust” option, so I asked her for a few lessons. The first (and only) lesson began in the commuter parking lot of Rowan University. Lesson number 1 was reverse, because, apparently, if you can shift it in gear in reverse, you can shift into first. Or so I was told. Didn’t do so bad with that; low and behold… I’m now a stick shift driver. (There was no graduation ceremony or diploma.)
Several months later, I take ownership of the car over summer break while working an internship. What better way to learn the ins and outs of manual transmission than by forcing yourself to drive to work… in rush hour traffic… in Princeton…. On Route 1. Needless to say I found a back way to Carnegie Center, which unfortunately, meant there was one area on a hill in which a single car made it through at a time. And nothing scares the bejezzus out of the newly stick-shift initiated quite like having to deal with getting the clutch to catch without rolling back into the guy behind you. I learned quickly that if I just floored it I wouldn’t roll back. Granted, the tires would just spin in place, but I didn’t roll back. I slowly made it up the hill to detriment of about 10% of your tire wear.
Eventually I worked the kinks out and had a blast with that car. In fact, I got so good I could shift while making a turn, changing a CD, and drinking coffee. Oh the memories. Like leaving a kid in a Mustang GT in a cloud of tire smoke. Or watching Days of Thunder and driving like a maniac, doing about 70 into the parking lot of a high school.
But alas, my next couple of cars were automatics. It worked out for me on several occasions. One such time I had destroyed the hamstring in my right leg and was forced to drive with my left foot for about 3 weeks. So now I live in fear that I’ll be out somewhere and wave “hi” to someone aggressively, tweek my leg again and be stranded.
Some would say driving stick-shift is like riding a bike. I say, riding a bike is like driving stick-shift. One never forgets this ultimate way of driving a vehicle. I have the 968 now (manual, of course) and wouldn’t have it any other way!
Ps: as footnote to the GT story, he did just learn to drive that car about 4 minutes prior… but let’s not focus on that.
I never learned to drive manual transmission till I was in college and had to. My unlce, who always bought manual, was getting a new car and instead of trading it in decided to sell me his car. This was back around 1999. He was going to sell me his 4 cylinder, 5-speed 1994 Mazda 626, green with tan interior and about 148,000 miles on the odometer. I, having never learned stick-shift before, had to figure it out, because, hey, I needed a car. I was in college, at what’s quite commonly known as a commuter school, so being stranded on weekends with no wheels was seriously affecting my ability to, as we would say back then, “kick some game.” So, I needed a car to take me to all those glorious and fun filled places that Glassboro, NJ and the surrounding area had to offer. Besides, how else was I going to make a beer run to Monster Beverage to buy such delectable 6-packs like 3 Stooges Beer and Hooper’s Hooch. (Now that I think about it, this was the beginning of another interest; sampling different beers.) A friend of mine was currently driving a Dodge Neon in manual, complete with the standard “paint peel and rust” option, so I asked her for a few lessons. The first (and only) lesson began in the commuter parking lot of Rowan University. Lesson number 1 was reverse, because, apparently, if you can shift it in gear in reverse, you can shift into first. Or so I was told. Didn’t do so bad with that; low and behold… I’m now a stick shift driver. (There was no graduation ceremony or diploma.)
Several months later, I take ownership of the car over summer break while working an internship. What better way to learn the ins and outs of manual transmission than by forcing yourself to drive to work… in rush hour traffic… in Princeton…. On Route 1. Needless to say I found a back way to Carnegie Center, which unfortunately, meant there was one area on a hill in which a single car made it through at a time. And nothing scares the bejezzus out of the newly stick-shift initiated quite like having to deal with getting the clutch to catch without rolling back into the guy behind you. I learned quickly that if I just floored it I wouldn’t roll back. Granted, the tires would just spin in place, but I didn’t roll back. I slowly made it up the hill to detriment of about 10% of your tire wear.
Eventually I worked the kinks out and had a blast with that car. In fact, I got so good I could shift while making a turn, changing a CD, and drinking coffee. Oh the memories. Like leaving a kid in a Mustang GT in a cloud of tire smoke. Or watching Days of Thunder and driving like a maniac, doing about 70 into the parking lot of a high school.
But alas, my next couple of cars were automatics. It worked out for me on several occasions. One such time I had destroyed the hamstring in my right leg and was forced to drive with my left foot for about 3 weeks. So now I live in fear that I’ll be out somewhere and wave “hi” to someone aggressively, tweek my leg again and be stranded.
Some would say driving stick-shift is like riding a bike. I say, riding a bike is like driving stick-shift. One never forgets this ultimate way of driving a vehicle. I have the 968 now (manual, of course) and wouldn’t have it any other way!
Ps: as footnote to the GT story, he did just learn to drive that car about 4 minutes prior… but let’s not focus on that.
08-07-2014, 10:06 PM
#10
Rennlist Member
Some would say driving stick-shift is like riding a bike. I say, riding a bike is like driving stick-shift. One never forgets this ultimate way of driving a vehicle. I have the 968 now (manual, of course) and wouldn’t have it any other way!
Ps: as footnote to the GT story, he did just learn to drive that car about 4 minutes prior… but let’s not focus on that.
Ps: as footnote to the GT story, he did just learn to drive that car about 4 minutes prior… but let’s not focus on that.
