What have I done?!

[TomO]

Betsy ( SWMBO ) and I took the KJ into town tonight for another great cheeseburger at the local fine dining establishment. Betsy was driving.

There are a couple of ways to get back home. One involves about 2 miles of soft dirt/sand road and the other is about 4 miles of the same, with 1 mile of just an access road to some gas wells. Betsy decides to take the longer unpaved path.

1st turn onto the dirt, she drops to 2nd gear and punches it a bit to show me she can power slide the turn as well as I can. She chickened out a bit and recovered early, so I called her on it and cranked up the B.B. King to inspire her.

Then she turns onto the narrow gas company road, and slows by a wide spot. Again she grabs 2nd, dumps the clutch, cranks the wheel all the way to the left and in a blaze of dust, rock and sand executes a near perfect do-nut - the full 360 degrees. :freak3:

Who says Nancy isn't a chick car?

She used to be a nice girl.

 

[sota]

I can't even convince my wife to learn to drive stick....

 

[yellocoyote]

Bravo!!

 

[badkittystt]

I can't even convince my wife to learn to drive stick....

That's so sad! I learned how to drive on an '89 pathfinder (standard) when I was about 10 years old and never looked back. Mr. Darcy is an auto because that's what was available, but sticks are just too much fun not to learn! I always loved that feeling when you drive a different stick for the first time and you can ease off the clutch and feel the car start to inch forward, it's like getting to know someone. I've never done a full donut though, well played.

 

[Clyde Frog]

Yeah I get pretty alarmed when people tell me they've never learned or even attempted to learn to drive a stick. I'm not a pro at it, but I'm not half bad. It's a good skill to have - you never know when you might need it.

EDIT - Is it sad that driving a manual is now considered a "skill"?

 

[TomO]

EDIT - Is it sad that driving a manual is now considered a "skill"?

Driving in general is a skill. Too many people think it's their right.

Neither of us even think twice about having a proper transmission in our cars. Though some of ours are automatics, the majority are standard trannys.

It has taken quite a few years to bring Betsy around to understand that:

1 - Cars = Toys
2 - Toys are meant to be played with
3 - Sometimes when you play with toys, things break
4 - If you don't break it, you didn't play hard enough

She gets so worried about breaking the new car. But she really enjoys the playing - she's getting better. I keep asking "What's the worst that can happen, if something breaks, we'll just have to fix it to be better next time."

When Betsy decided she needed a truck for 'gardening', we wound up with this. She loves driving this one. And yes, that really is 3 yards of chicken poop!

 

[yellocoyote]

"What's the worst that can happen, if something breaks, we'll just have to fix it to be better next time."

That sounds like our perspective on things too. Nice to hear some people think the same way.

My first car was a manual - a '86 Pontiac Sunbird (POS). Both my dad and my boyfriend at the time tried to teach me to drive it, but lacked patience. So I ended up taking the car and learning it in an afternoon. I've always had automatics since then, but am still able to drive the manual vehicles that my friends have. The skill is still there.

 

[Marlon_JB2]

The skill of driving a stick never disappears. It's like riding a bike. Once you learn, it never goes away.

 

[Neb1373]

I've been driving a stick since I was 16, 11 yes ago and thought I'd give it a break for a bit and get an auto kj. I kinda do regret not test driving a stick but when I got in mine and started driving around it just felt so good I could t pass it up.

 

[sota]

I've tried in the past. In 20 years of driving and teaching people how to drive stick she's been my only "failure." but then the failure wasn't mine... she just flat out refuses to put in the time and give it the effort to learn how to properly drive a stick shift car. I've even gone so far as to pay other instructors to try and teach her. she has no feel for the clutch and plainly no desire to learn.

 

[WesChapman]

I love my auto KJ, but I also love driving manuals. My Granddad taught me to drive and he believed you did not know how to drive if you couldn't drive a stick. At about 10 years old, I learned in a 1956 International truck; I think it was a S190. It had a 401 cid inline six gas motor with a 5 speed manual and two speed rear axle. I loved driving that truck, especially when the 36' flatbed trailer was hooked up.

Now days, when I need some manual ****** time, I jump in one of the 9400 Internationals with 15 liters of Cat power and 18 gears at my disposal

I try and discourage my wife from driving the KJ. We have different driving styles and MY style never involves cold starting the KJ and bouncing off the rev-limiter a few times before realizing she's pressing the gas, and not the brake pedal . GRRRRR!!!!!! I swear I now have valve train noise, that wasn't there before.