Originally posted by pergatory
Not to get argumentative but...
1: Your point about shifting positions makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Please enlighten us. I was under the impression the stick goes back for 2nd and 4th here too, but obviously I'm mistaken.
2: Yes, Americans originally migrated from Europe (not U.K.) but that was before automobiles were invented. Americans invented the automobile and so we made the first pass at the standards. It has nothing to do with America being better or whatever, it's just simple timing. If Japan had invented the automobile, they probably would've decided LHD just like we did, and made sure everyone else understood, and we'd probably all be driving LHD. Too bad. Profit and miscommunication are our two specialties, so it's no surprise how things turned out.
i am not arguing i just like these factual posts. you are WRONG, americans DID NOT invent the automobile LOL, sorry but look up ur history man. the first car was created in 1698 by Englishman Thomas Sauvery, it was a steam engine and it was very primitive. Then, in the late 1700's, 2 GERMAN inventors created the first Gas-powered cars, they were Gottleib Daimler and Karl Benz. so i proved you wrong rite there.
Secondly, there really isnt an actual way of determining why people in the U.K. decided to drive on the left side of the road.
but they do that in basically the historical CENTRES of the world, wich is the U.K., and Japan.
although they do drive on the right side in germany and other european countries, as well as china and india... the fact is in historical terms, england was creating roads for cars on there side, and germany created them on the other side, sort of like a reason of difference...so technically no one knows who did what first.
now back to my shifting thing......
i cant really explain it, yeah in LHD and RHD the patterns are the SAME, but its just a thing, when ur throwing those gears back in the same way ud throw a ball behind ur back, its just a driving thing, i just dont like the feeling of pulling the stick towoards me into second. in a RHD id be able to throw it back and away from me.....its a hand positioning thing...if u watch some in-car racing vids of japanese drivers on touge and on the track...ull see that some of them have turned shifting into an artform, in which they dont even move there arms, its the wrist that does all the action, and this "art form" is more desirable in a RHD.
i hope i cleared it all up.
-zam
I hate it but in june i will have my dream car.....1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo..ahhh sweetness!
