How you learnt to drive?

[sutton.a]

My dad's got a ford falcon auto. I hate driving it, its just like a superfast go-kart without the wind blowing in your face. Plus its so easy to speed; cause its v6 and i'm only use to my v4 charade

Plus if you live in aus, cops are going physcho handing out speeding fines for 5-10km over just like that. Have to really watch it.

 

[Scaff]

I’ve had my P1 licence (allows me to drive on my own) for about 8–9 months, now. I’ve been driving since I was 16, so just over 2 years driving time, so far. I’m booked in for my first advanced driving course for Wednesday the 21st. Any advice you can give as to how to approach a day like that?

Don't go in with any preconceptions and do exactly as you are asked, absorb everything. I promise you if you do that you will finish the course a better, safer, smoother and possiably quicker driver (you will also know when its safe to do so).

Alway remember that the aim of advanced courses is to make you a better and safer driver, who has a greater understanding of the environment they are working in.

My car does not have a tachometer, which normally isn’t an issue in daily driving. But for this advanced driving course I think it may be an issue…

I doubt it will be an issue, while car sympathmy may form part of what you cover, I would imagine it will mainly focus on driving position (something over 80% of drivers get wrong), how to hold the steering wheel (and 10 to 2 or quarter to three are the only correct ways), smoothness of control and most important observation and forward planning (again the biggest problem with most drivers).

From these you should hopefully start to learn to analyis and examine your driving (every time you drive) and start to learn on a constant basis. Even given the number of miles I have driven, the range of cars and the conditions and situation I've encountered; the one thing I can say for sure is that I'm still in a learning process. Every driver is, and every driving instructor I have come across (particularly the advanced and race ones) will say the same, you never stop learning, so always be raeady for something new to be thrown at you.

In my opinion not enough people take driving seriously enough or are aware of what they are doing and seeing when they drive.

Here in the UK we have a very good (and cheap) book that is published by the government called "Roadcraft" and is the Police Drivers' Manual. An excellent source of advice and information its used in the training of all Police drivers in the UK and has some solid information on observation and reading the road.

Another good one I picked up a few years ago (I don't think its still in publication) is the Porsche Driving Book, published by Porsche it also covers a lot of good info on the importance of smoothness and observation.

Regards

Scaff

 

[a6m5]

I didn't learn how to drive stick until I was 19 or 20. I got to learn it on company time, in company vehicles. Since then, all my car's been stick, and I've never looked back.

P.S. After I was done learning stick with couple of company rigs, they replaced them with automatics. I wonder why.

 

[Mclaren_Man]

ha, I remember my first driving 'lesson' with my dad.

"heres a manual car Callum, to get going rev it a little and ease the clutch out, OK? Now drive me home along these main roads...."

oh god that was funny, those poor driveshafts in our corolla

 

[Poverty]

What car was it?

A nissan micra, it was a ugly shade of green aswell.

 

[IMADreamer]

What exactley is the problem with some people learning to drive manuals in the US, it's not exactley hard. I much, much prefer driving manual to auto, I do see the benfit of auto but I enjoy driving, and auto takes some of the involvment away.

While I enjoy driving stick and I think everyone should learn it at some point I would much rather prefer young people to start on an auto. This way they can focus on the basics of driving as opposed to learning to drive stick and learn to drive at the same time.

The reason most Americans don't drive stick is because the car companies don't provide us with enough stick shift cars here. Only sporty models have a manual here so most people don't drive them.

Ok back on topic. I learned to drive on my familys farm when I was 14.

 

[Scaff]

The reason most Americans don't drive stick is because the car companies don't provide us with enough stick shift cars here. Only sporty models have a manual here so most people don't drive them.

Any company will provide products that its market will buy.

I believe the main reason why the majority of mainstream cars in the US are Autos, is quite simply because the majority of drivers in the US want Autos. I doubt that if the major manufcaturers in the US suddenly offered manual options on every car sold in the US if it would have a major impact on the Auto/Manual ratio at all.

Regards

Scaff

 

[Duke]

That's correct. Like it or not, most American driving is done either A) in big cities, or B) on interstate highways. In neither case is a manual transmission of any advantage. I taught my wife how to drive a stick on my old Supra. She dutifully learned, and then said, "If the car can do this by itself, why should I bother?"

When I bought my car recently I had to wade through 6 or 7 automatics for every manual I found, and this is for a small sport sedan. In fact, insisting on a manual meant I saved around $800 on the cost (bcause of unpopularity), but it also meant I had to drive 120 miles to buy the car I wanted.

 

[Kylehnat]

That's correct. Like it or not, most American driving is done either A) in big cities, or B) on interstate highways. In neither case is a manual transmission of any advantage.

Well, quite honestly, when is a manual transmission ever advantageous in normal driving? When you think about it, both transmissions are quite capable of driving in any normal situation.

I taught my wife how to drive a stick on my old Supra. She dutifully learned, and then said, "If the car can do this by itself, why should I bother?"

And many of us say "If I can do this myself, why would I want the car to do it for me?"

 

[YSSMAN]

I learned to drive stick in my '93 VW Fox that had a rather sticky clutch, no power steering, no A/C, no ABS, etc. What a great car!

About manual transmissions in the US:

Keep in mind that it was the Americans who invented the automatic transmission all those years ago, and since then, damn near every car that could get it has gotten one in the US.

The reason why people fell in love with the automatic is the fact that they do not have to worry about the clutch and being in the wrong gear, etc. It is more comfortable to deal with when going down the highway, in heavy traffic in larger cities, etc. It's not that people don't like manual transmissions, its the fact that for the most part, they are inconvienent.

But much like the transition that my generation is putting through with Soccer/Football becoming popular in the US, I think the same will happen with manual transmissions as well. Kids my age seem to be actively persuing manuals when available, and although only a few automakers and dealers have caught on, the changes are happening.

 

[Swift]

And many of us say "If I can do this myself, why would I want the car to do it for me?"

Then why do we have power windows?

But seriously, I'm certainly in the group of, "I can do it myself"

 

[Kylehnat]

Then why do we have power windows?

Interestingly, the car I drive (1996 Mazda 626 DX) has roll-up windows, since it's the base model. My dad could have sprung a couple thousand dollars more for the LX with power windows. Why did he not? You couldn't get the LX with a manual transmission. That made up his mind

 

[Dave A]

Same here, I've driven an automatic and I didn't like it as much , I felt detached from the drive. I also found my concentration wandering away from driving and onto other thigns a lot more than in any cars I've owned, concentrating on things like the pretty lady in the car next to me. I understand why some people do, but most of my driving is city driving or motorway driving and I wouldn't dream of buying an automatic car.

 

[YSSMAN]

...Head on over to Shifty World if you want to join a community of folks who are comitted to the survival of the manual transmission, not only in the United States, but throughout the world as well.

 

[IMADreamer]

I learned to drive stick in my '93 VW Fox that had a rather sticky clutch, no power steering, no A/C, no ABS, etc. What a great car!

About manual transmissions in the US:

Keep in mind that it was the Americans who invented the automatic transmission all those years ago, and since then, damn near every car that could get it has gotten one in the US.

The reason why people fell in love with the automatic is the fact that they do not have to worry about the clutch and being in the wrong gear, etc. It is more comfortable to deal with when going down the highway, in heavy traffic in larger cities, etc. It's not that people don't like manual transmissions, its the fact that for the most part, they are inconvienent.

But much like the transition that my generation is putting through with Soccer/Football becoming popular in the US, I think the same will happen with manual transmissions as well. Kids my age seem to be actively persuing manuals when available, and although only a few automakers and dealers have caught on, the changes are happening.

Along those lines I think autos are so popular here because unless you are an enthusiast there really is no reason for a manual. Most people in the states see a car as a way to get from point A to point B and they don't see it like us car enthusiast who like to experience a car and not just use it. I honestly don't blame those people for not wanting a manual. Honestly don't want to drive one daily which is why I have opted for two cars vs one.

I think you are right about the manuals making a come back here but I think it's something of a last hurrah. Todays Nintendo generation seems much more suited for paddle shifters as opposed to a straight transmission. I think with the automakers jumping all over this "shift your own gears with out a clutch" thing manuals will become more and more phased out. They will never go away completely, but I would expect 10 years from now that there would be significantly less cars sold in the states with true manuals then there are now.

On a personal note, I love paddle shifter style gearboxes and welcome the day they are widely used. It's the best of both worlds really.

 

[YSSMAN]

Paddle shifters are a great thing that has come along to bring back involvement in driving, but it still is not the same thing as using your left foot and your right hand (or I suppose it could be your left foot and left hand...).

But if manual transmissions were so unpopular, folks like us wouldn't have forced BMW's M-Division to drop a 6-speed manual in the new M5 and M6...

 

[IMADreamer]

Paddle shifters are a great thing that has come along to bring back involvement in driving, but it still is not the same thing as using your left foot and your right hand (or I suppose it could be your left foot and left hand...).

But if manual transmissions were so unpopular, folks like us wouldn't have forced BMW's M-Division to drop a 6-speed manual in the new M5 and M6...

The thing with the M power cars are that they are directed towards the enthusiast which will almost always be in favor of a true manual.

You are right, paddle shifters are not the same thing as using both feet and hands in driving, but they certainly are the future. The fact is humans can't shift as fast as computers and I think it is the performance edge that paddle shifters offer that will make it the predominant for of transmission in the future.

 

[YSSMAN]

Certainly. VW's DSG program allready proved how superior having a computer operate the transmission through human intervention can work, and they are comitted to eventually killing their automatic program in favor of full DSG operation.

The only problem is, DSG has only been designed (thus far) to operate with transverse engines that operate with front or all-wheel drive. Beyond that, the DSG is power limited fairly low on the power scale, thus it is the reason as to why the R36 may not get the DSG transmission after all.

...But, Porsche is aparently working with VW on the next generation of the DSG transmission, presumably for use in the 911 Turbo, Cayanne, R36, and Touraeg.

Eventually, I hope, the American automakers will get into the game with semi-automatic manual transmissions, but that has yet to be seen. The paddle-operated system just showed up on the Corvette this year, but with the 6L80E automatic, the paddles are operated the wrong way (shift with your thumbs, not your fingers).

 

[Scaff]

They will never go away completely, but I would expect 10 years from now that there would be significantly less cars sold in the states with true manuals then there are now.

If that happends you guys might want to move camp over the pond to Europe.

Here the trend is totally the reverse of the states, as an example in the UK over 85% of all cars sold are manual. Autos are in the minority here in a big way.

Personally I don't see the issue with driving a manual on a day to day basis, with work I travel an average of 25 - 30 thousand miles a year, all of them in a manual. My wifes car, used just for around town and taking the kids to school is also a manual.

Regards

Scaff

 

[Poverty]

If I was to buy a car thats e-class sized or above Id want an automatic.

 

[Dave A]

I wouldn't, unless I was going to be driven around in it, the size of car has no bearing on the involvment of the vehicle to drive. At the end of the day if I'm driving an E-Class down the M62 I'm still driving down the M62, it doesn't matter what car I'm in. Ofcourse hat's just personal preferrence, I just don't enjoy driving automatics as much, and for someone like me, it's probably safer for me to drive a manual since theres more to concentrate on in the driving theres less chance me crashing because of that lady in in the red dress. Like I said, that's just how it is for me, I know not everyone loses concentration on the driving in auto's, but I do, or rather I did when I drove an auto.

 

[Wolfe]

Beyond that, the DSG is power limited fairly low on the power scale, thus it is the reason as to why the R36 may not get the DSG transmission after all.

Right, and that's why the Veyron has a DSG...

They just need to beef up the "ordinary" DSG like they did to the Veyron's DSG, and it'll all work out.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I learnt to drive in what we affectionately call the Brick Bullet, a 1992 Subaru Sportswagon, manual transmission and no power steering.

It was so named because it looked like a brick, it handled like a brick, and it was so damn heavy it might as well have been made of brick.

Mind you, if you can drive it, you should be able to drive just about anything.

 

[MrktMkr1986]

With automatic: First drove father's s[old] '94 (Ford) Mustang GT. Then mother's s[old] '93 (Ford) Escort LX. Then with an instructor in a '00 (Ford) Taurus GL? (w/ the Vulcan engine... not the duratec). Then I got my '88 (Ford) T-Bird Turbo, then my '88 740 Turbo.

With manual: Used to valet, had to drive a Toyota Echo w/ manual. Never left 1st gear. After 740 Turbo started acting up, went to test drive prospective cars. First real "practice" on clutch was with a '90 (Ford) Taurus SHO. Second time on clutch was test driving my current car...'94 (...coincidence? 💡 ) Taurus SHO.

Still learning today...

 

[a6m5]

Automatic transmission is popular, but I'm not worried about manual tans. dissapearing at all. Maybe in another decade or two, but today, even with sport-shift type system, it just doesn't match the direct and complete control the driver will feel from a manual transmission.

The reason why people fell in love with the automatic is the fact that they do not have to worry about the clutch and being in the wrong gear, etc.

Actually, I think avoiding "being in the wrong gear" is one of the major reasons why some of us avoids the automatic transmission.

 

[STLbarcelona5]

I'd really like to see a chart that compares how lazy people have become to the number of manual cars purchased. Lazy people could be measured by . . . the amount of fast food bought?

Anyway. I first drove my dads Volvo 740, that was just like driveway, down the street, parking lot stuff. Then I had lessons with this school in a Cavalier Coupe, not the greatest car ever to learn on, should've been a BMW convertible, best visibility ever. Anyway. So a year later, and since I had gotten my '79 Beetle cooperating. I learned to drive a stick on that, and it's been my daily driver ever since.

Well except for the past month and a half, which is the time it's taken me to finally say that the car is fine, the gas is not. Which is what I'm in the process of burning off in my driveway when I get home from school, now that I've emptied the tank and am just getting rid of everything in the fuel lines.

Hopefully this summer won't include any problems regarding the Bug.

And if you're learing to drive a stick, or well at all. Old Beetle's are the geatest. No power steering, now power brakes, basically the only power is the engine, and thats questionable at times. But when a car is 2000lbs, you don't need it, so you can focus on what's really going on and just enjoy driving.

 

[IMADreamer]

I'd really like to see a chart that compares how lazy people have become to the number of manual cars purchased. Lazy people could be measured by . . . the amount of fast food bought?

Anyway. I first drove my dads Volvo 740, that was just like driveway, down the street, parking lot stuff. Then I had lessons with this school in a Cavalier Coupe, not the greatest car ever to learn on, should've been a BMW convertible, best visibility ever. Anyway. So a year later, and since I had gotten my '79 Beetle cooperating. I learned to drive a stick on that, and it's been my daily driver ever since.

Well except for the past month and a half, which is the time it's taken me to finally say that the car is fine, the gas is not. Which is what I'm in the process of burning off in my driveway when I get home from school, now that I've emptied the tank and am just getting rid of everything in the fuel lines.

Hopefully this summer won't include any problems regarding the Bug.

And if you're learing to drive a stick, or well at all. Old Beetle's are the geatest. No power steering, now power brakes, basically the only power is the engine, and thats questionable at times. But when a car is 2000lbs, you don't need it, so you can focus on what's really going on and just enjoy driving.

I think it has nothing to do with lazyness and or fast food. If you did run statistics however you would find that both probably corelate well but the thing you would be overlooking is that both had significant rises in the same time period (1960s-now) so it would be very hard for you to actually prove anything.

I don't see a person with an automatic as lazy. I see them as a person who doesn't want to shift their own gears and I say different strokes for different folks. I may be prematurely judging you but I have a feeling you are a young person with no real perspective on the world since you made a statement like that. You have to realize that not everyone thinks like you and therefore just because you would consider someone lazy for not shifting their own gears doesn't actually make them lazy. It makes them different then you. That is presuming you have a manual transmission and aren't lazy.

Somewhat unrelated but sort of on topic. The fastest drag cars in the world typically have a form of an auto trannys. Does that mean those drivers are lazy? In that case the tranny used is much more suitable for what they do. The same can be said for the everyday person with an auto. It is best suited for them. That's fine. It's their choice.

What's with people always trying to label someone in a negitive way just because they drive a damn automatic? Honestly who cares what kind of transmission a car YOU DON't DRIVE has?

 

[rsmithdrift]

I "learnt" to drive on a PS1 and PC. haha. Then I learned the rules of the real roads in my moms 99 chevy blazer with her holding the holy S*** bars for all she was worth haha. Then I learned not to drift a chevy blazer a few years later when I flipped the SOB. NEVER DRIFT A SUV!!!!!. They are fine when you just slide in one direction, but when you start going back and forth is when things get on two wheels. - not fun.

I learned to drive a 5-speed when I got my first car......a $400 90 Nissan Sentra 4-door. It was hilarious drifting that thing.......NOBODY saw it coming. haha. I learned to drift for real when I got my 84 Nissan 300zx 2+2 and it also taught me how to work on a car. It also taught me about police car profiling. Bastard pigs.

Next.......HOW I "LEARNT" TO SPEAK ENGLISH. Bwahahahahahahaha

 

[Steeda]

Next.......HOW I "LEARNT" TO SPEAK ENGLISH. Bwahahahahahahaha

just beat me to it

 

[Mpower56]

I first had my first driving experience when I was about 11 in an old Lada(stick). I struggled with the clutch and didn't seem to achieve anything. Next year was better but I still had problems. When I turned 13 I finally got it and was able to drive fine. This included 1st, 2nd, 3d, and reverse.