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Post by samplestiltskin on Aug 2, 2004 12:35:02 GMT -5
It was embarrassing enough having my psychotic, manic mother attempt to teach me how to drive a stick when I was 17. It's going to be ultimately more embarrassing to have my nervy roommate teach me in some parking lot when I'm 21. Goddamnit.
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Post by strat-0 on Aug 2, 2004 22:57:26 GMT -5
Weeeelllllll, I don't know, guys... I really appreciate driving a vehicle with an automatic transmission, If it shifts crisp and smart and has some torque in front of it. I have a nice little shift kit in the Sleeper and it'll bark second when you hit it.
On the other hand, I love going through the gears on a standard, and rolling that power off. The first thing I learned to operate was a Suzuki 125cc bike with a 6-speed, and I love driving my '60 Ford truck with the straight six cylinder and 'three on the tree.' That's fun!
What's not fun is driving our 95 Geo Prizm (A gift horse that I shouldn't look in the mouth). This thing is so miserably underpowered with a super-wimpy 1.6L that the necessary 5-speed's gears are ridiculously short and the clutch is so ineffectual that it cannot be shifted smoothly at any given rate of acceleration. You can't even pull away from the curb smoothly. I've seen lawn mowers with more torque. Having to laboriously shift gears constantly, while always worrying about getting flattened, there's just no love...
Not to worry, Samps - you'll be an old hand at bangin' gears after 30 minutes.
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Post by riley on Aug 3, 2004 6:36:44 GMT -5
We just got a new Civic SE as our second car. What a sweet little ride. Our first Honda.
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Post by RocDoc on Aug 3, 2004 10:28:21 GMT -5
My first stick car was a 82 or 83 Honda Accord with a 5-speed which I bought while not even knowing how to shift...the owner spent 15 minutes with me, I paid her for the car and I was OFF...THAT car had the horses to make it fun...
Then I had a 86-ish Chevy Cavalier station wagon with stick which I simply beat into the ground...tho it served me well...but it had a LOT less power than the Honda did and for trying to pass on the highway (especially w/the way I like to drive...aggressively)it was downright dangerous....if I really wanted a push, I'd downshift, which at 60-70 MPH isn't the greatest thing for the car, but(especially if I had more than 2 people in the car)sometimes you do what ya gotta do...loaded up, that car was absolutely a lazy PIG on the road.
NOW I've got my eye on one of those Pontiac Vibes, the GT package especially....180 hp supercharged with a 6-speed...tho again, there WILL be a jump in price from the 130 hp standard package Vibe which ALSO gives a 5-speed as STANDARD equipment, automatic as an option...I've got a buddy at a Buick/Pontiac/GMC dealership(where we just bought the Rendezvous described above, at a pretty damned good price)who said he'd keep a lookout for 'the auctions' to see if a decent 'exec-driven' Vibe GT comes up.
Basically, I'm waiting for my 15 year old Volvo to shudder its last....tho I gotta say it's been a good runner like forever...even now, Turbo-less, it still does well on highway trips and still accelerates better than that Cavalier did.
WITH the Turbo functioning, it was a friggin rocket!
~ Oh. And we sold my wife's Caddy de Ville last night...18 hunnert smackeroos...tho we returned $40 after realizing at the last mo that we still hadn't fixed the ignition key(the type with the imbedded microchip enabling starting the car...my copy's chip fell out months ago)...I was calling Caddy dealerships as their parts departments were all closing, but at least found out it wasn't a huge deal...
Lotsa memories in that ride...*sniff*
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Post by rockkid on Aug 4, 2004 6:08:21 GMT -5
Choke me with lack o’ funding. Last night some bastich pilot drove past me on my way home in a new 350! In my color scheme yet!  I curse (heavily) Oh $$$$ where for art thou. I’ll settle longer w my little Altima. |
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Post by ScottsyII on Aug 15, 2004 3:24:26 GMT -5
Still happy with my little Red Nissan Pulsar Hatch...
Americans may not be familiar with this car, as I don't think this particular series of Pulsar was ever available in the US. Sweet little car, it is though.
Runs almost faultlessly, never once has let me down and in the past two years I've only had to have an alternator replaced, not bad for a car that has covered over 180,000km.
For a little 1.6 Auto, it sure can keep up with some of the shitty Fords and Holdens (Australia's little arm of GM) on the freeway... overtook some far more meatier looking cars today. :-) Always love to do that in a little car.
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Post by ScottsyII on Aug 15, 2004 3:26:22 GMT -5
Oh for a look at my car (in a slightly less than serious way) here's a site my friend and I cooked up last year. I am truly concerned for the sanity of both of us, but people might like to have a look around in their spare time, for shits and grins... www.users.bigpond.com/craggles77/pulsar/main.htm |
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Post by strat-0 on Aug 15, 2004 18:13:00 GMT -5
A couple of real Pulsar enthusiasts, there!
My old '60 F100 (the "Grandaddy Woof") had to come out of semi-retirement for the move. Came through like a champ, as usual. One more trip to get my tool cabinet and chest out of storage before another rest for it.
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Post by phil on Aug 15, 2004 19:40:14 GMT -5
 Almost nine years and 302 000 KMs(180 000 miles) later we finaly put our Ford Escort to the pastures and bought a 2002 grey family Ford Focus ... The boys will probably drive that one for a few years ... First car with a CD player I get ... !! |
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Post by strat-0 on Aug 15, 2004 20:14:18 GMT -5
Wow, temporary spare and all! Looks like you got the best out of that Ford product, Phil!
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Post by phil on Aug 15, 2004 21:21:35 GMT -5
Well ... We had just bought new tires in the spring and they were worth more than the entire car at this point so I just put three old wheels I had with worn-off winter tires and put the spare on ...
Kept the new battery too ... With our winter cold here, 2 batteries is no luxury !!
Never lost a drop of oil with this baby but everything else was starting to come apart ...Ü...
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Post by strat-0 on Aug 15, 2004 22:27:15 GMT -5
I'd have done the same thing. Still kinda brings a tear to your eye, though...  |
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Post by ScottsyII on Aug 16, 2004 4:13:17 GMT -5
Those Escorts were sold here in Australia as the Ford Laser... damn robust little car those...
Here in the land of no snow and subsequent salt dumpings on the road, those things are going around still looking shiny and almost new - ish... people are still exchanging those for around $4000 - $6000... but cars here hold their values far longer, due to the fact that the conditions in the major cities at least don't destroy them.
The rust proofing on them can handle a bit of rain, and there's not even much of that given the dry conditions.
On my trip to the US a few years ago, I was amazed at how degraded and condition - damaged early nineties cars look in the states, as compared to here, where they still have shiny ducos with plenty of clear coat left and not a shred of rust on them. Just goes to show that conditions can make all the difference.
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Post by strat-0 on Aug 23, 2004 22:53:07 GMT -5
Let me tell you about my "day off" today. The plan was to take my old truck to the storage place and get my mechanic's tool cabinet and chest and all the rest of the shit out of storage. This was a pretty full truckload, and the last job for the truck in this move. So, we get her loaded up and start back home. We got off the expressway and were heading into downtown Birmingham for part of the return trip, when I had a stale yellow light ahead and had to shut her down pretty hard. At that moment, I lost all brake pressure! I figured I had blown a wheel cylinder, and at that point, all I could do was punch the light. That went OK, thank God, and then I managed to pull it up onto the concrete median between the lanes and get stopped. In 1960, they hadn't yet thought about dual master cylinders (one chamber for the front and one for the rear), so if you lose a line, hose, or wheel cylinder, you have NO BRAKES (hence the name "suicide master cylinder"). Now what...? Well, I determined that it was a blown steel brake line from the master cylinder to to a junction block. A flurry of thoughts cross my mind about how to proceed. Keep in mind, this is not the best place to break down - not a great part of town and no retail business here. Here is where my faith in human nature began to be restored, at least to a degree. First, a nice couple stopped and asked if they could call anyone for us (of course, they assumed that nobody driving a 45-year old truck loaded down like that would have a cell phone, right?  I set to work taking off the old brake line, wanting to make sure that was all I would need - at least I had my toolbox with me! As I was grovelling around under the truck getting the lower connection loose, with crap falling all in my eyes and mouth, getting greasy as hell in the 90F + heat, I saw a NAPA truck pause next to us. I jumped up and waved, but looking like I did, and at 5pm on a Monday, the little black gal in the little shag truck just pulled away. I had thought she might have been stopping for me, but it was really just the traffic. Well, a few minutes later, she actually came BACK! I couldn't believe it, but I told her what I needed and she phoned the store and said she'd be back. She took my credit card with her. Meanwhile, I had realized that I didn't tell her to get some brake fluid, too. Now, an experienced person would have assumed that brake fluid was needed as well, but I didn't specify... So then, this young black fellow comes along and stops to ask if we need help. Tommy was about 21 and drove a little tuner with some fancy wheels. I said, "We could use some brake fluid," and he said he'd go get some and return (yeah, right). Well, he came back with two cans of brake fluid! Right about then, the gal returned with the brake line (no fluid). Tommy stayed to help me get the line on - we both grovelled around on the pavement (though I could have handled it from there). It ended up taking about a hour and a half for the whole thing - not too bad! I had been worrying about it getting dark before I could finish! I sure appreciated the help from those people previously unknown to me. I discretely pressed a 20 into the gal's hand, and then later one in Tommy's, though they both protested. A "thank you" would have been more than enough for them, but I wanted to express my appreciation. I was in a pretty bad way. There are still kind people in the world...  Bless you, Tommy, and the chick in the NAPA truck... |
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Post by samplestiltskin on Aug 24, 2004 11:49:49 GMT -5
That's really cool, strat. Sometimes people surprise you.
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