... wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, nothing in your life will atrit confidence in man and machine more expediently, more thoroughly than the sensation, coasting helplessly, standing on the brake pedal, the feeling of it, gone slack, straight to the floorboard. Like a parachute which won't open, nothing in life changes your way of thinking faster, than your brake pedal, vamos a la siesta: Alfa Romeo Recall Warns Owners Of Defect That Could Cause Total Brake Failure | Carscoops Back in the early 90s, predating Netscape, when you had to pound pavement in search of something you want, hunting used car lots for Panteras, a look beyond sheet-metal at the few I'd chanced upon, changed my way of thinking. I decided for myself, actually having driven one, do I really want to have to deal with the Italians? Thank my lucky stars all Panteras had manual gearbox. Even harder to find than a Pantera? Only 2800 of them ever shipped here, to America? Long, three year search, found an MR2 Supercharged. Nothing on the road like it. Real conversation piece. Wherever I take it, always draws a crowd - Samuel, '04 Ruthiemobile
They found it in July and the poor drivers will get notified in February while the company insists that driver safety is a primary concern for them.
Manual transmissioning is an ... um ... commendable driving skill. But pop 'er into neutral, speed match to hit that next gear without declutching. That's driving.
I do remember spending a little time doing that, just to prove I could, but the thrill wore off. I was using a transmission with synchronizers, so it wasn't super-challenging. By the same token, I was kind of letting the synchronizers do some of the work the clutch face is there to do, and I decided not to keep doing that. I did, however, own all the special tools needed to rebuild and preload that tranny, so if I had needed to replace any synchronizers down the line, it wouldn't have been out of the question.
One of the vehicles was 1966 VW bus. I drove it barefoot and shifted (floor-mounted stick) between toes. Two hands never left steering wheel and occasionally passengers would notice. tee hee
I had a three-pedal-car that ate it's clutch plate once upon a time. I drove it for 1,500 ++ miles without using the clutch until I could get it fixed .
