https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/video...?ocid=msedgdhp
Bob
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That's Very sad from my perspective! However, you don't know what you don't know.
Doesn't surprise me in the least.
Kind of like how many of the youngin's can't operate a shift stick in a car-----LET ALONE---A non synchronized transmission.
'What do you mean you need to Double Clutch it? What the hell is a clutch?'
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I learned a crash box in a half cab double decker bus in England.
In England you have to pass your test in a manual to drive a stick, if you take your test in an automatic, thats all you can drive which is awkward because autos are few and far between in the UK unless you get something big.
I remember even using Morse code on the old pay phones for free calls. You know the ones that only disabled the tones till you paid.
Could tap out the number on the hang up lever and free calls..
Course no mandatory area codes back then, just 7 numbers to tap out..
Had to save the quarters for pac man!
There are many things that are getting lost as things advance. However there is a ton of tech stuff that I don’t get, so I’m not going to throw any stones. The video was very entertaining. When I bought my car, only one of my kids could drive it because the others couldn’t drive stick. Mostly because when they were learning to drive no one wanted to drive my beast truck, everyone wanted to learn in moms nice little automatic car.
I did not post this to throw stones but thought it entertaining that even simple tech needs explaining in order to use it. Yea, there is a ton of tech stuff I don't understand that younger people take knowing for granted. Don't ever buy a new car when your old one is ten years old if you are not tech savvy or you could wind up in a love/hate relationship with it.
Bob
That reminds me. I was recently out on a course. I picked up a rental car at the airport. They don’t come with GPS options anymore. Just use your phone the guy says. It took me getting lost and having to pull over and watch a YouTube video and download Google maps in order for me to get it figured out. There were three USB jacks in the car, but only one of them is connected to the onboard system and Bluetooth connecting my phone only activated my phone and text. I was an hour and a half getting it figured out.
I don't own a car... haven't, since 2012. The last time I rented a car (2016) I'd been driving a lot around town, and before returning it I needed to fill the gas tank. Well, how the heck to open the door to the filler cap? I looked for something underneath the dash on the driver's side, in the glove box, and and and then searched for the User Manual (couldn't find it -- it was in a plastic pouch, in the trunk, under the carpet, nestled with the spare tire -- and, no mention of how-to). I finally called the rental agency -- "Oh, just push on the door; it'll spring right open." Yup. Still smh.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobH
The wifes car is like that. Push on the gas door and it pops open. I had to find out the hard way that you also have to turn off the engine before it would open. I about beet the hell out of that door until i yeld at the wife to turn the car off.
Oh boy, all that sounds familiar.
Bob
My wife gets aggrevated with me. Her car has more gadgets than a Swiss army knife. I say, "that'll be expensive to fix WHEN it breaks." When I got a new van for work I got one as plain Jane as they come: manual locks, manual windows, manual seats, hell, I'd have gotten manual transmission if they made it.
I'll.tell you what scares me to death is self driving cars. People love to talk about human error. Ever catch yourself drifting out of your lane? What happens? You quick yank it back to right. When machines screw up they keep screwing up. I'll drive the dad blame car by myself thank you very much.
Manual transmission.... You forgot about the manual choke, and pumping the peddle a few times before you try starting it. :gaah:
Good post, Bob.!
I remember my first car, had to pull out the choke and it really started to run rough if i forgot to put it in quickly enough.
Both the women I have tried to teach how to drive a stick shift just did not want get it and so did not. Just could not get the clutch and gas pedal coordination to avoid bunny hopping starts, when to up/down shift and their eyes glazed over when they were told how to use the parking brake when stopped on a hill to avoid rolling back when the light changed. OTOH all my female family members in Germany handle a stick shift with aplomb as you hand to earn your drivers licence on a stick shift.
When I met the boss she had a Hyundai Pony with a manual pull out choke. I hated that car but to it's credit even if you did not plug in the block heater at -35c it would grunt out half a turn and fire up. At the time there was no guarantee that a North American car with an automatic choke would start under the same conditions. We have come a long way since then though.
Bob
Having grown up with the plastic rotary dials, I remember discovering that the earlier, metal rotary dials were easier and more comfortable to use.
Also curious about the driver's permit situation in Britain as mentioned. If one passes the test with a standard (manual) transmission, is one allowed to drive an automatic transmission without needing to have a specific license for it?
I'd be interested to know also. One would think that you would not need to re-qualify on an automatic. The automatic does all the work for you therefore anyone, some say idiot, can drive one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brontosaurus
Bob
I have a dial phone hanging on my wall. People still think that it's functioning.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brontosaurus
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Back in the day they would use J A instead of 5 and 2 to start the prefix.
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Before the advent of cell phone everything here in Walla Walla was 525, 529, 522 etc. When a crew would come from the Seattle area and would want my phone number I'd tell them the (5) and then the last four of the number forgetting that they weren't from here so then I'd have to go back and tell then it was 525-????.
My dad has one in his basement. Must be 50 years old. Back then if the phone broke they sent someone to the house to fix it. Needless to say they were built very well as their motivation was to not have to repair them. As opposed to creating a product that will last until the second hand passes 12 midnight on the 366th day. Wait a minute? They don't have them on modern clocks anymore. Probably too complicated for modern engineers.Quote:
Originally Posted by cudarunner
Yes if a person passes the driving test in a manual they can drive either but if they take the test in an automatic, that's all they can drive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brontosaurus
My ex wife couldn't get her head around the clutch so she passed in an auto and we had all sorts of trouble trying to find a small enough auto for her.
At one stage she wanted a smart car but she couldn't get one because apparently they can be driven in non auto mode so need a standard license.
Ha, I remember that too.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeB52
My Mum put a phone lock on the dial so I couldn't run the phone bill up talking to my friends ( in UK we pay for all calls by the minute, even local ones).
She couldn't figure out why the bills where still too big, she never did figure out that I could tap out the number I wanted to call on the hook.
Mike I bought a truck from UF Motor pool on a surplus auction for a hunting truck. It was an '85 which did automatic sadly but no AC and manual everything else. It even had the wing windows and box vents with a turn lever door next to the kick panels. Anyway, the carb was a POS so I replaced it and gave it a manual choke like my first car had and it worked great, especially since I also removed and plugged the EGR.Quote:
Originally Posted by outback
To obtain my American driver's license in the late 1970s, everything was done with an automatic transmission. Around two weeks after I received it, my father took me to a parking lot to learn how to drive his Volkswagen Beetle with a stick-shift. Took me a couple of days like this to get the hang of it. Simple as that, no new license needed. Once learned, it was hard to go back. Sort of like returning to carts after shaving with a straight. I like that in France, most cars have a standard (manual) transmission. But like in Britain, if one passes an exam with an automatic transmission one still has to pass an exam for the manual transmission. I shiver to think what would happen if I sought to obtain a French driver's license (I have an American one that is recognized in France). After some 40+ years of driving, I'd probably fail the test given all the minute conditions they would have in place. Driving schools are an incredible racket here.Quote:
Originally Posted by STF
Your'e lucky that you can drive forever on a US license.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brontosaurus
When I came to Canada, I drove on my UK license for 6 months before discovering that I could only use it for 1 month.
I was panicking big time because i would need a Canadian driving test. I was psyching myself up for a driving test in a foreign country for a month before applying but as luck would have it an agreement was reached enabling me to exchange my license for a Canadian one.
I only got my car license though, I lost my PSV for buses, my HGV1 for semi's, my H for track laying vehicles (tank driver in the army), and my motorbike license. Bummer really because i had worked hard for those entitlements but I'm too old to use them anyway and at least I can drive the car legally.
