Thread: Your First Car!

Some fine Chargers in this vid!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msmzXBLVJEg

Well if it helps. I learned on an old Ford Tractor and I drive a Jeep now. Haven't taken it in to a shop if I know how to fix it. Dad taught me early. Brakes, Oil, Alternator, Timing Belts, any kind of maintenance that I can do I do. Onto driving. I will not argue that I am still a green hand. I will argue that I have had to drive 14 hour drives from home to college and back for the past 7 years. Along with going from Florida to Newfoundland. I believe I have learned a lot on driving. The biggest thing I learned is pay attention to what is happening around you and FAR ahead of you. But my biggest gripe is that I try to keeep a safe breaking distance from the car in front of me and the morons around me don't understand and swipe into the gap. I am with you on the fact that most people don't know how to really drive. I have seen enough idiots on the road.

Originally Posted by Furcifer

I'm with you on that. I used to just grouse and joke about how people can't drive, due in large part to the fact that they never had a chance to learn in a real car! As time went on, however, it just got worse. ABS, FWD, and littler cars were all engineered to compensate more and more for lack of skill (along with other market incentives, such as fuel economy).

They're finding that most riders really only have one year's experience and just repeat the same mistakes and bad habits over and over for years afterward. Hmmm, well, even so, at least motorcycles have a way of demanding the operator's attention 100% of the time, so how much worse are drivers of cars with so many installed or introduced distractions and compensations?

Originally Posted by Pyrateknight

Well if it helps. I learned on an old Ford Tractor and I drive a Jeep now. Haven't taken it in to a shop if I know how to fix it. Dad taught me early. Brakes, Oil, Alternator, Timing Belts, any kind of maintenance that I can do I do. Onto driving. I will not argue that I am still a green hand. I will argue that I have had to drive 14 hour drives from home to college and back for the past 7 years. Along with going from Florida to Newfoundland. I believe I have learned a lot on driving. The biggest thing I learned is pay attention to what is happening around you and FAR ahead of you. But my biggest gripe is that I try to keeep a safe breaking distance from the car in front of me and the morons around me don't understand and swipe into the gap. I am with you on the fact that most people don't know how to really drive. I have seen enough idiots on the road.

I learned how to drive on tractors and old pick ups. Dad was an Oldsmobile lover and he had some running SOB's (for land yacht's) in the 60's. He had a '65 "88" with a 455CID wedge motor that would SCREAM! I got to play with that on occasion and find out real HP and torque was lke.

If it's any consolation to you, It's been 45 years since I bought that '57. Since then, I've driven professionally for 33 of those years and logged over 3 million miles. I never had a chargeable accident in that time period ( nearly killed myself two or three times but I lucked out through wither blind luck or sheer stupidity).

Give yourself FOUR seconds of following distance and ignore the a-hole that jumps in the gap and five him FOUR seconds. You've got the part down about looking WAY ahead. Smith Systems calls it "aim high in driving", Keep those facts in mind and practice them religiously and you'll get by with no problems (except the ones you create for yourself)

Oldsmoblie made the "88" the "98" and the Urinate...for the people who want to piss around town !

Originally Posted by nessmuck

Oldsmoblie made the "88" the "98" and the Urinate...for the people who want to piss around town !

A '67 4-4-2 is my dream car. ( A '66 would work too. )