The Conservative Cave
The Bar => The Lounge => Topic started by: Chris_ on January 29, 2013, 02:36:22 PM
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Would-be car thieves gave up because they couldn't drive a stick shift
According to the police report, one of the men had a gun. "He started yanking on the door and made me open the door. He kind of flung it open and dragged me out and demanded that I get on the ground... face down, so I couldn't look at him of course."
Randolph, 51, said one of the thieves pointed a gun at him while asking how to use the car. "They apparently couldn't start it. I had to tell him four different times to push in the clutch, because it's a standard transmission."
Reports state, the suspects finally gave up and ran away, leaving Randolph on the ground. Police tried searching for the men, but they took off, "My first thought was I guess we don't have driver's ed. in school anymore because no one knows how to drive a stick. And my second thing was, don't shoot me because you can't start the car. I'm trying to help you out here. You know. Thankfully they didn't."
Fox News (http://www.myfoxorlando.com/story/20757520/would-be-car-thieves-gave-up-when-they-couldnt-drive-stick-shift#ixzz2JOnG6nr6)
Thank God for dumb criminals.
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My dad would laugh and tell about his first encounter with an automatic transmission. He was working at a local Ford car dealership when the shop foreman sent him out to bring in an Oldsmobile. He came back in the shop telling the shop foreman the clutch pedal was missing. :-)
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:rofl: That's pretty good.
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My dad would laugh and tell about his first encounter with an automatic transmission. He was working at a local Ford car dealership when the shop foreman sent him out to bring in an Oldsmobile. He came back in the shop telling the shop foreman the clutch pedal was missing. :-)
:rotf:
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Too funny. I got a better deal on my last car because it had sat on the lot for several months due to having a manual transmission. Have also taken it twice to shops where the "gopher" had to get a mechanic because some young people don't get to learn to drive standards it seems.
Love the story about the missing clutch.
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Wow, just, wow.
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I should have mentioned that dad's encounter was around 1938 or 39.....sorry.
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Too funny. I got a better deal on my last car because it had sat on the lot for several months due to having a manual transmission.
Same here.
It wasn't much of a deal, but it was cheaper than similar cars at the same dealer.
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Same here.
It wasn't much of a deal, but it was cheaper than similar cars at the same dealer.
Same for me plus it had more horsepower
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Ha! My manual transmission is a safety feature :rofl:
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Pop insisted I learn to drive a stick shift before any automatic
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Pop insisted I learn to drive a stick shift before any automatic
Mine too. I'm surprised at the number of people I know that cannot drive a stick shift...
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My parents never owned a car with a manual transmission. My father mostly owned trucks for work and did a lot of driving. I think my mother preferred automatics simply for convenience and comfort. I had to teach myself.
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My parents never owned a car with a manual transmission. My father mostly owned trucks for work and did a lot of driving. I think my mother preferred automatics simply for convenience and comfort. I had to teach myself.
Both of my parents knew how to drive manuals. My mother had a 1976 AMC Hornet that had a 3-speed manual with the shifter on the steering column. My father taught me how to drive a manual in a 1971 Datsun 1600 pickup. I had some 'growing pains,' but I worked them out. I sort of do miss the manual shift, but the RAV I drive now doesn't have one.
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I prefer manual shift....except in the middle of a traffic jam :-)
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For those of you that drive a stick....
How many of you float the shift and don't bother with the clutch?
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For those of you that drive a stick....
How many of you float the shift and don't bother with the clutch?
I use the clutch...
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I use the clutch...
When I was teaching my son to drive a stick, he was amazed when I showed him how to float the shift.
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For those of you that drive a stick....
How many of you float the shift and don't bother with the clutch?
I like to keep brushed up on it, in the even a clutch cable breaks, or some other catastrophic event occurs; but, for the most part, I try to keep my synchros in good shape. :-)
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when I drove a 13speed roadranger trans I only used the clutch to stop and start. RPMs!
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when I drove a 13speed roadranger trans I only used the clutch to stop and start. RPMs!
Same here with the old duplex, triplex, quadraplex MACK's....B, H, F models,....all of them.
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For those of you that drive a stick....
How many of you float the shift and don't bother with the clutch?
Don't have a stick now, but I did that all the time. So did our kids. My wife never got the real hang of it but could do it in a pinch.
Are stick shifts taught in any drivers' ed classes now?
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Don't have a stick now, but I did that all the time. So did our kids. My wife never got the real hang of it but could do it in a pinch.
Are stick shifts taught in any drivers' ed classes now?
One of mine took Driver's Ed in South Dakota. They got the basics and were encouraged to practice outside of class, which was no problem.
I've heard that manuals have to be special ordered from many manufacturers now.
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when I drove a 13speed roadranger trans I only used the clutch to stop and start. RPMs!
The only way to drive !!
I started with sticks on the farm with tractors and an ol' 66 Ford truck ....
In my 8 month break from Schwans , I impersonated a car salesman at the local Ford dlr ....
We had a few youngins wanting to be cool and drive a stick .... I took a few out on lessons , even ...
they all ended up with automatics and I ended up with a sore neck.... :rotf:
I really loved the Lincoln Sport Coupe with the 5.0L and 5 spd stick ....
sleeper car !!
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I think everyone should be required to know how to operate a vehicle with a stick shift.
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I think everyone should be required to know how to operate a vehicle with a stick shift.
Ditto.
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I think everyone should be required to know how to operate a vehicle with a stick shift.
You do know that with the 2012 model year, Ford stopped making vehicles with manual transmissions, right? Claimed that their vehicles with automatic trannies were just as efficient as the ones with the manual, and so they discontinued making them due to declining market interest in them.
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You do know that with the 2012 model year, Ford stopped making vehicles with manual transmissions, right? Claimed that their vehicles with automatic trannies were just as efficient as the ones with the manual, and so they discontinued making them due to declining market interest in them.
WHAT?? No way...a Mustang without a gear shift is sacrilege in my book...
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You do know that with the 2012 model year, Ford stopped making vehicles with manual transmissions, right? Claimed that their vehicles with automatic trannies were just as efficient as the ones with the manual, and so they discontinued making them due to declining market interest in them.
I don't think Ford's the only company that's done that, but I am not positive.
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WHAT?? No way...a Mustang without a gear shift is sacrilege in my book...
Is this a real recent development ?
don't tell that to the $70,000 Shelby I sold last fall ...she had a real smooth 6spd stick ....
or the Focus Titanium that is on the local lot with a nice stick ...
Ford added the manual to the upscale Focus due to customer demand ... the ST also comes with a manual ...
unless , maybe they came off the line beforehand ?
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Is this a real recent development ?
don't tell that to the $70,000 Shelby I sold last fall ...she had a real smooth 6spd stick ....
or the Focus Titanium that is on the local lot with a nice stick ...
Ford added the manual to the upscale Focus due to customer demand ... the ST also comes with a manual ...
unless , maybe they came off the line beforehand ?
All I'm doing is repeating what the Ford Dealership told me. Went there looking for a replacement for my Ranger (with the 5-speed manual) and they said that Ford isn't equipping manual transmissions on their vehicles anymore.
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All I'm doing is repeating what the Ford Dealership told me. Went there looking for a replacement for my Ranger (with the 5-speed manual) and they said that Ford isn't equipping manual transmissions on their vehicles anymore.
The real problem is ... Ford isn't making a replacement for the Ranger , but , that's a whole nudder thread ! :bawl: