First cars!
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@Smudge said in First cars!:
@Bones said in First cars!:
@Smudge that is you bro! Although I reckon an old brown Volvo might be better...
Imagine me rocking about the hill suburbs of Wellington in a brown Volvo and a matching Nordic jersey. Massively sexual.
Sex offender bingo
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I didn't own a car until I was 25
And it was a fucking Daewoo. Treated that thing with the utmost contempt. It eventually got traded in for $500.
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Was going to say that you guys had some really shit cars and then realised that at the time they were all shit and we took what we could get.
Mini for me. Rebuilt it with 1275cc GT motor, which ended up as about a 1300 by the time I had finished. Cooper S running gear, messed with the cam until it basically wouldn't idle but did 110mph. Effectively a death trap that I raced and rallied, on and off road. Well, crashed would be more accurate. No back seat as I had to sit there, with my head wedged against the roll cage.
Full drivers licence immediately after my 15th birthday and the car very shortly afterwards. Didn't have a clue what I was doing. Lucky to be alive really.
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Vauxhall Chevette, 1978 hatchback coupe, in orange.
Fucking beauty.
By the time I got rid of it, it was running on 3 cylinders, had a slightly twisted chassis, and the ignition-by-key didn't work... so I'd installed a push-button for ignition.
I think people need to start off in shitty cars like that - it really taught me to think about driving - you'd need to be constantly planning shit in advance, to leave a shitload of space between you and any car ahead, and accelerate well in advance of any potential passing spot. -
@Kruse said in First cars!:
Vauxhall Chevette, 1978 hatchback coupe, in orange.
Fucking beauty.Second car. Loved it too. Was a '78 but in a sort of a vile blue / green.
The mini wasn't very practical on the streets (with the whole not idling thing) so I inherited my Dad's company Chevette. Probably a bent chassis too, after I removed a completely unnecessary power pole with it (and power from the neighborhood). Had it for years and definitely needed a "run up" to overtake. Suspect all of them only had 3 cylinders working at any one time. Throw in the slipping clutch and I was lucky to get past anyone, but we certainly tried. Around 280,000 km by the death from memory. Great car (well, shit, but i liked it).
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@Kruse said in First cars!:
Vauxhall Chevette, 1978 hatchback coupe, in orange.
Fucking beauty.
By the time I got rid of it, it was running on 3 cylinders, had a slightly twisted chassis, and the ignition-by-key didn't work... so I'd installed a push-button for ignition.
I think people need to start off in shitty cars like that - it really taught me to think about driving - you'd need to be constantly planning shit in advance, to leave a shitload of space between you and any car ahead, and accelerate well in advance of any potential passing spot.Many years ago driving north during the holiday period I was stuck behind a truck. An approaching hill and an overtaking lane provided me with the opportunity to pass so I moved into the overtaking lane and accelerated. I dropped back a gear as the car inexorably lost momentum going up the hill. Unfortunately as I pulled alongside the cab I ran out of torque and the truck slowly pulled ahead and I had to swing in behind the truck as the lanes merged.
About 15km later another opportunity presented itself. This time I slowed up to give myself a run up. timed it to perfection and again swung out, dropped a gear and headed up the hill. Approaching the top I had to drop back into third as the truck driver stayed left as long as possible until he could merge right behind my rear bumper, leaving a very long, probably very angry queue of cars behind us.
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Learnt to drive in one of these, dad being an ex cop was pretty sharp on the finer points of driving (and was a pretty angry fucker back then). So most of the first few lessons was spent learning to go down through the gears approaching roundabouts or give ways, without touching the brakes or get shouted at. Oh and backing it up our 40m skinny driveway only using mirrors or get shouted at.
Guess I inherited my style off dad.
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@Bones said in First cars!:
pretty angry fucker back then). So most of the first few lessons was spent learning to go down through the gears approaching roundabouts or give ways, without touching the brakes or get shouted at. Oh and backing it up our 40m skinny driveway only using mirrors or get shouted at.
We might be brothers by a different mother, as they say (except I'm not from middle Eastbourne).
Our Dad's taught us the same way. Bloody funny when I look back at it."Where are the wheels!!!?
"You are still 3 inches from that wall!"
"It's supposed to be parked, not abandoned!"I still drive my car rarely touching the brakes, which is good as I have discovered what they cost.
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@Snowy said in First cars!:
Was going to say that you guys had some really shit cars and then realised that at the time they were all shit and we took what we could get.
Times have changed. Most of us would have had a cheap manual car that was probably at least 10 years old for our first vehicle because that was before the cheaper Japanese imports flooded the market. Now almost everyone learns in an auto and wouldn't know what that left-hand pedal was for, or even know how to use it.
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@Bovidae I still prefer manuals. 3 of them at the moment. The best thing about that is nobody ever wants to borrow them - even the RS4 and TVR.
When my father taught me to drive an auto (my Mum had one) I had to stick my left leg over the center console so that I didn't left foot brake and could prove it. Left foot braking would have been handy when I was racing but my left leg was always over the console.
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@Bones said in First cars!:
@Snowy I'm guessing from your height that your old man was close to 2m like my dad so could easily reach you from the passenger seat too. Gotta learn the five Ds early.
Oh yes, he could reach, and yes, about 1.92m but heavier than me.
5 d's in my case was distract, duck, dodge, deflect, distance wasn't really an option as you have said.
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@Bovidae said in First cars!:
@Snowy said in First cars!:
Was going to say that you guys had some really shit cars and then realised that at the time they were all shit and we took what we could get.
Times have changed. Most of us would have had a cheap manual car that was probably at least 10 years old for our first vehicle because that was before the cheaper Japanese imports flooded the market. Now almost everyone learns in an auto and wouldn't know what that left-hand pedal was for, or even know how to use it.
I haven't driven a manual for over 20 years, when I had to move one from less than a km away to our place for a mate to park up our drive some years ago I stalled the shit out of it like a learner. I am living proof you can forget how to drive them. Fuck manuals. They're a thing of the past. Move with the times.
Work have recently upgraded my uber to something that's worth about 60 grand ( brand new off the lot ) it beeps, flashes and warns me of hazards. That's before I even start the engine. It beeps before I change lanes.....that sort of stuff. I think it would probably park for me if I let it. It's got that new car smell and yet despite all the safety features I'm petrified of dinging the fucken thing and getting told off by the accounts department. I miss the freedom of years gone by knowing you can write off a heap of shit with little to no repercussions.
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@MN5 said in First cars!:
Fuck manuals. They're a thing of the past. Move with the times.
Not if you actually like driving and "a bit" of control - often in my case not so much of the control thing, but it makes me feel better.
Agree with the rest. I miss not being able to fix a car myself without a diagnostic program on a laptop to plug in to the car. A different (but actually better) world.
My old man's electric Audi is bloody awesome tech wise.
The thing that makes me laugh the about it, is that it shouts at him all the time. Karma.
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@Snowy said in First cars!:
@MN5 said in First cars!:
Fuck manuals. They're a thing of the past. Move with the times.
Not if you actually like driving and "a bit" of control - often in my case not so much of the control thing, but it makes me feel better.
Agree with the rest. I miss not being able to fix a car myself without a diagnostic program on a laptop to plug in to the car. A different (but actually better) world.
My old man's electric Audi is bloody awesome tech wise.
The thing that makes me laugh the about it, is that it shouts at him all the time. Karma.
I need my left hand to hold my beer, not change gears.
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@Snowy said in First cars!:
@MN5 said in First cars!:
Fuck manuals. They're a thing of the past. Move with the times.
Not if you actually like driving and "a bit" of control - often in my case not so much of the control thing, but it makes me feel better.
Agree with the rest. I miss not being able to fix a car myself without a diagnostic program on a laptop to plug in to the car. A different (but actually better) world.
My old man's electric Audi is bloody awesome tech wise.
The thing that makes me laugh the about it, is that it shouts at him all the time. Karma.
A few years ago I would have said the same thing and that's what I love about the Caterham. However, it's also partially why it's for sale.
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@MN5 said in First cars!:
I haven't driven a manual for over 20 years, when I had to move one from less than a km away to our place for a mate to park up our drive some years ago I stalled the shit out of it like a learner. I am living proof you can forget how to drive them. Fuck manuals. They're a thing of the past. Move with the times.
My current car is the first auto I have owned so it's been 5 years since I have driven a manual car. I don't miss having to use the handbrake for hill starts or alternating between 1st and 2nd gear in gridlock on the southern motorway.
