I am turning into a lazy driver.

[Hawk-in-Wi]

Ah! But have you driven an 18 speed with 3 reverse gears? And hauled something heavy enough to need all 18?

YES many many thousands of miles , nothing better than a big Cat and an 18sp

 

[Richbaker]

Lol, ok

Kissed plenty of women not an issue.

That whole stick shift, old technology, thats what im asking why do I need that skill.

Had a friend, many years ago, she had to drive her drunk girlfriend's car. They rode together, she needed to get home.
She learned to drive a manual trans that night.....

 

[Richbaker]

But you don't block traffic in the exact same way when you back out of a parking spot. Got it :ROFLMAO:

And, when you back in, you can see the idiot, selfish drivers that speed through the parking lot and damn near hit me if I'm trying to BACK out... Seen it happen.

 

[turd]

I like to watch those who are so proud of backing in try to put their purchases in the back before they leave. :D

 

[Richbaker]

I like to watch those who are so proud of backing in try to put their purchases in the back before they leave. :D

I learned that one real quick when I had a hatchback.....

 

[Puck]

I like to watch those who are so proud of backing in try to put their purchases in the back before they leave. :D

Park away from the store and drive through. When there are closer spaces, people don't park behind you, and you have 360 degree access.

 

[Jeepnik]

Ever notice, you park way out in the boonies and sure enough when you come out a couple of idiots have parked so close to you you can't open your doors?

 

[Paul B]

"I learned to backup using mirrors. Difficult to break old habits."

You got that right. However, when I bought my 2015 F150 4x4, it had a back up camera with a screen about 2x4" at best. About as useless as mammary glands on a boar hog. Problem is you use the rear view mirror and unless something is more than just a few feet away, you'll never see it using the mirror. Damned tailgate is in the way. Well long story short, there was an accident and the truck got totaled and damn near totaled me as well.
The truck has been replaced by a 2019 F150 4x4 and the same problem with the rear view mirror. You can't see squat out the back window if anything is close. The good news is the screen on the new truck is at least useably large enough that you don't need an electron microscope to see when backing up.
I'll have to say in all honesty that I like it better now that I'm getting used to it than the old fashioned mirror arrangement on the 98 Explorer while is basically used for grocery or other shopping runs.
Paul B.

 

[GasGuzzler]

Had a friend, many years ago, she had to drive her drunk girlfriend's car. They rode together, she needed to get home.
She learned to drive a manual trans that night.....

Sounds like my 21st birthday only in reverse. My wife learned for one night, the car was borrowed from the dealership I worked at, and she never drove a manual again. That was 1995.

 

[roylt]

Didn't read all the replies but to pile on....

I know someone that has a newer 2023 Buick and it sees everything. 360° camera view. Even pulling into a parking spot the driver will stop and put the camera on to "see" how to park. I said something once but realized you can't tell some people. Keep in mind this person has been driving 30+ years so should know how to park.

Another friend has a 2026 that drives itself. I witnessed it live over the weekend on a short trip about an hour away. On a four lane road it even put on the blinker and passed a slower car and then blinkered again to get back in the right lane. All the while we were chatting.

Would use a self drive feature for such a short drive? I wanna say no but if my car had that option I really don't know. I do enjoy driving so I think not but dang it maybe.

 

[SamV]

An enjoyable thread. I love the Armstrong steering. I don’t think I have heard that in at least forty years, maybe more. I can’t remember when I last drove a vehicle without power steering. While I know that today’s cars are very reliable, I do miss some of the old basic vehicles that I drove when I was a young driver more than a half century ago.

 

[Jeepnik]

This is the 18 speed runway foaming rig. No power steering on this either. But when you have nothing but healthy and fit late teen to twenty something year olds driving it's not really necessary.

 

[GasGuzzler]

GM has SuperCruise. Has a camera on the column and grip sensors in the heated steering wheel plus tons of radar sensors and cameras. Was typically only on the $110K full size SUVs but has trickled down to the midsize now.

 

[Old1215]

I learned to drive in a ‘52 Chevy 3-speed on the column. Taught the kids in a S-10 5 speed. My daughter learned pretty fast and was cutting fishhooks in the field between gears with ease. And laughing out loud the whole time. The clutch miraculously survived.

 

[Old1215]

An enjoyable thread. I love the Armstrong steering. I don’t think I have heard that in at least forty years, maybe more. I can’t remember when I last drove a vehicle without power steering. While I know that today’s cars are very reliable, I do miss some of the old basic vehicles that I drove when I was a young driver more than a half century ago.

Right? And the 460 air conditioning

 

[stonebuster]

My 2014 Chevy 2500WT pickup has no gadgets like cameras, lane assist, alarms, push button transmission or rear view mirrors that change automatically when you go in reverse. I like it that way. When my wife got a 2024 Honda Passport it was like I had to learn to drive again. Gotta remember to turn off the auto shut off for when you're sitting at a stop light. Seems like a starter wouldn't last long shutting off & on all day. But I'm old enough to remember having vacuum windshield wipers in my 1951 Chevy pickup I bought in 1974. Truck and I were both the same age. Cop stopped me once for only one tailight. I told him they didn't start with dual tail lights until '53 so I was stock.

 

[Jeepnik]

You know, e gripe about new fangled stuff in cars. But I clearly remember when mom got her brand spanking new 1962 Impala. Dad groused about that new fangled automatic transmission.
His new 1962 Ford Futura had a three on the tree. Guess which one we took on family trips. Of course the six of us were a bit cramped in the Ford.
I guess my point is, we have become our fathers. But that's not bad from where I sit.

 

[protoolman]

My first car 57 Buick was a 3 on the tree, 49 Ford pickup was three on the floor. Currently I drive a Ram with a five speed and manual 4x4 shifter. ( Special ordered so no button on dash) And a Ford focus 5 speed.newest car 21 Subaru has a 6 speed. I own no automatics these days. I like saving on the brakes. Usually get 100,000 on one set of pads. I learned to back looking over my shoulder. Got real good at it for 10 years doing rural deliveries with the bosses Dually tonner 454 chevy and a 30 ft gooseneck flatbed with a triple axle and no functional brakes.I could back it out an approach road 1/4 mile when needed at a good 15-20 mph when needed and could back around a barn and put the load of lumber right next to the door first time without pulling ahead multiple times. But then I parallel park a crew cab pickup all the time with I turn just to prove I can. No self driving for me! My worst problem driving is trying to shift to 6th when I'm driving one of my 5 speeds.

 

[thinckley]

My worst problem driving is trying to shift to 6th when I'm driving one of my 5 speeds.

But have you ever slammed both pedals to the floor when driving an automatic after driving a stick for a while?

 

[GasGuzzler]

I would rather replace pads than a clutch and all my cars have around 200K on the front brakes except my creampuff 2001 Malibu.

 

[Tensaw]

Don't worry you're not missing much. And I got one. But I got backed into by someone who had one.

Same here. A guy in a new Ram Truck had his backup camera turned off and backed into mine. :mad:

 

[Tensaw]

Reminds me when my son was a teenager the kids a couple of years older always invited him to ride their wave runners.

I asked him why they were inviting him. He said that he was the only one that could back a trailer.

 

[Yaworski]

But have you ever slammed both pedals to the floor when driving an automatic after driving a stick for a while?

Yep. That and stomping on the clutch that isn't there and catching the edge of the oversized brake pedal. Sudden stop.

 

[protoolman]

Yep I occasionally drive an auto at work and try to step on a clutch that's not there or reach for the shifter. My wife's more adamant about stick shifts than I am even. I've had luxury cars in the past so I could appreciate a.Lincoln town car with an auto for retirement but by then who knows what personal transport will look like?

 

[vito]

When I bought my 2011 Subaru Outback new it was the first car I ever owned with a back up camera. It showed as a little square spot on the rear view mirror, about 1.5 inches square and I thought it was the coolest thing. When I bought my Dodge Durango in 2016 the backup camera showed on the 9 inch (?) display and I liked it even better than that tiny screen on the Subaru. Made hitching up to my camping trailer a piece of cake. I look forward to having even more technology on my next car like self parking, smart cruise control and blind spot monitoring.

I wonder if you guys who hate the new tech also have a cathode ray tube TV with a manual channel changer instead of a flat screen with a remote control.

 

[Yaworski]

I wonder if you guys who hate the new tech also have a cathode ray tube TV with a manual channel changer instead of a flat screen with a remote control.

Sometimes new tech has an advantage and other times it is just intrusive and makes us lazy.

I don't need a TV but if I'm going to have one, I might as well have a "modern" one.

I have a clothes dryer but I prefer to line dry my clothes. I have no desire to have a smart thermostat so that I can control my furnace from work. I have a set back thermostat but haven't used the programming function in a decade.

I can parallel park so I don't need my car to do it for me.

The more stuff that gets automated, the most stuff that can fail and we won't know how to get by without it.

Every day I deal with people who are panicking because one of the appliances is broken and they don't know what to do. For me, the most comical are the people who are freaking out because their dishwasher is broken. Of all of the appliances, that is the least critical in your life.

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

Vito: "Back in the vacuum tube days...." Kinda like "back in the brown shoe days...."

My USAF-taught electronics fundies class (a prerequisite for learning seismic instrument amplification technologies/repair) required us to build an oscilloscope from scratch, then troubleshoot its failure (because the instructor had bugged our circuitry). Vacuum tubes were used for that build. Transistor days were already here, but learning electronics/circuitry with vacuum tubes was still useful.

 

[buzzm]

[1] Manual Transmissions: ...Today's vehicle anti-theft device.....

[2] If you do not have a back-up camera in your car you can purchase one at a very reasonable price (starting around $100) and install them yourself literally in minutes.
Check out / Google "Type S back-up cams"

Take care and God bless......

 

[GasGuzzler]

I have seen this more times than I can count ...

"CUSTOMER STATES SERVICE PARK ASSIST MESSAGE IS ON"

Then I find a damaged sensor from the customer backing into an immovable object. They always whine it's not warranty while I always wonder why it's so important to them if they ignore it.