My grandmother used to say, "If you don't know how to shift gears, you don't know how to drive. You only know how to steer." So I learned to drive by shifting. But now, it seems that it's a lost art. Hardly anyone shifts gears these days, do they?
It's so much easier to just slip it into drive and go, especially if you want to talk on the phone, text, eat a sammich, put on mascara and do a crossword puzzle while driving. But there's also something very sexy about shifting. (Shoot, at my age, just breathing is sexy sometimes.)
What about you? Do you drive or do you just steer?
Your comments--priceless!!
For years i drove 4 on the floor. It was a good feeling to shift i understand what you are saying. My favorite 4 on the floor was my Triumph it was a TR4 green with a racing stripe! I would take the top off hit those southern cali freeways and thought i was a movie star!
Now i steer, i got tired of all that shifting in traffic! My sister still drives and to my amazement i managed to drive her car without killing the engine while i got used to shifting again! I think i'll stick with steering.
Your grandmother would call me a Steerer. However, I have a good excuse for it. When I was a younger and more foolish man, I had a bad habit of, um, erruh--let's just say I liked adult libations. Blame the Marine Corps! That being that case, one could forget that they were in a "shifter" when they were driving a "steerer" with some interesting moments until the brain sorted out the mess caused by those adult beverages.
I also had an undetected torn ACL in my left knee which sometimes made clutch work irritating when I wasn't imbibing adult libations. So, that is TWO good excuses, both rooted in FACT!
Still, driving a stick in Japan was FUN! I am, however, a slave to technology and will be most likely condemned to the ranks of the Steerers for the rest of my non-adult-libation-imbibing-and-driving days.
Wait, motorcycles have clutches! I am REDEEMED! Well, I will be as soon as get my motorcycle license.
I almost forgot: driving a stick in San Francisco is NOT cool. Too many hills!
Well according to your grandma, I steer. :-)
But we all know its more then just steering.
I have NO hand-eye-foot coordination. So I'm a steerERer...and proud of it!!!
I learned to "steer" when I learned to drive, however, at sixteen when I received my first car I had to learn to "shift" and I loved to "shift" my volkswagon all over Germany.
Today, I have a hour and a half commute in the mornings, I put my car in "cruise control" and enjoy the beach coast 3-4 days a week and I love "steering"
I do both--I have a vehicle w/ a gear shift and one without. I love both, but there is a sense of power when shifting gears.