At the time I learned to drive, my parents owned a 1972 Chevy Impala in avocado green and a 1971 Chevy Nova in harvest gold, and while neither of them were exactly hot cars, the Nova was at least slightly cooler, being a 2-door and with a three-on-a-tree transmission (3 speed, gear shift on the steering wheel column). I drove the 4-door Impala for about a year, but yearning to drive something closer to a sports car (and by closer, I mean like a bottle of Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joe's is closer to a fine French wine than Boone's Farm is), and I begged my dad to teach me how to drive the Nova.
One Saturday afternoon, my dad took me to the junior high school (it had a huge, flat, empty parking lot and everyone went there to learn to drive) and taught me the ins and out of driving a car with a manual transmission. After about an hour, my dad determined that I had caught on well enough to drive us the two miles home, but as we neared our neighborhood, my dad had me stop the car halfway up a steep hill, then turned to me and said, "Now go on up the hill."
I slowly let out the clutch, the car rolled backwards, I panicked and hit the brake, and the car died; this sequence was repeated over and over and over, me sobbing and crying while my dad calmly sat in the passenger seat and said, "You can't drive this car until you can start and stop it on a hill, so keep trying."
I rolled all the way to the bottom of the hill, crying the entire time, when I finally, FINALLY was able to let the clutch out and press on the gas pedal without rolling backwards; I then drove the rest of the way home, and from that day through the rest of high school and college, I drove that little hotrod (not) Nova every chance I could, and with that, I'd like to add that I'm sure glad cars can't talk, because boy, oh, boy, that car knew A LOT....
Linking up with Denise at Girlie On The Edge's Blog for Six Sentence Stories with the prompt "shift"
There weren't any hills in Indiana where I learned to drive a stick shift. My hardest problem was parallel parking, but that wasn't too important either since we lived on a farm. I had to learn that later. I can see how going up that hill could be a problem.
ReplyDeleteI can parallel park NOW, but I couldn't for my driver's test! My dad did give me permission to slip the clutch occasionally if it prevented me from rolling into someone too close behind me on a hill!
Delete"Three-on-a-tree transmission". Never heard it called that. Wow. On the column. Impressed!
ReplyDeleteYour dad had the right idea. My learn to drive car was 4 on the floor :D or was that 5???
At any rate, my dad did the same thing. Remember being stopped at a red light at the base of a hill in traffic. Lost count how many times I stalled out in the stop & go up that hill, lol
Our cars are our best confidant, non?
P.S. Separated at birth 🤣🤣
Guys were always really impressed that I could drive a 3 on a tree (usually only on pick up trucks). I love to drive a stick. Always made me feel like a racecar driver!
Deleteps DEFINITELY separated at birth!
love the nova, love the six.
ReplyDeleteThanks! That car served me well!
DeleteExcellent Six, Mimi, and took me right back to when I was a learner. The dreaded hill start using manual transmission! I only ever drove an automatic a handful of times and it was strange having the car do the work rather than the clutch control I was used to.
ReplyDeleteI drove my DIL's 5-speed car for a week after not driving a stick in over 20 years. Took right to it, but after I went back to driving my automatic car, I kept "putting in the clutch" when I would slow to stop at a light or stop sign by stomping my left foot on the floor!
DeleteOops, Dyanne, sorry, I had Mimi's page open as well as yours and got in a muddle :)
ReplyDeleteNo worries!
DeleteOh, that's a story I can relate to! <3
ReplyDeleteIf you can't relate to it, then you probably never learned to drive a stick shift!
DeleteMy dad got talked out of teaching me to use a stick shift, so i didn't learn until i was an adult. Great story, your dad knew what he was doing.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably good I learned when I was young and eager! My dad certainly knew what he was doing, but I sure was mad at the time!
DeleteLoved this. The sadists at my nearest driving test centre would make you do a handbrake start on a hill facing a level crossing. The slightest roll-back disqualified you. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you! And I would never have passed the test where you lived!
DeleteOnce you learn, you never forget!
ReplyDeleteTruth! Drove my DIL's car for about a week this summer after not driving a stick shift in over 20 years, and it came right back to me!
DeleteI wonder if I remember how to drive a stick. It's been lot of years. Well done six.
ReplyDeleteI'd say it's like riding a bike, but I sometimes fall over when riding a bike...
DeleteThe Impala and the Nova may not have been 'hot' cars, but they were cool ones. And Boone's Farm... It makes me smile to think someone else remembers that. This was a great story/memoir and for what it's worth, working a stick shift up a hill is difficult! Now for your next six I'd like to cast a vote for something written from the Nova's perspective :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! That Impala was SO not cool, but very few kids where I lived drove nice cars (mid to late 70s, suburban KC). I'm afraid of what that Nova would tell in a story! I fear the statute of limitations hasn't run out yet on some of it!
DeleteSurely one of the most significant milestones in pre-adult life... and, since we're all Hallmark and needlepoint... getting a license and a car is a major stepping stone, akin, in the day to getting to point to where you can inform parents of plans for the evening with minimal details.
ReplyDelete(Which, as you rightly point out, is best for all concerned.)
Took me back, yo excellent Six
Thanks! DEFINITELY minimal details.
Delete