GRRRRR!!!!!!

[Alex_B]

This is why women shouldn't be allowed to drive.

I even let one of those drive my car recently ... I was scared though!

 

[Corry]

Female drivers are safer than male drivers.


So stuff a sock in it....

....because these stupid 'battle of the sexes' arguments piss me off.

 

[Alex_B]

Actually (just to make a sensible comment) it is a well known fact for decades that women are safer than male drivers since they take less risks and are by far less aggressive.

But I remember more recent studies which show that things are changeing these days, and more and more women show the same aggressive behaviour on the roads which so far was almost purely the domain of male drivers.

Cannot remember a link though.

 

[Corry]

Sorry if I snapped at you, I have just been subjected to so much 'men are better than women' crap in my lifetime, that it's a really really really irritating subject for me, even when done in jest.

 

[Alex_B]

Sorry if I snapped at you, I have just been subjected to so much 'men are better than women' crap in my lifetime, that it's a really really really irritating subject for me, even when done in jest.

Well, I am afraid I only know it in jest ... I never witnessed it being meant serious. Maybe my personal environment is just a bit special in that respect

 

[mrodgers]

It's not the "men vs. women driving" argument anymore. It's the whole country of the US. (I don't know what country many of you who don't have it listed is). In the US, you can hardly buy a car that you actually drive anymore. Everything on cars are automatic and the laziness of driving is getting worse and worse. It is nearly impossible to buy a car with a proper manual transmission unless you want a sportscar. My wife's new small SUV doesn't even have a button to engage 4WD. It automatically engages. I don't have heat in the new SUV because I fail to understand the logic of forcing the AC and the resulting -5 mpg I get from it with the defrost and floor vents selected. I don't like the hot air blowing directly on me, but to keep the interior warm, it automatically turns on the AC compressor if it's anything but blowing directly on me.

Traction control - no one knows how to modulate the throttle pedal anymore to keep the tires from spinning. ABS - no one knows how to brake a car anymore. Stability control - no one is capable of driving around a bend anymore. It's getting ridiculous and I'm in need to replace my work commuter. Unless I buy a stripped down tin-box econobox of a car or an expensive sports car or sports model, I'm stuck. I can't buy myself a new car because I refuse to relinquish two of the main controls of operating a vehicle to a freaking computer, that is an automatic transmission and garbage ABS brakes.

Enough of the rant. I have a ditch story as well. I've been driving since 1988, and have never had an automatic transmission. As well, I had been driving a small 4x4 Toyota truck for well over 13 years in northwestern Pennsylvania where we do get quite a bit of snow. I had to get rid of my truck the end of January last year due to problems, so I bought my wife a new Ford Escape and inherited her old 96 Nissan Altima (with crap automatic trans). The day I bought the Escape (actually, it's a Mazda Tribute, but it's the same thing) we were dumped on with 20 inches of snow. The following day, coming home from work with my newly inherited high milage and crap automatic transmissioned Nissan, we were dumped on with snow again.

Of course, this is the first time I had been out in a lot of snow without a true 4x4 in 13 years or so. I was creaping down a hill and due to the fact that I have no connection between the controls and the drivetrain, thus I couldn't tell what the car was doing, the car started sliding and slid right into a ditch.

It wasn't bad. I couldn't just drive out of it, but I could move the car forward through the ditch. I could see up ahead where the ditch leveled back off and I could have driven out at that point. But someone had stopped and pushed on the corner and I pulled up and out of the ditch just fine with his help.

It just really ticked me off that I was without my beloved 4x4 because it had a serious problem at less than 100,000 miles for a Toyota of all things. With true 4wd, and even without 4wd but a proper manual transmission, I would have never ended up in the ditch. No mechanical connection between the engine and drivetrain equals no engine compression braking equals needing to use the brakes in situations where you do NOT want to be needing to use the brakes, such as going downhill in deep slippery snow.

Oh yeah, with the wife's automatic 4wd.... If it senses slip, the rear end engages the 4wd. Makes absolutely no sense to me. If the truck senses slip, isn't it too late to engage 4wd? Wouldn't it be better to be in 4wd to begin with? It's already slipped! I want to be in 4wd to prevent slipping in the first place! Sheesh, the direction the US market for vehicles is going is driving me nuts.
​

 

[Puscas]

I do miss driving a stick. Especially the one in my '72 VW Beetle...
In the US I only drive rentals and they all have automatic transmissions. It does feel like I'm less in control.

But I don't mind the stuff like ABS, I do think it makes it safer.



but thanks for sharing your rant mrodgers...




pascal

 

[Fangman]

I agree about the Auto - with stick shift - if the back starts to slide you can de-clutch and steer into it to correct - with auto it takes courage to take one hand off the wheel and bang it in neutral as even easing off the gas there is still drive on the back wheels. Not so bad now most are front wheel drive.

 

[Fangman]

Regarding ditches - My son managed to jump my car right across one some years back - changed its geometry! Later my wife when I queried that she didn't comment when my son was driving well over the limit and is like a speed limiter if I drive - I said I had been practicing driving down our hill for years and never yet managed to jump a ditch - who would she have like to have been sitting next to that night! Didn't get spoken to for days! Must not criticise sons! Glad you were Ok - metal is easier to replace!

 

[Alex_B]

In Germany, automatic transmission is very very rare. So yes, we still drive sticks over here

Traction control - no one knows how to modulate the throttle pedal anymore to keep the tires from spinning. ABS - no one knows how to brake a car anymore. Stability control - no one is capable of driving around a bend anymore. It's getting ridiculous and I'm in need to replace my work commuter. Unless I buy a stripped down tin-box econobox of a car or an expensive sports car or sports model, I'm stuck. I can't buy myself a new car because I refuse to relinquish two of the main controls of operating a vehicle to a freaking computer, that is an automatic transmission and garbage ABS brakes.
​

While on German cars, at least those sold in Germany, you can switch off all those traction control and stability control and 4WD features, I have to point out that ABS is a life saver. When you really have to do a full break under shock, many people (even if they know better and have been trained), would just do a full break if they had no ABS.


I would totally fail to get an automatic car with traction control and all switched off out of the snow ... I just need stick and clutch then
​

 

[Puscas]

I would totally fail to get an automatic car with traction control and all switched off out of the snow ... I just need stick and clutch then

I got stuck in the show a few months ago. Pretty sure I would have gotten out with a stick. But now people came over to help, which was nice too...




pascal