This be part deux of today's QOTD asking how you formally learned to drive. TurboBrick's yarn about learning in Finland and needing an excuse like amputation in order to not learn on a stick and clutch got us thinking. The last time my family had a car with a manual was when I was 12. Yes, the old man taught me how to drive that 3-cylinder Suzuki Chevy Sprint, but... you know, I was 12. Fast forward several years and I find myself on a road trip in Amarillo Texas. My friend was tired and I knew I had to bite the bullet and well, drive the Integra. Things were a little shaky at first, but that part of Texas is flat and so shifting gears wasn't much of an issue. Then we got to Colorado and I'm still not sure how that clutch survived me and the Rocky Mountains. By the time we got to San Francisco, my friend insisted on driving. Embarrassed, I got a hold of a standard-shift Ford Escort, found a very, very steep hill and spent several hours learning how to balance a car with the clutch and throttle. That helped, immensely . You?
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