What did you learn in?

[jennielynn1970]

I still don't understand why we still had Driver's Ed in school, but no CAR!!!

The teacher we had for Driver's Ed had smashed up the car before, had a nervous breakdown or something, and it was never replaced. Sigh. So, we watched film strips and read a manual about how to drive.

Yeah... that was so helpful!

[Edwina's Secretary]

I learned in a 1965 Dodge Dart that had been my grandfather's, my father's, my brother's and then for me to drive. My father disconnected the radio and the cigarette lighter so there were be no distraction (yeah right!) and the gas gauge did not work.

In college I bought a 1960 Ford Fairlane -- no radio and a hand choke. It was like Phred's caddy...a real boat. I paid $175 for it...drove it from Illinois to Arizona -- drove it for a couple of years while in college...and sold it for $375!

Then I bought my first "new" car...a 1974 Mustang -- stick shift. Learned fast! But it was $212 cheaper than an automatic!

I too miss shifting! But urban driving and a stick shift don't go together too well...

[Freedom]

I learned in the family car, a red 1964 Rambler station wagon, with white top. It was an automatic. Never learned to drive a standard. When I was buying a car, the salesman was convinced it was SO easy, he could teach me in 10 seconds, took a NEW car off the lot and told me to drive it. I stripped the gears in about 4 minutes!!! I don't know WHAT he told his manager!!!

[RICHARD]

Oh, I always wanted a Subaru Brat....LOL, with the two ejector seats in the back....

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Who remembers the AMC Pacer? I perfected my clutch work in that car!

MY parents bought one and we called it the Spacer or the Great Pumpkin.

Yes, It was ORANGE.

It was an effing fun car to drive....when my parents brought it home I laughed and went to check it out....It was used and someone slapped an amp/equalizer into it and it didn't work. I popped the unit out and messed with the wiring and SUPER STEREO! That thing had some watts.....

I miss that piece of junk.

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Driver's Ed was fun. We had simulators in a trailer. You had a car seat,a dashboard and two mirrors, facing backwards, right behind you head.

They would show a movie in a screen at the front of the room and when the
film asked you to look over your shoulder the film would change to a rear view that you would see in the mirrors.

The sims were auto and manual, column shift. The clutch pedal would fold down from under the dash.

The fun thing to do was to get the sim going a zillion miles and hour and drop it into 1st gear.....just to see the speedo drop..

Does anyone remember "Red Asphalt"? It was a classic crash film they showed to scare the bejeezus out of us.....

I was a trouble maker in that class and always asked the teach to see, "Stomp and Stop", he wasn't happy about that.

The cars we learned in had two brake pedal in them. One time I got stuck in a car with a kid that was brutal to drive with. The teach had a mirror in his visor where he could monitor traffic and who was sitting in the back seat.

This kid was tooling down the street when the teach had to slam on his brake, this kid almost crashed us! The three of us in the back were pitched forward and the other two kids started to laugh at the Brutal One. I looked up and caught the teach's eyes in his mirror.

He must have seen one scared kid. I could read him thinking, "Damn, that was close-thanks for not laughing."

Years later I still think of that kid and look for him on the Demolition Derby circuit.

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DODGE DART!

My BIL bought one and took the dog to the park in it.

It was immaculate inside....until the dog scratched the hell outta the headliner.

Great car!

[DJFyrewolf36]

I had drivers' ed right at the time when the gear shift moved from the side of the steering wheel to the "floor" at the front of the console, and right before the right-side rear view mirror became standard equipment. I learned to drive a manual transmission on my dad's 1979 Dodge Omni, which was grey and had an AM radio. That was a terrific little car. I'd switch back to a manual transmission in a heartbeat except that it costs extra! Bummer! I miss driving stick.

My youngest niece is in drivers' ed now, and her behind the wheel car is a Honda Accord. It's got air bags for both front seats and on both sides, all the way into the back seat. And anti-lock brakes, I'm glad they have them driving cars with good safety features.

The Omni is an awesome little car. My husband had one when we first got together. I hope someday to get him another one

[Barbara]

Cool thread
I forgot what I learned in but my first car down in the early seventies was a Citroen Diane - also denominated the ugliest car worldwide. It had a centrifugal clutch and was dark red- as opposite to the white pic in the annex.
But- I had a bf with a BMW 2002 tii. Colour was called Mexico orange
Wow- that was a cool car!

[sirrahved]

I learned to drive in my mom's '97 Chevy Venture. My first car was an '88 New Yorker. Her name was Bessie. All the bells and whistles, leather interior... I miss her. Lots of good times with Bessie.

[sirrahbed]

I learned to drive in Bessie Mae, a white 63 Comet. She was so large as I recall - when I was a girl, my brother and I could actually sleep stretched out in the back seat when my family drove across the country. He got the seat and I got the floorboard Later, Bessie Mae became my first car and took me off to college, into marriage and through my first two sons. I sold her to the mailman before we went to Germany in 1988 so she served our family for 25 years!!

[Cinder & Smoke]

Driver's Ed was fun.

The cars we learned in had two brake pedals in them.

Oh, the memories!

Yup - our Driver's ED cars had the Dual Brakes, too. (No other controls were duplicated
for the instructor - just the Brake.)

After class, all the different car groups would compare notes to see who had made
their Instructor "STOMP his Brake" the most times during the road adventures. Our car
had the frequent *winner* - a lil tiny slip of a girl. She needed both hands and a deep breath to
lift and toss the hood open - then had to stand on the bumper to reach in far enough to
grab the oil dip stick. Then had to stand on the bumper again to reach high enough to pull
the hood back down to close it!

Her "driving" was a non-stop Thrill Ride every day! Teach *covered* his brake with BOTH feet
and kept one hand gripping the seat and the other in a death grip on the door handle. Us guys
in the back seat weren't allowed to utter a word when we were moving ...
and if we made too loud a >gasp< he'd turn around and give us a dirty look.

[Jessika]

I still don't understand why we still had Driver's Ed in school, but no CAR!!!

Lower insurance rates?

When I was in high school that's pretty much the only reason why anyone took that class. We didn't have a car, either, or if we did we had to pay extra and it wasn't cheap, at least a couple hundred bucks.

[davidpizzica]

RICHARD, I learned to drive and took my driver's test in my dad's 1965 Ford country squire station wagon land yacht. You talk about a big car! It was like driving a small bus!

[RICHARD]

RICHARD, I learned to drive and took my driver's test in my dad's 1965 Ford country squire station wagon land yacht. You talk about a big car! It was like driving a small bus!

Was that the model with the wood decals on the side?

Before the Great Pumpkin the folks owned a yellow station wagon, the Screaming Yellow Zonker....I always wanted one with the rear facing seat in the back-but no luck there!

[Grace]

OMG, it was so long ago, I don't remember. This was long before Driver's Ed in schools, so my mother sent me to AAA for lessons. All I remember - it was manual. Back then, in Rhode Island at least, if you took your test in an automatic, it was stamped For Automatic Only. To drive a stick, you had to retake the test in a manual.

If you took the test in a manual, you were good to go for either.

[davidpizzica]

RICHARD, you're right. Those country squire station wagons did have the wood grain decals on the sides. Our car was pale green and I don't remember if the third seat faced to the rear. That car was the size of TWO Cobalts!

[Sevaede]

I learned to drive a few years ago. I'd started in a '0- something Suburban (MIL)! Plus, it was in her driveway which just so happens to feel like a flippin' race track. :P