[NA] They don't make cars like they used to

flyersfan31 said:
Ya know, the AMC Gremlin had 3 on the tree too. Jes' sayin.....:ihih:
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We had a 1976 GMC van that had it. And that was the last I saw of it. Most of the students we have were all born long after that and have never seen it. They see the lever in the down position and are thinking "Drive", and are shocked when I throw it into "Park" when we're rolling at a good clip. And then it goes into "Drive" again once we're cruising. Their brains can't process that.

Modern safety gadgetry is great, but it's only a supplement to safe driving. The gadgetry is not the driver. The human behind the wheel needs to know certain stuff, like how to maintain control in any conditions and how to regain it once it's lost. And that no amount of electromechanical innovation will make a vehicle idiot-proof.

Dan
 
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Dan Thomas said:
We had a 1976 GMC van that had it. And that was the last I saw of it. Most of the students we have were all born long after that and have never seen it. They see the lever in the down position and are thinking "Drive", and are shocked when I throw it into "Park" when we're rolling at a good clip. And then it goes into "Drive" again once we're cruising. Their brains can't process that.

Modern safety gadgetry is great, but it's only a supplement to safe driving. The gadgetry is not the driver. The human behind the wheel needs to know certain stuff, like how to maintain control in any conditions and how to regain it once it's lost. And that no amount of electromechanical innovation will make a vehicle idiot-proof.

Dan
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How many people know how to handle things if their car starts to hydroplane? How many people actually check ANYTHING (tire pressure, oil level, etc) on their car before a dummy light comes on?
 
wbarnhill said:
As long as that acreage includes fields with plenty of hidden holes... :D
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Now yer talkin!

;-)

When my son was 13 or so we decided to buy him a used Kawasaki 250 2-stroke dirt bike.

I said I'd need to take it for a ride and see if it would be suitable.

"Sure, you can ride in the field across the street..."

Away I went...starting slow, building speed, checking the different combinations of gear and revs when suddenly, I hit the narrow but powerful sweet spot of the powerband -- the exact same moment I hit a groundhog hole.

Next thing I know I'm "standing" next to the bike, both hands still on the handlebars as the thing starts to wheelie and accelerate.

Both feet hit a rock hard and I was now doing a full superman over the bike, still hanging on as I'm now at full throttle.

The bike lurched a bit and I landed on top, seated.

I let off the gas and looked around -- no one saw that.

I was relieved, then disappointed -- nobody saw that????
 
yep. driver training started at about 3 yrs old with 4 wheelers, snowmobiles, and some various farm equipment. just had to figure out the rules of the road and how to parallel park once i got into a car. turned 14 got learners permit and started driving dad everywhere. he would nap. stepmom would not let me drive her around. probably drove about 100K miles in high school delivering pizzas in geo metros. geo metros with an e-brake are a boatload of fun with 4 or more inches of snow on the road.
 
wbarnhill said:
Ah, another car safety thread!

Here's my view. Not enough teenagers get proper training to drive (and those bad habits just continue to carry over since we don't require any type of refresher), and not enough people overall can drive the tank they decided to buy for safety (or park for that matter).

So, I suggest a system kinda like ours. Require everyone to go through a drivers education course before testing. You get licensed for compact or sedan, and can get it increased to truck and SUV after passing a test designed to make sure you're aware of certain factors (you ride higher than smaller traffic so you need to know how to keep an eye on all of your blind spots, rollover risks, etc).

It won't solve a lot of things, but I think it'd help.
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I agree. The testing process has to be more rigorous too, like in England. Here, you pretty much have to fog a mirror to get a license.
 
dmccormack said:
Oh, so true...

I drive I-79 every day and on snowy days have been passed in my 4x4 F150 by Plymouth Reliant K cars...

:confused:
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I generally drive ~60 in the snow and get passed on a regular basis....
 
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