What do you drive?

[Mark]

On the subject of motion sickness, I had it terribly as a child, and still get it now if I'm not sat up front on long journeys.

On the subject of Mr Potato Head, we used to have a fake version (probably from a market stall) which had all the body parts but no body ... we used real potatos to amusing effects.

[George]

To be honest, 98% of the time, this is what I use:

[DavidW]

No, I meant I never had motion sickness as a kid.

Oh I gotcha!

[DavidW]

And when we were kids it was playing word games with roadside signs and singing songs together.

We used to always play the 20 questions game about something you see.

[DavidW]

Mr Potato Head is a doper.  Who knew?

[Don]

I drive a 1988 Honda Accord LXI.  Best car I've ever owned, and my goal is to keep driving it until I croak.  Not being a lazy driver, it's a stick shift.  I've found that those who love automatics usually can't even change a light bulb without some assistance.

[Mark]

Not being a lazy driver, it's a stick shift.

And let me guess: you also wash your clothes by hand, play chamber versions of all music from scores and use candles at night?

Sorry, Don, but that aged, pathetic argument about automatic cars equalling lazy driving sticks in my throat. As technologly advances in any area, the majority embrace it. Why not so in engine transmission, too?

[Lethevich]

And let me guess: you also wash your clothes by hand, play chamber versions of all music from scores and use candles at night?

Sorry, Don, but that aged, pathetic argument about automatic cars equalling lazy driving sticks in my throat. As technologly advances in any area, the majority embrace it. Why not so in engine transmission, too?

I don't think he was being serious... I don't drive as the idea freaks me out, but my friends who drive manual do so because they find it more fun and involving, I assume this is what Don was alluding to...

[MishaK]

Didn't we have this thread before?

I take this to work:



On weekends I drive this:



It's automatic, but that's because the wife's gotta be able to drive it too. I would otherwise have preferred stick. It does allow you to switch gears manually, though.

Right on, Lis!  Plus more fun, better mileage, fewer maintenance issues, and how the hell are you supposed to heel-and-toe with a damned automatic, anyway?

The better mileage point is the best argument for stick (aside from the fun). That being said, some modern cars, like my '03 C230 have adaptive automatic transmission. It adjusts to your driving style. It works remarkably well. If I drive defensively, it will upshift earlier, thereby bringing down gas mileage. If I want to go more sporty, it will shift later.

[Kullervo]

1991 Ford Crown Victoria wagon (can't find any photos). It was kept in a shed for most of its life, so it's in pretty good shape. Not exactly gas-efficient, though.

[Saul]

Yes, you can post pics of your car (and the one you really want to own), but I'm personally more interested to hear which type of transmission you prefer.

I'm a committed automatic fan. I just don't understand why, in our otherwise highly automated age, people buy an expensive item like a car and choose to give themselves work to do beyond turning the wheel, pushing the acelerator/brake and trying not to hit others on our increasingly congested and chaotic roads.

What's your preference, and why?

This is a music site...

Cars? Mark?

[Saul]

[Larry Rinkel]

I never learned to drive stick, and I use my cell to call a friend whenever I need a light bulb changed.

[Lady Chatterley]

To be honest, 98% of the time, this is what I use:

I never learned to drive.Haven't missed it.

[Bogey]

I never learned to drive.Haven't missed it.

Of course you haven't.  Why would you? 



Muriel arriving at the ball last August.

[Kullervo]

If it was convenient, I wouldn't drive at all. Traffic scares me to no end. I don't think I will ever shake the feeling that I'm careening down the road in a giant steel death trap, mere feet from other death traps. Alas, Florida towns were built to be accommodating for the Great American King Automobile.

[DavidW]

This is a music site...

Cars? Mark?

Woops I caught you now--

Discussion of music? This is, after all, a classical music forum.

I apologize Saul for what I had written, I didn't see the full story.

[Larry Rinkel]

If it was convenient, I wouldn't drive at all. Traffic scares me to no end. I don't think I will ever shake the feeling that I'm careening down the road in a giant steel death trap, mere feet from other death traps. Alas, Florida towns were built to be accommodating for the Great American King Automobile.

That is a very sane and intelligent attitude to have as a driver.

[Kullervo]

That is a very sane and intelligent attitude to have as a driver.

Well, I was half-joking, which would mean I was half-serious. Have you ever heard the pejorative term "Massholes", referring to the supposedly bad driving of people from Massachusetts? In the months I lived in Boston, not once did feel unsafe whilst crossing a street, whereas here in Florida I wouldn't trust these drivers with a potato gun, much less a 1000-plus-pound automobile.

[George]

Well, I was half-joking, which would mean I was half-serious. Have you ever heard the pejorative term "Massholes", referring to the supposedly bad driving of people from Massachusetts? In the months I lived in Boston, not once did feel unsafe whilst crossing a street, whereas here in Florida I wouldn't trust these drivers with a potato gun, much less a 1000-plus-pound automobile.

The last time I was in Boston, I felt like Jesus. Every time I stepped into the street, the cars actually stopped for me. In NYC they run you over and then back up to make sure they finish the job.