Shiftless

A comment left on one of my postings.

Clutch? What is this 'clutch' you speak of...? CenTexTim

I’ve nothing against automatic transmissions but seem to own manuals. When I was married I learned very quickly to make sure “her” car was an automatic. That woman had a rare talent for abusing machinery.

One of my favorite memories from the car biz was a certain Mr. Pedersen, a gentleman in his late 70’s who had recently lost his wife. His children pitched in to buy him a reliable car so he could visit his extended family scattered over several states.

After a three hour rodeo, the consensus was a slightly used  green VW Rabbit with an automatic and A/C.

A few weeks later he had it in the shop for an oil change and a minor warranty issue. As I usually did, went over to him and  thanked him for coming in and asked how he liked the car.

“Well”, he said, “I’m still having problems with that self shifter. Every so often I forget and push in on the clutch”.

The mind boggles at possible scenarios.

Other than my Lincoln Towncars, every vehicle I’ve owned since my divorce has been a manual. The real reason is I’m cheap and a manual is usually a G less. 

YMMV