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Do you remember when you first learned how to drive?

At home I had to learn with my parents' crappy Dodge Grand Caravan which handled like a bus, had bad brakes, poor rear visibility, and power locks that would go crazy like the van was possessed lol.

There was really no other option though, because our other vehicle was an old Volvo wagon with no power steering which would have made it even worse.

For Driver's Ed though, my high school had Ford Taurus's which were a way better vehicle to practice in.
SW-User
Yeah and all those poor innocent curbs 😶
mooncrest02 · 31-35, F
@SW-User whatever theyre still getting hit over here. 🙈
ffony · M
no power steering
Oh my God, oh my God!!!

Truly, though, those old Volvos did need a bit of strength in the arms & legs.

But I had a 1931 Austin 7 with square cut gears, and of course no synchromesh - virtually no brakes either. Ability to gear down at speed (!) was essential. A panic stop involved heel & toe on the pedals while double-clutching down and hauling mightily on the handbrake for good measure. I still gear down when approaching a stop; just never lost the habit.

Oh and later in life when my VW beetle's cable broke, that habit let me easily change gears without the clutch. "Manual synchromesh" 🙂

Shit, nowadays I can't even parallel park!
deadgerbil · 26-30
As a kid in a parking lot in a Ford aerostar. No serious driving lessons until late teens with my family's Hyundai touring
Oh yes... The start wasn't too bad. It felt quite powerful driving slowly on empty streets in the middle of nowhere. But I also remember getting so sweaty driving 50mph for the first time, my hand slipped off the gear stick. 😅

I never understood learning to drive with your parents in their car though. Getting behind the wheel with an unqualified teacher without their own breaks and acceleration seems incredibly unsafe.
Lol…… yep, practicing in the high school parking lot with mom’s beige roofed bright orange Plymouth Volare. Wow, was I the cool kid in town.

And then there was the irony of practicing with mom, who had to take five road tests before she passed and spent much of her time driving on sidewalks and crashing into things.

Once I got my license at 16, I was always the one to drive us around.

Good times. 👍
mooncrest02 · 31-35, F
Yes it was 6 yrs ago and i still have some trouble parking but im still a good driver! 😌 lol
BittersweetPotato · 31-35, F
OMG, yes.

Go left.

*turns right* 🥔🥴

The end.
blackarcher256 · 61-69, M
‘69 Pontiac Parisienne…the back roads of Burlington, Ontario. It was an old rust bucket, that my dad and barely managed to keep running. But it was all we could afford.
We had an '87 Ford Aerostar van when I was learning how to drive, but luckily I got to use my mom's '91 Pontiac Grand Am.
Exhibiter100000 · 61-69, M
Family farm driving stadard 67 pickup truck in padture delivering hay to cattle
Our driver’s ed class had a Gran Torino just like Starsky & Hutch (it was a fairly new car). The car I practiced driving in with my parents was the car they ultimately gave me—my powder blue Toyota.
NinaTina · 26-30, F
On the family farm in the middle of north central iowa when I was ten in 1980.
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