Where is my stick shifter

Escape2Bronco

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Had a buddy, wore out brakes every 10,000 miles while we all got 30, 40,000 miles.
He said, “ I just hold my foot over the brake but not on it so I’m ready”.
Well obviously like many he was bullchitting himself.
Turns out the only way to fix him was to teach him to look far ahead not right over the hood at the road.
Told him looking way ahead let him slow down time, told him it also widened his peripheral vision.let him see things sooner and in this he would have more time to evaluate and react.
It was a profound change for him.
This Is The Way.
As mostly a manual driver, my foot wasn’t near the brake pedal much, but I will say I did use the brake more than the tranny to slow down as brake pads and rotors are way easier to change these days compared to clutches in transverse engines. That being said, I don’t recall having to change more frequently than 50k miles or so. But to be fair, I don’t recall what I had for breakfast either.
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I think my FIL was a two-footed driver. He was always doing the brakes on his cars.

How long did it take the stick drivers to not look for a clutch to depress with your left foot when starting an automatic? :)
 

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Electric cars are killing the transmission in general. Pretty soon there won’t be a transmission on any passenger vehicle. Think of all the console space we’ll have then!
 

Major Kong

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Electric cars are killing the transmission in general. Pretty soon there won’t be a transmission on any passenger vehicle. Think of all the console space we’ll have then!
speaking of pretty soon
brain will be able stay home in a jar
 


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Electric cars are killing the transmission in general. Pretty soon there won’t be a transmission on any passenger vehicle. Think of all the console space we’ll have then!
And then we can go back to Bench seats up front! Of course all us old folks know what that leads up to. More young folks!
 

Escape2Bronco

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I think my FIL was a two-footed driver. He was always doing the brakes on his cars.

How long did it take the stick drivers to not look for a clutch to depress with your left foot when starting an automatic? :)
Funny story here. I had to take my mother to the doctor once. She had a brand new 75 or 76 Ford Granada. Pulled out onto the highway and had to gun it. Went to put in the clutch and grab a gear by instinct and slammed on that mile wide brake pedal and dropped her into first. Had to peel my mother off the windshield. Needless to say, it took a long time before I ever drove her somewhere in her car!
 

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Back in the late 50's, I recall a device attached to the steering wheel called a 'necker's knob' ;).
 

Escape2Bronco

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Back in the late 50's, I recall a device attached to the steering wheel called a 'necker's knob' ;).
Oh, the good old days. The early floor mounted stick shifts still had bench seats. We weren’t always that careful when changing gears! ;)
 


PaulOinMA

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I always called it a suicide knob. First saw it on a farm/ranch tractor at a monastery in UT 50 years ago. An uncle was a monk.

Just searched. Has a Wiki page. Lots of names.

Wonder if it's a regional thing. Anyone do the NY Times dialect quiz?

I talk like Yonkers (mom born in the Bronx) and Patterson/Newark, NJ (dad born in Garfield) I talk least like New Orleans, SLC, and Seattle.
 
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Meanderthal

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Back in the late 50's, I recall a device attached to the steering wheel called a 'necker's knob' ;).
The place I see them most often now is on fork lifts and powered pallet jacks.
 

PaulOinMA

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... My first car... 1955 Chrysler Windsor Deluxe... auto on the dash ...
My dad's '64 Dodge Dart had the push button transmission on the dash. Was on the left side.
 
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Back in the late 50's, I recall a device attached to the steering wheel called a 'necker's knob' ;).
I had one of the on my bay boat steering wheel!

Ford Bronco Sport Where is my stick shifter Screenshot 2022-09-17 at 2.51.38 PM
 

Wolf256

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Brodie knobs/suicide knobs/spinners are a state by state issue. Having learned to drive in CA, as a teenager, I was told they were illegal. That was the late 70’s. In fact, there was an episode of ‘Eight is Enough’ where one of the teens put one on the station wagon. Dad was too smart for the kid. They are still mentioned in CA code as only being legal on certain types of steering. Some states limit them to use by disabled persons, to aid in steering. I can see where they would come in handy, if you are missing a hand or arm. I think I wouldn’t want one, especially if there is a teen or young adult driver in my home. Too much room for error in an inexperienced driver. Just my 2¢.
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