Thursday, January 19, 2006

Back Home

Five hundred miles and only five stalled engines later, I am back in Michigan. The manual transmission of my new car (a '98 Jetta) is significantly easier than the vehicle I learned on (an old pickup) and by the time I made it home, I was able to drive fairly smooth. Some things are still pretty rocky (e.g. starting out in first from a stop), but I LOVE the feel of it and the control I have over what the car is doing.

If I'm ever able to master it, I don't know if I'll ever go back to an automatic. (Of course, most of the rest of my life will be spent living in countries where they've never heard of automatic transmissions.) I'll put up a picture of the car soon.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I miss having a manual transmission. My first car when I moved to CA was a VW Cabriolet.. but the hills of SF did it in.. :( There IS something exciting about feeling so in control. Enjoy your new car!

Anonymous said...

Manual transmissions ROCK! Unfortunately they are becoming extinct, partially because the new automatics are so much more sophisticated and efficient. A manual always has one huge advantage though - it always gives you plenty of warning before it goes. With an automatic, it can totally blow up at any moment! Enjoy it while you can - the option might not be there for long.