My first car and choosing to drive manual transmission cars.

#toyota #universityofDayton #Dayton #Acura

It was in the 1980s after 2 years of having a 10-speed bike while at the University of Dayton, I finally decided to buy my first car. Not really thinking about depreciation, I resolved to buy a new car. I read some car magazines my choice was between the acura integra and toyota fx16 gts. I felt that Acura was too new a brand and my family had one a corolla before so I gravitated towards the corolla.

I was not a good consumer at that time having been totally focused on school and my two jobs. I figured since I was a newly minted college graduate I should have no problems paying for a car.

I always imagined myself rowing through the gears like a racecar driver, so I knew I would buy a stick. I also got ride from a friend in high school who had an AMC spirit and he managed to make that little car look cool by virtue of his mastery of manual transmission.

The only problem was I had never driven a stick before in my life.

At that time I was a graduate assistant at the University of Dayton. We were hanging out in the lobby and Sue my Hall Directors girlfriend offered to give me a lesson in driving a manual transmission car. I remember her being impossibly thin and unfortunately she also smoked but made it look cool like James Dean. She was one of those rare women in the Reagan era who drove a stick and had a super sporty car. Mind you this was huge for she was driving around a toyota supra gts in spanking red.

Well of course I killed it a few times. I remember the smoothness of the v6. I managed to start off and shift into other gears a few times. I just love the connection that you feel with the car while driving a manual. I am pretty sure I cut the life of her clutch by at least 5000 miles. There are always these nice decent folks that walk into your life and Sue was one of those.

Well the Toyota dealership was on a bus line while I had to think about how I can get to the Honda/Acura dealership. Forget that newbie brand. What is an Acura anyway right? Whats with the calipers pretending to be an A? Time to go to the toyota dealership which inexplicably also sold jaguars. They foisted Bob a heavy set bearded salesman with an English accent. I never questioned what he was doing in the middle of Ohio wearing a tweed jacket with leather patches. It was cold but hey I live there so 30’s feel balmy. He also had a cigar but it looked unlit like it was just part of his costume. Perhaps I did not look like a real buyer because I ended up with Bob.

It was such a low pressure and pleasant buying experience. Perhaps that how you sell jaguars in the 1980’s. I think he forgot that I was asking for a toyota and he did not care I knew what the invoice pricing was. I was not too greedy and did not try to get into the dealer holdback. Bob just seemed like he did not care. In about an hour or two and with a 200 dollar car payment I was off. In my excitement I did not really think about the drive home.

Perhaps I should have gotten my Toyota in my Ohio hometown Lima, which was 80 miles away. I figured it was safer taking good old I 75. I just had to make it to the on ramp. Being young meant feeling like you can do anything. Yeah I killed it several times. Most unfortunately behind a pick up truck with an impatient driver right before the on ramp. I think he was more surprised when he saw this young asian kid with big smile and wave for him. The smile and wave really flummoxed him. It was because I joined the car owners club. If I see someone in a not so good frame of mind a smile and a wave usually works wonders. They either avoid you or wonder who you are. Either way it usually works to reset their emotional base. I managed the hour and a half drive home.

I was so proud of my car that I promptly took my grandmother for a drive. After about the first gear change she asked if my car was broken. I said it will get smoother. I just had to break it in and it did.

Years later I found out from my wife who also prefers manual transmissions that I am a bit of a clutch rider. Too bad she was not around to teach me. I refused to be classified as such because all my cars have reached 100k plus without a clutch change. She can drive with panache in congested Manila traffic. In Manila the horn is constantly used to let other cars know where you are. So constant honking with no lane discipline and optional obedience to traffic signs. Most of the cars are also standard transmission. Somehow it all works out in Manila philippines and other big cities in other parts of the world.

I am now in the market for a manual car. I have to teach 3 daughters to teach how to drive. I want to minimize distracted driving. Hard to be on a shiny phone when you are using both feet, hands and paying attention to the shift change. I hope they learn the visceral joy of being able to control your car as only with a mechanical link to the road. It will also shame any future suitor that cannot drive a stick. Actually I will probably have my wife teach them to drive.

Okay what the lesson here? Go to a jaguar salesman? The buying experience was really pleasant and pressure free that I did not even drive the second car I was considering. As for the manual tranny it seems to be incompatible with the evolution of the car as an appliance and Electric Vehicles. There is a small window of time where I hope they can feel the fun in old fashioned driving.

Of course the requisite Marvel reference in the picture which is the Iron Man's first armor before he went all nanotech on us all.