I am not planning on driving at speed on a race track and I don't want a car that does that. In this country the top speed limit is 70 mph - and that is not obligatory, its the maxim um on our ( so called?) best roads.
I want a car that will do rural and urban roads well, not one that speeds round Silverstone , with everyone going in the same direction . Even they have accidents and make errors and some of them die
I don't want to be a car crash victim myself. I want to go out and get home safely.
I would take the advice given by one poster to not go out unless I know I can get back or what I will do if I cannot get back but it isn't an option. I have nowhere at all to go if I go out and cannot get back ( except the car). My employer demands I go out or lose my job. But that's life isn't it?
On a roundabout I've suffered from the unexpected changedown at slow speeds: approach at maybe 40, slowing down to 20 or 30 on the curve (depending on the radius of the roundabout), applya bit of power to accelerate from 20/30 in whatever gear it's currently in (maybe top gear in an older auto that doesn't change down as you slow down) and it drops into what feels like first - way too far.When you get the sudden burst of power, instinct is to back off the accelerator, which causes it to change back up and you go from excessive acceleration to virtually none. Hitting the happy medium is an art that I never reliably and reproducably achieved in several huundred miles of driving in the various autos I've driven.
In a modern auto I'd probably knock the gear lever into manual just before I needed to accelerate, so it holds the current gear, maybe changing down just
*one* gear manually if necessary, then once I've finished accelerating I'd change back to fully auto mode.
But maybe modern autos are a bit more intelligent and don't need cossetting like this. I can only speak for the technology that was current in 2002 because that damned Focus auto (the 50-mph-in-any-gear one!) is the most recent auto that I'd driven.
No, you don't. in a manual you heel and toe the brake and the accelerator and double de-clutch simultaneously while changing gear. That's the way to be kindest to the gearbox and clutch, and if you are good, you don't even need the clutch at all once you are rolling.
However that's way beyond the skill level of most drivers, so they never mention it.
hats because most autos are driven by very average drivers, and the theory is, if they wanted to go fast or understood anything about it, they wouldn't have bought an auto.
Well I dont subscribe to that, because I reckon I am pretty capable though not as good as I was, and I drive an auto. And a manual.
But you are'well on te ay to demonstrating that you really don't understand what a gearbox, and engine a clutch or a car really is. Theres no shame in that, until you start laying down the law to those who do.
That is inexcusable.
What you rote learned to drive a car safely, is not the best way. Its the simplest way that demands the least from the driver, that wont wreck the car.
Poor unwashed masses don't drive Ferraris and Porsches.
But its true to say that since an aut spas about 30bhp, you need a bigger more expensive engine to get acceptable performance.
So the shopping trolleys are built for cheapness and economy, and they tend not to have autos for that reason.
I remember a remark a Jaguar salesman made to me 'most of our customers run out of bravery long before a jaguar runs out of grip' After I complained to him that the XKR I had just test driven had an annoying habit of lifting its rear inside wheel on a hard corner..;-)
Now why is it that those who took their test in a manual car got a licence that allowed them to drive an auto while those who took the test in an auto after June 1969 are only allowed to drive autos unless they first pass another test in a manual car?
so I have learned what is right on this matter for an automatic.
Total non sequitur.
That proves nothing. Yu would also fail your test if you exceeded the speed limit.
Even the MOT admits that the test is not to ensure you can drive well, merely to eliminate those who manifestly cannot drive at all.
If you want to learn to drive WELL, and cant take it from us, go and take the IAM course. Its pretty good as far as I can tell. I always meant to but when I looked at what they taught 90% of it I knew by then anyway so I never did.
You
Cant accuse me of that. I drive both. I like autos, I accept their limitations and have found ways to overcome most of them, especially in a 5 speed manual override box like the freelander..
Perhaps YOU need to experience a truly modern automatic. And take an IAM course.
Or perhaps you think you know it all already. How like a man! :-)
Like dribble, anything harry posts is 90%+ chance of being completely wrong.
Germans switch to M&S tyres usually on narrower rimmed wheels in the winter. Studs are used when there is sheet ice. The rally boys will use them on mixed snow and ice too, but they rip the tyres to shreds on any tarmac. They are strictly for ice alone.
Indeed. Same as many others - or based on what their father said. But things move on.
'60s autos were based on those made for US cars with vast engines producing a lot of torque but little power. Hence being three - or even 2 speed. With the torque convertor making up the gaps.
Arrogant bollocks - you don't know what you're talking about. I've driven automatics for over 45 years and have always used both feet, but I can switch to a manual with no trouble at all. (and I've never had an accident)
Every auto I've ever had has the ability to select and hold a gear. Including '60s ones. The first auto I was ever driven in was a '50s Jag. That had a switch on the dash marked 'intermediate hold' This locked it totally in second gear. Allowing easier starts on slippery surfaces by reducing the torque to the driven wheels.
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