I actually was pulled over for what the cop thought was me tossing a cigarette. He saw my hand in a downward motion. I think he was a little embarrassed when he walked up to the car, started to explain that he’d pulled for for throwing a cigarette out the window, then saw I still had the mostly smoked stub in my hand. Still got a 10 minute littering and especially tossing burning cigarettes lecture anyways. complete waste of both of our time.
Manual steering is fine when you’re rolling. Try parking a 60s vette with a manual gear box and a big block straddling the front crossmember. You’ll have Popeye arms after a short while…but the experience makes it worthwhile IMO…
1 Like
Not just 'vettes!
My father’s V-8 '59 Plymouth had manual steering, and it was a bear to park.
Once you were rolling, it was okay, but… parking? Yikes!
1 Like
My first car was a 1984 Ford Tempo with manual steering. I didn’t notice it as much of a big deal at the time. I do remember it required some muscle to park but when you were rolling, it wasn’t much different than having power steering.
That’s exactly my point. Now that many of us are tapping on keyboards instead of wrestling bears or toil the land for a living, it’s hard to stay in shape.
It’s not that hard. As a Software Engineer - I don’t get much exercise at work…So I have to get it elsewhere. Just find the time and do it.
I once owned a 1961 Chevrolet Corvair. Power steering wasn’t needed or even available.
I had a 72 ford pickup, high pressure hose went, and drove with no assist for many years, it was not so bad, needed to be moving slowly though.
My first car had manual steering. About 5.5 turns lock to lock instead of todays 3 -3.5. The extra rstio allowed easy steering. I took my parallel parking test with that car and nailed it in one try.
When I worked for my state’s Child Protective agency back in the late '60s, most of our cars were Ford, Chevy, and Plymouth sedans. We had one Studebaker Lark, and the one and only time that I got to drive it, I actually pulled over and lifted the hood because I found it hard to believe that the state had paid for power steering on this one car. Surprise! The Lark had manual steering, and it was so much easier to steer than the “Big 3” sedans that it felt like power steering, by comparison. It was also much peppier than those other sedans.
Sadly, the one time that I drove it was to take it back to the Central Motor Pool because it was deemed to be “too old”. That 5 year old Lark performed better than the brand-new Chevy that I drove back to the office.
We get all kinds of exercise at work; raising the roof, pounding sand, rolling out the red carpet, pounding fists, running around in circles, jumping up&down and then through hoops, drilling into details and so on. By the end of the day, I’m beat!
3 Likes
Our second family car when I grew up was a 1946 Buick Roadmaster with 8.20x15 tires and no power steering. It took some muscle to park this beast. Great car for going in a straight line with that big straight 8 powerplant.
I used to focus on academics and neglect exercising. When the 2008 recession hit, I exercised and weight trained in an attempt to enter the navy’s officer candidate school. Though I didn’t get in due to my age, I found that I could enjoy a lot more outdoor physical activities that my younger self did not.
I think that’s the same with driving with manual steering and canoeing. They can be the toughest activity until you’ve built and maintain the upper body strength for it. When my power steering belt failed, I wanted to leave it alone because it had failed twice already; all the replacement belts were junk and I wasn’t using fuel to turn that pump. We had it fixed because my wife drove the thing as well.
I agree and if you can’t “find” the time then you have to make the time. Just hopping out of bed a half hour early gives you plenty of time for decent cardio or strength training activity. Also, it improves attitude and productivity (There’s something to be said about getting blood circulating everywhere, including one’s brain!) It becomes quite addicting, but what a good addiction! I hold myself highly accountable when it comes to exercise and healthful eating (I’ve fine tuned my eating and I guess I’m now officially a vegetarian, heading toward being one of those damned vegans 
).
I find that if I start the day off doing something extremely difficult then everything else for the day seems a bit easier.
Besides, what good is a job and retirement savings if you won’t be around for it? (except leaving something for family).
Relating this to cars, I’d rather buy a used car that is driven daily than one parked with weeds growing under it.
Old cars
From what I’m reading, if I buy a newer vehicle I could be longing for thee days of spare tires!
CSA
I have asked before but not gotten any answers. Our awd car came with a full size spare, 2017 Rav4, whe have to get the tires rotated every 500 miles, now say the tires are worn 3/4 of life have a flat and put the nused spare on, as there is not 5 tire rotation. Can this cause an issue? How many miles is it safe to drive with uneven tread depth? Suppose I could call the dealer, but maybe someone here knows.
Hey Barky! Have you consulted the Owner Manual? It must cover AWD and using the spare, I would guess.
CSA
Yes, today’s cars are definitely more reliable. But I don’t like weird mandatory safety items like TPMS sensors, 37F freeze warning, passenger seatbelt warning, etc. I’m conflicted on some of the weird optional features creep into the higher trims like lane departure, auto-braking that actually try to fight the driver.
Good Grief . Some of todays tires can be low and not really appear so . Just a month ago the low tire warning lit up . I pulled in to a Quik Trip and aired the tire drove to a tire shop and had a nail removed . Much better than changing a tire on the roadside in the rain . Bridges and over passes will freeze at 37 F so what is wrong about having a warning if you are not aware of a sudden temp drop.
No mention of it in the manual I have found, Though it does recommend rotating the spare with the 2 tires on passenger side. Put a call in to the dealer.
Hmmm… I’ll bite! Now how would that work? Please refer me to the Road Runner cartoon where that actually happened or any science information that shows that’s physically possible.
CSA