My father in law had a late '70s Ford truck with a four speed top loader and granny gear. Used 1st to get moving when you had a good load, otherwise it was 2nd to get moving.

 

My old man used to have a '47 F_rd ¾- or 1-ton (I forget) pickup with a straight six and a 4-speed.

That first gear was good for about a foot and a half before you had to shift, but, of course, it'd pull a semi up a hill.

When I first got my Chevelle in high school, with the 4.56 rear, I routinely started in second in regular traffic, as the M-21's first was pretty much useless unless I wanted to make stripes on the road.


Ha. I had a girlfriend in college who had an earlier Dodge Colt (or something like that) with a two-lever transmission. It had some sort of a split, with one lever being "Power" or "Economy" or some such thing.
She figured out the ratios and used to shift it through them sequentially for power (and just to bust b_lls).
We used to play chicken on one straight road when we recognized each other's headlights.
Lesson learned when it was all over: Never go out with a girl whose nickname is "Slick."

- Eric

 

No, you silly!
It's obviously Left 'n' Right. Duhhuh

 

Here's one I deal with today. My Dodge has a "Cummings" turbo diesel.

 

This is the "Spinal Tap" of shift *****.

 

I worked at an auction back in the late nineties inspecting bank repos. A coworker inspected a Ford "Tarus" and Toyota "Camary." These were handwritten as she looked directly at the cars.

 

I bet lots of these cars are in concourse condition.....

Roger.

 

Here is a good one. You could probably talk him down by complementing him on recognizing it was a Buick Oldsmobile.

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/5420157518.html

 

Pretty rare in itself...

 

Hey, I've seen cars on display in terminals before!