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We need to rename this site to classic oldmobiles, lol. Some of you gents are from back when. Good experience to draw from, though.
Florida doesn't require driver's education; I did it for the insurance discount from the national safety council. It was an ok class, lots of video which used the theme music from an old computer game Test Drive. Last class driving session was the local hysterical monument of I-4. My driving was fine, the only thing I lacked at that point
was stick driving. I think it's important that every man should own at least one manual trans to stay in practice.
We had the brand new "overhead valve" Rocket V8's.... 1949!
Well, I am not that old [yet]
Everett HS, Lansing
several new 1976 Cutlasses.
One Datsun with manual trans so that MT could be learned.
I actually own at this time what I believe to be a 1971 D.E. car- 1971 F-85 with bottom of the line 350-2bbl three-on-the-tree trans. Still runs and drives, has rust issues. Anyone car to restore it? 4-dr I am sure.
"I think that might be one reason a lot of kids don't bother with getting driver's licenses. Our plant nurse has a 16 year old son who could not care less about driving and she's pulling out hair because she still has to haul his lanky *** everywhere. She says if he'd at least get his license it would save her hauling him around and he could take his little sister where she needed to go. As it is she still hauls both kids everywhere. I have a couple friends in the same boat- the teenage kids have no interest in driving. Any of y'all run into that? "
=====================
I did run into a bit of that. They can drive on GTA all day and crash and never get hurt. Parents do all the driving they need so why bother? I made it clear to the kids that they WILL get the DL and they are expected to help out, taking younger ones to their school, etc. That's just slacking to delay that crucial step, making the kid a liability instead of an asset. Should not be tolerated.
My driving was fine, the only thing I lacked at that point
was stick driving. I think it's important that every man should own at least one manual trans to stay in practice.
Well I guess that's the only "advantage" of making a drivers license in Germany...
Manual transmission is the normal thing here, you can make your drivers license with an AT car, but then you will only be allowed to drive AT cars
And I wouldn't want one in any other car but my Olds!
Seems like the whole system is different, too and I'm pretty envious that it sounds as if you wouldn't have to pay almost $3000 just to be allowed to drive
I also can't understand why a kid wouldn't want to be able to drive alone! I spent my 18th birthday one the road and it was one of the greatest day ever...
Last edited by dancutlass; July 17th, 2014 at 09:46 AM.
Stick car Chrysler Newport with three speed on the floor 360 V8. It would scoot.
Auto car Dodge Cornet with the 318 it was faster out of the hole then the Newport.
Our teacher Mr Green was great guy and we all got the chance to push the cars a little on a old country straight stretch. Cars were donated every year by the local car dealers. Each year was a different brand all new cars
I also believe that mom and dad chauffeuring their kids everywhere is part of the problem, make them walk, they'll change their mind. I was never chauffeured anywhere, I walked, rode my bike, or took the bus.
My driver's ed car was a '68 Pontiac Le Mans 4 door with their overhead cam 6 and a Powerglide transmission.
Due to timing, I already had my license when I did driver's ed. My older brother had taught me how to drive in his 4 speed '64 Comet Cyclone (with the "K" code solid lifter 289) The first time I drove the Le Mans, as I pulled out of the high school parking lot, I went looking for the clutch with my left foot, which landed instead on the big power brake pedal. If my instructor had not been wearing a seat belt, it probably would have launched him right out through the windshield. Needless to say he was not pleased!
Our plant nurse has a 16 year old son who could not care less about driving and she's pulling out hair because she still has to haul his lanky *** everywhere. She says if he'd at least get his license it would save her hauling him around and he could take his little sister where she needed to go. As it is she still hauls both kids everywhere. I have a couple friends in the same boat- the teenage kids have no interest in driving. Any of y'all run into that?
Kind of: Mine was only moderately interested in driving when he was 15 - my wife and I had to basically assign him to practice, but he did it without complaining. The difference that struck me was that at the same age, I would have been sleeping in the car in order to get as many chances to drive as I could.
He's got his license now and is driving, but is not inclined to drive any more than he has to in order to get himself where he has to go. When I was his age, I'd volunteer for any errand, just so that I could drive.
Now, as for the car, that was another story. I found it for him, a good car, and dirt cheap. It needed some work, and I had to force him to do what had to be done on it (or to "help," and watch me do it). After it was in good shape, he never looked under the hood again, except when told he had to, in order to check the oil.
Originally Posted by oldcutlass
Times are different today than when we were kids. I was parked in the front seat of my dads car on my birthday ready to get my license. A drivers license to us meant freedom and the first real step to adulthood. A car was an extension of our personality and we took pride in ownership.
I chose to teach my son, who previously took no real interest in the 67 Cutlass in my avatar that I bought for him because I thought it would be cool for him to have the same first car as I had. I had to drag him out to learn to drive and he always had excuses why he didn't want to do it. I basically forced him to get his license a year after he was actually able to. Go figure.
I feel ya, brother.
Originally Posted by Greg Rogers
This morning I saw a item on TV about what car the modern parent should buy their new driver child. " make sure it has driver stability controls-etc, " Wow. My dad took me out on icy roads and said gun it. That is what it feels like to skid. We learned how to control a car. What a different world!!! What do you guys think?
I agree.
My boy got his car in the warm weather but as soon as it snowed, I took him out to a parking lot and showed him how to steer out of a skid.
His car has no ABS, traction control, or any of that other crap. He needs to drive it.
Originally Posted by rustyroger
I read of someone in Iowa in the early '50s going to the local courthouse on his fifteenth birthday, filling out a form declaring he was not legally blind, and going home with his drivers permit.
As far as I know (and George can correct me on this), until not too many years ago in Rhode Island, all you had to do was prove residency to get a license.
Originally Posted by 1970cs
Well back in the day we no covers on the electrical outlets, no helmets when you rode a bike, we had to play on play grounds with packed dirt and IIRC each item had at least three out of four concrete footers exposed. Today no body can fight anyone else.
Now we wonder why over the last 3 years or better we averaging some sort school stabbing or shooting every two or three weeks.
As a wise man said you have to have license to drive a vehicle, get married, or have a dog, carry a gun. but there is no license for having kids!
Amen on all counts.
Somehow we all survived, precious snowflakes that we are.
And "back in the day," out in the country every kid had a gun, brought them to school sometimes, and never shot anyone.
I grew up in the city, myself, but in high school, we all carried knives (and sometimes swords if the mood struck us, no kidding), and nobody thought anything of it - it wasn't against the law, and nobody was hurting anybody else.
I'm an advocate of birth control medicine in the water supply, and you need a license to get the antidote.
Originally Posted by Octania
I did run into a bit of that. They can drive on GTA all day and crash and never get hurt. Parents do all the driving they need so why bother? I made it clear to the kids that they WILL get the DL and they are expected to help out, taking younger ones to their school, etc. That's just slacking to delay that crucial step, making the kid a liability instead of an asset. Should not be tolerated.
Absolutely.
Originally Posted by 1969w3155
I also believe that mom and dad chauffeuring their kids everywhere is part of the problem, make them walk, they'll change their mind. I was never chauffeured anywhere, I walked, rode my bike, or took the bus.
Originally Posted by oldolds88
i either walked or rode my bike even after i got my license,if my car didnt run or i didnt pay my ins, walk or ride.
We had public transportation, so I was riding the bus, train, and subway, alone, from the age of 7 or 8 (second grade). If I wanted to save a nickel (the bus pass was a great invention!), I'd walk or ride my bike. Even after I got my car, I'd take the bus or walk to save gas sometimes.
There was never the slightest possibility that I would be driven anywhere regularly. For my first regular job, in the ninth grade, about four miles from home, I rode my bike. Ditto for driver's ed. at the catholic school. As my father used to say, my legs weren't broken...
As for my driver's ed car:
I learned on my grandfather's '63 T-Bird "up at the lake," when I was 13. He said, "You think you're old enough to drive?" and threw me the keys.
After that, I drove my stepfather's company car ('78 Impala) whenever my Mom wasn't looking, and the '61 Mercedes 190 with four-on-the-column.
By the time I hit driver's ed at 16 (in NYC you could get a permit at 16 and a license at 17 if you took driver's ed), I already knew how to drive, and could drive stick and auto. The driver's ed car was a '79 Volare wagon with a slant-6. The driver's ed teacher worked with my father, and when he'd ask how I would doing, the teacher would say, "The kid drives too fast" (I knew I'd never get a speeding ticket in a driver's ed car ).
When I took my test, my stepfather had just gotten a new company car, a '79 LeBaron woodie wagon. I figured it'd be the best thing to drive, as it was just like the Volare driver's ed car. The Volare had manual brakes, though, and I darned near put the tester through the windshield at the first stop sign. No matter, I somehow passed anyway, and was at the DMV when they opened their doors on the morning I turned 17, out the door an hour later with a newly printed license (they were on paper then) and a set of plates, and driving to my school an hour after that to show off.
I lived in a small rural community where the driver's ed car was supplied by the local Chevy dealer. It was always a base model with a six cylinder and stick shift. Driver's ed was just a required formality as most of us grew on farms and were driving at an early age. Took my test with the county sheriff in passenger seat. Had to drive my parents' 1956 Olds 88 around the block and then demonstrate that I could parallel park it. I started driving tractor solo at age six and drove my frst car at age ten.
One of the Columbia High School driver education cars was a 1973 Vista Cruiser on loan from Wells Cadillac-Oldsmobile . Most took the course to get lower insurance rates. Learned how to drive in my brother's 1971 442, and took the road test in my Dad's 1972 Cutlass Supreme.
Wow this is an old thread. Drivers Ed was a Dodge Diplomat from the 80's. Learned on my friends 72' Cutlass Supreme, brakes were shot. First road test 79' Pontiac wagon. Blew a red light. Second was a 73' Monte Carlo. Aced that one. Then the terror began. Loose nut behind the wheel was an understatement.
My Mom let me drive to the store and back in her 55 4 door Olds 88. I failed my first driver test in 1966 from not knowing my hand signals but did pass the second time.
Gerald
Local dealership let the schools use their AT Ford LTD's...Took my test in mid Dec during 1977 with 2 feet of snow (4 foot deep plowed berms along the road) in my Dad's K5 Blazer. There was no way to see any lines or even the edge of the pavement so a bit of weaving was permissible. I recall parallel parking it...banging over the buried curb...instructor said "good enough", and passed me.
I don't remember our drivers education cars. It was 1959 and thats a long time ago. I practiced with the family car at the time which was a 53 Olds 4 door sedan. Hydramatic with no power steering. Had no problem with the test and parallel parked it first shot.
Wayne.
My Mom let me drive to the store and back in her 55 4 door Olds 88. I failed my first driver test in 1966 from not knowing my hand signals but did pass the second time.
Gerald
I failed my first driver's test also. Mine was a stupid reason though. I took the test in an '82 Chevy citation. The first thing that the tester asked was for me to turn on the headlights, and I could not find them. Up until that point, I had never driven a car with the headlight switch on the steering column (those were still pretty new back then). I was looking for a pull out **** on the dash. He failed me right away, but let me run the course anyway for practice. I came back the following week and passed.
Last edited by chip-powell; February 12th, 2019 at 05:39 AM.
Dad taught all of us 7 kids how to drive, and everyone except one sister passed the driving test on the 1st try. I actually took my driving test in my '68 Cutlass in '77.
I taught my elder step-daughter to drive a stick and she passed her driving exam on the first try. Working on my 16 y/o daughter now. She'll get her licence driving an AT, but she WILL learn how to drive a stick, because you never know when your life may depend on that skill.
I flunked the first one because the course would not allow my mother's 90 Grand Marquis to swing wide enough to get into the space in one shot, and a ditch prevented doing a 3 point.
I nudged the cone with the side of the bumper. Old biddy flunked me out because I hit the cone with the side of the car, and only a hit with a bumper gout you a second chance. After she went inside, I went inside to get my mom, but first I chewed the biddy out for being wrong (the car had bumper around the corner of the fender, thus I should have received a second shot) and their course was unrealistic. I then berated them for being a waste of taxpayers' money and a disgrace to humanity. My mother was not impressed, so I have since refined my chastising of DMV people to a fine art. DMV people rank between lawyers and insurance agents on my hierarchy of crappy people.
I learned how to drive in a '65 Mustang 6 cyl AT. Took my test in a '76 Pinto Wagon. Flunked the first time because the tester, for my quick stop, merely said in a low voice, "stop" as I was coming up to a stop sign and I thought he was thinking I was gong to run it......
Driver's Ed was an 85 Ford Taurus with a 4 cyl engine. Packed with heavy kids, it was a dog. Driver's test was my parent's 76 Dodge Aspen station wagon with the slant 6 and those defroster controls that you had to hold in to keep the blower running.
I actually learned how to drive by using our Vega wagon (mostly just big paper Sundays when the weather was bad) for my early morning paper route when I was 14.
Official Drivers Ed was at my High School in the summer.
I'd have to ride my mighty Schwinn Varsity(!) 45 mins on hot summer mornings to get there.
Some classroom, but the fabled gory movies weren't shown to us - I think they'd recently been phased out.
Two students per car.
7 cars - 6 new ('78-ish) Delta 88 4-doors and one used Plymouth Volare' 4 door with no A/C. All had an extra brake pedal on the pass. side.
I got the POS Volare' with my clueless mouthy girl 'partner' who I don't think had ever been in a car, let alone driven one. Her method was to be constantly sawing the wheel even when going straight.
Instructor was the football coach. This guy...seriously
He did NOT like long haired concert T-shirt'd bandanna wearing kids like me.
He'd randomly slam on the brakes when I was driving, grin, and say stupid stuff like "See that squirrel up the road there ?" or "Watch out for that cone!" (which was 50 ft away)
Between being usually wiped out from the ride to the school (& the long night before out with friends), my idiot partner sloshing around the course making me seasick, hot no A/C car, and Coach Jagoff, it wasn't fun at all.
My High School Drivers Ed class had a 1964 Chevy Biscayne stick shift. In Mass in those days you could get either a Standard or an Automatic license. Boys all went for the stick shift license. The automatic was for sissies.
I learned to drive in a 1960 Plymouth Valiant. 225 slant 6 with push-button automatic. Buttons were on the left side so on a date you didnt need to take your arm from around your date to change gears. ;-)
Foothill Highschool (Bakersfield) 1979 Driver's Ed cars were old retired CHP Dodge Monacos with 440 police interceptor engines and one little 4-door Datsun something. Being over 6 feet at the time I preferred the Dodges. Freeway merging and passing practice was a blast in those things! Took my test in Mom's 77 Plymouth Fury and passed but I think the DMV tester and I both had new white hairs afterward 'cause I had never driven it before. That thing was like piloting an aircraft carrier.
Dad let me trade the Valiant for my first car, a 1971 Plymouth Duster. Slant 6, three-on-the-tree. Could drive that thing with and without using the clutch pedal.
Last edited by cjsdad; February 16th, 2019 at 07:27 PM.
Drivers end, what's that? Sounds like city stuff. First it was the B model John Deere on the dirt roads around home and then when I could see over the wheel of the 1956 Mrec wagon I took to the the road when Dad wasn't at work. After a while he would send me on errands up town by myself. License, oh I didn't get that until I came home on leave from the Air Force when I was almost 18.
Dennis
Drivers end, what's that? Sounds like city stuff. First it was the B model John Deere on the dirt roads around home and then when I could see over the wheel of the 1956 Mrec wagon I took to the the road when Dad wasn't at work. After a while he would send me on errands up town by myself. License, oh I didn't get that until I came home on leave from the Air Force when I was almost 18.
Dennis
July 17th, 2014, 07:59 AM
