>>>My old Dodge Colt (I loved that car - Mitsubishi engine) was totalled by an idiot coming out of a shopping plaza. I was given a Toyota Corolla to drive 'til the claim got settled. It was an automatic. I drove it for almost 2 weeks and never got used to it. If I took my foot off the brake, the car started to move forward. It's not supposed to do that. I mean, who's the driver here. Me or the car? The car is supposed to do what I tell it to do, not make its own decisions and do whatever it wants.
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>>What about when you let go of the break on a "manual" car, it could start rolling down a hill. Ever go to San Fransisco and stop at a stop light/sign and try to start up again without backing into the car behind you? It takes some getting used to. ;-)
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>The same is true of an automatic transmission on a San Francisco hill. I have always thought that if you learned how to drive in San Francisco, you would have little trouble driving just about anywhere! :)
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>By the way when I do drive an automatic on a San Francisco hill, I use my left foot for the break and my right for the gas. With a manual transmission you use the handbreak and then a bit of gas and clutch as you let out on the handbreak. Also, never get close to anyones rear bumper on a hill. You might be sitting together before you know it! ?)


In the Uk a hill start is one thing you get taught by instructors. Having driven automatic cars for years I had to drive a manual recently. I was fine till I came to my first hill where I had to stop halfway up. The I had to remeber how you do a hill start.

Nick MAson