“Said when I learned to get it to the top of the hill without it rolling backward or burning rubber three times in a row, I can drive it anytime I wanted.”
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OMG. I remember my fear of hills with traffic lights at the top. I forgot all about that.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill-holder
Going to this page and clicking on the image to enlarge, might help one figure out how such devices as '50's era Studebaker "hill holders" functioned.
Wonder how many of the young’uns today could get the hang of being able to let the clutch out just enough and apply just enough gas to hold a car stationery, not just on an ordinary hill, but one that was packed with snow and ice. Tough to do sometimes, particularly when you had very high heels on. I often drove without shoes on so that would cause runs in my stockings and make my mom mad. But we stopped them with nail polish.
Parallel parking in the city on the side of a hill was also often interesting, regardless of whether you were going up the hill or down. Took a little more talent and attention back then to drive a car. Now you just put it in gear and step on the gas - pretty dummy proof and boring.
Just a whole lot of differences between experiences of generations.