Posted on 02/03/2014 12:07:35 AM PST by Impala64ssa
used to be that learning how to drive a manual-transmission-equipped car was a rite of passage for all - either you had an uncle with an old car that taught you how to do it when you were 14, or you were lucky enough to have a parent that wasn’t afraid to row gears, and you went into the driving test feeling like a badass.
Not so for this idiot – one Annas Abdel-Khaliq of Marion County, Florida. According to the report, Abdel-Khaliq attempted to steal a 2012 Corvette from Ocala Ford Motors in the Sunshine State, but didn’t get very far – only about 100 feet from its previous position, before the hare-brained scheme hatched in his pea-sized mind began to unravel.
Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy Bloom ordered him to get out of the car, which he refused to do. So what was his next step? Why, to grab a steel bar and bash the deputy with it a few times in his haste to get away.
Deputy Bloom got him out of the car, whereupon he started to run away. His mad dash was short-lived as Deputy Batts – who had just arrived – unleashed the pepper spray and the two deputies caught Abdel-Khaliq and subsequently placed him under arrest.
We have a couple of questions. First, if you’re going to be dumb enough to try to steal a car with no tags off a well-lit dealer lot, wouldn’t you check first to see if you could drive it?
Secondly, people still smoke Pall Malls? We thought those were reserved for the retired longshoreman that sits on the porch in his rocker at that house on the end of the block.
As our good friend Forrest Gump says, “stupid is as stupid does”, and in this case, it’s 100% true. So now Mr. Abdel-Khaliq has a sweet charge of “aggravated burglary on a law enforcement officer” on his record to go with the Grand Theft Auto tag. That’s a great way to enter your twenties.
Not only that: A few years ago my tranny went out in my Jeep. None of the repair shops would touch a manual transmission. I had to find a shade-tree backyard mechanic to rebuild it.
Also, our Driver's Ed cars were brand new '65 Chevys with 3 speed on the column.
Stick shifts are racist.
Right on, Ronin. I remember killing my pop’s tranny for at least four weekends straight while getting down the clutch-shift-clutch-accelerator. Thanks for the fun memories, dad. Manual is always the way to go for real driving.
I tend to get them in economy cars but never had a problem with one.
soeotro’s cousin?...
My Shelby GT500 has a 6 speed and is a joy to drive.
My recent experience has been that they generally need to be ordered. The larger manufacturers all still offer manuals -- Honda, Toyota, BMW, Porsche, Audi, VW -- even Ford and GM do.
Manufacturers seem to be trending towards offering 6-speeds as the standard manual transmission, often making it a "no cost option" vs. an automatic. Buyers who want manual transmissions generally know what they want -- including colors, options, etc. and aren't likely to find exactly what they want on a dealer's lot. Easier for everyone to just order the car. Even my "Ultimate Driving Machine" BMW dealer had only one manual transmission demonstrator for me to try. But I had absolutely no trouble ordering one.
My "winter beater" is a Volvo with >200k miles, the original transmission, and still the original clutch. I've commuted in Washington DC and NYC with cars with stick shifts. True, the traffic was miserable -- but that would be the case with or without a manual transmission.
Manuals are more fun to drive, get better gas mileage, and are cheaper to buy and maintain... I'll give up my stick shift when they pry it out of my cold, dead hand!
Increased safety because of immunity from carjackers who never learned how to drive one is just icing on the cake.
I’ve owned many manual trans pickups. There’s nothing like getting in a new pickup with an automatic transmission and going to the first stop sign. Your left foot raises up, slams into the floor hard, and you wonder why the clutch is so soft.
You can no longer get a manual transmission in a new Ford pickup. There’s none to be had under the F-450 size of truck.
And so, my long association with Ford comes to an end...
Some people see driving as fun. But most see it as a way to go from point A to point B.
If there are enough people who enjoy cranking up their car in the morning there will still be someone who makes front cranks.
“I tried jumping his car once and he didn’t even know that there is are positive and negative battery terminals.”
Some years ago, I went on a call where two women tried to jump start a minvan with a dead battery.
One admitted the conversation went something like:
“Which one do you put on which?”
“I don’t know, just put it one way and if that’s not right change it. What’s the worst that could happen?”
One fried electrical system and the other vehicle on fire...
He’s gonna love it at Raiford. :-)
Excellent!
My first stick was actually a friend’s Beetle. Weird shifter but it gave me a taste. I got the hang of it. The next summer I took a summer trip with my stepfather who was an over the road trucker. He let me “play” in the yard with his old Freightliner. So many gears! My next stick was an old Subaru wagon 5 speed that kept me busy in around town driving. I never had anyone ask to borrow it but I did have a couple friends ask if I could teach them to drive stick.
I should have charged an hourly rate.
Another victim of the plea bargain.
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