Hi Grant how are you and the GF doing?

Seems to be doing better James but still slow moving yet. I'm going to keep her up here for the month (I hope), easier here than in SF.

And maybe getting away from the hustle and bustle could be a nice diversion also. plus you wont have to commute. So a good respite for you.

Yes the 101 parking lot can take a toll on your nerves, if you lived in the bay area you would understand. I'm sure TL and Uli can clue you in on that one.

I have had the misfortune of being on the beltway around Washington DC a few times. Plus some parking lots on I95 in various States. Plus if you have ever tried to get on Cape Cod Mass. On a late Friday afternoon. I do understand, That why I will never drive a standard shift again. I blame that on my bad knees :)

Standerd shift is totally out for me. LA is the worst of all. Two times to hit LA is never or 3 AM in the morning. :( The rest forget.

I've been to LA, San Fran and San Diego, would NEVER want to live in LA!

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures

Hi Grant how are you and the GF doing?

Seems to be doing better James but still slow moving yet. I'm going to keep her up here for the month (I hope), easier here than in SF.

And maybe getting away from the hustle and bustle could be a nice diversion also. plus you wont have to commute. So a good respite for you.

Yes the 101 parking lot can take a toll on your nerves, if you lived in the bay area you would understand. I'm sure TL and Uli can clue you in on that one.

I have had the misfortune of being on the beltway around Washington DC a few times. Plus some parking lots on I95 in various States. Plus if you have ever tried to get on Cape Cod Mass. On a late Friday afternoon. I do understand, That why I will never drive a standard shift again. I blame that on my bad knees :)

Standerd shift is totally out for me. LA is the worst of all. Two times to hit LA is never or 3 AM in the morning. :( The rest forget.

I've been to LA, San Fran and San Diego, would NEVER want to live in LA!

Nor would I Julie, i have a few words that can't be printed about LA. :O San Dieago I know little about but the airport,SF is okay if you know when to drive. most of the time its okay.

when was you here?

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Cheers everybody
Life is short so don't sip
Beer speaks, people mumble

Hi Grant how are you and the GF doing?

Seems to be doing better James but still slow moving yet. I'm going to keep her up here for the month (I hope), easier here than in SF.

And maybe getting away from the hustle and bustle could be a nice diversion also. plus you wont have to commute. So a good respite for you.

Yes the 101 parking lot can take a toll on your nerves, if you lived in the bay area you would understand. I'm sure TL and Uli can clue you in on that one.

I have had the misfortune of being on the beltway around Washington DC a few times. Plus some parking lots on I95 in various States. Plus if you have ever tried to get on Cape Cod Mass. On a late Friday afternoon. I do understand, That why I will never drive a standard shift again. I blame that on my bad knees :)

Standerd shift is totally out for me. LA is the worst of all. Two times to hit LA is never or 3 AM in the morning. :( The rest forget.

I've been to LA, San Fran and San Diego, would NEVER want to live in LA!

Nor would I Julie, i have a few words that can't be printed about LA. :O San Dieago I know little about but the airport,SF is okay if you know when to drive. most of the time its okay.

when was you here?

I was 15 then, it was on the same trip we went to Hawaii:)) Travelling was (is) a huge hobby of my mums!

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures

Enjoy your holidays Julie. ;-)

G'day Grant, James & Chris.

Cheers.

Automatics are sissies cars, gimme a proper four on the floor any day. I want to drive the car, not have the car drive me. As for cruise control, that is dangerous when the driver nods off.

Not on total hills, clutches go quick.

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Cheers everybody
Life is short so don't sip
Beer speaks, people mumble

Enjoy your holidays Julie. ;-)

G'day Grant, James & Chris.

Cheers.

Hi Wiggo, wide, high and all.

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Cheers everybody
Life is short so don't sip
Beer speaks, people mumble

I think I will go to bed and call it a night, you all have a great day folks.

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Cheers everybody
Life is short so don't sip
Beer speaks, people mumble

My BMW has over 100,000 miles on the clock and is still on it's original clutch. Why? because I know how to drive the thing properly!

Ford Fiesta automatic gearbox £1692 Ford recon
Ford Fiesta manual gearbox £440 London

Ever tried towing an automatic? You are limited to speed and distance.

I've only ever driven an automatic in reverse...

Don't ask... :/

Have a lovely holiday Julie! :)

Hello everyone! :)

Sorry to have missed you guys who have toddled off to bed already. Hopefully catch you later! :)

G'nite Grant.

I've only ever driven an automatic in reverse...

Don't ask... :/

I know. :-D

You put it into "R" for race. ;-)

Rum O'clock time.

Cheers.

G'nite Grant.

I've only ever driven an automatic in reverse...

Don't ask... :/

I know. :-D

You put it into "R" for race. ;-)

Rum O'clock time.

Cheers.

:))))))))

Cheers Wiggo! Been awhile since I've had rum... rather fancy it now but teensy bit too early *deep sigh* another coffee it is then :)

My BMW has over 100,000 miles on the clock and is still on it's original clutch. Why? because I know how to drive the thing properly!

Ford Fiesta automatic gearbox £1692 Ford recon
Ford Fiesta manual gearbox £440 London

Ever tried towing an automatic? You are limited to speed and distance.

Chris in SF everything is steep hills and riding the clutch you can't avoid. I drove truck a long time and I think I was very good on clutches. I like set it and forget it. I drove stick in my cars when thier was no automatic and thought (thier has to be a better way) well someone did; :))

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Cheers everybody
Life is short so don't sip
Beer speaks, people mumble

I have always driven manuals which is about 45 years of driving. In that time I only had to replace one clutch and that was because of a leaking transmission seal. Clutch had so much grease on it that it slipped.
My last car has a cruse control and I use it all the time. I love it on long trips because it ensures I don't get a speeding ticket. One of the two speeding tickets I wouldn't have received if I had a cruse control.

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Hello everyone. Julie are you going on a holiday? Have fun if you are.

Thanx James, leaving tomorrow for France and Spain:)

*dons sombrero* Have fun amigo :) Cheers :)

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Member of the People Encouraging Niceness In Society club.

My BMW has over 100,000 miles on the clock and is still on it's original clutch. Why? because I know how to drive the thing properly!

Ford Fiesta automatic gearbox £1692 Ford recon
Ford Fiesta manual gearbox £440 London

Ever tried towing an automatic? You are limited to speed and distance.

I've had several automatics towed for various reasons. NONE had problems; the tow guy put the car in neutral, and we were able to get on the freeway with NO PROBLEMS! :-p

I physically CANNOT drive a stick! I burn out clutches in 10K Miles; I did this on two cars that had hydraulic clutches, that were supposed to be the easiest sticks to drive, and I still burned them out!

My problem is getting into first and reverse; if I had to guess, I ride the clutch. Therefore, I have NO "FEEL" for the clutch system! AUTOMATICS ARE SUPERIOR!

Of the three automatics that I've driven, only ONE needed to have a transmission rebuild; and this was due to the fact that the engine's oil pump failed, damaging the engine at freeway speeds, and the transmission being engaged at the time got damaged. $6K for the engine rebuild, and $2,300.00 for the transmission. (1989 Honda Accord LX-i.)

Recommendation: At 80 to 100K Miles on ALL American cars, replace your oil pump; on Hondas, 150K Miles replace the oil pump. In 2000, the oil pump on the Accord was $40. Had I stuck to my gut and insisted that it be changed, I would NOT have had to spend $8,300.00 on rebuilds of the original engine and transmission.

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TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

I have always driven manuals which is about 45 years of driving. In that time I only had to replace one clutch and that was because of a leaking transmission seal. Clutch had so much grease on it that it slipped.
My last car has a cruse control and I use it all the time. I love it on long trips because it ensures I don't get a speeding ticket. One of the two speeding tickets I wouldn't have received if I had a cruse control.

I try to use cruse but traffic is so crazy it doesn't work for me.

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Cheers everybody
Life is short so don't sip
Beer speaks, people mumble

Most car owners manuals say only tow an automatic for a max of 5 miles, and no faster than 25mph. The reason is that in an automatic the gearbox is never disengaged, forcing it to turn will heat up the gear oil and with the engine not running it is not cooled properly. Auto gearboxes only have circulating oil when the engine is running, so no engine equals no lubrication and no cooling.

You really need an A frame, a trailer or a truck for towing, to ensure that the driving wheels are off the ground if you're not planning on a very short trip home at low speed.

Don't take my word for it, check the owners manual.

Chris, my '73 Cougar XR-7 manual NEVER stated that. My 1989 Mustang LX NEVER stated that. My 1989 Accord LX-i NEVER stated that. I've ALWAYS read my manuals, thoroughly. Perhaps the UK and Europe are being OVERLY cautious...???... Forever; here in America, the tow guys put the automatics in neutral, and tow the cars on the freeways! I see it everyday. The ONLY vehicles towed on a flatbed regularly are 4WD vehicles.

I haven't finished going through the manuals, (plural), of my 2009 Civic Hybrid; however, the transmission on the car is not only an automatic, but, a CVT transmission. I would bet that it, too, would be OK being towed on the freeway; however, I will continue reading my manuals before swearing to that for this new car.

[EDIT]

I forgot, that the Accord and the Civic Hybrid are front wheel drive; so, towing the car with the front wheels raised, there was NO issue with the cars being towed at freeway speeds... But, again, the Cougar and the Mustang NEVER stated anything like you are saying.

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TimeLord04
Have TARDIS, will travel...
Come along K-9!
Join Calm Chaos

Most car owners manuals say only tow an automatic for a max of 5 miles, and no faster than 25mph. The reason is that in an automatic the gearbox is never disengaged, forcing it to turn will heat up the gear oil and with the engine not running it is not cooled properly. Auto gearboxes only have circulating oil when the engine is running, so no engine equals no lubrication and no cooling.

You really need an A frame, a trailer or a truck for towing, to ensure that the driving wheels are off the ground if you're not planning on a very short trip home at low speed.

Don't take my word for it, check the owners manual.

I have had to be towed once and they picked me up by the front wheels. (front whell drive) my road service will take me 100 miles with no cost to me.

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Cheers everybody
Life is short so don't sip
Beer speaks, people mumble

Hello everyone. Julie are you going on a holiday? Have fun if you are.

Thanx James, leaving tomorrow for France and Spain:)

*dons sombrero* Have fun amigo :) Cheers :)

Ok, almost everything is moved in the mobilhome, phjew! Ok, now for the restock:)

***THREAD CLOSED***

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures