Why do stick-shift cars go backwards before going forward?

bernard farquart wrote:

> "Eeyore" wrote
> >
> > Your funny floor operated 'parking brake' idea doesn't exist outside your
> > borders.
>
> Except when it does, of course.
>
> OH! perhaps Eeyore has never seen one!
>
> Perhaps they have not reached your tiny island yet,
> here is a little info for you.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W123

We are talking about a 30 year old design here.

Graham

bernard farquart wrote:

> Oh, and anyone who can't operate a clutch car
> smoothly on a hill without resorting to the "hand brake"
> is not an adequately trained driver

It's how ppl are taught to drive. It makes far more sense than playing footsie
with pedals.

Even in the USA.
http://www.driver-education.com/hill.htm

Graham

"Eeyore" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> bernard farquart wrote:
>
>> "Eeyore" wrote
>> >
>> > Your funny floor operated 'parking brake' idea doesn't exist outside
>> > your
>> > borders.
>>
>> Except when it does, of course.
>>
>> OH! perhaps Eeyore has never seen one!
>>
>> Perhaps they have not reached your tiny island yet,
>> here is a little info for you.
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W123
>
> We are talking about a 30 year old design here.
>

So hills are a new phenomenon in your area?

Is that how your mother taught you to admit your errors?



Bernard

"Eeyore" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> bernard farquart wrote:
>
>> Oh, and anyone who can't operate a clutch car
>> smoothly on a hill without resorting to the "hand brake"
>> is not an adequately trained driver
>
> It's how ppl are taught to drive. It makes far more sense than playing
> footsie
> with pedals.
>
> Even in the USA.
> http://www.driver-education.com/hill.htm
>
> Graham

Lowest Common Denominator

You *could* aspire to better.

Bernard
>

"Eeyore" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> bernard farquart wrote:
>
>> "Eeyore" wrote
>> >
>> > Your funny floor operated 'parking brake' idea doesn't exist outside
>> > your
>> > borders.
>>
>> Except when it does, of course.
>>
>> OH! perhaps Eeyore has never seen one!
>>
>> Perhaps they have not reached your tiny island yet,
>> here is a little info for you.
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W123
>
> We are talking about a 30 year old design here.
>
> Graham

Here is a link to a 2006 model, still too old?

Lots of pictures, nice shots of the center console,
perhaps you can tell me where the "hand brake" is
in these shots.

http://tinyurl.com/27hvbm

Or too American?


>

bernard farquart wrote:

> "Eeyore" wrote
> > bernard farquart wrote:
> >> "Eeyore" wrote
> >> >
> >> > Your funny floor operated 'parking brake' idea doesn't exist outside
> >> > your borders.
> >>
> >> Except when it does, of course.
> >>
> >> OH! perhaps Eeyore has never seen one!
> >>
> >> Perhaps they have not reached your tiny island yet,
> >> here is a little info for you.
> >>
> >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W123
> >
> > We are talking about a 30 year old design here.
> >
>
> So hills are a new phenomenon in your area?

We're talking about foot operated parking brakes being useless.

It seems Mercedes realised they're rubbish too. Why else would they abandon
them if they're such a great idea ?

Graham

bernard farquart wrote:

> "Eeyore" > wrote in message
> > bernard farquart wrote:
> >> "Eeyore" wrote
> >> >
> >> > Your funny floor operated 'parking brake' idea doesn't exist outside
> >> > your borders.
> >>
> >> Except when it does, of course.
> >>
> >> OH! perhaps Eeyore has never seen one!
> >>
> >> Perhaps they have not reached your tiny island yet,
> >> here is a little info for you.
> >>
> >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_W123
> >
> > We are talking about a 30 year old design here.
>
>
> Here is a link to a 2006 model, still too old?
>
> Lots of pictures, nice shots of the center console,
> perhaps you can tell me where the "hand brake" is
> in these shots.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/27hvbm
>
> Or too American?

It doesn't have a foot operated brake.

" Another welcome change is the end of the Mercedes-Benz patent shin-scraper –
also known as a foot-operated park brake. It's replaced by an electro-mechanical
push-button parking brake as already used by Audi, Jaguar and BMW. "

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...-13232,00.html

Still weird though.


Graham

On Jul 9, 1:59 pm, wrote:
> Sometimes I see a car in front of me stopped at the light. When the
> light turns green, the car in front of me will move backwards a few
> inches before going forward. I've never seen an automatic car do
> that, so those cars must be manual. Why do they do that? They could
> collide with you if you stopped less than a few inches from them.

while sitting stopped, both feet are on pedals. the left foot on the
clutch, the right foot on the brake. let out the clutch just a bit -
just until it starts to put a load on the engine. let off of the
brake slowly. (a properly tuned vehicle will hold itself on most
hills.) if the car wants to move forward, push the clutch in a
little. if it wants to roll back, let the clutch out a little more.
if the engine wants to die, tap the throttle. the clutch is
(hopefully!) not engaged (disengaged?) enough to really move the car,
so rev'ing the engine is not a big deal.

this is what should be going on to keep the car from rolling
backwards. this is not easy to do, so that is why you see a lot of
cars rolling backwards. it takes practice!
:~)>

bob z.

bob zee wrote:

> On Jul 9, 1:59 pm, wrote:
> > Sometimes I see a car in front of me stopped at the light. When the
> > light turns green, the car in front of me will move backwards a few
> > inches before going forward. I've never seen an automatic car do
> > that, so those cars must be manual. Why do they do that? They could
> > collide with you if you stopped less than a few inches from them.
>
> while sitting stopped, both feet are on pedals. the left foot on the
> clutch, the right foot on the brake.

That's horribly bad practice for any length of time.

Graham

>> I've never used my handbrake for this purpose, even when starting on
>> the steepest hills.
>
> It's certainly the procedure taught in the UK (and the rest of Europe AFAIK). As you
> come to a halt facing uphill you apply the hand brake. You can then select neutral and
> your feet are free.

Some stupid drivers never shift out of gear while waiting at a stop.
They leave the automatic transmission in "D" and keep the brake pedal
depressed. I've seen one such driver do this in a parking lot for about
20 minutes while he was waiting for a parking space. His engine sounded
like it was overheating too.