MattyG

To answer the original question in a trite way: yes it is necessary and no it isn't because if you don't know what to do - it won't matter. The 4Runner has been mentioned here and you see the results with drivers of varied skills not always knowing what's going on underneath. Tires, skill and then the 4wd or awd system. Extreme examples but illustrative.

mmarshall

Depends on what you mean by "lowest common denominator". Here, we have hundreds of millions of people driving cars, compared to the very small populations of Denmark and Finland. Germany, of course, is a much larger country, population-wise, but still less than one-quarter the size of the U.S.

MattyG

^^^ 210 million at the last count, not "hundreds of millions" unless you're counting over the decades. Higher driving standards mean better drivers. If you don't want standards then lower the driver licensing age to 14 vs learners permits, or the drinking age to 16. It's all about competency and experience and training.

Toys4RJill

Stroock639

if you ask me i think it should be mandatory to take your road test in a stick shift car and a portion of the road test needs to include driving on the highway and in rainy weather at some point. it's far too easy to get a license in the country and i would love to have fewer drivers on the road. i HATE traffic lol... seriously though you just need to take a test that essentially asks questions like "is it ok to drive when you're drunk?" and shows you a picture of a stop sign and says "what do you do here?" then you just need to drive around the block, parallel park (oooohhhh the dreaded parallel park!!!!!) and that's it you're now fully licensed to drive anywhere in the country.

SW17LS

Why would it be necessary to take your test in a stick shift? It’s hard to even find a stick shift to drive.

Stroock639

well the only reason i'd want that to be the case is that more people would fail, thus fewer incompetent drivers on the road and less traffic for me

SW17LS

I agree it should be harder to get a license, but at least make it harder in ways that have practical benefits.

You just dont don’t need to know how to drive a stick shift nowadays.

mmarshall

I agree. It's better to walk before you run. In fact, that's how I learned....on a 60s-vintage 3-speed automatic. Then, once you have the basic skills and co-ordination of everyday driving, THEN integrate the skills of a clutch and shifting into it. My dad also made it easy for me....after I learned on the old Plymouth with the auto, he traded it for a newer (but not brand new) Plymouth with three-on-the tree. I had also had some previous (brief) practice with 4-on-the-floor.

I only made one (brief) mistake learning with that Plymouth three-on-the tree. The first time I went to downshift into first, coming up to a stop sign, I didn't realize that Chrysler cheaped out in those days by not synchronizing all three gears...an audible crunch taught me a lesson very quickly LOL....come to (virtually a full-stop) before going into first. After that, it was a piece of cake....drove it all over the Mid-Atlantic, even across the mountains to Ohio.

Stroock639

oh i admit my reasons are more rooted in selfishness and not so much practicality, i mean seriously where the hell do you even find a stick car anymore lol

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

That video in the snow proves nothing.... just another case of undersized and improper tires paired with bad driving. Of course going on an incline in slippery conditions (hills with gravel, loose rock, sand, etc.) Tires are going to be a huge factor, then momentum, and if that fails, then you need more power for MORE momentum. Look at any hill climbing video. Coming to a dead stop is basically game over. Flooring the gas is game over and only digs a deeper hole... oh and ATRAC obviously only works at certain RPM ranges.

Again I don't see how that video proves anything. I could've gotten stuck there on a FWD or RWD car with snow tires, rolled back, got the proper momentum and powered out of that trail no problem.

Toys4RJill

SW17LS

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

^ off topic but what year jgc?

SW17LS

It’s a 2016...they can’t figure out what’s wrong with it...runs rich, stalls...