Miata Mailing List: November 1998, Message #225

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True story.

    All this talk about learning how to drive a standard has made me
want to share my own experience with the Miata, since the Miata was the
car I learned to drive stick on.  The catch, the thing that makes the
story interesting, is that I learned to drive stick the DAY I test drove
the car from the dealer parking lot.  And I don't mean somebody gave me
a quick lesson before I went down to the dealership.  No, I learned how
to drive a stick when I got into the car, and the salesman said, "OK,
Start her up!"
    When my car got stolen in Boston, I decided it was time to move on
to something a little more fun.  I've been a Daily Driver for years,
owning a '84 Mitsubishi Tredia and a '85 Toyota Camry.  About the only
excitement I ever had was when the car would shake when I pushed 100mph
(downhill, with favorable wind conditions).  I've always loved sports
cars, and knew if I ever got one it would be blasphemy to have an
automatic.  So an opportunity presented itself, a beautiful white '95
for 10k.  Still under warranty! (this was about three months ago)  I
arrived at the dealership minutes before closing for the night (had to
get a ride since my car was stolen).  I just had enough time to look at
the car, sit in it, and shake the man's hand.  The next day was my test
drive.
    I honestly lucked out in a lot of ways.  First off, having never
driven a stick before, I wasn't sure how I was going to make any
objective decision whether this one was 'good' or 'bad' having
absolutely no standard of reference.  Had it been a Prelude with a shot
clutch or a Jeep with worn gears, I honestly couldn't tell you the
difference.  I knew the basics of driving a standard, but never had any
real-life experience.  So, the night before my test drive I looked up on
the internet "HOW TO DRIVE STICK SHIFT".  There was a great little
tutorial that I tried to commit to memory.  While waiting for the
salesman to get the car the next day, I just kept practicing, 'Foot off
gas, foot on clutch, shift, foot on gas, foot off clutch'.  What in the
hell was I doing?  I felt like a bad ballet dancer.  No way am I gonna
pull this off.
    This wouldn't be a true story if I said I pulled out of that lot
like Mario Andreti leaving nothing in my wake of dropped jaws but tread
marks.  No, the fact is, I played it REAL paranoid and over-revved the
engine so I wouldn't stall, because I had no concept at ALL of the
sweet-spot on the clutch.  I just kept dropping it like it was a switch
-- the very idea of RIDING the clutch never even occured to me.  Heh.
    I won't go into the sordid details, but suffice to say, the salesman
seemed to buy my story of 'I haven't drivin stick in a while'.  No
accidents, no close-calls, no grinding gears.  Stalled about 3 times,
but then, I've never much been a fan of stoplights.
    So, to all this hooey about the Miata being a hard car to learn
stick on, "I blow my nose in your general direction!"  If you want to be
a good driver, you've got to be comfortable with the car.  That means
spending a LOT of time with it.  I got my car on a Friday and drove two
tanks of gas worth during the weekend.  That's what you've got to do:
just pick a state and drive there.  It's not like driving the Miata is a
chore!
    Just a little reassurance to the Miata newbies out there, of which I
am most definately one of.