The Valet key: Why it's a thing...

Riiiiiiiiiiight...

I learned how to drive stick on a car that popped wheelies in first gear... I never destroyed anything.
 
That car is notoriously unruly and unpredictable. No doubt something its owner is keenly aware of. Willfully putting that car in the hands of a Valet without first putting it in "Valet Mode" makes him a world class ass hat.

I hope his insurance company tells him to piss up a rope.
 
It seems speed was a factor in the accident.
I dunno why, but the way you worded that made me think of CSI: Miami and I had to go create this.

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I had a work dinner earlier this week at a fancy joint with valet parking, and by that I mean you have no option BUT valet parking. The kid working there as a valet couldn't drive a stick shift, so I had to park it myself in the valet lot. Who the fuck hires a valet who can't drive a stick shift?
 
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I had a work dinner earlier this week at a fancy joint with valet parking, and by that I mean you have no option BUT valet parking. The kid working there as a valet couldn't drive a stick shift, so I had to park it myself in the valet lot. Who the fuck hires a valet who can't drive a stick shift?
Seriously?

That's unacceptable.
 
I was really surprised. I know manuals are kind of on the way out, with autos pretty much everywhere, and even high performance cars moving to paddle shifting gearboxes, but it seems there are still a lot of manual cars out there.
 
I was really surprised. I know manuals are kind of on the way out, with autos pretty much everywhere, and even high performance cars moving to paddle shifting gearboxes, but it seems there are still a lot of manual cars out there.
I hate paddle shifters. I want a direct connection to my transmission. I want to feel it.

I miss having a car with stick.
 
I hate paddle shifters. I want a direct connection to my transmission. I want to feel it.

I miss having a car with stick.

I'm not really a fan of automatics, paddle shifter equipped or not, but I have to say that automatics have come a long way in the last decade. My wife's DSG gearbox can do a shift in something like 8-10 milliseconds. Some racing transmissions are essentially zero shift designs, in that they lose almost no time without being connected to a gear. The best driver with a manual can probably blast a shift in 250 milliseconds. There are lots of examples of cars now that are faster and get better fuel economy in the auto box than the manual version.
 
I'm not really a fan of automatics, paddle shifter equipped or not, but I have to say that automatics have come a long way in the last decade. My wife's DSG gearbox can do a shift in something like 8-10 milliseconds. Some racing transmissions are essentially zero shift designs, in that they lose almost no time without being connected to a gear. The best driver with a manual can probably blast a shift in 250 milliseconds. There are lots of examples of cars now that are faster and get better fuel economy in the auto box than the manual version.
A few companies make shift kits for older slushboxes that give them much crisper shifts. It's really basically a gasket that controls how much AT fluid goes through the valvebody at a certain point. The shift kit has a larger opening at that point, IIRC. I bought one for the TH700-R4 in my '86 Firebird but I ended up blowing something in the tranny before I got a chance to even look at it.
 
As it becomes harder to find a manual car it becomes harder to find people who can drive them. I know. One of the things I do is hire and Supervise Valets. Usually I have at least one person on duty who can drive a stick. Sometimes several ( most of my help is older and grew up on sticks). In the event no one can drive one they come drag me out of my office and I park it.
 
I'm not really a fan of automatics, paddle shifter equipped or not, but I have to say that automatics have come a long way in the last decade. My wife's DSG gearbox can do a shift in something like 8-10 milliseconds. Some racing transmissions are essentially zero shift designs, in that they lose almost no time without being connected to a gear. The best driver with a manual can probably blast a shift in 250 milliseconds. There are lots of examples of cars now that are faster and get better fuel economy in the auto box than the manual version.
That's all fine and dandy, but it misses the point. There's something to be said for directly controlling what gear you're in. It should be part of the experience of driving, besides the fact that it becomes really easy to regulate your speed by feel and sound. I think automatics put a lot of people on the road that maybe shouldn't be. Or maybe I'm just a young old fart :tongue:
 
That's all fine and dandy, but it misses the point. There's something to be said for directly controlling what gear you're in. It should be part of the experience of driving, besides the fact that it becomes really easy to regulate your speed by feel and sound. I think automatics put a lot of people on the road that maybe shouldn't be. Or maybe I'm just a young old fart :tongue:

From my pov, a standard manual is the most engaging driving experience plus the only 'nanny' you'll have when it comes to that aspect of driving is the rev limited to keep you from grenading the engine. Flappy paddles are great and all but after that gee wiz experience is over, most everyone goes right to 'screw it, just stick it in sport and let the computer shift for me' mode.

While you can eat, text or generally fuck about not paying any attention while driving a stick, I think it's generally less likely than when you're driving an automatic aka autopilot.
 
From my pov, a standard manual is the most engaging driving experience plus the only 'nanny' you'll have when it comes to that aspect of driving is the rev limited to keep you from grenading the engine. Flappy paddles are great and all but after that gee wiz experience is over, most everyone goes right to 'screw it, just stick it in sport and let the computer shift for me' mode.

While you can eat, text or generally fuck about not paying any attention while driving a stick, I think it's generally less likely than when you're driving an automatic aka autopilot.

One hand on the stick, one hand on the wheel. :shrug:
 
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