Limey confessed last night that he was surprisingly sad about giving up his 2003 Maxima SE. Now, I will admit to being irrationally attached to the 2004 Honda Odyssey we are keeping, but that has 220,000 miles of childhood on the odometer. The Maxima, to me, was always just too precarious. Either I was worried about an expensive repair or hitting a traffic jam.
Yes, the Maxima is a stick shift. Manual. Standard transmission. The Maxima was Limey's transitional car after driving a two-seater BMW Z3. Yes, it is a family sedan, but it drives like a sports car. He points out, validly, that this is the last time he will ever drive a stick. Many of today's kids will never know the panic of being stopped on an uphill grade with another car close behind. Automatics don't roll backward if you are too slow to press the accelerator after you've let the clutch out. They won't know the pain on the ball of your foot from driving in stop and go traffic or the horrible sounds and smells of burning clutch during the learning process.
Today's kids also won't know or understand the sheer fun of punching through the gears or the way the engine howls in a downshift. They won't have stories of cars that rolled backward down the driveway ("why is the car in the bushes?") or memories of driving their Dad's Triumph TR6 in tight circles in the dirt behind the barn, so focused on shifting from first to second that they had no idea how close they were getting to the fence until their dad patiently pointed it out. Standards connect you to the driving experience in a much more intimate way.
My only chance to take her out for a spin and I can't reach the clutch!
So, farewell to the old. You will be fondly remembered, but we will also remember the role you played in our current political and environmental instability. It must also be said that with ECO mode turned off the LEAF and its electric torque takes off when you put the pedal down.
Posted with Blogsy
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