Driving Pleasure

What's it like driving in Japan, Yakumo? Are there places where there aren't many cars so you can drive like a maniac? I love driving except for the existence of other cars. If only we could fix that little problem somehow...

 

Oh yes, there's loads of great places to drive. The biggest problem with driving in Japan are the Japanese. They can't drive! Only today some prick tried to turn in to a side street from the far lane. Fucking idiot! It was raining too so I can imagine if I was driving a poor car I probably would have slid right in to him as I hit the breaks.

 

I think people suck at driving nearly anywhere you go. Driving is an extremely demanding task (if you don't want to die, anyway), and most people just don't have the basic knowledge or the attention span required to do it well. Not like you have to be a genius to drive a car, but there's a certain level of knowledge about the behavior of moving objects and space required to insure non-death. Even computers can't do it well, yet.

That's why the idea of the flying car always seemed highly dubious to me. People can barely keep track of objects on a 2D plane, let alone in the 3D space of the air.

 

Oh yes, I know there are poor drivers everywhere but I'm from the UK and compared to there Japan is a million times worse. Many a time I just can't understand the logic behind some of the crazy shit I see. Add the fact that Japanese are pretty poor at making on the spot decisions doesn't help at all when driving.

It may sound odd but all good drivers I know all drive manuals while the rest are automatic. A coincident? Maybe but I like to think not.

Yakumo

 

Simple.
Driving a manual requires more concentration.

It's the same here in the States where 90% of the general public drives an automatic car and proceeds to treat it like some kind of Nascar racer on the highways.

 

Nah, I don't agree on the rain thing because you also have the engine break but the rest, sure. In the UK most drive manuals. In fact many men say only women drive automatics. As for concentration I don't think driving a manual over an automatic is much difference. To me it seems to be more of a lack of skill or effort.

 

Quite a lot of clearance on the front of that Scooby. I guess it needs to settle after being jacked? Is it always that high?

 

That's just the picture mate. Looked quite high up to me as well. It's deffinatly not too high. I've scrapped the front splitter on car park ramps many a time.

@ASSEMbler - ah, well with 400 bhp it might be a different story. Imprezas don't have that much bph so I wouldn't know. It would be nice to try though :nod:

 

I'd say the thing about automatics and manuals is generally true, but there are exceptions. For example, my dad drives an automatic and he's a pretty good driver. Of course, he drove cars with manual transmissions before that, and he also drives motocycles which are manual transmission. I think the reason he got an automatic was so my mom could drive it if she wanted (she prefers automatics) and/or because the car he wanted didn't have a manual version.

I've heard people say that automatics are easier to drive. I don't think that's true at all. Maybe it's easier if you're a shitty driver, but if you're a halfway decent driver then it's actually harder. You have to compensate for the crappy reaction time of the system, whereas in a manual transmission you have more or less direct control.

 

Yes, of course there are exceptions with your dad being a good example. Also, older people who are good drivers may go for an automatic in their old age due to the work needed to drive a manual.

I fully agree. I hate driving an automatic. I always need to keep my foot on the break going down a slight hill because there's no bloody control over the engine. Also I hate the way all automatic normal cars NEVER change gear at the right time. Some will down shift ok but I've never came across one that will upshift. They always rev the shit out of the engine. Awful things to drive.

Yakumo

 

Oh, it has nothing to do with his age, I know that. He rides motorcycles (he has 2, a Triumph Daytona 675 and a Sprint) and that's a lot more physically demanding than driving a car - the way he drives them, anyway. I'm not entirely sure why he got an automatic. I'll have to ask him the next time I talk to him.

It's pretty obvious to me that I get my driving tendencies from my dad. We both love speed, and we're both rather careless. It amuses me to no end when he tells me to slow down or "take it easy," because it's obvious that he's much worse than I am. It's a "do as I say, not as I do" sort of thing.

 

The poll results of this thread confirms my suspicion that this forum holds the last pocket of normal, respectable people on earth.

When the Dan Simmon-ish "Big Mistake" happens and we all have to board our Hawking Drive spaceships for relocation into the heavens, you all can have some space on my ship.

My lightspeed drive will have a clutch pedal. No syncros.

/random

 

Whenever I have to drive an automatic I feel so super awkward. Usually the brake pedal is wide enough that I accidentally hit it with my left foot (accidental clutch reaction) and overall I just have this weird sensation, like it's suddenly harder because I have to think backwards ("simpler" for some).

 

I absolutely hate automatics, they cant pull worth a crap and I just prefer a manual over an automatic anyday

 

It's as if God was reading this thread and parked a standard Impreza next to mine today :-0

It's easy to tell apart a basic Impreza Wagon from the Impreza Sports Wagon just on cosmetic differences. The car next to mine is actually 1 year older (Bug eyed model) but the newer one stil follows all the same rules.

First thing you'll notice is the missing rear spoiler however this one seems to have had one fitted. Also the standard wheels for the normal and sports are different.



Around the front it's also quite different. The higher end STi comes with a splitter and aero body parts while the normal car has none of these however does have lower fog lamps. These are optional on the Sti.



Insides are also different. My car has nice sporty bucket seats.



The standard car while still having sort of bucket like seats, they're no where near as deep and look, well....nasty.



And of course the gear in mine is manual with a nice STi stick although my car is missing the optional fancy red stitching on the leather. (Notice the climate control sensor too which is not on the standard car.)



And the owner of this car had a very nasty looking dilldo for a gear stick.



Of course there's also the true full on WRX STi saloon / sedan which is betterthan both of the cars above.

Yakumo

 

I thought our (USA) STi was pretty legit...? Or maybe the new ones aren't? I've known a couple friends with one and it wasn't held back.

 

I LOVE driving. I rarely listen to music while driving, as I just love the sound of my car. (Unless I'm stuck in traffic, of course.) :<