Driver's License... What Vehicle did you use?

[kenmbz]

I learned to drive in a VW bug -started at 13 on friends property in MA.
Took my drivers test in a 1972 ford country squire wagon.
Now that car was a sloppy handful when not loaded down. would squeal the tires trying to take a turn at any speed, even with the best bias ply's!
Nothing like plastic wood trim.....

 

[the old grind]

A nephew got his 'learner' driving experience from another uncle who always drove 5 mph over what was posted. Nephew did too for his 1st test and totally failed it.

A GF drives with both feet and swears she was taught that way 50 yrs ago. I asked who else she knew that also did. "My sister." Same instructor a year later. I'd ask the Sister before I took her word for it. Fronts were metal on metal by ~ 30k mi after new pads/rotors.

Family car, '64 Catalina 4-door HT.

 

[old and tired]

First try was a Late 70's, 150 Econo Van... and the first time I ever tried to paralleled parked. (well, first time I attempted to...) It was the shortest driving test ever, First thing you had to do was parallel park, if you hit a cone, you're out!! Came back again in a my dad's little Subaru. Plenty of room to spare - Still not sure that Econo-Van could ever fit between those cones.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Took mine in my first car.

1969 Dodge Coronet 2 dr hardtop. Big block 440, 4 bbl carb and 727 auto trans.

It was stock when I took the test with it (just bought it), the speed modifications came later.

Old lady that did my test was about 165 years old, pissed at the world, hated my car (dang near wet her pants when I got on the freeway, she told me I had to accelerate to traffic speed before I left the "on" ramp. Uh, no problem, lady), but couldn't find anything to fail me on, so she grudgingly passed me.

 

[rademamj1]

My first drivers license test, I used a 1967 VW Bug and parallel parking was as easy as cake.

 

[workinonit]

I think I took mine in a '70 El Camino but I really don't remember. That would have been one of the cars available at the time.

 

[orezok]

I don’t remember what car I tested in, but it was some type of early 60’s boat. We lived in eastern PA and you could not get a learners permit until you were 16 years old. I got mine the day I was 16.

My brothers operated a garage and I was used to moving cars around from the time I was 14. On occasion one of my brothers had to pick up a car from a customer so he would take me along and I would drive the shop car back to the shop. One day on my way back I see a cop car coming towards me and it is the chief of police. He waves to me as he goes by. oops!

Well I scheduled my driving test about 3 days after my birthday. The driving test was held on a closed course at the police barracks. Well, a significant snow storm occurred a day or 2 earlier. They plowed the course and with large piles of snow on the “shoulder”, the drive lane was about 8’ wide with snow still on the round.

The test instructor asks me ‘How did you learn to drive in 3 days”. I thought quickly and said “ we live on a farm and I’ve been driving on the farm for years”. I got the side eye.

We go out on the course and about 3/4 of the way through the instructor sez Stop. He gets out, walks to the front of the car and scrapes the snow off the road and sez, “you crossed the centerline (which you couldn’t see) You FAILED!

Went back a couple of days later and passed.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

My Dad's 1949 Packard 4 door; black, stick shift, three on the tree. Looked like this one:

 

[Doughknob]

Took mine in my first car.

1969 Dodge Coronet 2 dr hardtop. Big block 440, 4 bbl carb and 727 auto trans.

It was stock when I took the test with it (just bought it), the speed modifications came later.

Old lady that did my test was about 165 years old, pissed at the world, hated my car (dang near wet her pants when I got on the freeway, she told me I had to accelerate to traffic speed before I left the "on" ramp. Uh, no problem, lady), but couldn't find anything to fail me on, so she grudgingly passed me.

My grandmother had a coronet from that timeframe. It had the 3-on-the-tree. I do not know what engine it had, but it was QUICK! My brothers and I did not have licenses yet, but we used to take it out on the road in front of our farm and tear up the tires between our place and the neighbors about a 1/4 mile down the road. Gramma was the typical 'little old lady from pasadena' in it. She used to get speeding tickets in it - by mistake of course, and us grandkids would razz her about it!

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

A GF drives with both feet and swears she was taught that way 50 yrs ago. I asked who else she knew that also did. "My sister." Same instructor a year later.

My ex did also. A lot can be said for learning to drive in a car with a stick shift. I have followed her on occasion when we were heading home and she didn't ride the brakes enough to make the brake lights come on, her problem was that rather than coast up to a stop sign or traffic light, she would wait until it required hard braking.

And on point, I took my test in a 1950 Dodge Coronet with a semi-auto transmission. It had two ranges and reverse on the tree. It could take off from a stop in either range. Low range was 1-2, high range was 2-3. Step on the clutch put it in gear, and with the brake on ease out the clutch and a fluid coupling let it sit stopped in gear. You shifted between gears in a range by accelerating to a reasonable speed and lifting your foot and the car would do an electro-mechanical shift. You had to use the clutch to shift between ranges.