What was your DriversED car?

[bogey21]

1950 or 1951 Studebaker (I think it was called a Commander) with a manual transmission and no power anything. Dad dropped me off in a large hard field, showed me how to shift gears and let me teach myself...

George

 

[Passepartout]

My dad was smart enough to know that all he'd teach me would be his bad habits, so at the ripe old age of 14, the folks paid for private driver training for me. There was none in the schools back then. And I was hot to buy a motor scooter ('48 Cushman boat-tail). I don't ever remember parallel parking to be all that difficult. As Dave said, it's just geometry. I can parallel park a tractor-trailer just as easily, but it takes a longer space.

 

[clifffaith]

Parallel parking, did it for the test and avoided it ever since

That's me. As long as there is enough room for me to slide in nose first, fine. Otherwise I wouldn't even attempt to park between two cars. And the owners of those cars would thank me.

Parking was at a premium in the neighborhood when we lived in our Victorian house. We had a parking pad and a one car garage out back, Cliff parked the installation van in the front. When he'd leave in the van, I'd drive one on the cars around front to save his place. If I couldn't slide into his spot, he'd temporarily park the van in the red so he could parallel park the Venture. I used to watch one of the young women who lived nextdoor expertly park a humongous SUV in a spot that I wouldn't dare try to slide the PT Cruiser into!

 

[Luanne]

I have no idea, or really I don't remember. It was in 1966. I do remember wanting to learn to drive a manual as I felt if I could drive a manual I could drive anything. My dad had a Karman Ghia at the time. You had to double clutch that thing and I just couldn't get it. Trying to learn to drive, and learn to drive that thing was impossible. My mom finally convinced me to practive on her (automatic). I didn't learn to drive a manual until I graduated from college.

 

[DaveNV]

When he'd leave in the van, I'd drive one on the cars around front to save his place. If I couldn't slide into his spot, he'd temporarily park the van in the red so he could parallel park the Venture. I used to watch one of the young women who lived nextdoor expertly park a humongous SUV in a spot that I wouldn't dare try to slide the PT Cruiser into!

When you stop to think about your vehicle as a rectangle, where the front tires turn but the back tires don’t, pulling headfirst into a space requires a longer distance to come even with the curb, without the back end sticking out.

If you back into the space, you can get the rear closer to the curb before turning the front tires and moving forward. So you’re even with the curb in less distance.

Geometry. The rest is practice.

Dave

 

[OldGuy]

Mine was a 1970 Plymouth Belvedere 4 dr

My "DriversEd" car could not have been a 1970 anything.

Long before DriversEd, Dad taught my brother and me how to drive with his '54 Plymouth stick-shift.

My first car, and among my favorites, was a '63 Chevy Impala SS Convertible, 327/300, 4 on the floor. My second car was a '63 1/2, Ford Galaxie 500 2-door. My third car was a '59 Jag XK150 Roadster.

 

[controller1]

Our high school's drivers ed car was a '72 Impala. I took my driving test in a '68 Barracuda.

 

[Brett]

I took my driving test in a VW bug

 

[sun starved Gayle]

The Driver's Ed vehicle I had was a huge 4 door early 70's Buick. Much larger than our family car I was used to practicing in.

I did not qualify for a learners permit till summer, so went to summer school for Driver's Ed. There must have been a huge bunch of us wanting to take the course, and the drive times were staggered through out the day. My slot was 6-8 AM with 3 other students, all boys. Could it get any worse ? Yes.

My male instructor was a math teacher during the regular school year, and a screamer. I had never driven such a big car, and I had never ever been screamed at by a teacher before. After my first drive, I had tears running down my cheeks from being screamed at. I was so humiliated. And those poor boys in the back seat, looking everywhere but at me when we traded spots afterwards, me all sniffing and teary. They were as embarrassed I was.

Years later, his son, who happened to have been in my grade, committed suicide. I always wondered if having a father like that had a part in his suicide. Poor kid.

 

[CanuckTravlr]

I had always been a car nut. For my 10th birthday, my father took me to the local shopping mall parking lot and let me drive our 1952 Ford Customline V8 automatic around the lot for about a half-hour, teaching me how to accelerate, brake and steer. It was a Sunday and in those days the stores were closed on Sundays, so no other cars in the lot. One of the best birthday presents ever!!

I did not take Drivers Ed, since it was not offered in schools in Ontario, but there were some private companies, such as Young Drivers of Canada, that were just starting to get going then. However, my father was a great teacher and I passed the driver's test on the first try with flying colours, just two months after my 16th birthday using the family's 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 automatic sedan. Those cars were boats, but I had no problem backing into a parking space or doing the parallel park test. Still have no problem parallel parking.

It was the start of over half a century of driving. About four years later I learned to use a manual on a friend's 1963 VW Beetle. Have had several manual transmission cars over the years, although both our current vehicles are automatic. Much easier in congested city traffic!

 

[DrQ]

We had driver's ED in school, but we had to provide our own car for on-the-road training/hours, so it was a 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport.
Kurt

Should'a been a '74:

 

[salpalaz]

1951 plymouth

 

[PigsDad]

Should'a been a '74:

Nope, mine was almost identical (different color) to the one in Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino movie (hood scoop, racing stripe, fastback, etc.):

I miss that car...

Kurt

 

[mdurette]

I have no clue....but I do recall my driver's ed teacher always wanting to talk about who I thought was cute in school (his company contracted with the school) and on occasion he would tickle me and try to give me wedgies…..

As a grown adult I realize how wrong that was....back then, for whatever reason, I had no clue.

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

I don't remember the car - That was 52 years. I would guess it was a 1966 Chevrolet Biscayne or a Ford Fairlane.

My strongest memory, though, is driving down a road with a continuous string of about 20 parked cars on my right. After we passed the string of cars, my instructor asked me how many people were sitting in the cars.

I had been looking, because in driving lessons with my Dad I knew to be aware of the possibility of someone suddenly opening a car door without looking. So I immediately responded, "Zero". My instructor asked me if I had looked, and I immediately replied "Yes". He complimented me, and never again challenged any response I gave to any of his questions.

 

[DaveNV]

I have no clue....but I do recall my driver's ed teacher always wanting to talk about who I thought was cute in school (his company contracted with the school) and on occasion he would tickle me and try to give me wedgies…..

As a grown adult I realize how wrong that was....back then, for whatever reason, I had no clue.

Ok, that's just inappropriate, no matter how you slice it. I hope it never went beyond "innocent" play. (Although I think I know what he was really trying to get at.)

Dave

 

[RonB]

A Ford tractor from the late '40s or early '50s. I was staying on an uncle's farm and one day they were getting up hay bales. I was six and too small to pick up a bale much less throw it up onto the hay wagon, so they put me in the seat of the tractor to steer. I couldn't reach any of the pedals and when it was time to turn the tractor at the end of the row of bales, someone would walk over and turn the tractor to go down the next row. All I had to do was steer - and not much of that. But at six, I thought I was Drivin'! I did learn to drive on that farm and had been driving for years when I got my license at 15 and made it onto a public road.

 

[Passepartout]

Nope, mine was almost identical (different color) to the one in Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino movie (hood scoop, racing stripe, fastback, etc.):

I miss that car...

Kurt

I had a black over black 69 Torino Ranchero. Hurst slap shifter. iirc there were only about 400 Rancheros built. Fun to drive. Couldn't stop, couldn't corner, couldn't haul anything, but it DID go forward and turn heads.

 

[DrQ]

Fun to drive. Couldn't stop, couldn't corner, ...

You mean late 1960's Detroit

 

[easyrider]

At 13 I was occasionally driving a 1950-ish Ford Tractor and a 1968 Ford 2 ton dually in the hop yards. For drivers ed we had full size sedans at our high school. They were big automatics. What I remember most is the girl in our car being told to hit the brakes. She did. What the instructor should have said is slowly hit the brakes. These cars were pre-shoulder harness seat belt so we all buckled over when she hit the brakes. Drivers ed was fun. My best friend and a cool babe were my others in the car.

Bill

 

[DrQ]

I got used to "driving" when I was 10. I used to drive the family boat, a 16' runabout. I learned to navigate channels and giving the right of way. Putting a boat in slip on a river with crosswind set me up for parallel parking. "Look Ma, no brakes! (we kept the outboard motor unlocked so that if we hit a semi-submerged log, it wouldn't wreck the lower unit)

 

[rapmarks]

We were leaving for shopping one afternoon, and passed a pink Jeep. I was shocked to see my 14 year old daughter behind the wheel. Apparently her older girlfriend taught her to drive when she was 12. Drivers ed was very easy when she got old enough for it.

 

[CanuckTravlr]

Should'a been a '74:

My father had a 1970 Torino Coupe and a 1974 Gran Torino Brougham 4-Door (complete with vinyl half-roof)!! I liked both of those cars.

Even cooler, one of my neighbours up the street collects cars. One of his current vehicles is a 1974 "Starsky and Hutch" Torino, identical to the one in the picture above. He even has the rotating red light on a curled cord that he can throw up on the roof (although only when at a show). I have chatted with him several times and sat in the car. He even let me take it out once. Now that was fun and brought back lots of memories!!

 

[geist1223]

I learned to drive on the Streets of San Pedro, CA and the freeways of Los Angeles in the Spring of 1970. It was a large Sedan. We would meet about 7am and spend 2 hours before school driving around. The Instructor was a Brother with the Order that ran Fermain Lasuen High School. When we moved to Oregon about 3 months later I was amazed that folks did not know they were suppose to accelerate going up the freeway onramp so that they were at freeway speed by the time they merged. I actually had folks in Oregon stop at the top of the onramp.

 

[urban5]

1962 Ford Falcon automatic with front passenger side additional foot brake pedal for instructor