Stories when fillig up at the "Gas station". - Page 8 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

t walgamuth · #**106** 12-21-2007, 08:50 PM

All my kids know how to drive a stick. I tried to teach them on a 240d since the torquey motor does not need any gas to take off, just ease the clutch out and you are golden.

I remember learing to drive on my dad's 59 rambler american....stick coming out of a large bulge in the dash...no synchromesh....if you didn't feed it some gas on takeoff it would die. If you didn't get the gas right and let the clutch pop out too quickly it would buck like a bronco! and would continue to buck until you let off or floor boarded it!

Tom W

ImBroke · #**107** 12-21-2007, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

I remember learing to drive on my dad's 59 rambler american....stick coming out of a large bulge in the dash...no synchromesh....if you didn't feed it some gas on takeoff it would die. If you didn't get the gas right and let the clutch pop out too quickly it would buck like a bronco! and would continue to buck until you let off or floor boarded it!

Tom W

My mom tried teaching my sister in our 66 American, with the same results. 3 on the tree is probably difficult for manual trans newbies. I was "fortunate" to learn on a 72 Gremlin. I performed much better, probably due to all of the motorcycles etc.. growing up.

#**108** 12-21-2007, 11:52 PM

I mostly learned to drive on a beater '41 ford truck with a non-sync transmission when I was about 10 or 12. If you can drive one of those, you can probably drive anything. Then I spent a few years riding dirt bikes with only about 10 HP, by the time I got a license, it was old stuff.

bustedbenz · #**109** 12-22-2007, 01:24 PM

It helps if you took it the way I did... grew up driving farm tractors since I was... I think when I was three or four years old they let me do it.... first time I drove a straight drive CAR was about two years ago... got in the Audi TT and got it moving (on the road) without more than one lap around the parking lot practice.

Of course if you don't already have the tractor there's cheaper ways to learn how to let a clutch out...

TripWagner · #**110** 12-22-2007, 03:25 PM

Jeep J20 4x4 PU ... 1st attempt a driving, think it was a 3 on the column, drove it right into wood pile and took out the classic 7 rib grill

Haven't taken out the grill of the "Baron" yet!

Robert W. Roe · #**111** 12-23-2007, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldnavy

Robert how you liking the R320CDI? I was thinking that is what we will replace the wife's 91 with in the year or two. I talked to one guy in southern IL that told me he was averaging about 30/32 mpg depending on speed on the interstate (IL has 65 mph limit) and about 25 mpg in town, this was back last summer. He had an '07 with quite a few miles on the thing, IIRC it had about 30k miles on the clock. The guy said he had not had any trouble with the rig and love it for traveling, which I gathered he did a lot of for those miles.

I average about 32/33 because I burn the highway up, but in town when I checked my over all this tank I am averaging a shade over 27 mpg which I am happy with considering the size and power of the car. Sure I would like the city/hwy mpg of our VW TDI's we used to have, just didn't like the shoe box fit for my 6'5" body and wife didn't like her butt dragging the ground as she use to say. When I ran across the 91 and bought it for her she fell in love with it and it has been the only car in 33 years we been married that she hasn't started complaining about month after buying.

...

I'm not getting anywhere near 30/32 mpg due to the number of hills, traffic lights, and stop signs in our area. I have seen 29.5 indicated mpg on a downhill 30-40 miles run, and 26.7 mpg on one highway tank from NH to PA. Not bad for a 5000 lb SUV/crossover/wagon/minivan/GST.

Typical "in-town" economy runs between 18 and 22 mpg.
If that sounds bad, consider my wife gets 14-15 mpg in her 2007 Honda Odyssey (lots of extended idling waiting for kids and such) and I was getting about 16 mpg in a 1991 300TE wagon.
I chose the R320 because of its rareness, roominess, and the CDI / Bluetec engine.
It's one of the few economical vehicles that fits my large physique comfortably.... lots more roomy in front than a new E-class, at least as good if not a bit more roomy hip-room-wise than a new S550...

oldnavy · #**112** 01-03-2008, 09:39 PM

That's good to hear Robert, I look forward to getting one of those for sure.

Today I had a little old lady (mid to late 70's) pull up and ask me why I was putting diesel in my car. I told her it was a diesel and she promptly told me they didn't diesel cars.

I then explained that it was a German car with a diesel from the factory and that it had 194,000 miles of fine diesel motoring down the highways. She just looked at me like I was really stupid and rolled up the window on her Ford PU and turned and said something to the lady in the truck with her as she was driving off.

Monomer · #**113** 01-03-2008, 10:02 PM

I just bought my first manual car.

I'm glad it's a "on the floor" syncromesh style shifter. Dropping down a gear + gunning the throttle and taking off is always nice

I dont expect this clutch to last all to long...
--------------------------------------------------

I've never had a run-in at a gas station. I did however run into another diesel rabbit owner at Murrays.

TylerH860 · #**114** 01-07-2008, 11:59 PM

"Sir...Would you please turn off your truck, I can't hear you"
-Drive Thru worker at Taco Bell.

I didn't bother correcting them.

Bean Burrito - $1.00
Look on Taco Bell worker's face when I pull up- priceless

arew264 · #**115** 01-08-2008, 12:42 AM

Yes, having to kill the car to talk to the attendant can be irritating, but seeing the reaction is quite fun.

Interesting Manual Tranny Fact:
We actually have an AP World History teacher at my high school who teaches kids how to drive a manual in the school parking lot in the evenings. Before KAdams can say anything, he's married.

KAdams4458 · #**116** 01-08-2008, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arew264

...Interesting Manual Tranny Fact:
We actually have an AP World History teacher at my high school who teaches kids how to drive a manual in the school parking lot in the evenings. Before KAdams can say anything, he's married.

Heh heh heh!

Being married isn't much of a deterrent for some folks. Sad, but true. Not that I'm saying that's why he teaches kids how to drive them.

#**117** 01-08-2008, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

All my kids know how to drive a stick. I tried to teach them on a 240d since the torquey motor does not need any gas to take off, just ease the clutch out and you are golden.

I remember learing to drive on my dad's 59 rambler american....stick coming out of a large bulge in the dash...no synchromesh....if you didn't feed it some gas on takeoff it would die. If you didn't get the gas right and let the clutch pop out too quickly it would buck like a bronco! and would continue to buck until you let off or floor boarded it!

Tom W

I remember driving a (roughly - not sure of the year...) 1960-ish Ford van with a three-on-the-tree. I always thought a truck (van) motor would have enough torque that it would be easy to drive, but that SOB was the hardest vehicle to drive smoothly I've ever seen.

Too little gas on take-off? Stall.

Clutch out too fast? Ride 'em cowboy!

The worst part was the back of the van was full of hardware in little bins and tools hanging all over the place. Buck like that and it took forever to put everything back where it belonged.

Good motivation though - I feel like I can drive just about anything with some degree of smoothness after that van.

oldnavy · #**118** 01-11-2008, 03:06 PM

I was filling up after a road trip yesterday and a guy pull in to fill his new Chevy Flex Fueler (mid size of some kind) and was looking at me pumping diesel and just made the statement that he wished he had bought the diesel VW he had almost bought.

At that point I asked why, he had got a car that would run the cheaper E85 fuel. Man he went off the deep end when I said that, I almost reached for my S&W pocket protector.

He was really upset because the car when running on E85 only about 18 mpg on the highway, instead of the mpg the car was EPA rated. To add insult to injury he said he had trouble finding E85 and now he said the price had jumped up since the tax breaks had being reduced or stopped completely by some states and buy the increase in corn price.

He stopped ranting and asked me how my MB was doing, I had just stopped fueling. I said 237 miles and the way I was parked I could not see my gallon counter, I was parked at right angle to pump due to fuel filler on right side leaving space for a gasser to fill up. What he said I can't repeat here, because it had finally stopped, after me tweaking it up close to the neck, at 6 gallons. He was good at his math and said that's almost 40 mpg and then just babbled off about 6 or 8 questions, such as how well did it pass trucks and did it merge into traffic well. I told him it will make a V8 Dodge Charger strain to get to 60 before me and that I pass them at about 70 mph on my way to my top end of 150 mph. I thought he was going to wet himself, he got so excited. Anyway I drove off and he stood there watching me drive away.

Miles travelled was verified by GPS with only couple tenths variation. Needless to say I am one happy camper with my E320, I will probably have myself buried in the car.

My most miles on a tank so far has been 719 and 18.5 or there abouts (don't remember exact tenths) for the tank/trip.

vstech · #**119** 01-11-2008, 03:12 PM

gowrsh! 39mpg.... not too shabbby. top end of 150 really? cool. makes my 85TD look archaic in comparison...

oldnavy · #**120** 01-11-2008, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

gowrsh! 39mpg.... not too shabbby. top end of 150 really? cool. makes my 85TD look archaic in comparison...

150 is what I'm told by several friends, I've only been to a 142 in it so I can't say for sure how much more it would do as I had about run out of road and cross into IL where there were lots of speed traps.

Those two trips were not much hot rodding for sure, the 273 mile one had a one time speed while passing a semi on a two lane highway of zooming to about 90 mph, otherwise 73 mpg was highest for about 200 miles of that trip.