JP... This will probably resonate with you.

I hope they find the crooks before they kill someone...and that the guy gets his wallet back, too.

Carjackers, unable to drive stick shift, fail to steal Corvette - U.S. News

Doesn't surprise me.

Few years back at the DTNA plant where I work (at least for a couple more months, they just announced another layoff today), we were doing some weekend work in the area behind the plant.

I watched one young gent crawl ito a truck (Class 8 Semi) to move it to another area. Four times he attempted to start it, only to have it immediately stall out, and twist the whole cab around on it's mounts. It dawned on me the young man hadn't realized the truck was in gear.

Before he tried again and finally managed to break something, I went over to the truck to inquire (in a polite manner) just WTF he was trying to do.

His reply was "My supervisor told me to move this truck to (wherever), but every time I try to start it, it stalls out and feels like it's going to shake itself apart".

Myself - "Dude, did you take the truck out of gear?"

Young Gent - "How do you do that?"

Myself - "By using the gear shift lever right beside you to put it in neutral."

Young Gent - "I tried that lever, but it doesn't move."

Myself - "You have to push in the clutch first."

Young Gent - "What's a clutch?"

(Several seconds of utter silence on my part as I contemplate in amazement the implications of what I've just been told)

Finally, Myself - "Are you sh*****g me? You don't know what a clutch is? Have you EVER driven a car with a manual transmission?"

Young Gent - "No, all I've ever driven is automatics."

Myself - "Dude, get out of the truck, go tell your supervisor you don't know how to drive a stick shift, and tell him to get SOMEBODY ELSE that's been TRAINED how to drive one of these over here to move it!".

Found out later the young man normally worked on the engine assembly line.... mating trannys to the engines.... and still hadn't the foggiest what a clutch was.

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Just say "NO" to Ethanol - Drive Diesel

Mitchell Oates
Mooresville, NC
'87 300D 212K miles
'87 300D 151K miles - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD 67K miles
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club

This is what happens when people inbreed and mate with animals when their sister isn't around. Seriously...These people are missing the common sense gene that normal people are born with.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

shoot all carjackers....

‘Don’t shoot me because you can’t start the car! I am trying to help you out here.’”
.

Your list of 1 is way too short. Yes, we need to clean out the gene pool..... (with the benefit of knowing we are generally starting at the bottom of the barrel. Less risk of "collateral damage")

Pestilence, War & Famine? Not doing the job like they used to.

My middle son had his car hijacked by two large women several years ago. The police found the car the same day with the stereo system missing. We teased him for months because he let two women make him give up his hoopty.

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For the Saved, this world is the worst it will ever get.
For the unSaved, this world is the best it will ever get.

Clk's Ebay Stuff BUY SOMETHING NOW!!!

Incredible...this happened again? (I seem to remember this happened in CA last year as well....)

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

Sadly, real transmissions are a dying breed here in the Yank Seppo Tank. May as well ask someone to start a car using a cranking handle.

I'm proud to say that my whole fam damily is not only manual transmission capable, but manual transmission highly skilled.

The problem for me is that my desire for manual transmission limits my car selection.

Today, the selection of farm tractors with a clutch pedal is limited. People who drive TRACTORS can't even use a clutch pedal?

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

Actually, a torque converter/hydraulic tranny makes much more sense in a tractor. No clutch plates to burn from starting up while hauling heavy stuff.

In tractors, I prefer hydrostatic.

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On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
1994 GMC Jimmy - 203000

https://media.giphy.com/media/X3nnss8PAj5aU/giphy.gif

If you are competent with a clutch pedal and choose the correct gear, you will NOT burn a tractor clutch. If it happens the clutch was WAY undersized.

You can have ALL the hydro drive tractors you want. Mine have clutches, thanks very much. I just bought a new John Deere 5055D about 2 1/2 years ago. I saved a ton by buying this model which has a good old clutch pedal and what they call a sync reverser. The hydro drive versions are WAY more expen$ive, plus, when that hydro box DOES go out, it will cost WAY more than it would take to split mine and put a clutch in it.

The tractor I had before that, a Ford 3000 diesel, I bought with a bad clutch. I split it and replaced the clutch for a few hundred bucks. I ran that machine hard for 22 years. It still had the same clutch when I got rid of it after getting the new green and yeller one.

Same goes for clutches in cars. If you are competent with a clutch pedal and not racing it, the clutch will last a LONG time, and if it ever does need replacing it will be WAY cheaper than replacing/rebuilding an auto mixer. My 300E now has over 327,000 miles and still has the clutch that those Germans put in it 25 years ago.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

It's okay, not everyone is competent with a clutch pedal.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

my saga too, Im accustomed to driving cars with manual boxes, cant seem to find good cars with manual transmissions nowadays in the US.

e.g. why did not MBUSA offer these W124 diesel sedans with manual transmissions

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

WAY back when I was looking for a manual transmission 300E, I saw a 5 speed 124, 300D advertised. Might have been a grey market car.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution