I got my first major exposure to cars when I was two years old after I received a PlayStation and a copy of the driving simulator, Gran Turismo. At the time, my only objective was to press the gas, and hope that my straight line speed would somehow win me a race. There was no balance in the way I handled the car, and this resulted in me crashing often. Despite this, the game still jump-started my passion for cars. My passion for reading developed as I browsed through countless car books and car magazines. When I got my first laptop at age seven, I would sift through websites looking for articles on proper driving technique and racing strategies. However, despite my inquisitive nature, I did not have opportunities to immerse myself in the physical world of …show more content…
As it was a manual transmission car, I had to account for using the clutch pedal and shifting gears, skills that my uncle taught me quickly. When I shifted into gear on a private road, I immediately floored it like I did in Gran Turismo, and I almost crashed as I entered my first corner. My uncle told me that I could not just think instantaneously. I had to balance my throttle, braking, and gear changes in order to make the best time around a course. Going too fast would leave me wrapped around a tree, and going to slow would be wasting time. Not only did I have to physically restrict myself, but also I had to mentally combat the practices that I had been using since I was two. These were skills that no book could ever teach me. I had to find the perfect physical balance, as well as the perfect mental balance, so I could drive as fast as possible through a technical course. With every pass of the road, my cornering became more consistent, and my speed on the straights was increasing and I understood more about this perfect balance. It was physically and emotionally taxing, but learning these skills was the most fun I had ever
During our first run Taylor and I noticed that the car was turning way to the left. So in order to fix this we started our car as far to the right of the track as possible. After our first trials we realized that we needed to fix our string. We needed to cut the string we had attached off of our car and make a new one. When we made a new one me made it a little bit longer than the car and only hot glued it to the hook, not to the frame. Our new string had a loop in the end of it so we could put that on the toothpick. So now we understood that the toothpick did have a real purpose and we couldn’t glue the string to the mousetrap. After we made these changes we ran our car three more times.
I was 10 years old when I began to drive on my own and was 16 years old when I first drove by myself. It was great and one of the best things to ever happen in my life. When I was a little child I would be sitting in my mom or dads lap holding on to the steering wheel because I couldn’t reach the gas petal. As I was getting older my dad started teaching me how to drive by myself. The first time I did it by myself I didn’t know how to make the car go forward or backwards.
My brother educated me on what to do, although I had yet to drive one myself to get the real thrill of it. The first week of owning it, I practiced every day after school. The first couple days I just practiced around my neighborhood, after that I went on the road. A week had pasted, I was getting defeated. I still couldn’t get
The most fun I have had was taking race track driving lessons at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA from a professional driver. It was a great experience since I had the ability to check all the technical components of the track car and driver precautions before driving it on the track. He taught me the fundamentals of driving fast consisting of the following: oversteer, understeer, the racing line, shifting, passing, braking, smooth vs aggressive cornering. Additionally, I always kept an open mind to other experienced track drivers that gave me tips on how to take the corners quickly: braking point, turn-in point, apex, as well as analyze the position and direction of the next corner. After that particular track day, not only did I learn
When winter approached my car was transformed into a frozen ice block along with the rest of Indiana. As the days passed, frigid sheets of snow and ice that covered the roads and stores covered my car as well. At that point, I realized my car was ugly and nearly worthless, but my parents wanted me to remain positive, focusing on what the car did do. My vehicle had functioning heat and four-wheel-drive for the snow; however, none of that matters if the car is too cold to start. As the winter progressed, the car became more and more difficult to drive. Though I knew the moment I had been waiting for was quickly approaching, my parents and I didn't have the money for a new car to replace it, and that's when I experienced a change of heart and
In addition to learning rudimentary driving skills, I had to find balance. The clutch and gas had to be met and released in perfect timing. This seemed so simple. Press down on the gas and release the clutch. What I had not anticipated was the potential stop and go traffic, hills, downshifting on turns, and revving, caused by giving too much gas at the wrong time. After repeatedly stepping on the gas and releasing the clutch with horrible timing, the car continued to jerk and rev. My dad insisted that he take over and
When i first learn how to drive I was 8 years old. Me and my dad were in his brand new red 2007 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Duramax turbo diesel on Brisben Rd in Minooka when he asked me if i wanted to learn how to drive. That’s when I knew I wanted to work with car/trucks. Ever since I first pushed my foot on to an accelerator I knew I could see a future with diesel trucks, tuner cars, and muscle cars. I love high horsepower diesel trucks and muscle cars. And I also love quick stick shift tuner cars. After a while of driving practice my dad showed me how to work and trucks and i fell in love with working with my hands. Back when I was little my mom would ground me from going to work with my dad because that's something I love. I love to work with
Internal swearing, external swearing, frustration, insulting, sweet talking and joy. This is the emotional roller coaster that is car work. It is challenging, but easy, too. It’s emotionally taxing. However, it is rewarding, too. In replacing the old and new, it gets interesting real fast.
There were bills and unexpected expenses that came with my first car. Notably, there was a time where one of my tires popped driving on a rough road to New Orleans, leaving me to buy a new tire unexpectedly that week. Thus, I had to learn how to manage my expenses more efficiently to leave room for all the sudden expenses that may occur from owning a car. In addition, I learned that there are things that I can’t possibly control, like Monday morning traffic or car accidents. In fact, William Shakespeare once said, “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late”. Therefore, I have to be responsible enough to leave myself an hour more than I need to counter against running late for work or school due to traffic. One of the joys that I gained from owning my first car was family depending on me for transportation as well. There were plenty of times that I had to take my younger brothers to elementary school. Therefore, I had to become an adult figure to my brothers and be responsible enough to get them to school on time as if it were myself. In brief, all of these responsibilities helped round myself out a better
The very first time I drove a manual I had a lot of struggles. My parents explained to me over and over how to put the car in gear and slowly release the clutch and press on the gas at the same time to get the car rolling, but no matter how many times they said it, it just wouldn’t stick in my head and I just ended up killing the engine over and over. It took some time but after about an hour of having to constantly restart my car, I was not having as big of a headache from the car bucking like crazy, and I didn't have to worry as much about killing the engine or running over a child when I confuse the clutch with the brake.
Driving always fascinated me. When I was little I used to sit on my father’s lap and he would drive up the hill and I would steer. Even though, this was my first time actually operating a vehicle, I believed I could handle it. How hard
I turned up the volume in my headphones as my sister, Amelia’s annoying voice sang louder as one of her favorites, but otherwise a terrible song began to play on the car radio. All I could think was just how much longer I would have to be in the car with her, I was ready to get out and stretch anyway, we’ve been in the car for nearly 3 hours. I knew that I would have to suck it up and deal with it until we got there, until then I would just have to keep quiet, saying something would only encourage her to sing louder. I started dazing out of the window thinking about our destination, we were headed to my great grandfather's house to try and clear out all of his belongings in order to sell the house after his recent death. His death didn’t affect
Learning how to drive is an exciting milestone in a teenager’s life, but it also can be a terrifying one. Going back to my 10th grade year, I didn’t have a desire to learn how to drive. I was afraid, better yet traumatized, about driving. All these feelings came from two experiences that had a major impact on my life. Two of my first cousins were killed in their first year of driving.
The first time I drove a true car was two years ago. I begged my friend so many time to teach me how to drive. Fortunately, my roommate his left his car to me when I came to ASU. Every day when I got out of class, I would drive the car around Tempe. But every thing got change after that Friday. It became a nightmare for me.
Driving fast in a car may be unsafe but the thrill and excitement of high rates of speed gave me a rush I had never felt before. Seeing, feeling and hearing everything go by faster made the whole driving experience so much better. My mouth watered with envy as I approached the drivers' seat every time I went out for a drive. The automobile, as a whole, became a high interest of mine; the styling, the sound and the speed of it. I loved driving and I loved cars and all of this new found love was from the birth of my drivers' license. Such a simple piece of paper opened up such a broad area of learning for me; it was of much amazement to me.