Driving Passion

Random Red BMW in Germany

As Inge and I were walking in Germany I spotted this red BMW and snapped an impulse shot because it's a beautiful car. I can see that it has a sun roof and it would be a massive insult to my sense of what's right with the world if this car possessed an automatic transmission. I didn't look, but in Germany, my experience is that this auto would have a manual transmission.

I write about this because I really love to drive and especially drive vehicles with manual transmissions. Unfortunately, most pickup trucks sold in America come with automatic transmissions and because I need a pickup for our ranch and my woodworking I own an automatic transmission truck. One huge reason I love to visit family and friends in Germany is because I get to rent cars with a manual transmissions and thus I get a touch of my gear jamming driving love every time I visit.

 

Honda Rebel I trained on after MSF course.

I took lessons with the Motorcycle Foundation Safety Course and I learned to ride a motorcycle because my heart told me that motorcycles provide a gut level experience of driving beyond anything you can get in a car. There's no "cage" around you - just the elements and the vehicles around you. They too impart motion with manual transmissions so I got to experience the joy of shifting up and down through the gears under various situations. Another unique motorcycle experience I enjoyed was the cornering lean. What a rush! However, Inge fears so much for me when I ride and she is so saddened by my riding that I gave my motorcycle up to make her happy. I sold my Honda Rebel (above) after a just a few months of riding.

The next best thing, in my mind, to a motorcycle for a way to enjoy the driving experience, would be a sporty convertible. There are a lot of them out there and if I had unlimited money I'd get a Porsche Boxter. But within my budget, the car I'd like to own would be a Mazda Miata. I'm not into massive horsepower roaring engine driving expereince - I'm into the top-down, wind in my hair, gear jamming, curvy country road experience of driving. From a purely cost effective standpoint, a miata fits the bill and I have test driven a couple to know I really want one.

But life is about making choices and I keep coming around to the thought that I have a hard time justifying owning both a truck and a car for myself. I need the truck for ranch and household chores and woodworking and I use it for commuting but at an average of 17.6 mpg, it remains a costly commuter vehicle. If I got a miata I would take advantage of the nearly 30 mpg for commuting to cut my fuel bill down and it would be a "fun drive" vehicle too. (aka toy). But to own both feels greedy in some way.