Good morning, Autopians! It’s Friday, the holidays are coming up, and nobody feels like being productive anyway. So let me help you slack off at work with a four-way battle between this week’s winners! There is a scenario to help you choose: Driver’s Ed. I’ll explain in a minute, but I wanted to mention it right up front, to avoid a debacle like we had a couple weeks ago.
So let’s officially crown yesterday’s winner, and we’ll get started. To the surprise of no one, only a few daredevils among you chose that Chevy van. I mean, I absolutely love it, and I desperately want to build a model of it with some monstrous driver holding an enormous gearshift lever behind the wheel. But would I actually get in the real thing and try to drive it? Not on your life.
The Power Wagon, on the other hand, is really appealing. I spotted that truck for sale a few weeks ago, and have been waiting for the right opportunity to feature it. It’s one of the few vehicles I’ve featured here that I would buy for myself, actually. Remember that scene in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey when they’re in the hardware store, and the Grim Reaper picks up a new scythe off the rack, swings it around a couple times, then looks at his old trusty scythe and goes “Hmm…Nah”? I went through the same thought process when I saw this truck… and decided I like my Chevy better.
OK, so now it’s time to choose. Your sister has tasked you with the job of teaching your young nephew to drive. The kid loves cars, but hasn’t had much of an opportunity to learn about them. He has an ever-growing list of cars he wants to drive someday, so a good well-rounded driver’s education will be important. Your sister has given you one of those yellow “Student Driver” stickers, and pointed you to a corner of a parking lot where these four vehicles stand ready and waiting. You have to choose one in which to teach the youngster the fundamentals.
Now, for reference, my own first driving lesson was behind the wheel of a Jeep CJ-8 Scrambler, at age 14, on my grandfather’s farm in Kansas. My uncle Bill drove me out into the middle of a field, gave me about two minutes of instruction in how to work the clutch, said “Come on back when you get the hang of it,” and walked away. So I don’t necessarily believe in “taking it easy” on young drivers. Your mileage, as always, may vary.
So let’s recap the choices, and I’ll point out some pros and cons of each one.
1999 Mitsubishi Galant ES
This one looks the most like a typical driver’s ed car. And it would make a good one, with simple controls, a forgiving manner, and a nice easy automatic transmission. In fact, it might be too easy. Also, it’s no longer necessarily representative of cars on the road. I know the prevailing wisdom is to teach young drivers on a “normal” car, but normal cars are quite a bit taller and heavier than this now. These days, a Mitsubishi Galant is the size and weight equivalent of a Geo Metro when I learned to drive.
2010 Dodge Grand Caravan
This is more like it, size-wise. In a Caravan, you’re at least eye-level with most other drivers, and the length and heft of it are more representative of the current crop of crossovers and SUVs. But it’s also an easy vehicle to drive, generally speaking, so it’s not going to be imposing. But on the other hand, what young budding gearhead wants to have their first driving lesson in a minivan?
1991 Honda Civic Wagovan 4WD
Now this is more of a challenge. Again, it’s tiny compared to a lot of modern vehicles, but it also sits a little higher than some other small cars, so it isn’t as scary in traffic as, say, a Miata. And it’s a manual, which if the kid wants to learn, he should learn from the start. It’s even a nice, easy, forgiving manual, with a “granny” low gear that will quickly teach the kid all about clutch engagement points with a minimum of stalling.
1973 Dodge W100 Power Wagon
When my uncle selected his Jeep for my first driving lesson instead of my dad’s VW Golf which was parked next to it, he explained his choice, in his thick Kansas drawl, by saying, “If you get good on this, you can drive anything.” Thirty-seven years later, and he still hasn’t been proven wrong. I imagine this Power Wagon would provide a similar experience. But on the other hand, vehicles are a lot more advanced now than they were then, and something this primitive is not representative of typical vehicles at all. It might be good to start, but you should move on to something more modern after a while.
I’ve taught someone how to drive a manual, but never how to drive from scratch. I’m not sure I’d be any good at it, honestly; I don’t have a teaching disposition. But maybe you’d do better. These are the vehicles at your disposal for the task. Which set of keys are you grabbing for the first lesson?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I learned to drive and stick shift by secretly taking out my dad’s Datsun 210 while he and mom were at work, and driving it up and down our dead-end street. So to most closely match, I have to go with the Civic.
I’ll go for the Power Wagon, on the same theory that when I was teaching my little sister how to drive in the snow, I took her out in my 2wd S-10 which was shod in all season tires and had an open rear differential. I told her, “If you can drive this piece of shit in the snow, you can drive anything in the snow.” Five hours later, I never worried about her in the snow again.
As always, it depends on the kid. But I think we need to consider not how we felt at learning to drive, but how this youngest Generation Z looks at things. The bell curve of the Zoomers interest has shifted away from the eager enthusiasm most of us experienced, and towards trepidation…and a desire to have as much automated for them as possible (many young kids today–even if they aren’t from an urban area–would prefer to be shuttled around and never have to drive). Doing things the analog way is seen as quaint.
Therefore, if forced to teach driving to this generation, I agree with the contingent here that believes you have to nurse this flame slowly, and so I’m starting my nephew here off with something that will boost his confidence, and then he’ll be excited to ‘level-up’ his skills with the more intimidating options here. For me, that’s starting with the Galant, then leveling up to the Caravan, then starting over again with the Civic, and then finally torturing him with the Power Wagon.
That the kid is learning to drive at all sets him apart from a lot of his generation of ride-sharers. I agree the Galant is the safe bet. Let him learn to keep it between the white lines, then we can see if driving is his thing. Otherwise, knowing a manual may never come in handy.
Gotta be a manual, gotta be big and underpowered, I come from “If you get good on this, you can drive anything” school.
The Dodge truck for the win.
Getting a kid educated in driving, should be done first in an automatic car. new drivers have enough to pay attention to outside the car, and should not be worried about gear changes and everything, until they get the basics out of the way. I believe that ALL drives should understand how to drive Stick, but I did not start my kids out on that,
“If you get good on this, you can drive anything.”
That’s also what my father said forty years ago when he taught me to drive in his Ford pickup with a three-on-the-tree, power nothing, and temperamental everything. I’ve since done my best to take his words to heart.
On the other hand, the only time I’ve taught someone how to drive it was in a ’74 Beetle and the only time I’ve taught an otherwise experienced driver how to drive stick it was in a ’77 Beetle, so that approach seems to work, too.
This also feels like the choice of cars you choose from at the start of Road Adventures USA with +/- to each for the trip.
The minivan for teaching & learning. Getting a feel for driving a larger vehicle first is more valuable than learning on a manual IMO. The van isn’t loaded with sensors as I don’t see dots at the back bumper for park assist, unless they’re that well hidden. If it was equipped with a backup camera the blue screen means it probably won’t load, so a good feel of how to maneuver a big vehicle, and not worth much if it comes down to parking by feel. And not really powerful either.
I know there’s going to be a lot of “learn to drive manual from the beginning” but I have also heard the view that it’s better to teach a manual after learning the basics of how to drive, which I think is a fair point too. Get a feel for how a car responds and then add the layer of thinking about shifting gears.
Coincidentally this is how I learned, on our minivan primarily and then manual after, but I heard that view years after I learned to drive. Perhaps it’d have been different if I had a stick to learn on, but I didn’t until my first car, so if I wanted to drive to school I had to learn. That’s a better way, you can learn that on your own after a couple lessons, can’t necessarily do that with driving to begin with (legally at least).
Truck would be good to learn manual on after that; it’s too different from most vehicles to start with from the get go. Drive that first and then you’ll be driving even the van too fast just by accident.
I learned to drive stick on a 3-on-the-tree Slant Six late-70s Dodge truck, and dang it kids these days can learn on that too!
The kid gets the Caravan but only because it’s the only option that’s not a death trap. If safety were no object then the Civic because it’s manual and probably the most fun of the lot.
Just a quick note: the ad for the Power Wagon explicitly states that it does have power steering, so it’s not nearly as sadistic a choice as some of you are making it out to be…
Well, great. One more thing to disconnect before starting the lessons.
For the first lesson, I chose the Power Wagon. I learned to drive in my Mom’s 1964 Plymouth Valiant 2-door. Base model with two options: windshield washers and rear seat belts; no radio or power assisted-anything. It had the 170 Slant Six and three-on-the tree.
If you learn to drive a vehicle equipped with the not-so-intuitive, long throw, rubbery column shifter, you can drive anything. That, and having someone teach you how to not stall by feathering and engaging the clutch with the vehicle in gear and foot off the accelerator at idle, you’re golden. By the time my sons were old enough to learn how to drive, three-on-the tree vehicles were not common, so they all learned on floor mounted manuals.
To this day, my car and the car one of my sons drives are manuals.
The Galant would be my choice, though it’s in such nice shape I’d feel bad having a teenager trash it. Of course, as a teen I took better care of my car than my dad did of his. I guess that’s why this is one of the first pages I go to every morning.
Wagovan.
I do not understand why it isn’t running away with this. Caravan is kinda big and no manual. The Mitsu will be easiest to learn in because it’s an automatic and has good visibility, but people should learn how to drive stick. The truck, holy crapspackle, a first time driver with a stick, no power steering, and a lifted 4×4? Do you WANT them to hate driving?
Wagovan. Stick, nice power steering, compact vehicle, good sight lines, not enough power to get in trouble, etc. How many of you have actually taught someone to drive? I mean from zero. Wagovan, all day.
this is the correct and only answer!
Since I took Driver’s Ed in a ’65 Chevy, none of these really come close. Of course I got my real behind-the-wheel education in my father’s Austin-Healey 3000. Learned a lot of things my Driver’s Ed teacher didn’t approve of (heel-and-toe, late braking, controlling drifts), but learned to love driving….
I’m picking the Galant, because a) it’s easy to drive, b) fairly compact so it wouldn’t worry the students with its bulk like the Caravan, and c) because who cares if it gets snuffed by a bad student?
How the fuck is the Civic third? The Honda is the winner by default LOL
Howe well do I like my sister’s kid? Because that determines whether or not I choose the minivan or not. 🙂
The Galant or Caravan are the correct choices. The Caravan in particular is perfect because it’s safe and won’t encourage aggressive driving as it wallows from place to place.
But let’s say you’re the kind of cool and generally detached uncle who never should have been trusted to teach a nephew anything. What do you choose to teach the kid to drive while you also give him advice on buying weed and avoiding the clap? An old school truck with a 3 on the tree and nothing else. It helps that this particular uncle absolutely calls his dick the Power Wagon.
I’ve taught people how to drive a manual… The first was the German exchange student in High school. She crashed my beetle into a tree. The second was a woman who seemed to already know, so there was nothing to do. Apparently my ex wife learned on the farm and blew an engine- I never could get enough information to figure out what she did, or even if it could have been something she did. So maybe I don’t have the best experience teaching.
I taught all four of my kids to drive in my 1982 Volvo 240, with a stick shift. They’re all fantastic drivers to this day. So a manual transmission is a must. My vote goes to the Honda because it will imbue just the right sense of vulnerability needed to ensure good defensive driving habits.
Galant because of the obvious all-around appeal, but I did appreciate the value of the standard transmission in the hands of youth. Many of us learned that way, and even if you haven’t driven one in decades, you still could. It makes you a part of the car, rather than a spectator. A shifter in hand also prevents the hand from holding a phone, so there’s that as well.
The Galant wins here no matter what the setup story is. I can see how some would go for the Caravan just because it’s so damn useful.
for all the wrong/right reasons the minivan.
When I was 14, my stepfather threw me the keys to his F-150 (300 I-6, four on the floor), asked me to move it down the driveway, and (unsuccessfully) coached me on the finer points of clutch take-up from the dining room window. It was a disaster, and it put me off driving a stick until I was well into college.
So as much as I like that old Dodge, it’ll have to be the Civic in this scenario … if only to avoid any flashbacks.
My old man took me to his friend’s house about 20 miles away, and we bought the friend’s kid’s VW Scirocco. He then drove off in his car and by the time I got home, I knew how to drive stick. He said it was exactly like how he learned things in the Army.
Stepfather was a Marine, so … samesies. I eventually learned from the salesman who sold me a four-speed Escort, and refined my technique on the farm roads south of campus (a benefit of attending an agricultural university).
Get that boy in the power wagon!!!
For your absolute basics you’re gonna start with the Mitsu. Starting, stopping, turning, navigating, etc. This is your parking lot with a co-driver car.
Step up to the Honda for all of that plus the manual. This is your car for when you’ve left them to drive alone in the parking lot and you’re driving on streets with a co-driver.
At this point, you can let them out of the parking lots totally and out on their own with no co-driver.
Minivan for size, mainly cause its gonna have all the beepy things that tell you when you’re too close to something. Also, no one gives a care if you wreck a minivan, as a student driver is going to do.
Once the minivan is wrecked, graduate to the truck, don’t look back
This!^^ Have you seen a brand-new driver lately? (Not the ones who have been messing around on the farm already.) They are still trying to figure out how to pull into the correct lane! They are fully aware that they are putting the safety of themselves, their passenger(s) and everyone around them in danger!
After a couple months of controlling the car, then introduce the manual trans.