Two carjackers force a driver out of the car, then realize they can't drive a stick shift (video)

I knew there would be a YouTube for it.

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The boys — 16 and 17 — were later caught after a short chase by police, and arrested as adults.

Uh, if they were 16 and 17 when the chase started, and adults when they were arrested, that doesn’t sound like a short chase to me. Have to admire the persistence of the cops, though. A lot of people would have given up after the first six months of continuous pursuit.

I’ve heard of kids being “charged as adults”, but “arrested as adults” is a new one to me. Is that a real thing, or is it sloppy journalism?

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A few months ago on a family vacation it turned out the only available rental vehicle (in another country, not the U.S.) was a manual, so it was helpful to have the muscle memory to draw on, that is true. But recently I had to drive a loaner car that had the newfangled shuts-off-whenever-you-stop system, and I had to drive in major rush hour traffic, which reminded me how absolutely frustrating it is to drive a stick shift anyplace where you have to stop and start a lot around other vehicles.

Put me in the ‘isn’t it nice we have options?’ column.

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Similar experience. When we lived in England, and wanted to rent a car, the cheapest options were manual. “No problem,” I thought. I’d been driving manual for a couple decades.

Heh. It was a learning experience, for sure. Second gear was always tough – my left hand kept wanting to pull the stick towards me, and it would land in 3rd.

ETA: Spelling

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Archery amateur here, so, snigs from me!

My second snort of the thread, many thanks.

:smile:

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Why, yes, I can!

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Not bad, but…what’s that thing you’re sitting on? Back in the good old days, the Parthians used to get by with just a cloth.

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In that driver’s situation, would I be incapacitated from laughing or too full of adrenaline to laugh?

Wouldn’t it be dangerous to shoot an arrow backwards from a bow – usually you want the pointy end of the stick to travel away from you?

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I’ve always owned cars with stick shifts and prefer the relative simplicity, reliability and low maintenance of a manual transmission. I’ve put well over a million miles on my vehicles over the years all on sticks. My current truck is approaching 20 years old and has what I call a “tractor clutch” which is quite stiff and requires a bit of effort to shift.

Working from home now I don’t find myself sitting in rush hour traffic as much anymore but late one night last summer I was headed out to a camping trip and encountered a terrible backup on the highway due to a crash. After two hours of inching along I was most definitely cursing my vehicle choices.

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This reminds me when I was on a business trip to Atlanta in the 1980’s. I got to the very remote spot where my rental car was, opened the door and - lo and behold! A stick! It made me think of Planes, Trains and Automobiles - “You’re F@cked!” Except I wasn’t. I’ve driven a stick since high school! I had a good belly laugh, though.

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Even experienced manual car drivers used to shake their heads when faced with the cheaper end of the French car market

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I too have a weak left leg, so learning NOW would be a PITA.

I did try to move a parked car once, and just wasn’t able.I know in theory how to do it - but didn’t have the practice to make it happen.

Fortunately, I don’t steal cars, so this will never be a problem for me.

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Whoa! That’s beyond “three on the tree!”

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What car does that and why? It would be infuriating to do that in stop and go traffic, not to mention putting wear on your starter.

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Remembering my one and only time trying to drive a “three on the tree”. It was not easy or fun. Of course, it was a first run without any explanation or training.

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It’s a gasoline-saving innovation, and I guess it does save a minuscule amount of gas each time. But yeah, it’s bothersome in stop-&-go traffic, I’ll tell you that.

Seems to be on a lot of newer cars. This one happened to be one of the nicer Subarus (maybe an Outback?), but it’s not like I was driving a luxury car.

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My history buff dad and myself watched 300 together in the theaters. There’s one scene where a soldier jumps on a horse and rides away, my dad leans over and whispers “anachronism, they didn’t have stirrups back then”.

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If your dad leaned over every time something was incorrect in that movie then I feel bad for his back.

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OMG! There’s the high-beams button just in front of the shift, like I remember!!!
:scream_cat:

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There was a lot, but that’s one I hadn’t realized, and he really enjoyed pointing that one out.

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