Coasting in Neutral

Something there is that doesn’t love a stick shift,
That sends the the brain to counting 1-2-3 with it,
And glides and rolls when roads are sloping down
And stays in lane when ice and snow are gone.

I learned on a stick and whenever it was my total option to pick and choose and pay for the vehicle, it invariably was a stick shift. Finding a good American one has always been tricky. I owned a Chevy Vega and a Chevy Aveo and they were both a POS. I also had a Pontiac Ventura (that was fine). I wound up buying one of those stick on heating wires that were on a sheet of plastic and pasted it to the back window (there was no rear window defroster or built-in heating coils).

These days I have a FIAT 500. Folks tell me it's cute. What 60+ year old guy wants to be told that his car is 'cute'? It's powder blue and it has a sun roof and five on the floor. And on the dashboard I get pictures of snowflakes when the temperatures are in the 30s or the words POSSIBLE ICE or the message SHIFT when it's time to go to a higher gear. But what I love to do most in the car is to ride downhill while in neutral. I can keep my right foot close to the break pedal and let entropy take its course. Never have to worry about snow or about ice. Seldom have to worry about puddles.

The FIAT 500 doesn't handle the uphill incline as well. I think of those trips I take between the North and South and of the stretch of road known as [the] Grapevine, La Cañada de las Uvas, where the car seems to need to be as far right as possible and in a low gear for an uncomfortable period of time.



I've never ridden it in the snow and have no intention of ever doing that. The worst ride was one November between San Francisco and Reno in a 1973 Volkswagen Super Beetle that had big holes in the floor boards. Thankfully, the heater worked at full blast and we had plenty of warm blankets.

Still, I do love to remain in neutral. I feel as if I am winning against gas consumption. I merrily use the power afforded me by the hill and a slide along the way!