Open Diff: Paying it forward

2011 Mazda Miata pedals. Photo courtesy of Mazda North America.

From the time I was old enough to push a Matchbox car across the rutted concrete retaining wall that held our backyard in check, I knew this: I wanted to learn to drive. By age 16, having mastered tricycles, bicycles, minibikes and even two-stroke motorcycles, I was ready to advance to automobiles. First came cars with an automatic transmission and later, at my urging, my father patiently taught me the first steps of the three-pedal shuffle in our four-speed 1967 VW Beetle.

Though I never became fast enough to make a living (or even support a hobby) racing cars, I practiced technique as often as I could, on road and track. While still no Zen master of the five speed, I could rev-match on the downshift with the best of them, even if my heel-toe skills lacked polish and precision. Over the years I taught several friends to drive a manual transmission, but one sticks out in my mind.

Jen was as much of a car person as anyone I’d ever met, and she had a passion for driving that mirrored my own. While she’d tried to master a clutch in the past, all previous instructors had eventually thrown in the towel, leading her to believe that she was incapable of learning to row her own gears. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I offered up my time and my Mazda Miata for the cause.

Even on the flat and straight roads of Jacksonville, Florida, the first lesson went as one would expect. There were repeated stalls, punctuated by the occasional squealing of tires, followed by muttered apologies. I passed along as much encouragement as possible (praise – correct – praise) and remained patient, remembering back to my own first lessons in the Volkswagen. It didn’t take long for me to realize that she’d never learned the concept of the friction point, and once I explained this, the lessons progressed at a quicker and smoother pace.

Two Saturday mornings was all it took, and by the end of our second session she’d proven not only capable of driving a manual transmission car, but rather adept at it. Her past failures were not ability related, but rather patience related on the part of her instructors. Today, she drives a six-speed Mazdaspeed3, and if her family budget allowed, would probably be autocrossing it (proficiently, I may add) as well.

A key part of this hobby is passing on knowledge, which often requires both patience and practice. What are your stories of paying it forward? What skills, mechanical or otherwise, have you been able to pass along to someone else?