[fred cook]

When my sister and I started driving, one of the first cars our Dad put us in was a 1941 Buick Roadmaster 4 Dr sedan that belonged to my Grandfather. It had the big straight 8 engine with tons of torque. Made it easy for beginners to learn how to use a clutch without stalling! After we had mastered the Buick, he let us drive his '54 Ford V8 w/3 on the tree. Eventually we got to drive our Mother's car that had an automatic tranny. When I was in the Navy (Seabees), I was one of the only ones in the group that could drive a manual gearbox vehicle. Since we had lots of 2 1/2 ton and 5 ton trucks that talent came in handy!