Probably 1/2 our population ...

[rodentrancher]

Many advantages to the old manual transmission. I miss being able to roll start a car with a dead battery. Came in handy when you needed to wait until payday to buy that battery. Get your buddies to help you push your old VW bug to the top of a small hill, put it in second, let it roll and pop the clutch, off you go...

[Dick Hosmer]

Many advantages to the old manual transmission. I miss being able to roll start a car with a dead battery. Came in handy when you needed to wait until payday to buy that battery. Get your buddies to help you push your old VW bug to the top of a small hill, put it in second, let it roll and pop the clutch, off you go...

Brings back a scary memory from over 60 years ago. Leaving my girlfriend (and future wife)'s home one night, my '49 Olds was dead. She lived on the level, but near the corner of a gradual down-slope for several blocks - enough to get the Hydramartic spinning enough to start. Managed to grunt the car over to the incline, but as it started to roll, my feet slipped (foggy noght in SF; wet streets) and I almost did not make it back on board.... you wanna talk about puckered!

[psteinmayer]

My 78 Fiat was notorious for having a dead battery! It had an electric cooling fan that would run for a long time after shutting off the car, which always resulted in a dead battery (a ridiculous design flaw that I eventually rectified by installing a switch in the dash to turn off power to the fan). I got pretty good at being able to get the car rolling and then jump in to bump it and get it running!

[Knute1]

Working for a village maintenance while going to college (late 70's), I often took the 1949 Fire Engine from the local fire department to use the gasoline diaphragm pump on the front bumper to pump out lift stations during storms. It had a foot starter and I loved using the old, but low mileage, fire engine and it suited me fine. Seems like the foot starter would have been larger than the dimmer switch and had a more checkered surface. Never used the dimmer switch as I never left town with the engine, though it would have been fun driving it down the road in good weather instead of during a downpour. Great memory.

I still use a 1947 Ford 8N tractor for snow plowing with the back blade and also a rotary mower (brush hog). It has a similar start button on the transmission between your legs, but you would typically use a thumb to depress it. Same principle.