With my renewed interest in cars as of late the wife and I decided to head out on Xmas day to travel some old motorcycle roads I used to frequent.

This is her 2013 base model with automatic:


She currently has Michelin X-Ice Xi2's mounted on her stock rims.

Previously I tried to teach her how to drive stick on my Honda Fit...about the easiest car to learn on with so little power, but it didn't work because she saw no value in learning. At that point driving was just a means to get from A to B and with her commute on I-95, an automatic was the best tool.

So instead of teaching her the mechanics of driving stick, I decided to concentrate on having her realize the FUN of driving, not just the utility.

So we started on normal roads getting used to the manual mode in "Lucy" then progressed to the twisties as I explained the benefit of manual with better control and feel.

In the end for a girl who doesn't have a competitive or sporting bone in her body, she did wonderful. The roads were clear (excess sand and salt aside) of traffic and it was a nice day driving past all the homes we could never afford. :p

Once I get my Mini I really hope this turns into something we can do together!