How many of you fellow Mini drivers w/manuals have been stopped at a steep incline or hill waiting to turn out onto another road, only to have the driver of the car behind you stick their bumper right up against yours? Makes it kinda hard to pull out. I know most folks are used to automatics now, but this behavior is still RUDE!!

 

I consider it more clueless than rude. But still very annoying.

 

I hate it, and I deal with this EVERY day. Los Angeles is probably one of the worst offending cities; especially in dowwntown.

 

I dislike people who do that but I have taken precautions (mods) that have reduced the initial bawg so that I can handle those situations....

 

I'm into it. Bring it on. As Grace Jones said, "Pull up to the bumpa baby, in your long black limosine."

 

They dont do it so much in the Kia, I guess they Know I will Play tag on their dime.



Joe cause she tooked my puter.

 

My dad taught me to pull away on a hill by putting a matchbox under one of the back wheels..... eventually, I mastered the art.

 

I find it a bit annoying but not because of a manual transmission, just because it's not necessary. I didn't realize it, but my daughter reminded me the other day that I do it sometimes myself. Since her mentioning it to me, I've been much more aware of it and try to stay well back regardless of the type of car in front of me. I've got to say it makes me more relaxed behind as well as in front when there is ample space between the vehicles.

It's amazing what we can learn from our kids it we're willing to give them a chance and listen.

 

I HATE it... it's good to know they'd pay for any damage if you do hit them though...


my dad had a similar approach... it was called "stall and you get hit up-side the head" to this day I still flinch and dodge my head when I shift too soon

 

Why will "they" pay if you roll back into them???

I doubt that. They did NOT hit you. You hit them because of your inability to drive the manual in all circumstances. I think years ago they must have had this on road tests to get your license?

I would bet 99% of all cars are automatics these days.

 

While I try to keep a respectable distance from the car in front of me, it drives me crazy when people stop like a car length back from the car in front of them. Around here, people do it all the time. Its really annoying when they stop a car length back from the white line at a stop light since half of the time they aren't on the sensor to get the light to change so we sit there forever

The other day in a flat area, this guy was stopping really far away from me and once we got to be stopped on a hill, what did he do? He of course was right on my bumper

 

I know I can handle when they are close in 99% of situations. Every once in a while I'll get too nervous which happened to me not too long ago at my dealer, almost rolled back into another mini because I stalled it. The sad thing is, I know better. There happened to be a lot on my mind and I was already flustered. At least I didn't hit them. but you 'd thing on such a steep hill into the garage that a fellow mini owner would be a little more considerate.

 

I'm more worried about the guy behind me running into me than I am about slipping backwards. I've employed a trick that seems to work pretty well: When someone is pulling up behind me on a steep hill, I let Spud slide back a foot or two. The driver behind will keep their distance when they come to a stop.

 

If there is an accident where one car makes contact with the other from behind, and there are conflicting stories about how it happened, the rear car loses. Don't ask me how I know.

 

Everyone knows about holding the hand brake while you let the clutch out....right?

Driving in downtown Seattle, you learn this very quickly.

 

heh...
Never thought of that.
The corner of Spring and 8th in DTLA is bad. The street is really steep and there are a bunch of busses and idiot LA drivers all over you. I've actually spun out a couple of times to avoid slipping into a cop's bumper!

 

I learned that one while driving in San Francisco!

 

Some people even put tape over the button so it doesn't get stuck on. (but then you have to remember to leave the car in gear so it doesn't roll away!)

 

oh yea, you should try driving up the inlcine into my dealership's service floor, what a pain, i could smell my clutch once i parked the car

 

it bugs me a lot! if the hill is steep enough I have to use my e-brake and then clutch and gas because i dont want to roll into them.

 

Maybe I'll install giant spikes on my rear bumper! Bwhahahaha!!!

 

It annoys me now with the CVT because I've noticed it has the same tendency to roll back in a steep incline (probably not as pronounced) as manual. I'm assuming that this is a quirk of the transmission - is there a reason for this roll back with CVTs?

 

The worst place in the country for this is Georgia. You get all these floridians who learned to drive on flat land, and you can always tell who they are as they roll 3ft back on a hill at a stop sign.

 

Exactly, I always find Autos do it worse than manuals. Could be that I've never owned an automatic car.

I always use the parking brake trick on steep inclines but on lesser ones you can just let out the clutch and let the car start to "grab" while holding the brake and MINIs drive-by-wire system will give it more gas to hold the RPMs at idle. You can actually roll around in traffic without using the gas at all with a drive-by-wire system... not something I could say with my old 99 Civic.

 

I take it, then, that you go to Hassel? Aren't you supposed to drive it into the first floor svce manager bays and leave it for them to drive up that ramp? And if you are abusing your clutch from a drive up a ramp like that, then you may need to examine how you operate your clutch.