I learned to drive on a huge Toyota Crown with stick gears. For a young girl way back then it was the greatest thing to be able to drive. But my father made sure I knew how to change the oil, the tyres and their pressure before I was allowed to take it out on the road. My first driving lesson was over the Story Bridge in peak traffic, wouldn't want to do that these days.;)
Awesome stuff! The fact that the Toyota crown has been in production for almost 70 years really shows how great they are! What an awesome car to learn on.
 
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Awesome stuff! The fact that the Toyota crown has been in production for almost 70 years really shows how great they are! What an awesome car to learn on.
The crown made you feel really safe because of the chassis but now the young ones tell me it is better for a car to crumple, go figure.:unsure:
 
I learnt to drive in in England in a 1960 Maroon Mini 850cc. My ex found the steepest hill for hill starts, the tightest corner to reverse around, the most slippery lane he could find i.e. rain, mud and cowpats! Even taught me to drive in snow, and the narrowest road for the three point turn. So I was well prepared for the Test.
Test day came and my heart fell when I saw the size of the instructor, he was huge and it took him awhile to squeeze into the passenger seat. Anyway we started off, and a couple of minutes later a dog ran in front of me, I braked sharply to avoid it, he lurched and banged his head. He instructed me to keep going, but no sooner had I done so a child obviously after the dog ran out, I braked hard again, and yep he banged his head again. I could see a nasty bump on his temple. "We'll do a hill start" he said. Well it was certainly a steep hill, and my little min bin groaned at the extra weight. "Come on you can do it" I said not realising I had said it out loud. as she struggled to take off, but I didn't roll back which was a relief.
He then told me to drive back to the test centre, no reversing around a corner, or three point turn done. I knew I'd failed. Once back at the centre he started asking me questions on the highway code, which I thought was a bit daft, as I hadn't completed the test. He then said "You've passed, I'd feel perfectly safe driving anywhere with you. Gee who would have thought that!
 
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My dad gave me some initial lessons in his Valiant Ranger sedan VJ 1974 model.

Then for the last few I went with a driving school and that was a Datsun 120Y so tiny compared to the Valiant.

I went on to buy the Valiant off my dad, loved that car!
 

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