# Ticketed for eating a cheeseburger while driving



## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

https://gma.yahoo.com/man-gets-tick...cheeseburger-190930891--abc-news-Recipes.html

Sometimes, I feel ashamed of my former profession. I don't know what's going on or where it's going. There are times that all I can do is shake my head in disbelief. :smt009


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## muckaleewarrior (Aug 10, 2014)

I saw that on the news. It's embarrassing for my home state of GA.


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## BackyardCowboy (Aug 27, 2014)

Maybe the officer was confused and thought he was driving under the influence of cholesterol.


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## GCBHM (Mar 24, 2014)

It will likely get thrown out in court, and the officer reprimanded. At least, I hope!


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

If the person was inattentively driving while eating that cheeseburger they deserve a ticket.


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## PT111Pro (Nov 15, 2014)

Wait, that is no joke. Let say he swallows onions and that leads to the release of a certain gas. That could lead to a medical discomfort and that leads may be to a secondary lack of capability to operate a vehicle.

What do U expect? They are not allowed to stop the bad guy anymore without being harassed for months on the news. They have to be inventive, it's called job protection. 
The new LEO regulates Cheeseurgers in vehicles while driving. That is something, isn't it? That pleases even the gigle girls in the media. Promise


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

Seems nowadays being a Cop is a mixed bag... every thing we do is either praised or criticized... mostly criticized. 

Dosen't state if the driver was swerving or causing a safety concern... but I find it interesting that this is a newsworthy story.


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## lefty60 (Oct 13, 2012)

Don't know if the law is still on the books, but in this state that would be "driving while encumbered". Same as driving with your arm around your girlfriend. Don't ask how I know that.

I must say that when I was a LEO, I never saw that law in the book! :anim_lol:


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## Cait43 (Apr 4, 2013)

He actually got the ticket because a quarter pounder with cheese is not healthy......

Had he been eating a salad he would not have gotten the ticket.....


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## KeithC. (Dec 24, 2013)

I have been waiting for the dashcam footage. If he can show weaving and lane crossing due to impairment or something else then fine.

Otherwise....

I'd rather they get the people in the morning who are putting on makeup or reading on I-285 at 80 MPH


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

Well I guess if I were a LEO I might write a ticket or two that wouldn't look good on paper, but would make perfect sense if seen from my point of view. I had a woman blow a stop sign on me and honest to goodness she had a cellphone in one hand and a mascara brush in the other. The scary part is that I was riding my Goldwing at the time. People with food, along with the cellphone, miniature mutt (in their lap) screaming kids and on and on..... WELL THEY NEED A TICKET. I would like to buy that LEO A BIG BEER! If there is something more important than piloting your vehicle, pull over and do it. Opinion off
GW


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## KeithC. (Dec 24, 2013)

goldwing said:


> Well I guess if I were a LEO I might write a ticket or two that wouldn't look good on paper, but would make perfect sense if seen from my point of view. I had a woman blow a stop sign on me and honest to goodness she had a cellphone in one hand and a mascara brush in the other. The scary part is that I was riding my Goldwing at the time. People with food, along with the cellphone, miniature mutt (in their lap) screaming kids and on and on..... WELL THEY NEED A TICKET. I would like to buy that LEO A BIG BEER! If there is something more important than piloting your vehicle, pull over and do it. Opinion off
> GW


Good point. Cell phone crooked in the neck, while eating a Wendy's salad, blowing down the expressway at highspeed. They need extra tickets.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

It once was illegal to eat while driving in California.
It was also illegal to drink, even with a straw or a "sippy" coffee cup.
It was a good law, I always thought. It made the road a little safer.
But now that's changed.

California shouldn't've changed that law.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

I was wrong to say sometimes ashamed of my former profession. I've never felt that way.

Disappointed at times? Yes, that would be more accurate.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

We need distractions like this, so we aren't always bugging our elected officials about problems they don't know how to solve.


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## high pockets (Apr 25, 2011)

Grorgia only allows concealed carry of cheeseburgers. OC of a cheeseburger without a license, is illegal.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

high pockets said:


> Grorgia only allows concealed carry of cheeseburgers. OC of a cheeseburger without a license, is illegal.


If I ever get back to "Grorgia", I will keep my burgers IWB until I get home and put them all the way IWB.:toimonster:
GW


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## PT111Pro (Nov 15, 2014)

Sometimes when I drive here around I ask who the hell is driving that car? In one hand the Coke and the cigarette in the other the cellphone texting. Who is driving?

No joke. Yesterday evening driving home from friends house a GMC Yukon in front of me. Two lane Hwy (speed limit 70) and the driver needs all the space that they can get. Left, right, breaks, accelerating and again left right and than almost down to a stop. Blinking left.Dang - they almost hit the mailbox.... Are they drunk? It was dark already you couldn't see inside but..... Where the heck is the police? Every time you need the police they are somewhere else - Dang!

Finally in Town stopping on a red light. I could stop on the left side of them looking over there. Looks like Mother and Daughter in a big argument. They talking even using their hands, screaming at each other. If a police would have stopped them on the road would we read "Police stopped for talking while driving?

In the left hand the Coke and the Cellphone, in the right hand the Cheeseburger. In the lap the french fries, 5 Children screaming, kicking, fighting and who in the world is driving that car? They get stoped for driving while eating. I am glad the police did. Made not only everyone else on the road safer.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

PT111Pro said:


> Sometimes when I drive here around I ask who the hell is driving that car? In one hand the Coke and the cigarette in the other the cellphone texting. Who is driving?
> 
> No joke. Yesterday evening driving home from friends house a GMC Yukon in front of me. Two lane Hwy (speed limit 70) and the driver needs all the space that they can get. Left, right, breaks, accelerating and again left right and than almost down to a stop. Blinking left.Dang - they almost hit the mailbox.... Are they drunk? It was dark already you couldn't see inside but..... Where the heck is the police? Every time you need the police they are somewhere else - Dang!
> 
> ...


Yeah, that's what I meant to say!
GW


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## pic (Nov 14, 2009)

J


PT111Pro said:


> Sometimes when I drive here around I ask who the hell is driving that car? In one hand the Coke and the cigarette in the other the cellphone texting. Who is driving?
> 
> No joke. Yesterday evening driving home from friends house a GMC Yukon in front of me. Two lane Hwy (speed limit 70) and the driver needs all the space that they can get. Left, right, breaks, accelerating and again left right and than almost down to a stop. Blinking left.Dang - they almost hit the mailbox.... Are they drunk? It was dark already you couldn't see inside but..... Where the heck is the police? Every time you need the police they are somewhere else - Dang!
> 
> ...


What the heck is this thing that's getting in my way? 
Oh, it's the steering wheel,


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## GCBHM (Mar 24, 2014)

I do understand the need for reducing distracted driving, and anything can distract you from what you need to focus on while behind the wheel...the radio, arguing, talking, eating, cell phone, etc., etc., etc. And this "ticket" may be totally reasonable. But...

Come on...how many of us have gone through a drive-thru, gotten a qtr lber with cheese, took off and eaten like this? How many cops have done this, and still do! I tend to think it is a little excessive.


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## Tip (Aug 22, 2012)

So let's see:
Distracted driving is bad.
If it's a cell phone it's really bad.
If it is a cheeseburger it is okay.
So, is it all food or only cheeseburgers?
Or, is everything okay so long as it is not a cell phone?
Is a book or magazine a distraction?

He wasn't arrested for eating a cheeseburger, he was arrested for distracted driving. Serious question - what does the law say constitutes distracted driving?


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

Tip said:


> So let's see:
> Distracted driving is bad.
> If it's a cell phone it's really bad.
> If it is a cheeseburger it is okay.
> ...


What about chewing gum? Some people can't chew gum and walk at the same time. I would think that driving and chewing gum would be even more of a challenge.


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## GCBHM (Mar 24, 2014)

Tip said:


> So let's see:
> Distracted driving is bad.
> If it's a cell phone it's really bad.
> If it is a cheeseburger it is okay.
> ...


My guess is that the law is very ambiguous. The officer may end up being completely vendicated, but I doubt it. He just earned himself a new nickname, among the others he probably already has. I think every agency has one.


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## PT111Pro (Nov 15, 2014)

I see your point GCBHM, paratrooper, but we have to admit that today the people barely can drive a car without any obstruction. Everything has to work automatically and the steering wheel is hindering the comfort to seat. People don't learn to drive anymore they are not even able to turn the windshield wipers or the lights on, even that has to go automatically.
Some of them just can't drive a car at all and give them a little destruction that may you and I not even realize, it ends with them in a disaster. 

It's here with the weapons the same. There are a lot of people they think that when they spend enough money they don't have to learn how to aim and shoot or handle that gun. I see that so often on the range. Pulling the gun out, very expensive ones and complaining not to hit with the gun that target in a distance of 10 yards. Not even to mention how they handle the guns behind the line. No I am not joking. It must be the gun and may be if they trade it and buy one a 100 Dollar higher that the gun hits the target than. - Right?

So may be the police officer there on the spot involved in traffic regulation saw something that the giggle girls and boys in the GMA, ABC, NBC, MSNBC…. TV didn’t understand (what is not really surprising).


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## lefty60 (Oct 13, 2012)

Just because folks eat and drive, including cops, does NOT mean that it is a smart thing to do.

On a daily basis I see these idiots driving around eating, texting, phoning, reading a hardback book setting in the middle of the steering wheel, fixing hair, putting on makeup, shaving, and generally doing anything BUT PAYING ATTENTION TO THEIR DRIVING.

As a LEO I never liked working traffic. However if I was still on the job I would be setting new records for issuing citations for this crap. Stupid in Public is bad enough, but Stupid while driving is too many times deadly.

JUST MY NOT SO HUMBLE OPINION! END OF RANT. :smt076:numbchuck::smt077


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

That's why I drive a stick-shift and enjoy corners. No time to do much else but enjoy myself.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

PT111Pro said:


> I see your point GCBHM, paratrooper, but we have to admit that today the people barely can drive a car...Everything has to work automatically...they are not even able to turn the windshield wipers or the lights on...


Worst of all is the anti-skid device.
When you have one of those, you don't ever need to learn to _drive_ at all. You merely _steer_.

But Lord help you if, at some other time, you have to use a car that does not have an anti-skid device installed.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Worst of all is the anti-skid device.
> When you have one of those, you don't ever need to learn to _drive_ at all. You merely _steer_.
> 
> But Lord help you if, at some other time, you have to use a car that does not have an anti-skid device installed.


Thanks, but I prefer to keep my Anti-Skid device, and my ESP and ESC and all the other TLA driver aids in one place - between my ears, where they belong...


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

SailDesign said:


> Thanks, but I prefer to keep my Anti-Skid device, and my ESP and ESC and all the other TLA driver aids in one place - between my ears, where they belong...


Sail, I hope you have made full disclosure here that you drive a puddle-jumper, only1.5 steps up from a Smart Car. Folks may be getting the impression that you drive a fully restored Jag XKE.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

hillman said:


> Sail, I hope you have made full disclosure here that you drive a puddle-jumper, only1.5 steps up from a Smart Car. Folks may be getting the impression that you drive a fully restored Jag XKE.


HEY!!! I resent that remark. It is *1.75* steps above a Smart. 
And compared to the original 500 it is freakin' HUGE! 

Edit: In my mind's eye, it IS a fully restored D-type, though - so you were close.


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## Tanshanomi (Dec 10, 2014)

I say bravo! It's about time we remind people that behind the wheel, the business of driving is DRIVING.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

hillman said:


> Sail, I hope you have made full disclosure here that you drive a puddle-jumper, only1.5 steps up from a Smart Car. Folks may be getting the impression that you drive a fully restored Jag XKE.


...Whilst I'd prefer a 1950s Morris Minor Estate Wagon (that is, a "woodie"), limp-wrist shift, stump-puller first gear, and all.

...Or an MG TC.

...Or an MG Y drophead touring car (look that one up).


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

The vast majority of people don't fully realize that getting into a vehicle and driving is one of the most dangerous things that they will do on a daily basis. 

They just seem to think it's no big deal, all the while, there are 1000's of others driving with mindsets that may not be so appropriate at the time. Drugs, alcohol, carelessness, inattention, etc., etc., can put your life in jeopardy. 

Think about it. You're driving down the road at 60 mph and there's a car coming at you at 60 mph, and all that separates the two of you are a white painted line and a few feet of separation. One moment of inattention and there's a collision. 

As others have already mentioned, driving is no place to be complacent. It's all about being aware and on your best game at all times.


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> ...Whilst I'd prefer a 1950s Morris Minor Estate Wagon (that is, a "woodie"), limp-wrist shift, stump-puller first gear, and all.
> 
> ...Or an MG TC.
> 
> ...Or an MG Y drophead touring car (look that one up).


When I got back from Thule in '58, with all that saved up pay, I seriously considered a Morris Minor. Ended up buying a Simca Aronde instead. Good car, had to treat it really bad to kill it.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

hillman said:


> When I got back from Thule in '58, with all that saved up pay, I seriously considered a Morris Minor. Ended up buying a Simca Aronde instead. Good car, had to treat it really bad to kill it.


Yup! Those Simcas were nice beasts. The Moggie (Morris Minor) was, however, am interesting beast. Forget to grease the steering, and the king pins would fail - usually as the brakes were applied to stop hard - the nose of the car would suddenly "kneel" as the wheels splayed out sideways. Always funny to watch when it wasn't the car you were in. 

My first car was an Austin A35, the thing Healey "borrowed" to create the Frog-Eye Sprite. Mine was so rusty you couldn't jack it up, so tire changes (note US spelling so y'all don't get confused..) was done by tipping it on its side. Happy days!

The family TD is now in my son's hands thanks to his uncle, and will be resto-ed in a couple of years.


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## PT111Pro (Nov 15, 2014)

I still have in my Moms garage a nice BMW 700 LS 1959. That car is full restored.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

PT111Pro said:


> I still have in my Moms garage a nice BMW 700 LS 1959. That car is full restored.


I always thought that was designed by the same person who drew the GogoMobil..


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## PT111Pro (Nov 15, 2014)

The BMW 700 has absolutely nothing to do with a Gogo Mobile.
The BMW 700 had the size of a Volkswagen Bug but had more inner seating space a real trunk and 2 adults and 2-3 kids had space enough for a ride out of the city on the weekends or visiting granny out in the country.
The BMW was one of the biggest competitors to the Volkswagen Bug in Europe in the 1950ties.

The Spec of the BMW 700.
The Motor was the well known BMW Motorcycle Motor with 700 - 750 ccm. 
The BMW 700 Sedan 700 ccm 30 HP (22KW) 0-60 mp/h in 32.8 sec top speed 72 mph.
The BMW 700 Sedan LS had 750 ccm 40 HP (29.9 KW) 0-60 mp/h in 24.4 sec top speed 88 mph
The BMW 700 Coup had the LS engine but was 5 miles faster in top speed. The 700 CS had a 900 ccm engine and cost more than a Opel (GM) Olympia Record (a little Bel Air copy out of the 50ties) and was almost never ordered.

Mine is a BMW 700 LS Sedan. To know what this really is I found a advertising video on youtube that you may want to see. Well - you may don't understand the speaker while he is bragging about comfort and quality of a BMW 700 Sedan but it is a funy time travel in a world that never comes back.
The video shows the 1962 BMW 700, mine is a 1959, the difference is 2 chrome lines on the front hood. Have fun during watching.





The Gogo is something different. The Gogo is a product of the Motorcycle manufactory Hans Glass. The Idea was to put a Motorcycle with a roof on the road. In the 1950ies the war was over, the people looked for a car.
The Credit for cars was not happen in Europe back than. No one could take a loan to buy a car, so the people had first to safe the money and than buy the car.
The people had good jobs could make payments but a credit was just not happen back than. Hans Glass calculated that the people will safe their money but as soon they could afford at least his Motorcycle with roof they would buy b efore they could buy a BMW 600 or 700 or a Volkswagen Bug. It worked. 
Well - it worked until Volkswagen in the early 1960ies offered Credit to buy a car followed by Citroen, Renault, Fiat and DKW (today Audi). Surprisingly the American Car makers like Opel (GM) and FORD were the last manufacturers in Europe that offered Credit to buy a vehicle.
GoGo has nothing in common with the English word go. Gogo was the nick name of Hans Glass son.
Using the kids names to name their product was common in Europe. Citroen got their Diane, Karl Benz and Gotlieb Daimler named their cars and the entire Manufactory after the name of Karl Benz daughter. His daughter was Mercedes (a spanish fist name) Benz. Borgward named is top model after his wife Isabella and the other smaller line after his daughter Arabella.

I hope was not too boring with my little history trip and one or the other had fun watching a 60 year old BMW TV add.

Tanks for reading.


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## PT111Pro (Nov 15, 2014)

Ohh i forgot.
The BMW 700 was designed by Giovanni in Italy. Giovanny draw the car for Alfa Romeo but Alfa dropped right before the start of the production the Idea, to build a car smaller than the Gulia and sold the already finished car including the tools to BMW Munich. For BMW a winner.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

PT111Pro said:


> Ohh i forgot.
> The BMW 700 was designed by Giovanni in Italy. Giovanny draw the car for Alfa Romeo but Alfa dropped right before the start of the production the Idea, to build a car smaller than the Gulia and sold the already finished car including the tools to BMW Munich. For BMW a winner.


PT111 - my comment about the design was because I always think the rear wings (fenders in the US) looked the same on some of the Gogos. Both were designed to be cheap-to-run using a motorbike engine, and both were EXTREMELY good at their job. I had a friend in England with a Gogo that lasted waaaaay longer than any of us thought it should have. 

Edit: Thanks for the youtube clip - fun!


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## PT111Pro (Nov 15, 2014)

The Gogo was a fun vehicle. This 8" wheels or was it 10"?. For many in Europe the first contact with four wheels going to work back and for without getting wet in the northern European climate. 
The 1 zylinder engine had between 250 ccm and 400 ccm and created 10 KW (13.5HP) - 19 KW (25 HP) The top speed was between 50 and 55 mp/h. Acceleration 0-50 mp/h? Well I don't know if someone really had taken the time to stop it.
And here for you the Gogomobil add out of the 50ties with the gogo song.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

...I still like the Isetta better.
(Or is it "Isetta betta"?)


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> ...I still like the Isetta better.
> (Or is it "Isetta betta"?)


At least if you get hit in an Isetta, you don't get crushed, you just roll off like a bowling ball - hopefully into something softer than what hit you.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

...And then there was the Messerschmitt KR200, and the Czech Velorex.
CZ made a micro-mini bubble car, with a fabric body (over steel tubing), but I can't find references to it. It resides only in my memory, walking down a Prague street in the '60s.

King of the micro-cars, though was the Morgan.
It was the prettiest, and probably the fastest, but also the least comfortable. Even a bike-and-sidecar was cushier.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

Fiat 126, my last car in the UK, was the best. Comfy, cornered like it was on rails, 50 mpg, superb in the snow... What else could you ask for? Apart from power, speed, space.... ummm....


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

This thread has gone waaaaay off-track, so what the heck...

My first car was a 1941 Oldsmobile (in 1958).
Corner? The fastest way to corner in that car was to stop, disassemble it, carry the parts 'round the corner, and reassemble it and drive on.
When my girlfriend was in the car, it wouldn't start. I had to get it going before she got in. (She owned an MG Y, which is another story entirely.)
I once gave the Olds a tune-up, and, of course, it wouldn't run. But when I replaced its old points and plugs, it started right up and hummed along.
The Olds lasted until 1960: I thrashed it to death.

My next was a 1948 Studebaker, with overdrive.
Good car! Yes, a really, really good car. And with overdrive, I had a five-speed transmission, just like a Ferrari. Every freeway in Southern California was my _Le Mans_.
Traffic citations? You would not believe the extent of my collection.
It finally died of overwork too.

And then there was the Goliath. Yes, there really was a German car called the Goliath, and I had one.
The Goliath was, perhaps, the next-smallest German-made car, after that motorcycle-engined BMW. And it, too, was a two-stroke twin, but water-cooled.
Its cooling system was by thermo-syphon, without a water pump. In slow, summertime, Southern California traffic, it was best to turn its heater on full-blast, or its engine would overheat and seize-up solid.
The Goliath cured me of automobiles.

After that, there was a Lambretta motor-scooter. Its record run was from San Francisco to the tip of Baja California, and back to L.A., all in one trip.
You wouldn't believe the Mexican roads, back then!
Touring on that Lambretta made my mind up to go the motorcycle route, so I got a 350cc Jawa road-tourer, a sample of which I'd rode in Czechoslovakia.
That was a really, really comfortable bike, and my ex-wife and I went everywhere on it. Until a complete fool lost control of his Oldsmobile, and turned left into my leg, that is.
Full circle: Olds to Olds.
Kaiser-Permanente saved my leg, but that was the end of my motorcycling. Besides, we now had a daughter.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> This thread has gone waaaaay off-track, so what the heck...
> 
> My first car was a 1941 Oldsmobile (in 1958).
> <snip long sad story>
> Besides, we now had a daughter.


Lots and various here, too, with the bike part being a Honda CB200, culminating in a Fiat 500 (new type)

I had a Kawasaki 305 here for while, but the missus didn't like me riding it in the snow so she bought me a clunker with 4 wheels. Loved that bike...


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> This thread has gone waaaaay off-track, so what the heck...
> 
> My first car was a 1941 Oldsmobile (in 1958).
> Corner? The fastest way to corner in that car was to stop, disassemble it, carry the parts 'round the corner, and reassemble it and drive on.
> ...


Waaaay off track..........? It's left the race course, the city, county, state, and the continent, and is now hovering around in outer space.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

paratrooper said:


> Waaaay off track..........? It's left the race course, the city, county, state, and the continent, and is now hovering around in outer space.


All the best threads evolve...


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## PT111Pro (Nov 15, 2014)

Weellll - the Isetta was also Italian born and bought by BMW, but we called the first Smart Car the knutschkugel (how should I translate that? May slangily kiss-ball?). One thing that the knutschkugel, mean the first Smart Car and the Smart Car of 2015 have in common is, they was and are suicide machines. I was born to late and know this Messerschmitd P2000, NSU Janus, NSU 4, Borward Goliath, Lioyd Alexander, Gogo and Gogovan, Smart-Car and other Moped-Automobiles only as a child, pressing my nose on the windows to see how it looked like inside when they were parked somewhere. My dad had first a boring Mercedes Benz 170S and than the 180, Grandpa had a DKW F11 Junior and Uncle Adam a Borgward Arabella.

But like I said I still have a BMW 700 LS and being proud of it. Every time I visit the Family over there, this is my ride and in all those years after loading Battery and Oil-change it let me never down.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

_Ach, Das Kleine Wünder! Am besten Auto der Auto-Union!_

Wonderful front-wheel-drive! A friend had a DKW, and I had my Goliath: His was faster, but mine cornered better.
Sunset Boulevard through West Los Angeles was a perfect test track, if you wanted to see how well your car could take curves and corners. It was all hills and curves.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

Oops


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

goldwing said:


> Oops


What did you do now, GW...?


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

Well, since this thread was totally and completely hi-jacked, days ago, I'll continue down the rabbit trail by describing my first vehicle:

1952 Dodge, bought by my father for a second vehicle, circa 1960, for $190. Passed along to my mother, then my older sister, then me, in 1967. It was a massively underpowered 4000 lb. tank, powered by a weak 6 cylinder flathead and the worst transmission ever devised - the Gyro-Matic , Chrysler Corporation's early economy version of the automatic shift, I reckon. It was fluid drive, meaning that the engine wouldn't die if you stopped without disengaging the clutch. You could take off (eventually, in 2nd gear) with the column shift lever in the 3rd gear position (on standard shift vehicles), then letting off the gas at 22mph, and it would eventually shift into 3rd automatically. This was the factory recommended way to shift gears. 

Or, if you were an impatient teenager, you could put the shift lever in the 2nd gear position and take off in 1st gear. When the old flathead was screaming loudly enough, I could push in the clutch, shift to the 3rd gear position and right back up to the 2nd gear position, before re-engaging the clutch, and it would stay in 2nd gear until I got ready to shift normally into 3rd gear. This was the only possible way to have more or less 'positive' control of shifting up, as far as I know...and Chyrsler Corporation probably never envisioned it being driven this way.


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## PT111Pro (Nov 15, 2014)

Haha... Bisly welcome to the crowd. Was it something like that? 
http://oldcarbrochures.org/var/albums/NA/Dodge/1952_Dodge/1952 Dodge.jpg?m=1305427732
Nice! Nice ride. For Europeans back than just a dream with wet eyes. 6 Zyl. ha.... We where happy we had 3 or better 4. Haha... But it was the time that my grandchildren sadly can't even imagine.


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

[Bisley] 1952 Dodge, bought by my father for a second vehicle, circa 1960, for $190.

One of my brothers bought a 1949 with Gyromatic - new. We never did figure out why Dodge didn't just stick with Fluid Drive. FD was great for snow-covered hills. You could leave the tranny in 2nd all the way up; it was when you had to shift a standard into low that often meant you weren't going to make it.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

PT111Pro said:


> Haha... Bisly welcome to the crowd. Was it something like that?
> http://oldcarbrochures.org/var/albums/NA/Dodge/1952_Dodge/1952 Dodge.jpg?m=1305427732
> Nice! Nice ride. For Europeans back than just a dream with wet eyes. 6 Zyl. ha.... We where happy we had 3 or better 4. Haha... But it was the time that my grandchildren sadly can't even imagine.


That picture is very close, except mine was a 4-door sedan and had a cream colored top. Yes, I know I was lucky to have that, but I drooled over '57 Chevys, like all the other kids.


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## Bisley (Aug 24, 2008)

hillman said:


> [Bisley] 1952 Dodge, bought by my father for a second vehicle, circa 1960, for $190.
> 
> One of my brothers bought a 1949 with Gyromatic - new. We never did figure out why Dodge didn't just stick with Fluid Drive. FD was great for snow-covered hills. You could leave the tranny in 2nd all the way up; it was when you had to shift a standard into low that often meant you weren't going to make it.


Good to know somebody liked them. In all fairness, it was an almost indestructible vehicle, and would seat six other knuckleheads quite comfortably. I mistreated it horribly, and it didn't even notice - just kept chugging away. And yes, it was very good on snow and ice in 2nd gear. When my sister had it, the passenger side door would fly open on hard left hand turns, so I put a 'new' door on it (about $6) when it became mine - a green one that stayed green till I earned $60 for a complete paint job. The radio came on and off whenever it wanted to, and I never fixed it because it stimulated interesting conversation.

Fun days - I wished I'd have realized it at the time. :mrgreen:


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## faststang90 (Apr 8, 2013)

I was told 10 and 2 when I got mine and to drive with both hands. I think they should get all the people texting and driving.


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

faststang90 said:


> I was told 10 and 2 when I got mine and to drive with both hands. I think they should get all the people texting and driving.


Now that there is an airbag in the steering wheel, "10 and 2" is deemed an arm breaking arrangement. Better "9 and 3", or even "8 and 4".


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

hillman said:


> Now that there is an airbag in the steering wheel, "10 and 2" is deemed an arm breaking arrangement. Better "9 and 3", or even "8 and 4".


True - but for safe driving and more control, 10 and 2 is still the bestest. If the possibility of a broken arm (or 2) is the price for being able to drive more safely - I'll take it.


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## PT111Pro (Nov 15, 2014)

> Steve
> CZ made a micro-mini bubble car, with a fabric body (over steel tubing),


Do you mean that one?
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Škoda_450#mediaviewer/File:Škoda_450_Felicia_(5660394961).jpg


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

PT111Pro said:


> Do you mean that one?
> ?koda 450 ? Wikipedia


I think this one more likely.


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## BackyardCowboy (Aug 27, 2014)

All you have to worry about is Moths, Sail. :anim_lol:


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

BackyardCowboy said:


> All you have to worry about is Moths, Sail. :anim_lol:


:smt076


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

SailDesign said:


> True - but for safe driving and more control, 10 and 2 is still the bestest. If the possibility of a broken arm (or 2) is the price for being able to drive more safely - I'll take it.


If the steering is as 'fast' in your Fiat as it is in my Prius C, "9 and 3" should suffice for most situations. In my 1950 Ford with a quarter turn of free play in the steering gear, well, other times, other notions.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

hillman said:


> If the steering is as 'fast' in your Fiat as it is in my Prius C, "9 and 3" should suffice for most situations. In my 1950 Ford with a quarter turn of free play in the steering gear, well, other times, other notions.


It's interesting - I always drive in "Sport" mode, and it decreases the effect of the power steering,. You don't actually notice it while zooming along, just in the parking lot. The steering is precise, but I wouldn't call it "fast" fortunately. These things (like yours) have such a short wheelbase they they swap ends easily if you are being silly, especially in the snow....


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

PT111Pro said:


> Do you mean that one?
> ?koda 450 ? Wikipedia


Nope... although I did see lots of Skodas, of course.
More interesting were the big, black, chauffeured Tatras used by the "nomenklatura."
Up at Hradkany Castle, one of the government chauffeurs opened the rear hood of a Tatra for me, so I could see its huge V8 engine.



SailDesign said:


> I think this one more likely.
> 
> View attachment 841


That's it!
That's the "car" I saw, parked on a Prague street.

Its "body" was all plastic-coated cloth, over a steel-tube frame. The "body" cloth was removable, held on by twist-lock fasteners as used for tonneau covers.
Inside, in the rear, was a two-stroke motorcycle engine (by CZ or Jawa, I think).


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> Nope... although I did see lots of Skodas, of course.
> More interesting were the big, black, chauffeured Tatras used by the "nomenklatura."
> Up at Hradkany Castle, one of the government chauffeurs opened the rear hood of a Tatra for me, so I could see its huge V8 engine.
> 
> <snip>


We used to see the occasional Tatra in Moscow in '63/'64. The best ones had the wing down the middle of the back - worth the most points.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

SailDesign said:


> We used to see the occasional Tatra in Moscow in '63/'64. The best ones had the wing down the middle of the back - worth the most points.


I've never seen a Tatra without that fin. But then, the only Tatras I've seen were those big black ones.

I thought that they were quite nice looking.
Too big for me, but nicely shaped, with very little extraneous decoration.


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> I've never seen a Tatra without that fin. But then, the only Tatras I've seen were those big black ones.
> 
> I thought that they were quite nice looking.
> Too big for me, but nicely shaped, with very little extraneous decoration.


Certainly compared to the Russian cars of the time (Volgas, Zims, Zils, even the Tchaikas were a bit like a bad copy of a US car - think 57 Chevy with extra chrome everywhere.....

The Tatras were a model of understatement.


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## paratrooper (Feb 1, 2012)

https://gma.yahoo.com/man-ticketed-...r-vindicated-025900144--abc-news-Recipes.html


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## PT111Pro (Nov 15, 2014)

Thank God. The media had rescued one more person from a average Police-monster. Right?


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## Donn (Jul 26, 2013)

Doubt if I'm letting any cats out of the bag. If things today are like they were when I was in the job, the officer probably had to fill his daily quota. We were strongly encouraged to issue at least five a shift.


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

Quota?


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## SailDesign (Jul 17, 2014)

Donn said:


> Doubt if I'm letting any cats out of the bag. If things today are like they were when I was in the job, the officer probably had to fill his daily quota. We were strongly encouraged to issue at least five a shift.


Say it ain't so!!


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Thought so!


It really is "us against them," isn't it?


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