Do you let SWMBO drive your car?
Discussion
This follows on from another thread and I though that it would be fun.
No she doesn't drive the XKSS because there is of course no adjustment and she can't touch the pedals and the one time she got behind the E-type she was instantly scared by the enormous bonnet in front of her, which I have to say is a tad bigger than her Yaris.
So, does your other half drive your P&J?
No she doesn't drive the XKSS because there is of course no adjustment and she can't touch the pedals and the one time she got behind the E-type she was instantly scared by the enormous bonnet in front of her, which I have to say is a tad bigger than her Yaris.
So, does your other half drive your P&J?
Edited by lowdrag on Tuesday 5th August 11:03
I've owned my Dart nearly 8 years, my wife has no interest in at all, other than encouraging me to get it resprayed. This was a good thing, as it got rid of all the rust, (thank you Tony) and kept it out of her garage for 12 months.
She has however been a passenger in it for nearly 50 miles so far, I have hopes for the future.
She has however been a passenger in it for nearly 50 miles so far, I have hopes for the future.
Yep, the other half (definitely NOT SWMBO!) drives all/any of my vehicles. This includes the Harley Davidson chopper, the big matt black U.S. import l.h.d. truck and any of the classic stuff, big or small that I've run since we've been together the past twelve or thirteen years. She used to drive a 7.5 ton library van on the back lanes of Devon so negotiating N. Wilts in a sixties Brit' isn't a challenge. Having said that I'm not a good passenger and I really enjoy driving so if we go out together then I almost invariably do the driving...
The only exceptions are due to her nearly losing a leg in a bike accident so some of the old bikes are difficult for her to start and she is unable to drive my Jaguar powered hot rod as the clutch is so heavy - maybe a servo is on the cards one day.
Tying in with the other thread, her driving has definitely improved since driving the old stuff, better clutch control, carrying speed rather than braking and accelerating etc. - the only downside is the collection of scratches from the hedges that border our lanes. She lacks the confidence needed to force ignorant/dim witted drivers to reverse back into the passing place they have just overshot by six feet and instead squeezes through the gap they leave. Oh well, the gentler sex...
The only exceptions are due to her nearly losing a leg in a bike accident so some of the old bikes are difficult for her to start and she is unable to drive my Jaguar powered hot rod as the clutch is so heavy - maybe a servo is on the cards one day.
Tying in with the other thread, her driving has definitely improved since driving the old stuff, better clutch control, carrying speed rather than braking and accelerating etc. - the only downside is the collection of scratches from the hedges that border our lanes. She lacks the confidence needed to force ignorant/dim witted drivers to reverse back into the passing place they have just overshot by six feet and instead squeezes through the gap they leave. Oh well, the gentler sex...
I don't know about the pride and joy bit but my wife has driven all of my cars, she's a better driver than me
she took my V8 Westfield out once without me and soon discovered that you could very quickly get into highly illegal speeds just by putting your foot down to overtake a few cars or line of
she once drove my TVR Griff from home to the Isle of Bute in Scotland to meet up with me there
she commuted 300 miles a week in my MGB roadster V8 conversion because she refused to drive the nearly new Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i I'd just bought, she didn't like the driving position and wanted a new (at the time) Fiat Cinquecento Sporting, obviously the Mini was sold after a few months and Fiat ordered
I think she's only driven my present Midget a couple of times as it has a 15.5" steering wheel and she being short and of a certain age and size the steering wheel catches her thighs, belly and boobs
she took my V8 Westfield out once without me and soon discovered that you could very quickly get into highly illegal speeds just by putting your foot down to overtake a few cars or line of
she once drove my TVR Griff from home to the Isle of Bute in Scotland to meet up with me there
she commuted 300 miles a week in my MGB roadster V8 conversion because she refused to drive the nearly new Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i I'd just bought, she didn't like the driving position and wanted a new (at the time) Fiat Cinquecento Sporting, obviously the Mini was sold after a few months and Fiat ordered
I think she's only driven my present Midget a couple of times as it has a 15.5" steering wheel and she being short and of a certain age and size the steering wheel catches her thighs, belly and boobs
The OH loves our Elise. Loves going out in it, loves having the roof off, the whole experience.
In three years she’s sat behind the wheel once and that was when she was vacuuming it. She doesn’t do manual gearboxes and is scared that I’d kill her if she hurt it (I wouldn’t). I’d love her to drive it but she’s happier in the other seat.
In three years she’s sat behind the wheel once and that was when she was vacuuming it. She doesn’t do manual gearboxes and is scared that I’d kill her if she hurt it (I wouldn’t). I’d love her to drive it but she’s happier in the other seat.
Not mine.
She's not really interested in cars, but I have bought her both an RHD 16v Integrale and a Subaru WRX in the past for use as an everyday car.
She never really appreciated what she was driving though, so I let them go before she had a chance to wreck them. She's been happily pottering about in modern hatchbacks ever since and I have been able to sleep soundly at night, without worrying about her next trip to the Demolition Derby aka supermarket car-park.
Curiously adding her to the Evora insurance meant a cheaper premium, so she can have a go in that if she wants.
She's not really interested in cars, but I have bought her both an RHD 16v Integrale and a Subaru WRX in the past for use as an everyday car.
She never really appreciated what she was driving though, so I let them go before she had a chance to wreck them. She's been happily pottering about in modern hatchbacks ever since and I have been able to sleep soundly at night, without worrying about her next trip to the Demolition Derby aka supermarket car-park.
Curiously adding her to the Evora insurance meant a cheaper premium, so she can have a go in that if she wants.
I encourage her to drive mine.
In fact my friends also drive mine - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... - (although they're not in Lowdrag's price class).
In fact my friends also drive mine - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... - (although they're not in Lowdrag's price class).
Yes, no bother. My wife can drive any of my cars since I first taught the then teenager girlfriend to drive in this MGB back in the 1960s.
Eleven years ago, for putting up with all my car and other "foibles" bought a new MG ZS for her. Not a car enthusiast but she enjoys driving the ZS which passed its MoT few days ago. That reminds me, advisories for both front tyres approaching legal limit. Need to replace those soon :~
In July 2007 when Gloucestershire was flooded with days of incessant rain, she drove my Rover 620ti with some friends up to the Lake District for a summer break. They had superb sunny weather ... but, a stone went through the radiator so engine lost most of the coolant. She spotted it in time so no harm done and it was the last day of their short break. They came home all the way on a rescue flat bed. Wisely, years previously she arranged AA full recovery to home in the event they could not do a roadside fix.
I had a good used spare rad and the car was soon mobile after fitting that.
Funny thing about teaching family members how to drive. I taught her and our two sons how to handle a car then passed them over to the BSM to prepare them to pass the driving test. All three did that first time.
Guess what. All three think I'm a crap driver ...
... although have to admit I'm nowhere near as patient as I once was.
Eleven years ago, for putting up with all my car and other "foibles" bought a new MG ZS for her. Not a car enthusiast but she enjoys driving the ZS which passed its MoT few days ago. That reminds me, advisories for both front tyres approaching legal limit. Need to replace those soon :~
In July 2007 when Gloucestershire was flooded with days of incessant rain, she drove my Rover 620ti with some friends up to the Lake District for a summer break. They had superb sunny weather ... but, a stone went through the radiator so engine lost most of the coolant. She spotted it in time so no harm done and it was the last day of their short break. They came home all the way on a rescue flat bed. Wisely, years previously she arranged AA full recovery to home in the event they could not do a roadside fix.
I had a good used spare rad and the car was soon mobile after fitting that.
Funny thing about teaching family members how to drive. I taught her and our two sons how to handle a car then passed them over to the BSM to prepare them to pass the driving test. All three did that first time.
Guess what. All three think I'm a crap driver ...
... although have to admit I'm nowhere near as patient as I once was.My better half drives all of them. She likes my Alfa, loves Morgans, and has driven the Formula Ford around Silverstone. Well, around the paddock anyway...
I knew she was a keeper when we were Morgan shopping and she drove a plus 8 in fairly grim conditions on unfamiliar roads, then refused to allow me to consider buying a plus 4.
I knew she was a keeper when we were Morgan shopping and she drove a plus 8 in fairly grim conditions on unfamiliar roads, then refused to allow me to consider buying a plus 4.
She loves the R32, loves the Octavia, hates the Westfield. Hates being a passenger in it too - tbh, when I let my mate drive it on the track, I saw what she meant! Despite knowing it's braking/steering capacities, mate was approaching a corner, I was still thinking, "Should be braking…braking…BRAKING! BRAKE!" and involuntarily phantom braking - then it went around the corner as it normally does with no drama. Feels more perilous than in a normal car when not in control of the wheel. 
Mrs JS is a pretty good driver but she loathes my XJ with a passion. She can't see the corners, dislikes autoboxes and does 90MPH on any dual carrageway which she thinks is about 55 until she looks down at the speedo. On top of that she's absolutely terrified of scratching or denting it.
The deal is she remains welcome to drive it anytime she likes so long as in exchange she agrees to let me take the MG out and rinse the b
ks off it whenever I feel like it. 
The deal is she remains welcome to drive it anytime she likes so long as in exchange she agrees to let me take the MG out and rinse the b
ks off it whenever I feel like it. My old Nagger , or SWMBO but mostly the former, has no interest in my cars. Each time I have bought an interesting car she says she really likes it, comes for a ride in it and then never steps foot inside it again. My TVR one passenger ride in 11 years! Lotus one ride in 3 years and my Scimitar one ride in one year, She is obviously welcome to drive any but doesn't want to.
Yep, and has her own MG Midget which she commutes in a lot of the time. She can be quite aggressively assertive in it too!
We bought our Fiat 500 from Italy mostly because she loved the adventure (her first experience of foreign driving.... LHD, Crash Box, 499cc, the Alps...)
The Caterham is more of an issue as it's a fixed seat and I'm a lot taller than her but some cushions allowed her to do a competitive slalom event in it. She finds it a bit heavy though.
We bought our Fiat 500 from Italy mostly because she loved the adventure (her first experience of foreign driving.... LHD, Crash Box, 499cc, the Alps...)
The Caterham is more of an issue as it's a fixed seat and I'm a lot taller than her but some cushions allowed her to do a competitive slalom event in it. She finds it a bit heavy though.
She's been insured on my MG for five years but has never driven it. She has no interest. She's only been a passenger twice in that time too. Youngest daughter loves it which is good!
Actually my wife's only driven my daily Volvo a few times. She described the acceleration as 'surprising'.
Oh well she likes her people carrier and I like my cars.
Actually my wife's only driven my daily Volvo a few times. She described the acceleration as 'surprising'.
Oh well she likes her people carrier and I like my cars.
I wouldn't let her near my Camaro and she won't drive my Accord as its "too big". Even a couple of years ago when I broke my ankle in Dorset and we had no mobile signal she wouldn't drive it. I had to drive it about 3 miles inland until we got a signal...
She hates driving and won't drive anything more than than a supermini (she drives an Alto). Oddly enough she really likes old cars but I don't think that extends to actually driving them...
She hates driving and won't drive anything more than than a supermini (she drives an Alto). Oddly enough she really likes old cars but I don't think that extends to actually driving them...
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