I Take It All Back

Well it's been two or more weeks of solid snow and crappy roads. And I retract everything I've said about trying to drive my car. It's bloody brilliant is what is. A true technical achievement beyond what many "modern" cars are capable of. And I've learned over the last few days it's not the car, but it is the driver. And until I learned how to drive my car, I was failing Zazu.
A few nights ago, never mind the exact date, I was going home in the stark and barren winter streets and a thought occurred to me. Can I do a 180 degree turn an intersection? POWWWEEERRRRR! Spent the next half hour going sideways around corners and in general acting like a cock. But that was the moment when I learned the car. How much steering to give it, when to brake and all the other interesting stuff that is taken for granted in this the modern age of the automobile.
You see with a car like mine, you feel the car. Not through some electro-sensory feedback or an artificial feel system, but through the nuts and bolts and the seat of your pants. You can't think as it's simply too slow, you have to feel.
I liken it to operating a steam locomotive, which I also do. It's not about what a gauge tells you, like in a car. It's what your eyes tell you, and your ears. How is the engine working, what's the exhaust look like, how is the road ahead, what does it sound like. Your not inside the vehicle so much as you are outside of it. What happens inside is simply a culmination of all this.
Driving an old car is very much like this. And in these conditions it's even more apparent. I find myself looking at the snow and slush and making decisions about where I want to go, how much throttle to add. I'm not worried about what my speedometer or my tachometer reads. They are just gauges. What I want to know is how the car is functioning, what it's feeling.
And so far it's not put me wrong. Sure there are a few tight spots here and there, like running into a snowbank to avoid a collision, or missing a roundabout, but all and all it's been a wonderful experience. I look forward to continuing to drive my old car in these terrible conditions.
To you and yours happy holidays from all of us here at Life In The Old Car Club!