Don't forget hands-free transmissions

Nov 07, 2009

Comments on this story (13)

Building on the same concept of the new cell phone law, I would like to start a movement to ban the use of manual transmission vehicles on public roads.

I have tried to drive this type of car before, and it is impossible to direct my attention to driving while co-ordinating slipping the clutch, watching the tachometer for shift points and taking my hands off the steering wheel to manoeuvre the gearshifter.

These actions happen constantly while city driving. All this takes a driver's attention off the important task of safely operating a motor vehicle in traffic.

As a good example, we have all seen cars dangerously weaving in traffic. I will bet you that these "tuner" cars all have manual transmissions with modified shift knobs.

There are very few manual transmission cars on the road today and there is a reason for this: they are just too complicated to operate safely in traffic. Let's ban them.

Please join me in supporting this cause to make our roads safer for our children.

I also have two other good ideas for improving driving concentration.

Ban conventional radios in favour of touchless with voice-operated controls; and install a robot arm that can lift a cup of coffee to your mouth and return it to the cup holder (voice activated, of course).

This arm could also scratch your nose, on command, so you don't have to take your hands off the steering wheel or pull off the road.

Claudio Antelmi, Toronto

Clarifying the status of

the Heritage Foundation

15 join Motorcycle Hall of Fame

Allan Johnson, Oct. 24

Thank you for the coverage of the Motorcycle Hall of Fame. The event gets stronger and stronger each year and was a sell-out this year with 325 dinners served!

However, Allan Johnson states that I "established the International Heritage Foundation to act as a motorcycle show feature." This is not the case. The Foundation was set up as a freestanding charitable foundation costing tens of thousands of dollars to put in place, with a Board of Directors, and certainly not as a "motorcycle show feature."

He also states that we "modified the Heritage Foundation into the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame." In fact, the Heritage Foundation has never been changed and instead registered the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame as a property of the Foundation. This continues today.

Finally, he states that "the Hall of Fame was gifted to the Motorcyclists' Confederation of Canada (MCC)." But my wife Hedy and I gifted the Heritage Foundation and its property, the Hall of Fame, to all motorcyclists in Canada. This was our way of giving back to the motorcycle community that has done so much for us.

However, because we needed an organization to administrate the Foundation, we appointed the Motorcyclists' Confederation of Canada as administrators. The MCC does not own the Foundation or Hall of Fame, and this relationship can be terminated by either party if it desires.

The International Motorcycle Heritage Museum Foundation is a charitable foundation and cannot be owned by any individual or organization.

Bar Hodgson, Ashburn

Nissan Cube story

was real journalism

Which Cube were we driving?

Your View, Oct. 31

Resist the Cube – it's futile

Mark Richardson, Oct. 24

I enjoyed Mark Richardson's recent column on Nissan's Cube and want to offer my support after seeing all of the bashers having at him in last Saturday's Wheels.

It is about time an auto journalist actually had an opinion on something and was not afraid of the management or advertisers in telling the real story.

I read all of the Toronto dailies' auto sections and I can tell you that no one ever puts a flavour on their review other than plain vanilla.

I am tired of reading automotive columnists whose vehicle reviews turn out to be little more than a glorified buff-up of the manufacturer's press release.

Richardson's story reflected his experiences with the vehicle in the real world as he knows it and it told the truth as he found it. I thought it was entertaining, thorough and presented a fair and balanced view of the Cube. He should be congratulated for an interesting and courageous review.

After reading some of the vanilla reviews on the Cube earlier this summer, I made my way over to my local Nissan dealer to look at buying one.

I sat in the Cube in the showroom and immediately knew this car was not right for me. The seat was too soft and the rattle of the window within the door frame upon closing the door was enough to tell me this baby, while cute, was a little too tinny for my liking. I did not even bother to test drive it as I knew I could not live with its lack of solidity.

So thanks for putting some journalism into the auto pages and keep up the great work.

Doug McLeod, St. George

It is ironic to read Greg Carrasco accuse Mark Richardson of perhaps trying to "make a name for himself" with his review of the Nissan Cube.

In fact, I find that Mr. Carrasco has indeed tried to make a name for himself with his brash and comedic commercials for his car dealership.

I don't know if Mr Richardson has an ex-wife working for Nissan, but I do know that Mr Carrasco works for a Nissan dealership. As such, his vitriolic ranting should be taken with a Cube of salt.

Peter Chui, Toronto

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