Bob,
Thanks ever so much for the explinations.
Now, could you give us a pithy breakdown of the "Center of Gravity"?
:>)
Rick Morrison
72 MGBGT
74 Midget
On Tue, 30 Mar 1999 21:27:11 -0600 Robert Allen <boballen@sky.net>
writes:
>Although I have no first-hand knowledge of the French physic, I have
>heard their mannerisms may seem somewhat abrupt to the tender American
>sensibility. This in no way sanctions boorish behavior but may,
>somewhat, temper first impressions and leaves some area of doubt.
>Setting aside emotionalism, I feel obligated to contribute the
>following
>hypothesis that does, in fact, support the notion that females are
>inappropriate operators of the manual transmission.
>
>1.) Women have a greater propensity to rest their left foot on the
>clutch. More specifically, men are anatomically inclined not to ride
>the
>clutch. It has to do with possible interference at the leg/man
>interface
>that can cause unexpected and acute discomfort if mispositioned
>equipment becomes encumbered during the clutch actuation process. In
>essence, a man learns at an early age to avoid unnecessary clutch
>actuation. In technical terms, this is known as the slip angle.
>
>2.) The gear selection mechanism of a British car is a delicate
>mechanism requiring a firm and positive up and over or down and across
>movement. Gears are not properly selected by taking a diagonal slice
>at
>the lever, fore and aft. This causes undue wear on the mechanism. Men
>understand this and, through adolescent self-indulgence, have mastered
>the movement of the up and out, down and back movement with some
>degree
>of finesse. It is not uncommon for males to have acutely developed
>muscle groups particularly suited to this task by the time they become
>of driving age. Furthermore, women not only lack the motor skills, but
>also have distinct frontal distractions that make acquiring the skill
>problemsome. The correct gear movement, when initiated by the slender
>female arm muscles, can set off a resonance across the chest area that
>results in an annoying pendulum effect. Thus females are more likely
>not
>to shift a British car properly due to physical attributes. This is
>known as the popular moment of inertia.
>
>Again, without condoning the original post, I thought I might provide
>this enlightened opinion of proper shift operation.
>
>Bob Allen, Kansas City
>
>
|