CSS size counter: 66.612KB / 75KB

Share

The Globe and Mail: Quick, Bring the BMW, I’ve Synchronized those Revs!


By David Climenhaga – The Globe and Mail Itching to buy that classy sports car but (blush) you don’t know how to shift gears? Help is near, And you get to learn on some pretty hot wheels. Imagine you’ve finally made it, you’ve got 30 or 40 big ones burning a hole in your pocket and you want wheels that’ll announce your arrival, loud and clear. But you know, way back before business, law or medical school you learned to drive on Dad’s Detroiter, which was big, plush, heavy, slow – and automatic. So you face a dilemma: you can buy the BMW or Mercedes your heart desires, with an automatic transmission, and just know that all the real cubic inch guys out there are snickering at you behind their hands. (“Forty grand for that thing and he can’t even shift gears, yuk, yuk.”) Or you can learn how to shift a standard transmission – which presents problems of its own if you don’t want to burn out that expensive West German-made clutch in two weeks, or worse, stall your silver-grey chromeboat in front of two dozen guffawing Pinto owners. Which is where Carlos Tomas comes in: your problem is his opportunity. Now, you could always get a friend to teach you, Mr. Tomas observed yesterday during a combined interview and driving test. But because “the people who phone the school are people who’ve invested in a car anywhere between $16,000 and $40,000 – the average is about $27,000 – they’re not going to want to learn from a friend. And anyway, he thought (after 10 years of teaching neophyte drivers how to get by on slush-box automatics for a national driving-instruction chain), if car manufacturers can profit from “niche marketing,” why shouldn’t a hard-working car driving instructor? So early last summer he took his bright idea and set up Shifters Manual Shift Driving School, bought and modified what must be the hottest driving school car in Metropolitan Toronto – a fire-engine-red, turbo-charged Dodge Colt – and got to work on carving out his niche. (The modifications to the Colt, by the way, take the form of passenger-side clutch and brake pedal. Additional cost, if your spouse’s driving is driving you nuts and you’re wondering: about $500.) Like many people in small business, Mr. Tomas didn’t bother with a lot of expensive or complicated market research. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” he said, ever since he observed in his previous job that “every summer the stick-shift department just went hairy. There were so many calls we just didn’t touch the licenced drivers at all.” However, he confesses, the real germ of the idea was formed in his first manual car during a hot summer rush hour 16 years ago, grinding and stalling down Toronto’s College Street. (It was an Austin Mini, humiliating enough to be seen in, even without lousy driving.) Practical experience with Shifters has confirmed his long-held suspicion, Mr. Tomas said, that the real potential for profit is not in training completely new drivers, but with already licenced drivers who have never been behind the wheel of a car with a manual transmission. In fact, he said, probably 90 per cent of he clients hold a valid driver’s licence – “I would say probably 40 percent have just bought a car, 40 per cent are shopping for a car and about 20 percent are thinking about getting a car, and they want to be able to get a standard.” Customer subcategories include “husbands who don’t want to end up getting the sports car of their dreams in automatic” and folks bound to European nations where a special licence is required to operate a car with a manual transmission. “You’d be surprised how many people I work with that have a car in their driveway right now.” -------- ----- The lessons are not always laid out in the same order as those for an automatic car, he adds – for example, there’s no point learning how to park until you know how to start a car on a hill. Going through the paces yesterday with the Greatest Driver in the World – that is yours truly, this correspondent – Mr. Tomas emphasized synchronized shifting, minimized clutch wear and use of the hand brake when starting and stopping on steep hills. (Your reporter comes by his title honestly, by the way, usually from the passenger seat. A typical mortoring conversation sounds like this: Reporter – “Watch the truck!” Friend or loved one at the wheel – “Oh, sorry, I forgot I was with the Greatest Driver in the World.”) Critics take note: At lesson’s end, Mr. Tomas awarded an A-minus. Major sins; however included clutch-destroying unsynchronized downshifts, an embarrassing first-try stall and” a stop-sign that you rolled.” Taking a driving lesson in a bright red car with fat tires, turbocharging and racing stripes – plus a large driving school sign – is a paradoxical experience. Other drivers keep their distance, but eye you speculatively. Why the relatively expensive and peppy car? A lot of my customers are going to go out and guy a car with lots of muscle,” Mr. Tomas explained, and I would rather show them how to drive on a car with muscle.” And is the business gamble paying off? Well he said, he’s busy enough that it’s getting hard to get an appointment.” But expenses such as a driving-school insurance – not to mention the occasional clutch job – are high enough that Mr. Tomas says Shifters will have to expand to meet his income expectations. As a consequence, he intends to quit operating out of his home and rent an office within weeks, and he plans to hire another instructor or even two, by next summer. What he didn’t expect when he started, Mr. Tomas concluded, was the demand for more elaborate programs and fancy footwork techniques. “I was surprised. I didn’t know so many people would like this extra fancy stuff.”
__CONFIG_colors_palette__{"active_palette":0,"config":{"colors":{"c162b":{"name":"Main Accent","parent":-1}},"gradients":[]},"palettes":[{"name":"Default","value":{"colors":{"c162b":{"val":"var(--tcb-skin-color-0)","hsl":{"h":193,"s":0.09,"l":0.52}}},"gradients":[]},"original":{"colors":{"c162b":{"val":"rgb(19, 114, 211)","hsl":{"h":210,"s":0.83,"l":0.45,"a":1}}},"gradients":[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__
Previous Article
__CONFIG_colors_palette__{"active_palette":0,"config":{"colors":{"c162b":{"name":"Main Accent","parent":-1}},"gradients":[]},"palettes":[{"name":"Default","value":{"colors":{"c162b":{"val":"var(--tcb-skin-color-0)","hsl":{"h":193,"s":0.09,"l":0.52}}},"gradients":[]},"original":{"colors":{"c162b":{"val":"rgb(19, 114, 211)","hsl":{"h":210,"s":0.83,"l":0.45,"a":1}}},"gradients":[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__
Next Article

About the author

Carlos Tomas

Carlos Tomas is President and Founder of Shifters, Canada's first manual transmission driving school. He has taught standard-shift with Young Drivers of Canada, worked with disabled drivers, and even instructed instructors. 

Known for his extreme patience, Carlos helps you how understand the clutch, gets you up-to-speed (all puns intended) quickly, and inspires, with  and an unmatched comfort level that puts you at ease from the start.

Related posts

On fear and loathing of stick-shifts: How One Instructor Eases the Pain

By Bill Taylor The Dodge Colt Turbo is like a rocket-propelled rollerskate, tiny and volatile. Lots of white-knuckle fun, but the last car you’d expect a driving school to use. There again, Carlos Tomas doesn’t run just any driving school. He calls his operation Shifters. He takes licensed drivers whose idea of motoring is to

Read More

The Toronto Star: Identity Threat and Act to Avoid Road Mishaps

By Carlos Tomas Special to The Star Nine out of 10 accidents happen to so-called “average drivers” when they fail to identify a situation’s accident potential or respond to it correctly. Now, thanks to the accident-proofing techniques employed by expert drivers from around the world almost anyone can drive safely, efficiently and accident-free. Another bonus

Read More

The Toronto Star: This School Gives ’em the Gears

This school gives ‘em the gears By Linda A. Fox Call it a “driving” ambition but I’ve always wanted to walk into an upscale dealership and take a snappy, imported sports car for a spin. A few days ago, I finally did it. Top down; wind in my hair. A dream come true. What prevented

Read More

hacking the Stick

More tips, tricks, and hacks to master the stick

How can I keep my car from rolling backwards when starting on a hill?

Even vehicles equipped with hill assist feature may roll slightly if stopped on a gradual incline when you release the brake pedal. On steeper grades the hill assist feature does not necessarily give a beginner the time they need to set up the clutch and gas pedals to prevent rolling. However, you can hold your vehicle momentarily on

Read More

Can I brake without de-clutching?

Each gear has a range of speed that you can drive in. Keep in mind that gear ranges overlap each other. As long as you drive within this allowable speed range any modulations in speed are usually moderate enough not require a gear change, and therefore no need to depress the clutch. If your speed drops below

Read More

Why do I need to downshift when turning?

Since most turns are done at low speeds, your vehicle should be driven in the gear that corresponds with that speed—usually 2nd when not required to stop and 1st when you are. Taking a normal turn in too high a gear, say 3rd or 4th gear over-burdens the engine at too low RPM and over time

Read More

What engine RPM should I be shifting up at?

It depends on your vehicle and your power requirements at that moment. Each shift is a compromise between power and economy. Rev the engine to a higher rpm when more power is needed, such as when climbing steeper hills or when passing. Shift at lower rpm for better economy. In the past most experts would

Read More