Test-Drove the chevy to the levy

Driving has never been my passion, i never lived to drive, driving never set my nerves on fire. All these coz of a simple reason; "I do not know how to drive a car"'

A brief intro about my driving experience so far...

1) Drove my uncle's maruti 800 once and almost killed a cow

2) Failed in my LLR test ( LLR not Driving License, i was one of the elite few to have failed that)

3) Started learning the ABC, rather C-B-A of driving in a stupid driving school vechicle

4) Drove my friend's alto and almost hit a wall, My friend(Sai) saved the day by pulling the hand brake on time.

Now, I would like to share my fifth experience of driving....

The day was pretty normal, it was hot outside.. There was one difference, a shiny new blue Chevrolet Beat was parked outside our office. A friendly looking marketing executive was outside offering pamphlets. One thing i like about these marketing executives is, they are always smiling&friendly. He was trying to sell the car or at least make some people drive it.

My colleague showed interest and started talking to him. With the heavy automotive experience(reading autocar, t-bhp) i had, i threw in words like 'ABS','60:40 split seats','1.2 litre 4 cylinder etc., The executive seemed impressed. That impression along with the default impression we software engineers give (ID-Card Power) prompted him to offer me a test-drive.

Poor guy, He did not know my history. I could not refuse, I talked way too much to escape with an excuse. I had just one option - 'Drive the damn car'. I took the key, hopped in and did the thing that I do best when it comes to driving - turned the ignition on. I remembered the exact words of our driving school instructor , "C->B->A , Clutch->Brake->Accelerator, Clutch a nalla midhichu first gear podu". I did it. Now, "Clutch la irunthu meduva kaala edu", I did this too. But the car did not go forward....

The executive came in, "Sir.. Hand Brake". The jeep in the driving school just moved forward when i take my foot off the clutch, the CBA of driving did not have an 'H'. The smiling executive released the hand brake and i repeated the entire procedure. This time, magically the car moved forward. A small step for drivers, but a giant leap for me..

The car started moving, I pressed the clutch down again, instinctively i started searching for the little picture on the dash that explains the gear layout. Oops, this is a normal car and normal cars do not have that picture. I relied on my instinct and slot in the next gear. PERFECT, the car was still on and running. Now i faced the biggest challenge... I had to make a right turn..

I choose the easiest way out. I slammed the brakes, the car stopped before i realized that i did not follow my instructors improtant advice, "Clutch a than speed a amukanum, Brake a meduva than pidikanum". Too late for realizations. The smiling guy was not smiling anymore. His next words confirmed that his realization did not take time like mine.

"Sir.. I will drive back..."

Anyway, it was a big step for me, I did not run over a dog, hit a wall or kill an old lady. Guess i am on the right path to become a great driver. :) :) :) :)