Gecko Models

[scooter]

I believe they've worn green.

They could, but according to that particular shade of green's website, they don't.

[Mossie]

I've found one pic of the M400T in green camo. Its a Russian site dating around the time they entered service so may be a pre-production or demo example.
https://exkavator.ru/compact/news/inf_news/136599_v_kontse_2009_g_case_vipustit_pervuyu_partiyu_mini-pogruzchikov_m400t_i_m400w_dlya_voorugennih_sil_ssha.html

[kerick]

When I was In Baghdad airport in 2003 we had all kinds of rented stuff. Every manufacturer you've ever heard of. Skid steers to excavators.

[scooter]

When I was In Baghdad airport in 2003 we all kinds of rented stuff. Every manufacturer you've ever heard of. Skid steers to excavators.

Same at Speicher in 05.  We used a KBR cherry picker to run  phone line part of the way from OP-6 (the main Gate) to the node at Brigade.

[kerick]

And John Deere gators we about ran the wheels off of. Plus Nissan pickups with stick shifts. That drove a few guys nuts.

[zenrat]

Just out of interest, anyone here who can't drive a stick?

[Mossie]

Unusual unless you're in the US of course. It's changing in blighty, I'm starting as a driving instructor and the majority (85%) still learn on a manual gear shift.

There is a slow trend towards more learners wanting autos with the increase in hybrids and electrics. Also, there's the improvement in auto gearboxes, when I first learnt only luxury cars had good ones.

Whats holding back the change in the UK is that you can drive any car with a manual licence, but your stuck to autos if you learn on those (also manuals are generally cheaper). The ruling body is thinking about changing the rules, you'll start to see a bigger change if they do.

[zenrat]

It is generally thought here that having a manual car renders it relatively immune to theft as most of the kids who steal cars can't drive a stick.

My own personal anti theft measures are a manual transmission, a crooklock on the steering wheel, and the fact that my car is over 20 years old and has moss and lichen growing on it.

[Mossie]

I didn't realise that autos were heavy in Aus too, is it a generational thing?

The opposite happened here, we had a rare attempted car jacking a few years back (one of several related attempts on the same day). The thief aimed a gun at the driver, who reluctantly got out. The thief couldn't work the automatic. A women confronted the guy then a bin crew turned up, rammed the car, disarmed the thief and sat on him until the police turned up.

[Wardukw]

In today's world with traffic being the way it is in so many cities a manual gearbox is more a hindrance than a help .. clutches suffer and get worn out much faster and depending on the car the replacement cost can be pretty serious so folks go with an auto ,,,also many times easier to learn how to drive for the younglings .
Also when you look at modern car production it's very different from day's gone by ..back when an auto was for only the high end cars and a manual box was the norm ,,now it's a whole different story ,,today finding a manual can be a fun experience for new car buyers who want one .
I think here they wanted you to learn how to drive a manual and use a stick when going for your test but with auto's outnumbering stick's 1000 to 1 now they seemed to have changed to auto's .
You can also see that auto's are being the prime way auto markers are going even with trucks big and small .. in many cases an auto in a truck is better than a manual as it's alot less stress on the truck and with so many truck's being computer controlled an auto works best for fuel economy .

[Mossie]

Another aspect that's changing in the UK is that it's easier to learn (and teach) driving in an automatic - one less thing to deal with. A fair few instructors are making the move to auto only, makes life easier and you can get your learners to test a bit quicker.

[PR19_Kit]

And it gives the testers one less aspect to fail you on, being in the correct gear I mean.

[Rick Lowe]

I "intensely dislike" the idea that I'll have to go to an auto box, but the car yards here aren't importing very many manuals now, so... WYSIWYG.   

I might just go completely bl00dy-minded (or moreso than usual...) and get something old school like a Morris 1300.
Of course, the expense there will be in finding a decent one at a cheap price in the first place, bespoke/dwindling parts availability and finding someone who can actually repair it... 

[NARSES2]

I can't drive...............................people have seen my glasses 

[PR19_Kit]

Both my Signum and the newer Vectra have autos, it's the only box that GM-Europe had available that could handle the torque of the V6, but you can drive it like a stick shift anyway as it uses the Jaguar developed 'J Shift' idea.

When you move the lever to the left from it's 'D' position you can then nudge it forward or backward to go up or down the box manually, and it works a treat. It even stops you over-revving the engine as it won't change down if that's likely and if you keep your foot in it too long it grudgingly changes up a gear to stop you bending things.

The best of both worlds really, AND you don't need a clutch so you can left foot brake too. 

[Yeah, OK, that last bit will raise the hackles of some I'm sure, but I've always left foor braked with autos, since the 60s!]