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The new 2016 flashy automobiles , SUV ’ s , pick-ups , and more , are in the dealer showrooms and I thought I would brave the wet and snowy streets of town and check them out . Wow , did they look great and represent a lot of money that will be moving around town . I can ’ t believe these new vehicles cost more than houses purchased in the passing years . The price tags on some cars and SUV ’ s were as much as $ 80,000 . The average seemed to be in the $ 25- $ 35,000 range .

As a teenager , I learned to drive on my nonno ’ s open air truck . He was a fruit peddler working the southeast part of town . Compared to what ’ s on the road these days , that truck , today , would be on the scrap pile . But , then , it carried baskets of corn on the roof , potatoes and oranges on the tailgate and tomatoes , apples , peaches , cherries , and plums on the side shelves . In those days , the vehicles had a clutch and so , in my early learning stages , I drove the truck mostly in a jackrabbit hopping motion .

Grandpa showed me to make an H in shifting gears and I came to know where neutral , first , second , and reverse gears were . In the beginning , I was allowed to drive only short distances ; from house to nearby house . I never graduated to the main drags until I had mastered the clutch and H without scorching the gearshifts . I was never permitted to put the truck in reverse because I didn ’ t stop in time and drove past a customer ’ s house .

After mastering my Uncle Charlie ’ s 1937 Ford , the Chrysler came along with Fluid Drive . I no longer had to worry about a clutch or jackrabbit motion . I came to master a 1947 two-tone Studebaker and a 1949 Chevrolet . All I had to do was put the gear in drive and take off . Kudos to the engineers who must have had me in mind .

Paul Sciria , Managing Editor

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LA GAZZETTA ITALIANA | FEBRUARY 20163