CHAPTER IV
HOW TO DRIVE
Starting the Engine—How to hold the Steering-wheel—Various Speeds and Gears—How to start the Car—The Art of Throttling—The Use of Footpedals—Changing Speed—How to climb Hills—Running Downhill and on the Level—How to use Brakes—Skidding—Driving Backwards
"Fire in the heart of me, moving and chattering,
Youth in each part of me, slender and strong,
Light and tremendous I bear you along."
These lines, I feel sure, appeal to every motoriste as they exactly describe the little car in motion.
Starting one's engine is not the nicest thing about motoring when a woman is acting as her own driver and mechanician, but with the little cars no strength is required; it is only the big cars that need a swelling of muscle. There is a great knack in starting an engine, but this, once overcome, ceases to be hard work.
41
