Better to shift down a gear
06/20/2015
Seasoned drivers will certainly remember. In the past, perhaps 20, 30 or 40 years ago, downshifts were much more frequent than modern drivers, blessed with turbochargers and monster torques, are used to.
When you came to the end of a village, you changed from top gear, i.e. fourth gear, to third or even second, so that you could accelerate from 50/60 km to 100 km/h in a reasonable time. If overtaking was required, one or two downshift maneuvers provided enough power for a speedy finish. Downhill, too, lower gears were chosen carefully so as not to overtax the brakes, which were often not up to the continuous load. And going uphill, the low gear was mandatory anyway, otherwise you couldn't get up the slope at all, because the average car 30 or 40 years ago didn't have 200 hp to offer, but a meagre 32 or perhaps 65 horsepower. And torques could be expressed in double-digit Newton meters (or mkg).
So when we get into an old car, we shift down a gear again, both technically and mentally, and that's a good thing in today's hectic world.
