Thanks! This was based on a Renault 12 and the Lada Signet sold in Canada was based on a Fiat 124. It was common back then for Eastern Europe manufacturers to do this and saving on r&d. My wife is from Poland and she remembers the Trabant made in Eastern Germany; thank God this car never made it here but we've seen one in a car show. Trabant - WikipediaDonno if there are multiple in America, but it seems that a least this guy brought it over 2yrs ago. Its a Dacia 1300 model.
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Yes, was in Europe back then. Remember when O was looking back in the day for a golf here and I was puzzled why its called rabbit instead of golf.
What car did you learn to drive on?
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Thank you all for your response! On post #1 I wrote how I learned to drive on an automatic car, my dad's '65 Plymouth. About a year later, I bought my first car, a one year old 1972 Corolla 1200 with a manual transmission; in my mind, I already knew how to drive a manual because I watched my dad all the times when he had one. I took off and never stalled the engine.
My front door neighbor is in his '50s and he has an old manual Civic but he stalls the engine once in a while or I see the car leaping forward; I guess some people never get the hang of it...I've had colleagues/friends that would either shift very roughly or make the car shake while releasing the clutch or slipping the clutch excessively (they should have gotten an automatic instead)
My front door neighbor is in his '50s and he has an old manual Civic but he stalls the engine once in a while or I see the car leaping forward; I guess some people never get the hang of it...I've had colleagues/friends that would either shift very roughly or make the car shake while releasing the clutch or slipping the clutch excessively (they should have gotten an automatic instead)
My father used to have a Trabant in 1985, great little car
, door panels made from pressed wood 
Mazdahawk72
2021 CX-5 Grand Touring with GT Premium Package
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1965 Buick Special
Every time I hear Dacia, I think of James May.
But to answer the OP, I think the first car I officially drove for driver training was a mid-90's Mazda 323 (I think). Something small, no power steering or power brakes. After that 90% of my driving was a 1991 Toyota Camry until I got my license and my own car. I learned to drive a manual in my brother's 1987 Escort GT.
Wow! Nice set of wheels, good for you! My 62 HP Corolla pales in comparison
The 928 and the E-type must be worth a small fortune today 
The '62 Dart (and its Plymouth sibling) was considered by some experts as the first muscle car as it was an intermediate body with an available big block V8 (413 CID wedge heads dual cross ram carbs). Not necessarily a beauty queen but a lean mean machine
Others say the Pontiac GTO was the first muscle car. I guess it depends if you are a Mopar or GM fan 
It's something to think about how many cars back then didn't have power steering, or power brakes, or a/c, power windows, ....
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Wow! Nice set of wheels, good for you! My 62 HP Corolla pales in comparison
Unfortunately, those are all gone. The 928 was my brothers and when he got married the car was wrecked by the wife. And the E-type was an absolute bear to maintain and my local shop traded me two MGB's and a parts car for the E-type and thought me how to do repairs on it. This was 1986 and I was a stupid kid.
it could also be the clutch was fairly worn. when i was learning manual and before getting my first manual car, i had little trouble launching, shifting etc. it was once i got and had my first manual car, a 94 civic, that i had trouble being smooth, launching etc. it was frustrating. it took a month or two to become smooth. i have a friend who also had a civic, and she drove smoothly, but she was slipping the clutch and doing other bad things.Thank you all for your response! On post #1 I wrote how I learned to drive on an automatic car, my dad's '65 Plymouth. About a year later, I bought my first car, a one year old 1972 Corolla 1200 with a manual transmission; in my mind, I already knew how to drive a manual because I watched my dad all the times when he had one. I took off and never stalled the engine.
My front door neighbor is in his '50s and he has an old manual Civic but he stalls the engine once in a while or I see the car leaping forward; I guess some people never get the hang of it...I've had colleagues/friends that would either shift very roughly or make the car shake while releasing the clutch or slipping the clutch excessively (they should have gotten an automatic instead)
Just_Steve
2024 CX-5 Premium Deep Crystal Blue Mica. New York
I learned in 1976 in a 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix. Then learned how to drive a clutch in a jeep thanks to the US Army.
Besides my instructors car and my dad's '85(ish) Ford Granada I did most of my learning in my mum's '72 VW 1300 Beetle. The Beetle then became my first car. Sold it about 5yrs later when I couldn't afford the repairs any more but recently found it being restored, gutted I didn't have the £10k to buy it after restoration or the space to keep it safe and dry.
