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Forum;
This is an excerpt of an e-mail I just sent to someone who contacted me...he wants to set up a '65 122 as his 17yo daughter's presumably first car and daily driver...I invite the thoughts and comments of other Brickboarders...:
...but now that I think about it some more, I have to question how good of an idea it is to give your daughter this vehicle as her first..._[underlined here]far be it for me to tell you what's right for you and your family_, especially your daughter as a beginner driver, but driving a half century old vehicle, occasionally brings with it out of the ordinary situations, which might overwhelm and or fluster a beginning driver into being distracted, or making mistakes (none the least of which are shifting a manual and the occasional stalls...if it is a non-automatic transmission car which you don't mention)...if this is in today's denser, faster traffic, it can quickly lead to a minor disaster...or worse...and I and you, would hate to have that happen, I'm sure!
That is why I would probably advise AGAINST an Amazon as a first full time car...they are as a general rule quite reliable if gone through and set up, and certainly good as a daily driver for an experienced driver, but occasionally, strange things can still happen...an absolutely reliable automatic transmission with which a beginning driver _[underlined here]can concentrate /completely/ on driving and the road, and the traffic situation _would be my suggestion...my son is 18, and I would love to put him into a 122, but as it is, we gave him the 740 station wagon we bought two weeks before he was born...after working with me to repair a major electrical issue with it (his participation and sweat equity is also good!) it has been absolutely reliable transport for him, and he likes it, and he is gaining valuable first driving experience with it...again, please don't take this wrong, I wish YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY TO HAVE A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE WITH THIS CAR! Once a beginning driver has some road experience and has demonstrated the ability to process all of the situational inputs fast enough to stay well ahead of them, would be the time I would let them try their hand at adding shifting, having to maybe tickle the idle at red lights to keep it from stalling, and finally also the /coolness /of one of these great cars.
Cheers
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