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From: jeq@ihwpt.UUCP (j quist)
Newsgroups: net.auto.tech
Subject: Re: trivia question
Message-ID: <581@ihwpt.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 23-Nov-85 12:05:00 EST
Article-I.D.: ihwpt.581
Posted: Sat Nov 23 12:05:00 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 24-Nov-85 07:25:15 EST
References: <600@drutx.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 23

> Why do cars have clutches?
> 
> Because, the engine has to keep running while the car starts from a stop.
> A clutch enables the engine to do this. It is inconceivable to me how an
> engine directly coupled to the wheels could get the car moving from a 
> dead stop without the assistance of a starter, but that would be too
> great a strain on the battery, and wouldn't work as well as with a clutch.

8 or 10 years ago the clutch cable broke in my father's
1972 Capri.  Solution?  He let the engine warm up quite
a while, and then started the engine with the transmission in
1st gear.  He said it worked fine, but made for a rather
rough ride (as well as lots of nasty looks) until he got out of
downtown Chicago and onto the expressway!

Of course, if you don't know how to shift without the clutch
(it takes lots of practice), the repairs to you
gearbox can cost more than a tow. :')

Jonathan E. Quist
Lachman Associates Inc.
@ AT&T Bell Laboratories
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