Learning How to Drive Stick Shift with MAX

Reader Contribution by Katherine Loeck
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When I showed up on the doorstep of Kinetic Vehicles earlier this year to check out the high-mileage DIY car known as MAX (see Update No. 22), my aura somehow communicated “car enthusiast.” 

Although I took my first road trip in the back of a Corvette at 2 weeks old, my father’s passion for automobiles has not rubbed off on me. I have never waxed my rig, checked the tire pressure or paid any attention to the confusing maze of gray intestines under the hood of my car. As far as transportation goes, I prefer to focus my energy on the power and strength of the human body. 

I had read about MAX in my days as a MOTHER EARTH NEWS intern. But now, given that I live in Oregon (like Jack McCornack and the Kinetic Vehicles team), I had the chance to actually see this unique creation in action. What I didn’t expect was that this encounter would bring about a long overdue engagement of mind, body and machine: learning to drive a manual transmission. 

At first, MAX made me think of a big kid version of a bumper car that had escaped from the state fair. But this image vanished when my Pontiac Sunfire convertible couldn’t keep up with MAX on the drive back to the shop. I can attest that MAX is definitely a real car … except with more personality than any car I’ve ever known. 

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