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I need a big empty place to teach my daughter how to drive a manual, since we don't have any automatic cars and she's got her learner's permit. Does anyone know of any place with a lot of room, nothing to hit, and not much traffic?

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"Every ship is a minesweeper, once."

rockingham

The now mostly empty Cary Towncenter. ('tho there will be curbs) Same for K-Mart and Walmart parking lots.

Heh, South Paddock at VIR.

I usually hit up some of the local schools on the weekend and took over their parking lot.

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Rodney

'08 Bullitt mustang, CAM 7
Autox VP '09-'10, President '11-'12, interim President 2nd half of ‘14
proud recipient of the Bowie Grey service award '12
Now just a guy driving a mustang....

When doing this with my daughter in the past year, we had found an office park in the Triangle area that was completely vacant which had an ample empty parking lot. Drive around and see if there is any commercial property near you that is unused (look for "for lease" signs) but is also not chained off. I have also tried some of the lots for some of the larger companies in the area that have open lots (on weekends when lots are mostly empty), but have been chased off by security in the past.

Richard

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2015 Honda Fit EX
http://motorsport.zyyz.com
Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

PNC Arena. There is a gentle slope to practice on as well. I 'taught' my wife there.

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2003 Subaru WRX Sportwagon = daily driver/boost and booster seats
2000 BMW 540iT = wife's kid hauler
2012 Toyota Highlander = the boring reliable vehicle

Centennial Campus is pretty vacant on the weekends and has a parking lot that is empty down the hill from the middle school.

A parking lot with a big hill.That is how dad taught me,how to drive the miata.Start on a hill,in a car with absolutely no torque whatsoever.Early miata with 1600cc twin cam,then give him a 280z.With all the torque in the world..And watch him stall the miata,each time the car goes up the driveway.

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hey yall,watch this...

All of the school lots that we checked out had a lot of no trespassing signs. We eventually settled on the At Home/Pet Smart parking lot on Capital at 0700. At that time nobody is there and it's big/open enough that she doesn't have too many panic attacks. We drive for 45 minutes until people start showing up, then have breakfast at the Steak-n-Shake.

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"Every ship is a minesweeper, once."

I 540 Toll Road?

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1990 Faded Reddish CSP Lite Miata
2002 Electron Blue Corvette Z06
2005 Mazda 6 Wagon
2003 Nissan Pathfinder DTV (Dog Transport Vehicle)

Anywhere in San Francisco..Nice and hilly.

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hey yall,watch this...

Taught my wife to drive our TSX in the food lion parking lot at night when it was desolate. Doing some e-brake clutch engagement drills really helped her to build muscle memory.

I don't recommend the hills on White Oak Drive off Glenwood. Taught me ex-wife there in my Type R and it was trial by fire although she did great. A car with no sound deadening and a whinny motor like that makes the experience exponentially more intimidating.