Mark Hofmann wrote to Roy Witt:   
      
      
    RW>> There's a big difference in yesterday's push button start and   
    RW>> today's. Everything was mechanical yesterday and now everything is   
    RW>> electrical, as in solid state RF keys. My last encounter with the   
    RW>> solid state keys was with a new Dodge van, c2008. Without the key   
    RW>> being at least in the vacinity of the key hole, the engine wouldn't   
    RW>> start. Unlocking a locked car is still easy, but there's no way to   
    RW>> start it without the key.   
      
    MH> Have not run into this yet, but what happens when the battery in the   
    MH> key fob goes dead?  Is there another way to start the car?   
      
   Dunno. The alarm system on my older Z28 had a key fob like that and when   
   the battery went dead, all you had to do was put up with the alarm going   
   off until you could turn the ignition key and flip the hidden switch to   
   turn off the alarm. Reas the owner's manual and let us know how to get   
   around it.   
      
    MH> I know there is a key that I can use for the door, but not aware of   
    MH> another way to active the push button start.   
      
   Hopefully you have stored a spare battery in the car as a backup.   
   Otherwise, you'll have to walk to a store to buy another and have them   
   replace the dead battery.   
      
    RW>> Try driving a manual transmission and an automatic. My Z28 has key   
    RW>> start on the column and a 6spd manual trans, while the Silverado has   
    RW>> key start on the column and shifter on the column. In the Silverado   
    RW>> you can see traffic ahead for 1/2 a mile, minimum, while in the Z28,   
    RW>> all you can see is the rear bumper of trucks like my Silverado.   
      
    MH> Forgot to add, the Charger is an 8-speed automatic vs. the more   
    MH> common 4-speed.   
      
   What I'm wondering about that 8 spd is how does an underpowered engine   
   pull the load when it is in 8th gear?   
      
    MH> There is a big difference going between driving a 4x4 truck and   
    MH> either of my cars.  Then hop on the Harley Davidson's 5-speed manual   
    MH> transmission.   
      
   Mine has that too. Before the HD, I had a Honda 400/4 with a 6spd.   
      
    MH> I have never driven a manual transmission car.  I learned manual   
    MH> transmission with the HD, which is still much different than a car.   
    MH> When I think clutch, I think left hand.   
      
   vs left foot...been there.   
      
    MH> A friend of mine has an old-school HD with the "stick shifter" and   
    MH> the clutch is on the right side.   
      
   A high school friend of mine had a RH tank-shifter, can't remember   
   whether is was right or left foot clutch HD...It was that foot clutch   
   linkage that was his demise, as he was adjusting it while driving along   
   and running out of road. He ended up a paraplegic and never rode again.   
      
    MH>   Totally the opposite of how the modern bikes are made. It was made   
    MH> in the 40s or 50s.  He has several retro-HDs along with one from the   
    MH> past decade.  One of them is a 1953 Panhead.   
      
   When I was in HS, I owned a 1952 Triumph that had a left handed clutch   
   with a right foot shifter. When I took my Texas MC 'refresher' course,   
   they had me on a late model (theirs) Honda with everything backwards from   
   my 2 1952 Triumphs and 1963 and 1976 Hondas...   
      
            R\%/itt   
      
      
   --- GoldED+/W32 1.1.5-31012   
    * Origin: Texas Lone-Star - Texan, American, USAian  (1:387/22)