ENTICING A NEW, YOUNG WAVE
Program creates classic car lovers
Mastering a manual shift vehicle can be a concept hard won, but when it all comes together, is well deserved.
Helping young people discover the joy of balancing clutch and throttle, all while gaining an appreciation for vintage automobiles, is the premise behind Hagerty’s Driving Experience. On Saturday, this unique event rolls into Wetaskiwin.
Hagerty currently offers Canada’s leading classic and collector car insurance program. In 1983, the company got its start in the U.S. when Frank and Louise Hagerty could not find appropriate insurance for their vintage wooden boats. They started an ‘agreed value’ policy for vintage boat owners, and soon had almost half of the collector boat insurance business in the U.S. They followed that in 1991 with coverage for collector vehicles, and expanded into Canada in 2009.
Hagerty’s Driving Experience began in 2011 and is, according to its website, “A program designed to help build the next generation of classic car enthusiasts and keep the collector car community strong.”
“The goal of the program is to provide young learners access to awesome cars with manual transmissions,” explains Rachel Ventimiglia, Hagerty’s youth advocacy co-ordinator. “These are exciting vehicles, and the students learn hands-on how to drive them while being taught directly by the vehicle owner.”
The Driving Experience program is aimed at youth between the ages of 16 and 25. Participants do not require any previous experience with a manual transmission, but they must have at least a Stage 1 Learner’s Licence.
In Wetaskiwin, the Hagerty event will be held at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum. RAM is a world-class facility dedicated to exploring the effect of technological change in transportation, aviation, agriculture and industry from the 1890s to the present through its displays of automobiles, aircraft, bicycles, motorcycles, trucks and tractors.
The Driving Experience event will take place on a large, paved parking lot in front of the RAM building.
“There’s a brief classroom presentation,” Ventimiglia says. “We review the basics of how a clutch works and various shifting patterns as well as some of the rules of the road. That takes about half an hour, and the majority of the rest of the program is spent driving the closed course, which is defined by traffic cones.”
Students get an introductory lap in the passenger seat and then switch with the driver. They do a few laps around the course, with the focus on starting out in first gear and a switch to second gear. This is not about speed, but about mastering the operation of the clutch and gearshift control.
After a few laps, students switch vehicles for an opportunity to experience all that is available.
On July 22, Reynolds-Alberta Museum is loaning a staff member and a 1951 International Harvester pickup truck to the program. Local Hagerty insurance customers who will also donate their time to the program and will provide the rest of the vehicles. Ventimiglia says there will be a collection of British cars on hand, including a 1970 MGB roadster. American muscle will be included, with a 1969 Ford Talladega 429 confirmed to attend.
“People are often shocked to learn the vehicles used are provided by local owners, because these are pride-and-joy cars,” Ventimiglia says. “But getting young people interested in collector cars, and learning how to start them and drive them directly from the owner is simply a great experience for everyone.
“For some of the kids involved, it could be the initial spark that makes them become interested in older vehicles. Others might come to the program already interested but who (would not otherwise) have an opportunity to learn more.”
There are two sessions of Hagerty’s Driving Experience, one in the morning, followed by another in the afternoon. When I spoke to Ventimiglia, space was available for the Wetaskiwin edition, and some last-minute accommodations might be made.
Visit hagerty.com/drivingexperience to find out more or to register.
Hagerty hosts six Driving Experience events a year in Canada and the U.S. The next one will be held Sept. 24 in Stayner, Ont.