Almost 16, Aubrey has his permit now....

[Jr ///M5]

We just finished a few miles in the 318iS. The young lad is doing well with the 318iS...and here I was thinking that we would be having to replace the clutch before this was over.

It was dark, wet pavement, medium traffic, oh yeah, and the deer are running. Do they ever stop? Could conditions be worse? Yes, it could have been snowing...

It's a lot for a young man to take in, safety, rules of the road, driving defensively, clutch, gas, shift, brake......he remained calm, despite speed shifting from 1st to 2nd a couple times and missing 3rd and going to 5th instead. Just a little excited and nervous. Which would explain why he didn't signal a couple of times. There is a lot of information to process for a young driver.

BMW has some good programs for Student Drivers that teaches them how to control a skid in the rain, how to manuver around to avoid an accident. What to look for to prevent accidents and such. If it were closer located, it would be well worth the $400 investment you would spend on your child to teach them how to power slide in someone else's BMW... We used the dirt roads when I was growing up to learn how to counter steer and control skids, and it didn't cost anything. I wonder how long it's going to be before he thinks he can drive the ///M? I'll tell you how long......

So you all have been forewarned....there's going to be another BMW young driver out on the open roads and if you ever see him doing something like his dad did when he was a kid. You are welcome to kick his ass for me...

[Scott H]

I can teach him on my ///M so that he gets efficient at taking it out, and cleaning it back up before dad gets home from work.

[Gayle]

You told us how the young driver did. How did Dad do? White knuckles? Clenched teeth? Embarrassing spots?

And are you leading that child on with the delusion of possibly driving the M5 at some point in the future? You have to be kidding. I am thinking:

Pry the keys out of your cold dead hand first.

[Jon K]

*boxing up the 1.8L turbo kit*

Hey JR, theres gonna be a package on your doorstep, dont mind it, just give it to your son. Thanks.

[shogun]

16 years and already a drivers licence?
Lucky.
We have to be 18 years old to get the licence.
Still remember when I got it. I could not wait to miss one day. So I passed the test 1 week before my 18th and they kept the licence at the city office. Guess who was standing in front of that office in first place on his 18th birthday and waited that they open at 9 AM "smile"

[Jon K]

16 years and already a drivers licence?
Lucky.
We have to be 18 years old to get the licence.
Still remember when I got it. I could not wait to miss one day. So I passed the test 1 week before my 18th and they kept the licence at the city office. Guess who was standing in front of that office in first place on his 18th birthday and waited that they open at 9 AM "smile"

I think 18 is a better age to start. I, a male, know how most males ca nbe at the 16 - 18 age... and it scares me. Not that I am old and wise @ 20 years old. My sister is 17 and had her license @ 16 when she purchased her 1995 530i 5 spd. She is much more mature than any other person I know, but still, 18 would probably be more wise.

[/maturity]

[liquidtiger720]

Agreeed, 18 would be better. I did some stupid **** in highschool...good thing my car and I made it through.

[Zeuk in Oz]

BMW has some good programs for Student Drivers that teaches them how to control a skid in the rain, how to manuver around to avoid an accident. What to look for to prevent accidents and such. If it were closer located, it would be well worth the $400 investment you would spend on your child to teach them how to power slide in someone else's BMW...

As I posted at the time, my oldest who is 18 and has been driving since he turned 17, did the BMW young driver training course recently and had a ball, plus hopefully learned something.