Dear Tom and Ray:

When I was young, my Dad and I each owned Studebaker autos. My last one was a 1949. All of them were standard transmission cars and all of them had as standard equipment a hill-holder. This rather nice device holds a car in place while waiting for a light to change at a hilly intersection. You merely keep the clutch pedal at the floor, step on the brake pedal, and then you can remove your right foot and put it on the accelerator. Then, as you release the clutch pedal, the brake is released, too. And by then, you're going forward, so the car doesn't roll backwards into the car behind it. Whatever happened to hill holders? Does anybody still make one? Don

Ray: Subaru still makes cars with hill holders, Don. And as far as I know, they're the only ones who still do. I guess there's just not a public clamoring for them. Most people must still want the "challenge" of seeing if they can get moving before rolling backwards into the car behind them.

Tom: I actually have my own modern version of the hill-holder, Don. I check my rear view mirror, and when the driver behind me looks away for a minute, I ease back until I'm resting against his front bumper. So HE'S my hill holder. It works great.

It's NEVER cheaper in the long run to buy a new car. Want proof? Order Tom and Ray's pamphlet How to Buy a Used Car: Things That Detroit and Tokyo Don't Want You to Know. To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1994 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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