Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Surely once in your lifetime, you’ve been on a long drive and have wondered what would happen if you did things like remove the key or maybe try to shift without the clutch, but you never actually did it. Regardless of whether you’ve been moonlighting as automotive Evel Knievel, one man has put these crazy ideas to the test. His name is Mike, and in the latest AutoVlog video, he finds out what happens when you throw a car into reverse while driving forwards.
Before we start a war in the comments, some keener viewers may have noticed that he has already tried the back to front experiment. It was pretty anti-climactic, as the car had an automatic gearbox and simply went into neutral rather than shredding itself to bits. This time, AutoVlog didn’t want to take any chances and opted for a manual test vehicle, the 1994 Ford Ranger pickup.
While it was easier to get the more analog vehicle into reverse, detonating the gearbox wasn’t as simple as you’d think. Even in 1994, the Blue Oval was thinking about idiot-proofing its vehicles; Mike had to use both of his arms to muscle the vehicle into gear. After dumping the clutch, the rear wheels locked up and sent the car into a half-spin before the tires got rolling again. Following a flurry of nervous laughter, Mike attempted a burnout, accelerating after yanking the pickup into wrong-way-drive.
The Ford Ranger test subject has already made an appearance in his attempt at pulling the ignition key while driving. Aside from having a manual and low-range transfer case, the truck is one of the most basic models he could find. By basic, we’re talking no electric door locks, no air conditioning, no power steering, and manually adjustable mirrors.
Since the gearbox didn’t explode, we’d love to see a future video where he throws the Ranger into low range rather than reverse. Semantics aside, we loved Mike’s mention that he had more fun beating on a ragged pickup truck than driving his Ferrari F12.
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