right drive vs. left drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter solarsell
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solarsell

I'm thinking of importing a Toyota Townace 5-spd, diesel from GB to the US.
I'm wondering how difficult it would be to adjust to the left drive.With
right drive you brake & gas with right foot, clutch with left. Is left drive
the exact opposite (brake & gas with left & clutch right)? That could get
really mind boggling.
 
solarsell said:
I'm thinking of importing a Toyota Townace 5-spd, diesel from GB to the
US. I'm wondering how difficult it would be to adjust to the left
drive.With right drive you brake & gas with right foot, clutch with left.
Is left drive the exact opposite (brake & gas with left & clutch right)?
That could get really mind boggling.
Click to expand...


No, they have the same pedal arrangement.

If you have a manual / stick / standard transmission, you may find yourself
trying to open the door when changing gear. :)

You'll also find yourself looking in the wrong spots for the mirrors for a
little bit.
 
Hey,
Ask a postal worker what it is like to drive a right hand drive vehicle in
the US :).

Also remember that the US has different safety requirements for cars than
Europe and that to be able to register and drive a car designed for the UK
market in the US, you may need to make some upgrade to the vehicle.
Depending on what state, e.g. California or Massachusetts, you may need to
do some emissions work.
 
solarsell said:
I'm thinking of importing a Toyota Townace 5-spd, diesel from GB to the US.
I'm wondering how difficult it would be to adjust to the left drive.With
right drive you brake & gas with right foot, clutch with left. Is left drive
the exact opposite (brake & gas with left & clutch right)? That could get
really mind boggling.
Click to expand...

The conversion to driving on the "passenger side" isn't all that
difficult. Mail delivery guys do it all the time. However as others
mentioned, you should check into how much it will cost to bring the car
into compliance with U.S. standards for safety and lighting before
putting the car on a boat. I'm less clear about whether there are
special emisisons standards for diesel engines, but you should check
that out as well.
 
solarsell said:
I'm thinking of importing a Toyota Townace 5-spd, diesel from GB to the US.
I'm wondering how difficult it would be to adjust to the left drive.With
right drive you brake & gas with right foot, clutch with left. Is left drive
the exact opposite (brake & gas with left & clutch right)? That could get
really mind boggling.
Click to expand...


It isn't terribly hard to get used to, but it sure feels weird the first
couple times you ride in or drive one.

You might have a real hard time getting the car legal in the US. Right
off the bat you'll need to find replacement headlights since the RHD
beam pattern is different. Do they make a LHD version of the car for
other European markets?
 
solarsell said:
I'm thinking of importing a Toyota Townace 5-spd, diesel from GB to the
US. I'm wondering how difficult it would be to adjust to the left
drive.With right drive you brake & gas with right foot, clutch with left.
Is left drive the exact opposite (brake & gas with left & clutch right)?
That could get really mind boggling.
Click to expand...
Having experienced a mitsu truck import, I'm not too sure why you would want
to do this. A second hand Caravan would be quite sufficient, and cheaper in
the long run. You can drive the thing at less than 25 mph and call it a
farm vehicle. If you want to drive it on the road otherwise will require
EPA clearance, which is quite pricey. The vehicle will also have to be
inspected by the state police folks, whoever they call themselves where you
are at in the US. Should you go ahead with this, let us know how it goes.

dave
 
DervMan said:
If you have a manual / stick / standard transmission, you may find yourself
trying to open the door when changing gear. :)

You'll also find yourself looking in the wrong spots for the mirrors for a
little bit.
Click to expand...

Not to mention activating the windscreen wiper when what you really want
to do is indicate a turn! :-)

cheers,

Henry
 
Henry said:
Not to mention activating the windscreen wiper when what you really want
to do is indicate a turn! :-)

cheers,

Henry
Click to expand...

My mother had a left-drive 1970 Renault; when I signaled for a right turn I
turned the headlights off! Ah, but that takes me back. One of my brothers
rolled the car over on a freeway ramp - unrestrained swing axles on the rear
of that beast - so the garage replaced the roof with the only one available.
It became an R-10 with an R-8 roof. One day she parked it and came out to
find it parked beside an R-8 with an R-10 roof! I recall it also had a hand
crank for starting if the battery died....

Mike

Mike
 
It isn't terribly hard to get used to, but it sure feels weird the first
couple times you ride in or drive one.

You might have a real hard time getting the car legal in the US. Right
off the bat you'll need to find replacement headlights since the RHD
beam pattern is different. Do they make a LHD version of the car for
other European markets?
Click to expand...
a lot of "European spec" cars can have thier lights aimed to dip
correctly either by manual adjust or even from the ECU these days. Even
jap ones. Not sure about the townace though being a people
carrier/SUV/Minivan type of thing.
 
dave said:
Having experienced a mitsu truck import, I'm not too sure why you would
want to do this. A second hand Caravan would be quite sufficient, and
cheaper in the long run. You can drive the thing at less than 25 mph and
call it a farm vehicle. If you want to drive it on the road otherwise
will require EPA clearance, which is quite pricey. The vehicle will also
have to be inspected by the state police folks, whoever they call
themselves where you are at in the US. Should you go ahead with this, let
us know how it goes.

dave
Click to expand...

I'm beginning to see the obstacles are not insignificant. I was thinking it
would be sort of like the promotions Volvo and some other Euro makers had
where you buy it in Europe while you're on "vacation" and bring it home with
you to the US but I guess this is a different kettle of fish. My goal is to
end up with a Vege/Diesel van or wagon (or estate or saloon or whatever you
call it over there). Well, I guess it's back to the VW Vanagon then.
 
I'm beginning to see the obstacles are not insignificant. I was thinking it
would be sort of like the promotions Volvo and some other Euro makers had
where you buy it in Europe while you're on "vacation" and bring it home with
you to the US but I guess this is a different kettle of fish. My goal is to
end up with a Vege/Diesel van or wagon (or estate or saloon or whatever you
call it over there). Well, I guess it's back to the VW Vanagon then.
Click to expand...


It's a different deal. When you buy a Euro delivery car, you're buying a
US spec car straight from the factory, not a European spec car.
 
I was reading an article in the paper last week about an industry in
South America (Chile maybe?) where they import used cars from Japans
(right-hand wheel) and tear them apart to move the steering wheel to
the "normal" side of the car. Photos showed the interior of the car
completely torn apart.

I guess these mechanics are quick and cheap enough to make it
worthwhile...
 
Inno said:
I was reading an article in the paper last week about an industry in
South America (Chile maybe?) where they import used cars from Japans
(right-hand wheel) and tear them apart to move the steering wheel to
the "normal" side of the car. Photos showed the interior of the car
completely torn apart.

I guess these mechanics are quick and cheap enough to make it
worthwhile...
Click to expand...

Normal side? But in Japan, the UK and a few other regions, driving on the
left is the normal side...
 
Normal side? But in Japan, the UK and a few other regions, driving on the
left is the normal side...
Click to expand...


What are you talking about? It's a freakish aberration of nature!
 
- Bob - said:
What are you talking about? It's a freakish aberration of nature!
Click to expand...


It's about time the British invaded and colonised North America and Europe
to put things the way they should be.

Oh, wait. As you were. :-p
 
James Sweet said:
It isn't terribly hard to get used to, but it sure feels weird the first
couple times you ride in or drive one.
Click to expand...
You might have a real hard time getting the car legal in the US. Right
off the bat you'll need to find replacement headlights since the RHD
beam pattern is different. Do they make a LHD version of the car for
other European markets?
Click to expand...

It's the same deal when trying to import a car into Australia which isn't
already RHD. Not only that though - there's all the other special compliance
rules (called ADR's or Australian Design Rules) which all motor vehicles
must meet based on the year of manufacture, and a few other criteria.

Craig.
 
- Bob - said:
What are you talking about? It's a freakish aberration of nature!
Click to expand...

you'll find a fair few places drive on the left....

Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Australia Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Bermuda
Bhutan Bophuthatswana Botswana British Virgin Islands Brunei Cayman Islands
Channel Islands Ciskei Cyprus Dominica Falkland Islands Fiji Grenada Guyana
Hong Kong India Indonesia Ireland Jamaica Japan Kenya Lesotho Macau Malawi
Malaysia Malta Mauritius Montserrat Mozambique Namibia Nepal New Zealand
Pakistan Papua New Guinea St. Vincent & Grenadines Seychelles Sikkim
Singapore Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Sri Lanka St Kitts & Nevis
St. Helena St. Lucia Surinam Swaziland Tanzania Thailand Tonga Trinidad &
Tobago Uganda United Kingdom US Virgin Islands Venda Zambia Zimbabwe
 
john said:
you'll find a fair few places drive on the left....

Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Australia Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Bermuda
Bhutan Bophuthatswana Botswana British Virgin Islands Brunei Cayman
Islands
Channel Islands Ciskei Cyprus Dominica Falkland Islands Fiji Grenada
Guyana
Hong Kong India Indonesia Ireland Jamaica Japan Kenya Lesotho Macau Malawi
Malaysia Malta Mauritius Montserrat Mozambique Namibia Nepal New Zealand
Pakistan Papua New Guinea St. Vincent & Grenadines Seychelles Sikkim
Singapore Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Sri Lanka St Kitts & Nevis
St. Helena St. Lucia Surinam Swaziland Tanzania Thailand Tonga Trinidad &
Tobago Uganda United Kingdom US Virgin Islands Venda Zambia Zimbabwe
Click to expand...


As I understand, some of the above also feature in the "drive on the right"
list too, like India, meh.
 
I was reading an article in the paper last week about an industry in
South America (Chile maybe?) where they import used cars from Japans
(right-hand wheel) and tear them apart to move the steering wheel to
the "normal" side of the car. Photos showed the interior of the car
completely torn apart.

I guess these mechanics are quick and cheap enough to make it
worthwhile...
Click to expand...

This story is true, however it is Bolivia importing cars through the
tollfree zone of Iquique, Chile. Story is this: Iquique is a tollfree
port, and thousands of used cars from around the world are imported to
the latin american continent trough this port. Bolivia is in the
backland of this port, and being the poorest of south american
countries, Bolivians import cars, mainly to serve as colectivos (cheap
collective taxis). The cheapest used cars on the market are old run
down cars from asian countries, the RHD's are even cheaper, because
there are less markets to sell them to. Probably there's a road law
forbidding RHD cars, so the Bolivians rebuild them to LHD's in an
amateuristic way, and drive them till they fall apart. They look
really funny, with the dash still on the right, but the steering wheel
sticking onto the interior in the left sid through the (former) glove
compartiment...
 
As I understand, some of the above also feature in the "drive on the right"
list too, like India,
Click to expand...
That is correct, as in some countries it does not really seem to matter on what
side you drive... any side is the right side.
 
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