Back in the del Sol era, I had an interesting mechanical failure that renders most people unable to drive. My clutch stopped working when I was about 2 blocks from my home in Saint Paul.
I was heading to Eagan already, and I didn’t want to take the time to get a tow truck, so I figured I could drive their without releasing my clutch.
Drivers who are experienced or more attune to their car will be able to drive without a clutch by doing RPM Matching. A manual transmission doesn’t need a clutch. For instance, 2nd and 3rd gear may both be able to comfortably drive 30 mph. In second gear, 30 mph may be at 4,500 RPM, and in third gear, it may be 2,000 RPM.
RPM matching is when a driver is able to switch from 2nd gear to 3rd just by lowering his engine revs from 4,500 to 2,000 RPM. If he’s good, he can do this with minimum idling.
In my story, I was able to drive through all the way to Eagan from Saint Paul without issue.
Even with perfectly synced matching, the driver needs to make sure he paces well. This means not advancing too quickly or too slowly.
Driving down Grand, I had to pace myself perfectly to line up with the stoplights, because stopping once would kill my car.
I did have to stop once at the top of the highway exit because there was traffic. It killed the car to a complete halt, and the engine was dead. Luckily, the car gods were smiling (okay, it was a Honda), so when I turned the key, it jutted the car back in action. Sometimes when things are at a halt, they need a simple restart.