My dad taught me that fine art as well. There was a steep hill close to where we lived, with no traffic at all (an abandoned property development) and I figure I must’ve practiced for hours on end until I finally got it. He had me do that again and again and again until I mastered it.
Actually, I’m really glad he did, because the majority of autos here in Europe are manual transmission. I’ve met a few young American expats who grumble about not being able to rent a car here because they simply don’t know how to drive it. You can, of course, rent an automatic but it’s more expensive and there’s a couple of rental agencies in my town that have no automatic transmission cars at all in their fleet.
As to the OP, in my hometown some guys stole a diesel engine car, and when they went to the gas station, they filled it up with regular gas. They got caught because the engine wouldn't turn over. They just stayed there trying again and again to get the car to start. LOL!