Some of the early Minxes were column gear change and my dad used to let my brother and I take it in turns to steer the car at normal cruising speeds when we had the opportunity such as on a holiday visit to the Durham Dales. Lots of deserted winding roads there and the Minx had a bench front seat and no floor change in the middle to get in the way
Remember doing the same thing with several of dad's cars, Standard Vanguard, Austin A55 and Zepher 6 spring to mind, that was out in Kenya, open roads and very little traffic.
Planemike..........