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Originally Posted by abaya
1) It is a good idea to at least know how to drive a stick, for emergencies and unanticipated situations (rental cars, esp. in Europe... they look down on Americans for not knowing how to drive sticks).
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You sound like Grace
. I can't think of an emergency that would require my knowing how to drive a stick; both of our cars are automatics (hers has a manual mode), so a car with an automatic would be available in an emergency.
Do they not rent cars with automatics in Europe? I've been a couple of times, once with a boyfriend, and he drove, and the other time I stayed in the big cities and took public transportation. I wouldn't really care if some car rental person looked down on me; that would be his problem, not mine.
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2) Sticks make the driver more aware, actually, of what's going on with the engine, speed, torque, etc.
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How, exactly, does being more aware of engine speed and torque and things like that make one a better driver? I'm not criticizing, I just don't understand. An automatic takes care of all that for you, which makes for fewer things the driver needs to pay attention to.
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But the act of shifting is pretty much unconscious for me... I never take my eyes of the road, and I certainly don't look at the tach. This is something you have to learn over years... just listening and feeling the car as you drive, not shifting when the little arrow lights up.
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Also, if you don't look at the tach, how would you know when you're supposed to shift? I don't know what you mean by the little arrow; when my dad tried to teach me to drive a stick, he told me I was supposed to shift at a certain number of rpms. It was incredibly frustrating; try to take off, kill the truck by letting out on the clutch too fast or too slow, have dad complain that I was ruining his clutch, repeat until the car got going, kill the engine by shifting too soon or wander out of my lane by looking down to check the tachometer, or have dad complain that I was ruining his clutch by shifting too soon or too late, etc.
Fortunately, after about a dozen lessons that were driving us both crazy, mom took over and taught me in her car, which had an automatic. Not having to deal with a dozen other things (how fast to release the clutch, when to shift, where to put the gear shift knob, which gear to put it in when slowing down, etc.) made the process much, much faster and less frustrating.
And if it takes years to learn this, wouldn't that mean I'd be a worse driver during that time than I am now, while I was learning all these new skills that an automatic transmission takes care of for me now?
It seems to me it's like writing. Sure, I could take the time to write things out manually, using a pen and paper, but I have a machine here under my desk that does a lot of the work for me, saving me the time and effort that would go into the physical act of putting the words on paper.
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That's why driving a stick actually makes you more conscious of the car, whereas automatics cause you to take it all for granted. Sticks are also much more effective on hills, whereas automatics are only decent for level roads.
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How so? I'm not being confrontational, I really don't see how a stick would make driving on a hill easier.
I regularly drive over the mountains between here and the big city where I go for therapy and my sister goes for her medical treatments, a 4000 foot climb. I've never had any problem in my automatic or Grace's. My car doesn't have gears, but when driving Grace's, it just seems easier and more convenient to have the car downshift when necessary, making for one less decision I have to make.
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3) Good driving is all about knowing the rules, and knowing which of them are more like "guidelines" (thank you Pirates of the Caribbean). Sometimes you have to break a law to make sure you are staying safe, believe it or not. I don't trust people who just know the rules and keep to them... I trust people who know their limits, know their car's limits, and who drive with confidence instead of fear. Healthy fear of driving is good, but not when it intimidates you from making a good, instant decision that may mean life or death, regardless of the rules.
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This again sounds similar to what Grace says. But in my case, it seems a little contradicory. Yes, I have a bit of fear when it comes to making left hand turns. This makes me a safer driver than I would be if I weren't; by being cautious, I avoid potential accidents, and the only cost is an insignificant amount of time lost. Fear of being in an accident seems a good thing to me.
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4) I enjoy driving very much, and I see it as a challenge and an art rather than a chore.
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Again you sound like Grace (and you look a lot like her, by the way). The last time we had a big argument was over getting an automatic trasmission in my car. She kept insisting that she would teach me how to drive the stick, and that it was better for the same reasons you list above, and that it wouldn't take long, and soon I'd be just as good with a stick as I am with an automatic, and besides, it's a lot more fun to drive a sporty car with a stick than it is an automatic. There are a couple of safety features that weren't available with the automatic (traction stability control and a limited slip differential) and those were made part of her argument also.
Fun is something thats way down on the list of reasons for me to get in a car. I drive because I want to get from point A to point B. I don't want driving to be a challenge, I want it to be as easy as possible. I don't want to take risks.
I'm not sure what you mean by it being an art. I've never heard that before. Could you please explain?
Again, I'm grateful for all the feedback, and I am not trying to be argumentative, just trying to understand a perspective different from mine. Grace gets . . . testy on this subject because she
knows she's right and I'm wrong and I just can't see it. She's the kind of person who enjoys racing go-carts and watches NASCAR, though, so I guess I have to cut her a little slack.