never driven an automatic motor in my life

From my experience most people who say they can drive standard can't, unless they actually own a car with a manual transmission. Personally I would never buy a car/truck without a manual transmission. Automatics are boring and standards definitely do provide marked improvements in gas mileage if you know how to use them.

If my life absolutelty depended on my driving a "stick", yes...I can.

However the nice VW Van my BF had at the time, that upon which I learned to drive stick - was never the same after he forced me to learn. He was a bit of a tyrant. And I screwed up that transmission so badly that 3 different mechanics said, "buddy, she'll never be the same".

Neither was I. Oh well.... I tried to tell him.

We have family cars...all automatic. Everybody I know drives automatic also...so I never got a chance to learn stick/manual. :(

My SO has been asking me to move her manual car from the upper parking lot to the underground parking, which always requires backing up, going down a ramp, and maneuvering around a pillar.

If she trusts me enough to do that, I suppose I at least know the basics.

I love driving manual, i think that it makes driving more fun! however, for work i use my own car as a delivery driver and make approximately 15 stops or deliveries in 2 to 3 hours, so it is a lot easier to have an automatic. But i learned manual when i was 17 and would suggest it to anyone cuz its so fun!

Hmm - I hope you didn't vote yes. This really is a 'can you do this in reality' question. *Anybody* could do it after trial and error, but only those who have done the trial & error can say they've done it.

I've only ever owned manual transmission, so I answered Yes!

edit: the local rules RE licensing has recently changed - if you get a drivers license on an automatic, you aren't licensed to drive manual transmission cars.

I can, pretty well. It's pretty much the standard down here - buying a car with an automatic transmission actually costs more. It can become a chore when you're sitting in dense traffic with a heavy clutch, but there's definitely a feeling of more control over the car. I think it's one of those things every driver should be able to do.

This has always been the law in South Africa. However, if you're licensed to drive a manual 'box, you can automatically licensed to drive an auto.

When I learned to drive, my parents had two cars--a Volvo 940 station wagon with an automatic and a Volvo 240 sedan with a stick. First, I learned on the automatic, and then when my parents decided that I had mastered basic driving skills, I got to learn how to drive with a manual transmission. The first time I attempted to back out of the driveway I laid a nice long streak of rubber on our aggregate driveway. Whoops. After that, my mother said it was my dad's turn to teach me something, since she had taught me how to drive. So he taught me how to drive stick.

Right now I'm driving that 940 wagon with the automatic. I miss the stick shift. When we next have to see about purchasing a car, we will probably go with a stick. Driving a manual in this town really makes a difference; I drove that 240 around here for a while and was able to squeeze 30 mpg out of it.

Yeah, but I don't really prefer it. My body structure makes clutch pedaling sorta awkward.

I learned on a stick, and when I dream about driving, I'm always in a car with manual transmission. Before I was allowed to apply for my actual driver's license, my folks made me stop at a light on a steep uphill and then proceed on green without stalling. It took me 3 months of practice, but in the end, it paid off.

By the way, I learned to drive in a cemetary, which did have the intended effect on me. I didn't do nearly as much stupid stuff in a car as a lot of my peers.

Slaloming between the headstones? :D

http://www.midyork.org/Woodgate/wg_h...une%201940.jpg http://www.wnep.com/media/thumbnails...859-300199.jpg

I, for one, am thoroughly disappointed at the lack of sexual innuendo in the responses of this thread.

...

This thread does, however, remind me of how awesome motorcycles are as you graduate through the gears.

"Yeah... YEAH... fasta... MOAR FASTA."

stick. learned on a stick.

Nope.


I can ride a motorcycle/scooter though.

Apparently most TFP folk drive standard. This pleases me.

I don't know why automatics are so popular in North America, but it irritates me. I prefer standard myself.

However, it seems likely that I will be teaching Magpie to drive in my next vehicle, so it'll probably be an auto too.

"So...Willow's not driving stick anymore."


Right, like I could resist a Buffy quote. Anyway...I CAN drive a stick, but not very well. I understand the concept, since I grew up driving a tractor and a four-wheeler, but cars are a little different. I'm sure I could get it with some practice, but as of right now, there's possible whiplash involved.

Considering my dream car is a Wrangler (and I WILL have one someday, damn it), I suppose I'd better get on that.

I drove in California from 1964 to 1983. Never had an automatic transmission.

and Buffy is still my favorite TV series.

I love driving stick.....and driving my manual car.

I had to buy a car last year and it took me FOREVER to find one with a stick. When I asked dealerships if they had manuals, they were very shitty to me about it and tried to convince me to buy a manual.

ME: I like this car but do you have it in a manual?
Dealer Bitch: No, but you wouldn't want to drive one anyways. You'll get bored of shifting. Do you even know how to drive one?
ME: That's what I want or I'm walking.
Dealer Bitch: Well, you won't get anything for it when you sell it or trade it in.
ME: I want a manual.
Dealer Bitch: Sigh, Let me check to see if I can find one at another Dealership for a trade.
click click click on the keyboard
Dealer Bitch: I found one in Tennessee. There will be a $500 fee to drive it up here.
ME: I'm not paying that. Especially when your competitor was going to have a car delivered here for free.
Dealer Bitch: I guess I could have that fee waived.
ME: I'm still walking I don't think I like you.

Week later I found my manual. We are so happy together. It's so much fun to drive and I don't think I'll ever get another automatic again. I hope it won't get any harder to find one around here by the time I'm ready for a new car.

I can not. Never even trief to be honest. I'd like to learn but, as of now, I can't drive a stick.

There are more people who want to give me their stick than there are people who can't drive a car with a manual transmission. The love, it warms my cockles.

My not-so-daily driver is manual, the beater I'm driving until it's working is automatic. I want the manual back.

I drive a stick, and it's generally better than automatic except that it leads to quicker driving fatigue.

Yep.
Learned the basics on a 1971 F-250, and mastered on a 1974 VW Dasher wagon.

I learned to drive using a manual transmission Mazda 323. I remember driving to Homecoming in High School with my date, my friend, and his date soon after I got my license. I got stuck on a hill with the four of us packed into that little car. It was a little embarrassing.

I still drive a stick shift. We had a similar experience to ZombieSquirrel's experience the last time we purchased a car. They REALLY wanted to sell us a car off of the lot and did not want to order a manual for us. We pushed and they caved. Now we have a nice manual transmission vehicle.

I learned to drive on a manual transmission. I did my driver's test on one as well. They weren't all that common in the 80s either.

The reason, as I see it, that car dealerships push automatic transmissions on the public is that an automatic transmission sells for more money. Standard transmission is always cheaper.

Driving standard is a lot more fun and it pays off when you travel the world and find that most other places in the world drive standard (which is why it's called standard).

Yes. I learned to drive using 'three on a tree,' & my small PU has a 5 speed stick. For city driving an automatic is the way to go.

One of the weirdest transmissions I've driven was the "automatic stick shift" on my '72 Karmann Ghia. It was basically a stick, but no clutch; so when you slightly moved the stick that immediately engaged an electro-hydraulic clutch to allow the gear change, and when you let go it released the clutch.

Other than that, some of the varieties I've driven, and I see others above have, too:

MANUAL TRANS
3 on a tree
four on the floor
five on the floor
six on the floor

AUTO TRANS
auto five on the floor
auto three on the dash (push button Torqueflite!!)
auto two on the tree
auto three on the tree

i can't drive anything. i'll learn next year. i tend to be late in everything i do.

Learned on it and drive it today.
Though I've come to realize that no matter how much I like having that much "control," it's really not necessary, and with modern technology / computerized systems, automatic is really better in the long run. Better for the car, better for mileage, better on the wallet...

Before I went to Driver's Ed in the mid 80's, my Dad decided to try to teach me to drive in our stick Cavalier wagon. We start, I can't get how to "blend" the clutch and gas, result is the typical herky-jerky. Over and over. He hadn't given me more than the base instructions and got so frustrated with me that he gave up, switched seats with me and drove the car back to our house.

It wasn't until Hubby (then boyfriend) bought his 82 Mustang GT in 89 and retrofitted it with some kind of racing transmission that he decided I needed to learn to drive a stick. He was all kinds of patient that my Dad wasn't (heller, nookie at stake!), but I for some reason took really quickly to managing that car! I'll never forget how powerfull that Mustang was and to this day, I love a stick for a quick take off and acceleration from a stop or stoplight. I HATE people that putter away from a stop! BUT, I don't typically drive more than 5 mph over the speed limit, I just love the get-up-and-go!

We, through happenstance and finances only, have had automatic car's for the past decade. My Dad and Sister are really close (geographically and lovingly) and we all loan car's if someone's got car trouble. Their families both have manual's. I'm only 5' 2" and have to pull the seat up pretty far, which in some cars also puts my feet at a tiring odd angle on the clutch and gas peddle. When I drive one of their car's, despite 23 years experience driving sticks, I always go through the herky-jerky before I "remember" their car and clutch!

I'm a smoker and non-multitasker so the two DO NOT mix when driving a stick-shift, the only reason I prefer an automatic.

Last anecdote, my very first car that I bought myself was a 1965 Ford Falcon (painted Honey Gold and Rustoleum) that had manual steering and brakes. THAT was way harder for little 'ol me to deal with than a stick shift!

Agreed. I learned to drive a manual for the sheer satisfaction of gaining the knowledge. I actually like driving a manual more than an automatic, I think it's more fun and it makes me feel more Manly or some shit like that. My reasoning is flawed i'm sure...but the fact of the matter is: Yes, i can drive a manual. And given the option, i would always choose a manual over and automatic (except in stop-and-go traffic, then a manual is a bitch and a half to drive)

My first two cars were manuals. My wife and I are currently looking into buy a car soon and I am very insistent on a manual.

In 2008, my wife and I travelled to Portugal, where I rented a car. The guy at the rental desk saw my American Passport & Driver's License and thought he could persuade me to upgrade to a luxury car with an automatic transmission and pay more than 3x for the rental. He was very disappointed when I showed no concern about getting a manual for a rental.

Since I really do like to drive, I prefer a stick shift. It lets me be more involved in something that I enjoy. I learned when I was fifteen and still prefer it. Right now I have a 2002 SAAB (five-speed) a 2009 Mini Cooper (six-speed) and an old AMC Eagle AWD wagon that's an automatic. I bought the SAAB on ebay a couple of years ago, mostly because it was a manual. The old Eagle is a family hand-me-down, so I didn't have much choice there. When I decided to take advantage of the cash for clunkers program I looked for a manual Mini and they were hard to find in the Boston area. I finally bought one in Denver, and about half of their Coopers were stick shifts.
Even though I live in Boston, I do most of my driving on the open road, and I can see why an auto is easier in urban traffic. Also in a really large car or SUV I think I would choose an automatic. But I can't see any circumstance where I would choose a large car or SUV.

Lindy