Can you drive a stick shift?
 

Nowadays, finding a vehicle with a manual transmission is rarer and rarer. My sister had to special order her Jeep with a manual transmission, as an automatic is now standard. So I'm wondering how many people know how to drive a manual transmission car at all anymore.

When I was learning to drive, my dad had a stick shift 74 Honda Civic he commuted to work with that was the "training car". There were automatics available to learn on, but he insisted that we (myself and my sister) learn on a manual, and I'm glad he did.

Do you mean theoretically or in reality?

I've never done so, because in the time I've been a driver no one in my family has had a manual transmission. However, there's nothing that tells me I couldn't do it with a little trial-and-error.

Of course, there are a lot of people who do seem to have that problem, so I could easily be overestimating my abilities or underestimating the difficulty of driving a stick.

I can drive stick. And I really prefer it over an automatic.

I first learned on manual. I'm currently training on automatic and will likely do my final driving test on automatic.

For some reason, I think I'll end up driving mostly on manual.

Nope.

the car i drive is manual, but its not really a stick. its an old 1958 ford that has a shifter on the left of the steering wheel...so i voted "i got yer stick right here."

Learn on an automatic. It takes about half an hour and a few hills to master driving a standard once you know how to drive. If you REALLY want to get good with a manual transmission, try getting a small trail bike (single clutch plate) going, facing uphill. If you can get started without stalling it, you can handle a stick.

I can, but not really well. Competent enough to get around the city but not enough to do any serious racing or impressing anyone or anything.

My cousin's Pontiac SUV thingy is a manual and I take it to town sometimes just for a change, and my dad had an old cavalier that I would drive around sometimes. However, all the vehicles I have ever owned have been automatic. If I ever get my Subaru its going to be a stick shift.

My motorbike doesn't have an automatic transmission... does that count?

Damn that is a good way of learning. I should have thought of that.

I can drive a stick ... very well.

I prefer manual over automatic any day.

since i was 12...

I can and have, though my personal car has a CVT.

yes, not everyone around the world is as lazy as the yanks ;)

See, this doesn't surprise me. People my age (40) or older almost always know how to operate a manual transmission; it's folks in their twenties that I think have never operated a manual transmission, generally speaking.

My first car was a manual ...4 speed '67 E-Type. But even before owning that I used to drive various manual vehicles around just for practice.

My last "fun" car was a 5 speed manual. My current "fun" car is a 6 speed manual...Supra that I take to many roadcourse track days, so yes I can drive it very well, including the more esoteric techniques that enhance aggressive road racing, like rev matching, heel & toe.

Actually my Supra makes for a very challenging test car for manual trans learing because it has an HKS triple disk clutch and lighweight flywheel, which is very challenging to slip and engage smoothly. But once you learn it, it works fantastic. But it has a notorious reputation and most people simply give up and can't drive it. I've been using it for about 8 years now so it's as natural to me as walking. Having said all that, I taught my daughter to handle it properly in a couple hours. If you can chew gum and walk at the same time you should be able to do this if you're persistent.

Yes, I prefer it over automatic, at least with a manual you have to pay attention, with an automatic you get lulled into zoning out because you don't have to do anything aside from steer, gas brake, which for some drivers is hard enough.

One of the options should really be "what kind of stick?", and I'd say, "the driving stick".

I don't know what's up with paddles, though; either you love them, or you hate them, there is no peron in-between the two that I have met. But, most people don' have to worry about that since they are (were?) only available in ridiculously-expensive sports/luxury autos.

i learnt on auto because thats all my parents had, but then i got my beloved suzuki and the rest is history.

Learned how to drive a stick when i was 23, in the Air Force.

I do like a manual transmission, but I'd only order it for certain cars, like if I were buying a Camaro, or any other sports coupe.

I learned how to drive a stick on the hills of San Francisco. :eek: I learned VERY quickly (it was that or die).

Reminds me of an old stand-up routine by Bill Cosby...


I dunno about that. I can drive a manual auto like a pro, but I'm a disaster on a bike. Seems I can't make my hand be my foot (accelerator). :rolleyes:

Heh - I remember that; I had the album!
God (or was it St. Peter?): You go to hell!

Yup - I learned to drive on manual transmissions - from my Grandfather's Packard with a "3 on the tree" to my first car - a '65 Le Mans with a "4 on the floor."

Hell - even from 1997-2005 I drove a Ford Ranger that had a 5-speed manual transmission. Much better mileage if you've only got 4 cylinders.

I used to drive a manual very well, but now all I own are autos.

Yup, my dad's old '64 chevy truck. When we first went out for my practice sessions, I had a bit of difficulty with the clutch at first. Then I pull one out of my butt and take off really super smooth from a dead stop. I'm all kinds of proud and I tell my dad "Well, how was that?" His reply? "Not bad for third gear." Aah good times!

My next new vehicle WILL be a stick....

Automatics don't feel right. I'll probably drive stick for the rest of my life.

I also had it. Probably still have it somewhere. Awesome humor. Highly recommended. :thumbsup:

I learned at 15, before I had a license. The gas station I worked at had an old '61 or '62 Mercury they loaned to customers. I'd spend my free time herky-jerking around the lot, getting familiar with the feel of the clutch engaging and disengaging, matching revs to vehicle speed. As soon as I got my license, I got to drive the tow trucks.

I'm English. I was driving for 15 years before I even drove an automatic.

Never driven manual. Will probably stick to automatic. Too lazy to learn.

Closest I will probably ever come to a manual is sequential.

I'm driving stick shift every day. Automatic isn't that common here up north :)

I seem to be in the middle on this one. Every other car I have owned has been a manual. The manual ones were much more fun but the autos are great for traffic.


My car has them. I hardly ever use them. Too easy to forget after being on straights for awhile as mine will down shift automatically. Drive away from the stop sign and wonder what the whining sound is.
They do make it a different car on the twisty parts though.

I own an automatic because it's easier in dense cities with lots of traffic.

but I can drive a manual and really enjoy it. All you automatic freaks, when you get to Europe you'll pay a premium for that... me, I just enjoy it since it's a treat.

I'm in my 20s and I learned on an automatic and that's what I owned until I finally bought my first new car, at which point I decided that I damn well wanted to learn how to drive stick and I wanted it bad enough that I ordered a brand new manual transmission Jeep Wrangler without knowing how to drive it, then got someone to teach me. Now I love it, its much more active then driving an automatic. Side note I went through the the MSF motorcycle training course twice once before I knew how to drive stick and once after. The second time around it was disgustingly easier to find the friction zone on the training motorcycles, whereas the first time I felt like I was having constant trouble, the subsequent time I got it right off the bat.

I can hold my own with a stick.
I cannot, however, drive a manual transmission.

I learned with a manual back in the day. For the last 30 years I have had only automatics except for my Harley. We recently bought a new Subaru and decided to get a manual to save money. I was surprised to find out that now some manuals have what they call hillside assist which keeps the car from rolling backwards when taking off on a hill. It's just like being on a flat surface. Taking off on a hill with my Harley can get quite tricky sometimes especially loaded down with a passanger on board.

I learned on a stick back in '79. The only automatics I have ever owned were a '65 LeMans with a 2-speed power slush box, and a '67 Riviera with the 454ci and 3-speed auto. Here in Japan, the driving test is a bitch, and you have a choice- if you test on an auto, you can only drive auto. If you test on the manual, you can drive anything (they also test above or below 700cc for the engine). I took the test on the stick, above 700cc. That being said, it's hard to find a non-sports car with a manual, but I drive a '95 Nissan Sunny with a stick.

Automatic. Never saw a reason to learn manual. Still don't see a reason to do so. Far as I can tell, it really only makes a diff if you're driving a high-performance sports car on the autobahn, or some other speedway where one can cut loose killer cars at high velocities. Since I have driven crapmobiles all my life, and at this point am just hoping to upgrade from crapmobile to eco-pod, doesn't seem like much reason to master stick.

My first job out of high school was working as a technician apprentice at a Pontiac dealer. At the time I had never had access to a stick shift vehicle so I didn't know how to drive one. I was too embarrassed and worried for my job that I didn't know how to drive a stick so I never told anyone. I learned on customers cars. The first stick I ever drove was a Trans Am that my boss wanted me to drive about 10 miles to warm it up and then run it over to the emissions station for its test. They probably figured out I didn't know what I was doing when I stalled it twice on the service drive, then revved it, dumped the clutch and left a couple of skid marks about a foot long on the epoxy painted service drive. They laid me off after a couple of months, but not before I became competent with a stick on all the other Firebirds, Trans Ams, and Sunbirds that came in.

Yes, but I'd rather not. I had to learn (at 48), how to drive a stick, in about two weeks. My son had switched the transmission from automatic to manual in our Accura 1.6 EL, (the plan was to give it to him when he graduated high school. He's a total moterhead and letting him work on the car was the equivalent to putting his drawings up on the fridge)...not to mention the other things he did to it to pimp it up.
That came around to bite me in the ass when he and his father went west to work and left me with a car I didn't know how to drive...I had to drive an hour into the city to get to work. Lots of hills! I went the flattest route I could find. Stalled a lot too.

that's all I ever drive. Manual is the predominant setup in Europe. I've driven automatic a few times but manual is far more intuitive.

I prefer a stick. Right now both cars are automatic, but that's an anomaly in my car buying history.

And yes, if you can't drive a stick, you're not a real man.

:cool:

I learned on an automatic, got my license, and promptly had a fender-bender in our manual-transmission car. Spent years away at school, returned home and got fed up. Went to the library and read about how a manual works, clutch, throttle, etc.
Got in the car and drove it easily, and have preferred a manual for the last 25 years.

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