Manual transmissions

On another board I was surprised to read that a guy had a manual transmission car sitting in his garage because he couldn't drive a manual transmission car.

The question is, who here can or can't drive a manual transmission car?

Can.

Brought up on them but I prefer auto now tbh.

Same - just can't be bothered with a manual box these days.

Nate

Everyday, I prefer to drive a manual.

Anyone who can't drive a manual I think is a real klutz.

When I started driving it was a motorcycle, at work a manual Jeep, and Dad's automatic.

One year almost wrecked the brother's Vette because it was an automatic. Went to down shift, break pedal is not the clutch pedal and shifted to Low gear. One hairy ride.

In Europe, is it true if one gets their license on an automatic, one has to be retested to drive a manual?

Manual all the way!

Sorry, but that's just dumb. It should only take about three one-hour sessions in an empty parking lot to learn how to give gas and ease in the clutch. Either invest that minimum amount of time or sell the car.

I usually drive auto, but rental cars in Europe are almost all manual so I have to bring back the muscle memory every few years when I go there.

I don't know in the other countries, but it's true in France.

I only drove one automatic, some years ago. It was an old french car from the 90's with 4 speeds. Old technology, and i didn't realy like it. I should try new cars with auto transmission.

Manual for years Makes driving more than pointing it and punching the gas..Learned to drive a manual in the 60's and just prefer it But do have one of each now.

In the UK you can take your test in a manual or auto but if you go auto you have to stay auto.I suspect a re-test is needed to go manual.

I would say that it's a very high percentage of manual to auto here for new drivers,probably 95% + if I had to guess.

Manual. The only time I'd appreciate an Auto car is for cruise control.

I should say IMO it takes a lot longer than that. Half of learning to drive a car is get to a state where you can drive it without thinking, using muscle memory same as walking. I don't think 3 hours is anywhere near enough
Also, learning WHY you are driving a manual and thus how to control your engine & car, using the engine to brake, considering when to actually drop a gear in order to, ironically, go faster etc.

Can.

This reminds me of:

My daily driver is manual.

Also, I prefer auto now. Why? Because I'm old and my knees hurt like an old man's knees should.

UK Driver. passed my test in a manual, since here, passing in an Auto requires a retest for a manual...

https://www.gov.uk/automatic-driving-licence-to-manual

I really prefer manuals, but my daily driver is auto. When it comes to trucks (REAL trucks, not pick up trucks) manual is the only way to go as far as I'm concerned. A manual allows you to control the momentum of a loaded truck much more than an auto does.

I'm on another forum that pertains to restoring old vehicles. We recently concluded that the perfect anti-theft device would be a vehicle with a floor starter and a three on the tree. How many here know what either of those are?

I remember a floor starter in an old Mini we had but a three on the tree is new to me.

Yep lot of the old farm trucks i learned on had a floor starter but floor shifters

True in UK too, if you pass the test in an auto then you are only allowed to drive an auto, with a manual you can drive auto or manual.

Learned to drive in an ex-army Morris 1ton 4x4 truck, it had a crash gearbox ie. no syncromesh, so it was double declutch to change gears

At least those have an idiots guide printed on them...

Landrover...

We had a few cars that had the floor starter, including my first mini. Last car that we had with a 3 on the tree was a Vauxhall Velox 3.3 and we had that in 1966, I did get to drive it once when I was about 11 years old. The Renault 4 with the gear lever coming straight out of the dash caused me a bit of a problem at first, but it was just a regular H gate when all said and done.

Rented a pickup once with 3 on a tree. Had a brain fade and put it in reverse and couldn't figure out why it backed up (was on a slight grade as well, nose high). Did I ever feel stupid.

I can drive stick, haven't had one in years cuz the wife can't.

Usually I prefer driving with manual, but whenever I visit England (or any other country driving on the wrong side of the street) I insist on automatic transmission now. There's just too much thinking involved - driving into a roundabout the wrong direction, keeping track on where to go, shifting with the left hand ... and then, to top it off, the shifting pattern isn't mirrored but actually the same.

In the eternal words of Maggie Thatcher: No. No. No!

Manual or Automatic? Depends on the car.

I wouldn't want a manual in my current Honda Element, nor would I have wanted automatics with any of my previous cars, or future car (think Mazda Miata). Unless it's utilitarian (truck or another box).

Wife agrees (thankfully), we want our old-school stick shift back (no paddles like niece's Fit), *especially* now that we live on flat terrain with minimal traffic (unlike when we lived in Atlanta with CRX and Integra 5-speeds).

Manual on the Farm
Auto around Town

I taught mine in my '78 Mustang II (aka Pinto with horsey emblem). It was late one night in a ballpark parking lot, cop showed up to see what we were doing (making all kinds of racket). He chuckled and said to just be careful and left.

My replacement was a new '87 Dodge Colt (Mitsubishi Mirage), another 4-speed that was really easy to clutch and shift, she had no problem with it, and then a CRX Si which was even easier, our first 5-speed.

I drove an early-mid 80's Porsche 911 regularly for a few months (boss' car, his license revoked) and that one was difficult to drive in Atlanta traffic (clutch way too stiff and shifter not very smooth). My little econo-boxes/rockets were always easy to drive.

Drove manuals for many years. Actually rallied a 70 Morris Cooper S. My wife also drove a mini and after they stopped importing them to Canada , Ford Escorts ( all manuals ). Her knees got arthritic and she changed to automatics in about 2000. Now the family vehicles are autos but my MX-5 is still a manual. I do much prefer a manual but I do understand the allure of the automatic when stuck in city traffic.

Ssnake.....we regularly travel to the UK and I never have a problem adjusting to right hand drive. I find that after 10-15 minutes I don't even notice

For decades it was the only thing I would drive. A bad knee, and well, just getting old changed that. The first one I learned on was an old Dodge Dart (I believe) that my bother drove.It was a "3 on the tree" with a very hard clutch. Learned on dirt roads up north and in vacant parking lots. I remember in the 80's and 90's my Toyota Celica's had very easy clutches to operate. There was a time whenever I would sit in an automatic, my left foot would just start looking for the clutch on it's own. My Dad said the trucks he drove in the Army (1950's) had double clutches. Those sounded kind of tough.

I'll always drive manual because:

1) It forces you to stay focused on your driving, no letting your mind wander....

2) Far better control when driving in the snow! I'll never drive an automatic in winter again

On a side note, it always pains me to see an awesome sports car with automatic transmission.

Going by memory here...

I worked with mainframe computers in the mid-to-late 80's, always volunteering to get out of operations in the cold computer room into other areas of the building or, better yet, to run errands. One errand I ran frequently was transporting tapes to offsite storage about 20 miles away. A full-size van with a column shifter ! IIRC, it had 3 gears plus reverse (reverse: up and in, 1st: down and in, 2nd: up and away, 3rd: down and away). Occasional grinding, it was old even then.

Niiiice...



A crime (and with less hp)...



Other pic...
http://198.65.10.229/DID/Temp/NSX_Auto_02.jpg

My 'sporty' CRX and Civic Si econoboxes had no automatic option available, they came 5-speed stick only...
http://198.65.10.229/DID/Temp/Cars/crx_si_interior.jpg
http://198.65.10.229/DID/Temp/Civic_Si_Sold_3.png

Manual by preference. I taught myself to drive manual in 1984 in a 4 speed Ford Pinto while my recently broken left leg was in a leg brace and it hurt like hell to bear weight - soooo every time I pushed the clutch in it was painful. However, it was the pain of freedom! And I had a decent stereo so driving while listening to The Scorpions was pure heaven. Oh and, broken leg or not, I was getting laid. Sorry, didn't mean to make this a Penthouse Forums letter.

Manual here too... I wouldn't even know how to drive an automatic.

Although, I recently bough a new car and its "manual" doesn't feel *that* right to me anymore... It's like a joystick, smooth, soft, short. It's like I'm using a CH Fighterstick to switch gears. I don't feel the "connection" with the car if you know what I mean.

My '92 Duna Weekend on the other hand... you know you're on third, you just know. Granted the car was my dad's before it was mine so I've been driving it for like 20 years!

Had to look Duna up Wile. Spare tire in the engine compartment.

I've just gotten my first automatic in 25 years. Wish it was a manual, but it isn't bothering me as much as it used to. My next car/truck will be a stick if possible.
My wife drives a stick just fine too, spent many years with one, and would take my Miata out whenever she could. My kids...no interest. At first I was going to REQUIRE my kids to know and have a stick, but as my oldest came of age, the car we had for him was an auto.
I still think it's a great way to keep peoples' hands on the car and not the phone.

^ LOL (spare tire).

In fairness to muscle cars, you don't *need* a stick with all that hp and especially torque. I've only owned hamster wheels with less displacement than large plastic soda bottles so a stick is pretty much required to get anything out of them. But I was never into real performance cars (I'm way too cheap), I just enjoy the extra involvement in driving a stick with car I feel is fun to drive.

With muscle cars, an auto is preferred for drag racing purposes.

Shifting gears is simply satisfying. That and most autos are rarely in the right gear, don't up/down shift at the right times etc. It's not as bad as it used to be with 6+ speed automatic transmissions and all. My wife's VW does a great job of it. Still, can't beat the feel of a nice shifter.

*and screw those paddle shifters too. I'd rather just have an automatic. If you aren't in a race car, I see no point.

Totally depends on the vehicle. For my work truck, the auto is great. For our daily driver/highway car, Subaru Legacy, the CVT auto is fine.

For my 911 I'd rather not have the car than be saddled with an auto. That said, some of the new autos are supposedly fantastic.

All my manual vehicles still had cruise control

When I was young, a girl who could drive a stick was a really cool thing. Pretty hot !

Yeah, I wondered this too. Why wouldn't a stick have cruise? My '99 Civic [and '86 Integra] did (wasn't an option on the '89 CRX).

Maybe some of you will remember this (I'm sure I'll get something wrong, it was a long time ago)...

Before buying my '89 CRX Si, I looked at the '89 Camaros (maybe even a leftover '88). Brother just bought a new '88 RS 5-speed (3.something L) which I thought was kinda nice for the $$$.

Anyway, the IROC/Z28 (or was it IROC-Z?) was out of my price range. I thought about the lessor V8 RS. Guys at work who knew American cars told me not to do it, that the 305 (I believe) was a dog, either go 350, the 6 (kinda wimpy for that big heavy car, also too much wasted space under the long hood) or pass. I believe the previous 4 was discontinued (not like the blown one today).

The 350 (5.7L?) didn't have a 5-speed option, rumor was that it would compete too closely with the 'Vette. Any truth to this?

I've had a couple of manuals with cruise, '91 Tbird SC, '96 Miata. They just don't downshift, only difference. They still worked just fine with throttle only.

Couldn't tell you if the 5.7L had a manual option, but I did drive a 3rd gen IROC with a manual. Don't recall if it was a 305 or 350 though. I know it was special ordered by a VP at a GM supplier at the time, so might not have been standard for the time. I could swear I've seen others though, but not many.

My WRX has a cruise control too

Had a manual, than an auto.
was always searching for the clutch
sold it and bought a manual car
Wont ever go back to an auto...

Hehe. I'm kinda working this angle today, also how road trips and date nights would be even that much nicer with a sportier car. I frequently paint her a mental picture of driving the rural Louisiana and Mississippi highways on a lazy Sunday afternoon, taking turns behind the wheel.

I really want my stick, sound and roof back (sunroof and cheap aftermarket sound would be fine). I have none of these in our '08 Honda Element EX which we'll probably keep for another 10 years anyway, it's that practical.

Just want the fun back in driving. Unfortunately, I'm in no position to force the issue and wouldn't anyway, I'm old and wise enough to keep hands off the finances. I also know she misses our cars, we'll find a solution sooner or later.

I don't know how to drive an automatic

Late to the party but I have always felt that every driving school program should teach on a clutch. The transition to an automatic is easy but the reverse is not.

I learned to drive on an automatic and was totally screwed when I bought my first manual transmission car. I think I stalled it three times, just getting it home.

Did anybody go thru the "driving gloves" stage when they were young? I had them. Sunglasses, tunes jamming, driving gloves, first gear, second gear.............

How about matching motorcycles? Even hotter than a girl that drives stick, is a girl that rides.

I have an automatic in the suburban, 3 on the tree in '78 chevy pick up, 5 speed in wife's Isuzu P'up and it is not hard to shift from one to the other. long ago, when I was young and spunky I drove a 10 speed gasoline powered Autocar. It had a split shifter on the side of the shifter for low and high, so you picked your gear and low or high range. When in the Coast guard they needed to move a 44 foot boat from the Soo to Duluth for repairs. I got the job, being the only one who knew what a split shifter was, much less how to drive it. The route they put me on had lots of traffic from grain trucks with deep ruts and it was like being on rails, just a light touch on the steering would keep you on track.

I'll admit that I did.In fact in my Opel Manta I had an 8-track.That was around 1986. Funnily enough that was my first auto.I didn't have another until 2009.

Manual transmission all my life. Got my first automatic last year, it's fine, that's about it.
It's not really driving, is it?

Cheers,
Slug

I forgot to take pics of this on Saturday!

My sister's husband recently bought a new Harley "Street Glide" with all the trimmings and then some, then went back and bought a smaller used "Street Bob" (although it looks new). Dad rides an older BMW R80RT.

Although she rides on the back of his bike, I don't think she's going to ride herself. The smaller bike is very pretty though, shiny black vs. his flat black, speedometer in the tank vs. the whole wide instrument panel stuff. I like it.

Wife enjoys riding on the back of my father's bike, but has no desire to ride on her own. I know how to ride, it's just not in me to pursue it.

EDIT: Cleaned up post a little.

My last girlfriend rode bikes.She bought an XJR1300 and was the first (and only) girl I have ridden as pillion. I prefer to be the one holding the handlebars.

Talking of motorbikes (and automatics) I also prefer a 2-wheeled auto nowadays.My last half dozen bikes have all been auto scooters (some big,650cc,some smaller).You don't get a lot of choice for auto bikes.Yamaha's FJR1300 is available as a semi-auto (no manual clutch) but it's atrocious to ride IMO.Back in the day Honda did the 400 Dream in a torque converter full auto.Also the CB750 but I don't think it was imported to the UK.

my wife had a Honda 100 when we first met, I had to figure out why it would not charge the battery, it had a faulty diode on the magneto. Making AC not DC that way.

Oh yeah, especially when I drove this in the late 80's-early 90's (leather gloves were in the car)...



This is the only pic I have of my '89 CRX Si (found it recently in my brother's photo albums), other than a crappy pic covered in snow. Some guy ordered it (with those wheels, I could have gone stock alloys) and then backed out. It was in the showroom and Honda was ready to make a deal. What a smooth clutch/shifter, I miss that car something awful.

Yes, but that way you get a big trunk, and if you fold the back seats you can fit literally (and I have done this my self) a refrigerator inside the car, and you can close the door and all.

I can't. I've got very little experience with them. I remember being a kid int the mid 80s sitting next to my Dad in his old Chevy in Indiana watching him switch gears. Good memory. In my early 20s my Dad borrowed my grandfather's manual Ford Ranger to teach me. Literally every spot we tried to set up a policeman or someone would make us leave and we had to get the truck back. My Dad was also away a lot. Several years ago however he bought another 1947 five window Chevy truck with a hydraulic lift. He taught me a little on that and from time to time I'd drive it alone a short distance to a rental property we were fixing up. Still not much room to practice and I never took it on the open road. So I've tried, I've even asked others but usually they don't have time. My Dad even went to a dealership and car rental places to get a manual but none of them carried manual transmission cars. I still want to learn but according to this thread I'm a just a "klutz" so maybe I don't even deserve to draw my next breath.

I guess I learned the 'concept' of a clutch on dirt bikes as a kid too. Had the old Yamaha Enduro 100 and 175. Honda 90 to start. I remember 'popping the clutch' several times. Got some road rash on the hands and knees. Haven't road in 30 years. Shifting with the right foot. I think it was all the way down was first gear, one up was neutral, and the rest of the way, second, third, forth.

Beautiful bike Linebacker.

That's ok, Coot. I'll tell you my embarrassing story (from memory, as accurately as possible).

In 1985, I bought a really beat up 1978 4-banger Mustang II (really a Pinto) 4-speed stick from my neighbor for $800.00. It sat in the yard for awhile as I saved for minimal insurance (grocery store cashier job). Wife (girlfriend then) drove a 70-something Malibu Classic (their family car) until her Dodge Omni, so at least we had a car for dating.

Anyway, my mom had to drive me out to a secluded area to teach me to drive my car. She's always loved manuals ('87 Escort GT, '91 Accord LX, '00 Accord EX), all bought new to put into a time frame. I sucked bad at it, I ran a stop sign my first attempt (and that's ok where we were at the time). But it took me awhile to get it, and even longer to become good at it. My '87 Dodge Colt (Mitsubishi) was soooo much smoother, making me look good driving it.

Which leads me to this...

Just a personal opinion, but after driving my wife's brother's '81 Celica GT 5-speed (compared to say, my brother's new '84(?) base-model Escort), Japanese cars just made manuals easier to drive than domestics. Even my parent's '87 Escort GT (the sporty model) didn't have very smooth sifting action (felt rubbery). The Japanese had super-slick stick shifting down to an art, night and day difference IMO, while their automatics usually sucked.

So Coot, you can probably blame it on the car.

But isn't it kind of a moot point today?

++++++++++

Very cool pic, Linebacker!

I had a 1981 Toyota Celica GT 5 speed. My good friend had a 1984 Mustang manual. The difference in the clutch "pressure" was significant. Mine was way easier to operate.

Curious, LB4LB. Was your Celica a tan fastback?

I know car styling preferences can be as varied as women body preferences, but I thought that car was a real looker (also the previous similar one with round double headlights vs. rectangular). One before that even better, looking like a smaller vintage Mustang. But then the Celica got really ugly to me, 45d angled headlights and then just weird rounded shapes. It came back strong though, the last one with angular body was my favorite.

But then I thought the first gen. Integra looked great, the second gen. almost as good looking, the third gen. (with the beady little headlights) just butt ugly. But that one was the most popular and to most the best looking. No accounting for tastes, I guess.

My first one was a 1977 Celica GT. It was a tan fast back. It did remind me of Mustang pony car. My 1981 was a silver fast back. That car actually had a graphic equalizer on the stereo. I had a 1985 Celica coup, after that I did not like the look of the car. Always wanted the Supra model, but couldn't afford one. That 22R engine was probably one of the best mass produced car engines of all time.

Ah, looking online, the '85 hid the headlights (vs. '83), that looks good. Yeah, the same era Supra looked fantastic!

Sorry for the OT: Speaking of equalizers, I knew the first time I walked my girlfriend to her car in our HS parking lot, saw a Tancredi power booster/equalizer and Audiovox Hi-Comp 6x9s (yes, Audiovox actually made a decent 6x9 with their hi-end), I had me a keeper! Little did I know her brother had added that sound when he had the car (passed down when he bought his Celica), but it turned out she was into music anyway so it all worked out.

His Celica had only a dinky AM/FM radio until I added sound for him. The digital clock was pretty cool though.

++++++++++

Now that I think about it, my brother's '88 Camaro RS had a decent 5-speed clutch/shifter. Maybe Fords weren't so smooth at the time.

Coot, anyone can learn it manual in 3 sessions. There's only one difficulty: getting into 1st. When I started I kept stalling out because I got nervous and was scared to give it gas (which increases the chance of stalling out, so vicious circle). Once I learned to ease in the clutch+giving gas it was easy. Nobody's judging

I learned to drive manual transmission when I was about 11 because I drove a tractor once and used to mow all the lawns on a John Deere manual transmission small tractor. Also learned to drive a car on that farm too by driving up and down our very long lane way one day.

But we left that farm when I was 12 so as an adult I have only driven a TR-7 and an MG Midget that were manual transmission and both belonged to girlfriends so only drive both briefly.

If I had to drive manual I could easily re-learn but I choose not to because I have bad feet and ankles due to valve failure and they get sore if I have to use them too much. I have driven across Canada a few times and without cruise control I could not do it due to my bad feet.

Yea, that limits me to certain cars because the cars I really want are high performance like the Subaru WRX STI but those types of cars only come in manual transmission. Which i think is a mistake because with today's computer technology an automatic transmission is more efficient than manual and there is no real good reason to limit them to manual only, apart from making men feel like they are real men because they drive a manual. Even F1 cars use semi-auto now and have for years.

So, ideally I want a Subaru WRX STI or Mitsubishi Evo with auto transmission and not because I can't drive a manual but because of my bad feet and because I know a computer controlled auto is more efficient. I once read that people that drive manual drive for performance but if you want fuel efficient shifting then get an auto.

p.s. one thing I didn't like about driving the TR-7 manual was that we were stuck in traffic on a very steep hill and if you didn't coordinate the gas and brake correctly the car would roll back, which could be a dangerous situation. Another thing, they say to keep two hands on the wheel all the time, well, you can't do that with a manual unless you have paddle shifters. Manual is a distraction factor so makes them less safe than an auto.

In conclusion; all you people that think manual is better are just plain wrong, IMO. At one time it was true but not anymore.

I would freaking LOVE a modern (and dependable) version of the TR7!

A friend of mine just picked up a nice Vette, manual 6 speed trans.
He immediately drove it up to my place to show off....a bit of snow and all, it's nice.
Got it in the 'baggie' for the winter right after he got home, this was in late November.
Fastest vehicle I've ever driven. Anniversary edition Grand Sport.
Has all the bells and whistles too, wish I could afford one;

Me and my dream;



Yeah, it's fast...well over 400HP, almost lost it in 3rd gear, slide sideways for a second.
Didn't tell the wives....lol.
Doubt I'll get another chance to drive it....can't help my heavy foot.



Side view;

I owned only manual, it so natural to me to change gearbox speed. When i drove a friend's automatic car, i was constantly searching the clutch pedal with my left foot, kind of disturbing and loosing concentration. Adaptation took 15 to 20 minutes. When you know to drive with manual (like nearly all european drivers), a speed change take less than 1 second, you don't look the stick and keep watching the road. And when you are cruising you don't change gearbox speed, so you can keep your two hands on the steering wheel.

A manual is more dangerous at sportive speeds, when adrenaline can lead you to make mistakes, changing speed so hardly and quickly than you turn the steering wheel in the same time is a perfect exemple of rookies mistake. But in normal conditions of drive, and if it is a habit to drive manual, i don't think it's more dangerous.

IMHO your not 'really' driving the car, if it's not a manual transmission.
I guess it's mental, and taxes your abilities more.
I love it.

Took me a while to get the feel of that much HP, and six speeds was a first for me.
But once I drove it, it didn't take long to find the limits.

Wasn't the TR6 rated better? I liked the MG Midget better until she put in a roll bar which shortened the leg room and I am 6'3" so it was too cramped for me, she herself was 6' tall. Had a GF with a FIAT Spyder back then too, this being around 1979/80 and for looks I liked that better than TR7 and MG Midget but I never did drive the Fiat.

If you want a car like that now then get the Mazda Miata but I sat in one and again it is way too small for me.

I would say the car I want the most now is the Nissan GTR but way too expensive for me. I do drive that mostly in Assetto Corsa though.

That Corvette is gorgeous, Murphy. Good on him for getting a stick. Best that I never experience such a thrill (wish I could undo recent virtual reality). I can't imagine what just tire replacement costs!

Geez, that's pretty tall! I'm 5'9", wife 5'4.5", so the Miata feels nice and cozy.

The reason the TR7 has always appealed to me is mostly looks, it's wedgy and reminds me of Giorgetto Giugiaro's styling of the original Lotus Esprit. 007 had such an impact on my impressionable young mind, even the way Moore winded out that little 4-banger!

This still does it for me...






And I always thought the plaid interior was kinda stylish back in the day...






The Miata is modern and the next best thing of course, just not as wedgy as I would like. My tastes are sometimes weird but very specific and don't normally change.

That's not a bad looking car. A little funkyish and I usually don't like orange but I think that vehicle could grown on me. I like wedge-like design too.

I would have loved the TR8 or the TR7 with the Rover V8 in it, I've always wondered why they never put the Dolomite Sprint engine in the TR7.

Many years ago my brother worked for a garage in Wick, he was sent down to Inverness to pick up a special TR7 that was going out on loan to Princess Anne when she was up staying in the Castle of Mey, the thing never ran well and the garage sent my brother back to go pick up a Range Rover instead, now that was one very tasty motor

My father had an Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 346, it had a pre-select gearbox, you chose your next gear and then dipped the clutch when you wanted it to change gear, one party piece in it was putting it in reverse at 50mph and the car would slow down, stop and then go backwards without having to touch the brakes, played havoc with the drive belts tho!

Manual all the way. The two cars I've owned so far in my short life have both been manuals, and I don't foresee myself getting an automatic anytime soon. The only problem is that they are getting harder and harder to find on the lots here in the US. I got lucky finding a manual last year when I bought my current car, a Honda Accord coupe. Fun car to drive. Love it.

I taught a family member to drive a manual in two hours. He had previously been "taught", poorly, by the car dealership that sold him a car with a six-speed. They couldn't train him well enough to get the car out of the dealership lot. He wanted that manual trans car, life is short, so he simply did it, and he'd worry about details later. Guy's got some balls.

So I had him come over to my place, to drive my '07 Solstice GXP. Should never have traded that car in. I think mine was the only one built correctly, no issues, and with the GM turbo upgrade it went from 260bhp and 260 ft/lb to 290 bhp, 340 ft/lbs. 145 bhp per liter, variable valve timing, direct injection, variable vane turbo, five speed, no turbo lag, 49/51 weight distribution, body roll of a brick set in concrete, torque just went up until you decided you were flogging the engine too much. Anyway.

Here's how I feel you can train people on manuals quickly- Make them stall it on purpose a few times. Just stay off the gas completely, and ease up on the clutch a few times until they recognize that 'tickle' the engine, chassis, and pedal will make. Learn what it feels like just before the stall. Heck, they ARE going to stall it out anyway, stop being afraid!

Four times in, he knew exactly what a stall felt like, had no fear of it, and he rolled on some gas and off we went. Two hours later he was doing it naturally even on hills.

Two days later we went to the dealership to pick up his 400+ bhp/ 400+ lb/ft, six speed car. And he hopped in, then motored away nice as you please. He wasn't afraid of stalling because he knew what it was like and he could correct it right away.

I have always said that a few guys at that dealership lost money on the side-bets that day! I hope they lost big.

I'll be honest and upfront about this so I'll just say it: I never learned how to drive a manual transmission car. Where do I turn in my man card?


My driver's ed class in high school only had automatics and I didn't even own a car until after I graduated from college.

I can teach you in two hours

LOL Thanks but I live in Miami. I don't see the sense in driving a stick-shift in stop and go city traffic. It's unnecessary extra work.

That was a good looking car (love that stubby shifter), as was its' sister car, the Saturn Sky...

That's the good point of an automatic clutch compare to a manual. Driving in a city, and something that can really be exhausting in a manual, driving in traffic jam.

Still remember my old VW with a semi auto ,,Shift but no clutch,,best of of worlds

Especially those cars that have a heavy clutch, used to hate taking my MG into London, not that the clutch was that heavy but it did wear on you after an hour or three of stop start driving.

Even the auto boxes need to treated with a bit of care in heavy traffic and not sit there in gear with your foot on the brake for extended times, I had a temperature warning go off in my Range Rover Sport when queuing for the peage near Bordeaux, had to pull in and let the gearbox cool off for half an hour or so, and I had been flipping it back into neutral while in the queue, but with the temperature around 37~38c (100f) it was hot there.

MG ZT with supercharged Ford Mustang 4.6, the clutch is hydraulic rather than cable operated and is supposed to be a bit easier on the leg than the cable in the Mustang.


The Range Rover Sport, 6 speed auto. Can't remember exactly, but I think the latest version now has a 10 speed box for the sportier versions as well as different engine and suspension modes for fast road use, and the standard Range Rover Sport has an 8 speed.


I can get a different steering wheel from the 2010 model and that would give me flappy paddles but I'm fine with the leaver in forward to go up a gear and back to go down.

My first two cars were manual, and I hated them. Especially when it seemed like traffic always wanted to drive at that "sour spot" where it would race in 2nd gear but be sluggish if I had it in 3rd.

Also, the only car I've ever had the transmission fail on me was a stick--I pushed the clutch down one day and it went WHUMP to the floor. I could barely drive it to the garage after that, the slightest pressure on the clutch would disengage it, and even without touching the clutch it barely engaged.


I've only bought autos for 20 years now, and when I was a young tech driving from site to site, eating lunch in the car wasn't possible with a stick, you HAD to have an auto. Sticks suck in traffic, plain and simple. You spend all your time going up and down the scale. I suppose if I lived in an area that wasn't:
Flat, completely
With a perfect geometric grid of streets (all 90 degree corners, all the time)
Always with cars everywhere

Then maybe I might enjoy the sensation of driving. But I do not, because there is nowhere enjoyable to drive.




The Jedi Master

I've got an auto car and a manual car, and the manual is more fun, definitely. It's a Mustang, and I think manuals used to make more sense for performance cars, but these days, automatics are actually better. If I get a new sporty car, like a new Mustang, I may end up getting an automatic.

There's a 10-speed auto that Ford and GM developed together that's supposed to be great for both gas mileage and performance. It's in the new Camaro ZL1 and is rumored to be in the Mustang in 2018. If I break down and get a 2018 Mustang, I might just get that transmission.

Remember these commercials for the TR-7 ?

It's what I learned on, first 2 trucks were standard and I've own 3 motorbikes...

I have had so many people ask me- "Doesn't your left leg get tired in traffic?". Well, no. Neither does my right leg, hitting that brake and pushing the gas pedal and holding it and letting off. When you drive a manual in traffic you don't creep up inch by inch by inch like in an automatic.

The old mechanical clutches were fatiguing in heavy stop and go traffic.

You could tell people who drove those vehicles as they were Bf109 pilots with one fat leg and one skinny leg.

Or, you could be the guy with busted knuckles because your X thought the clutch was how you kept the Fiero stationary when the light on the hill was red. :P 3 clutches in 70K miles. Finally put in a S10 pressure plate and got a D.

I drive manual.
I remember seeing, MTV Cribs I think, some rapper or whatever had a Mercedes SLR (or similar) that his friends had to drive him around in cause he couldn't drive manual himself.
How very gangsta...

I hope you were like a teenager when you watched MTV Cribs....lol

Oldest manual I've driven is a '37 Chevy. Fairly light clutch actually. RE: rudder input on a 109 or P-40, etc, that's a touch different. Planes don't usually sit in stop and go traffic for an hour or two during their flight, creeping along for five feet at 2 mph and then sitting for ten minutes And in any case, in heavy traffic, my foot isn't depressing the clutch. I'm in neutral with my right foot on the brake, left foot on the deadpedal.

But you have to bear in mind, if you drive a manual daily- I don't know if you do or don't, I do though- people usually don't have your experiences. Mechanical or hydraulic means nothing to them in general. In fact they don't know what that even means in my experience. I know many 50+ year olds, not just folks in their 40s 30s or 20s, that cannot drive a manual and they attribute a strange sense of magical accomplishment to the task, as if it is demanding (You drive that to work? Isn't your leg tired??). Since they don't know what it entails and never did they just assume you're pumping that clutch a lot, especially if you mention it's a six speed. Must mean you're constantly shifting shifting shifting! Heavy or light clutch, they have no idea. They aren't drawing on their experience with Hays 10" street/strip clutches or even stock Z-bar clutch set-ups that bind under WOT from the '60s- they never drove one at all.

Even more bizarre is their look of disbelief when I tell them I drive my rear wheel drive car in the snow. They treat me as they might a magician- they know its a trick and its not true, but they can't tell how I made them think it was possible. And when they learn the manual trans car is the same RWD car I drive in the snow....I'm just waiting for one of them to call me a liar. According to them RWD means instant crash in the snow. And they usually ask how much horsepower the car has, as if max rated hp spells the difference between life and death- or traction. But they just don't know.

I guess the bottom line is that in my experience, when most innocent bystanders comment to you or I about manuals, they are going off hearsay and 'my uncle's cousin's friend once had a manual' type legends, not their extensive experience with the heavy mechanical clutches of yesteryear.

Over cruise speed, the 109 pilot has to push on the rudder pedal to keep flying straight.

I have driven a manual for most of my 50+ years of driving and my current vehicle is manual.

If the traffic jam is a 15 feet gain and then stop for ten minutes, it is not exhausting for the left leg. Just imagine a traffic jam where you have a 15 to 100 feet gain, and then stop for 30 seconds, 15 to 100 feet gain and then stop for 30 seconds. Doing this during some hours sometimes. That's the kind of traffic jam here.

I only use the clutch in this kind of traffic, generally, the car in front of me has made another gain before i must stop. Not good for the car, but good for my leg.

At this point in my life the only way I'll end up driving a manual transmission car is if I end up living in some remote area like Montana and I have a Camaro or a Mustang.

Graduation present in HS was an '86 Ranger pickup with a stick. I never looked back, for the longest time, it's all I'd drive. For the last four years, I've had automatics after my Isuzu Rodeo came down with the magic disappearing oil illness. So in October, when I had to buy a new commuter car, I told my wife, "I'm buying a manual." She told me to get what I wanted because she drove a '96 Escort 2-door hatchback with a stick for six years.

I am now the proud owner of a 2014 Mazda3 hatchback with an absolutely glorious six-speed.

I currently drive a manual. It's pretty much all I've driven my whole life. I owned one automatic, a Chevy Sprint, and besides being a big POS, it was the first automatic that I owned after owning 2 manual cars and it was prety painful to switch.

My first manual car was a 1984 Plymouth Colt (I think someone here mentioned they had one too). In 1990 we had a huge blizzard on Valentine's Day and I was coming home from college on the Dan Ryan in it when I started to slide out of control. I threw my car into neutral and instantly all that excess torque was gone giving me more control of the car to be able to coast it down to something more manual, then I went back into gear and I was fine. If I didn't do that I would have wiped out and hit something. I was convinced for sure ever since.

I do have a different technique that I picked up I think from my dad. I don't engine brake or downshift to slow down or stop. I just throw her into neutral and use the brake to stop or slow down. I think I'd rather wear my brakes than wear my clutch/trans. It costs less to fix brakes than it does a trans after all. The last 3 cars I've owned lasted more than 200,000 miles over 8 years each and the only trans problem I had was the 1996 which one had the clutch wear out on me at 245,000 miles so I must be OK.

After the 1984 Colt and the POS Sprint, I went back into stick shifts with a 1990 Hyundai Excel, then a 1996 Honda Civic EX coupe, then a 2004 Honda Civic EX Coupe, and now a 2012 Honda Civic EX Coupe. I love sticks, and all this talk about it being a distraction and what not--I don't experience that. It's all so second nature to me. I can just feel what gear I should be in or go to. I can eat while driving a stick, it's not a problem to me. I drive in in stop and go Chicago traffic pretty much everyday since 1990, in rain, snow, all weather. My leg doesn't get tired, nor do I lose concentration. I like having all the control over the transmission rather than an auto transmission deciding for me.

Some other perks about owning a stick. I think the chances of my car getting stolen or me getting carjacked are low. They will probably hop in and see a stick and can't drive off, then shoot me out of frustration haha. Also, one time my battery went dead and there was no one around to get a jumpstart from. So, I pushstarted my car, and drove it to where I can buy a new battery. That was great. When I go to Europe or Mexico, it's no problem renting a car. They usually only have manual transmissions, so it's no problem to me. The gas mileage is lower than an automatic too, but these days I think that automatic cars are so well engineered that they are either on par with stick shifts or are better in gas mileage, but it was a perk after all.

The popularity of automatic transmissions are way outweighing that of stick these days. It used to be you can get a manual transmission right off the lot. This time, even though the option was available, I had to special order the car and wait for delivery, which took about a month because they had to build it (and also because the paint and some of the trans parts' delivery was affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan). My wife just bought a 2017 Honda Civic (automatic even though she's European) and looking through their current catalog you are hard pressed to find a stick shift in there anymore. Her car does have remote start as standard though, which I don't think you can do in a stick shift,so I guess that's something I miss out on.

But anyway, yeah...it bugs me that they have paddle shifters in automatics. What's the point? To me it's like a car for wannabe stick shifters. I also don't see why you need a tachometer in an automatic. Also I will point out that each one of my stick shift Hondas from 1996 until now had cruise control, so I don't know why some people said stick shifts don't.

Did I wear leather gloves while driving when I was younger? Yeah here and there but now I usually (not always) wear flight gloves. You know, the fighter pilot style...fire resistant nomex and calfskin leather. They're comfy, and in the summer they breathe and in the winter they are fairly warm. Why would I wear them? To be honest, the steering wheel is way cold in the winter (right now as I speak the wind chill is -25 F), and way hot in the summer. But they are comfy to drive with overall though I don't do it all the time. I fly with them more than I drive with them. But I digress...

My record for teaching someone stick shift is 15 minutes. I agree that the only thing you really need to know is how to get into first gear. It's really hard to stall out in any other gear. I train people in a pretty unique way I think. Sure there is the parking lot to give them the basics, but the REAL test comes when I put them on an uphill slope and have them start the car and go. Everytime they stall out start "yelling" at them to get the car started, we're rolling backwards, the "car" behind us is gonna get hit, cross traffic is gonna hit us, you better move, etc--anything to put stress on them so that under stress they can perform well enough to restart the car and get it moving in the minimum of time and effort. I know it's mean, but it's effective. I actually got the idea from the movie "Glory" when the one black private who is really good with a rifle on the range is subjected to Matthew Broderick's yelling at him to shoot and and shooting his revolver to simulate the stress of the real thing. It works well, I've taught 2 people in 15 minutes this way. Plus since I had them on a hill, where it's a harrowing feeling to roll backwards in a stall and try to stop yourself and get started again---when they pass that test, they can do anything.

I can drive an automatic pretty much at will. There are a few times when I had a mind fart and stomped on a clutch that wasn't there and got the brake instead...but it's pretty rare. One time a friend was visiting from France and he had to rent a car and it was so ironic that I had to teach him how to drive an automatic. It was weird. I just told him to move his leg to the far left and LEAVE IT THERE! Haha.

One time I joked with a friend that if Jason from Friday the 13th was chasing you with a chainsaw and the one way you had to get away was to drive off in this stick shift car with the keys in it, you better know how or you're dead!

So anyway, yes, I love sticks, and my main worry is that I won't be able to get one in the future...I've been wanting a Civic Si for years and now it seems like the only way I can ever get a stick shift Civic is to get an Si, haha, so maybe it's not too bad.

v6,
boNes

Yep I have been round the Périphérique on a Friday too

London is the same with the M25, I used to leave my work in Reading at 3pm Friday heading to Dover to catch the ferry to Dunkerque and it would be about 8pm when I finally got off the motorway and into Dover, a distance of about 190km or 120 miles, of which the slow bit was the 43 miles of the M25.

I'm glad we agree then, that it's not like driving a manual transmission car in traffic at all. On the one hand, a progressively increasing control input is required for speed of flight above normal because trim inputs are set on the ground for that normal flight, and on the other, the control input is needed infrequently at only certain times and only for a duration of ~one or two seconds.

For what it's worth, I try very hard to use terms like "in my experience" or "I've seen". Therefore when I consult my own experience I make sure to use the caveat and then I acknowledge I do not know yours. I'm not challenging you, although it seems very much to me like you feel I am.

At any speed, a 7/8th scale Nieuport 11 requires a push on the left pedal to keep flying straight.

I learned to drive with a standard transmission, including a stint using "three on the tree," which is probably the best anti-theft system one could come up with today - but drive an automatic as the F-150 does not have an option for a manual transmission.

The wife's Mustang is a stick, though. She refuses to drive an automatic.

On tachometers, I never saw the point to them at all, learning to shift by sound and feel. In my truck, I shift by using the accelerator pedal - one can force a gear change by altering the RPM's.