Can you handle a stick?

[wildone]

2) Shift your stick to one or two and ease the clutch and press the gas to drive (that's where I usually have a problem, since I made the tires squeal not knowing the exact time to press the gas).

 

 

OMG !!! I'm still scared from the arguments that my Grandfather and Dad had when Grandpa said first gear was a waste of time. Heaven forbid if I started in second with my Dad in the vehicle , we wouldn't be having this conversation now if I did.

 

Steve

 

Edit to add: Only exceptions were starting on ice, snow, or mud.

Edited December 16, 2007 by wildone

[rknapp]

Hmm... I remember having a tranny discussion with one of my friends as he was giving me a ride to my apartment in the snow. I mentioned that I've never really driven a manual since I haven't had the opportunity to learn (roommates Geo Tracker doesn't count as an opportunity since that thing is a POS), so he said, "I'm so teaching you!" in his '02 M5 Jetta 1.8T. Maybe if he isn't working tomorrow I can get him to make good on his promise, since I'll be in the area for several hours with nothing to do until the Queermas party we're both going to tomorrow night...

 

Basically, he wants to teach me to play with his stick

 

Not sure if I can inject much more innuendo into that LMAO.

Edited December 16, 2007 by rknapp

[Graeme]

Basically, he wants to teach me to play with his stick

Good luck and have fun. Just play safely...

[AFriendlyFace]

My most trouble was in England, remembering to change gears with my left hand. Once I got in a tight spot and instinctively reached for the gear shift and opened the door.

Decided to just evacuate whether than try to fix the situation huh?

 

I couldn't imagine having to deal with something else while driving, in addition to a coffee cup and a cell phone

Actually you can get used to that. I often drive mine with barely more than two free fingers

 

Good luck and have fun. Just play safely...

Exactly...wear your seatbelt

[FrenchCanadian]

My most trouble was in England, remembering to change gears with my left hand. Once I got in a tight spot and instinctively reached for the gear shift and opened the door.

 

I can relate to that, when I drove in Trinidad (they also drive on the wrong side just like in England), everytime I wanted to start the flasher, I'd go for the wipers instead

 

Americans and Canadians are hopeless cripple when it comes to manual.

 

Technology made human capable of making automatic cars, why turning our back to great inventions.

[scoopny]

Not all Americans are clueless about manual transmission. Some of us like to be able to drive any type of car.

Edited December 17, 2007 by scoopny

[Benji]

Not all Americans are clueless about manual transmission. Some of us like to be able to drive any type of car.

 

 

.........When I first started driving, it was on a stick, automatic came later

[FrenchCanadian]

.........When I first started driving, it was on a stick, automatic came later

 

yup and when you've tasted automatic, you don't want to go back to driving on a stick.

 

tho, Frosty is right, if I ever wanna live in europe I'll have to learn to drive on a stick or else I'll have to pay much much more for the car

[Benji]

yup and when you've tasted automatic, you don't want to go back to driving on a stick.

 

tho, Frosty is right, if I ever wanna live in europe I'll have to learn to drive on a stick or else I'll have to pay much much more for the car

 

 

.....I don't know........I loved shifting gears

[scoopny]

.........When I first started driving, it was on a stick, automatic came later

 

 

That's how you're supposed to learn how to drive. I took my driving test on a stick. Anyone can drive an automatic. It's interesting, at school, a lot of my friends drive stick.

 

There's nothing "better" about automatic, it's just easier.

[scoopny]

.....I don't know........I loved shifting gears

 

 

Yeah I don't know what Frenchcanadian's problem is.

[Former Member]

Same here, the 'hill start' was part of my drivers test. Different to most here, I've never even been in an automatic car. I love driving my manual, I cant help but think it'd be boring to let the car do the gear shifts... thats where all the fun is!

 

Same here. Never drove an automatic car. It's unusual to learn driving in an automatic car here. And you are not allowed to drive a stick if you didn't do your drivers test on one.

 

Tob

[scoopny]

Same here. Never drove an automatic car. It's unusual to learn driving in an automatic car here. And you are not allowed to drive a stick if you didn't do your drivers test on one.

 

Tob

 

Considering how much work it was to teach my friends to drive stick after they got their license. That's a good policy, lol.

[Graeme]

Considering how much work it was to teach my friends to drive stick after they got their license. That's a good policy, lol.

It was the normal policy here in Melbourne when I learnt to drive, too. Doing your test in an automatic meant a restricted license, so almost everyone tried to learn to drive a manual transmission car. That didn't stop them from buying an automatic after they got their license, of course, if they wanted one.

 

I'm wondering if the next generation of this "problem" will be the GPS. I saw a cartoon several months ago where a dad had bought a new car for his daughter. She was mortified that it didn't come with a GPS and she'd actually have to learn how to read a map and navigate by herself....

[jfalkon]

I've always driven a manual and they are a blast to drive when you have the right roads (and road conditions... ok, an isolated snow covered road or parking lot car be a blast too!). One of the big attractions used to be that manual transmissions not only allowed you to control the car more adeptly (you can control the gear\revs which in a traditional auto you can't) but they also gave you better mileage (at least marginally). Modern automatic transmissions have eliminated most of the fuel economy benefit.

 

The only time I regret having a standard is in bumper-to-bumper traffic where your car is moving a couple of feet at a time or when I go to the office and have to stop on the very steep grade leaving the parking garage because someone always seems to stop behind me right on my bumper.

 

My next car will probably be an auto just because I'm getting to a point where I don't get to enjoy driving a stick very often and many of the cars I'll be looking at don't even offer it!

 

Steve

 

I'm with you. Except for the bumper to bumper situation I think its just more fun to drive with a manual transmision. It is a pain to learn though. Unlike most kids I was not in a hurry to learn to drive. Why bother when my parents can take me every where I need to go? It took me forever to learn but I am happy I did.

 

I have driven automatics a few times but I don't like them. Being dyslexic I can't tell my left from my right very well. Having two pedals that differ only in their location (left or right) seems like a bad idea for me. I once did get confused like this but it was in a car from a driving school and the instructor had an extra set of peddals.

 

My other problem is that I live on a steep hill. If I drive an automatic it shifts into third at just the wrong spot and is forced to crawl up the hill in second the rest of the way. In this case the manual transmision has a clear advantage...Besides, you can burn more rubber with a manual transmission.

[TalonRider]

When I took Drivers Ed in school, the simulators were set up for both stick and automatic. The shifter was located on the column and not on the floor.

 

My first two cars were both stick shifts, a 64 Corvair and a 65 Mustang.

 

Jan

[Benji]

When I took Drivers Ed in school, the simulators were set up for both stick and automatic. The shifter was located on the column and not on the floor.

 

My first two cars were both stick shifts, a 64 Corvair and a 65 Mustang.

 

Jan

 

 

............Ahhhh!! The '65 Mustang, was it a Shelby?

[TalonRider]

............Ahhhh!! The '65 Mustang, was it a Shelby?

Naw, just a late 65, early 66 model that I bought used. Wish I still had it.

[Benji]

Naw, just a late 65, early 66 model that I bought used. Wish I still had it.

 

 

............Sigh !!!! You & me both, you & me both

[Krista]

I am uncomfortable with driving an automatic transmission vehicle... I learned how to drive on a stick shift and that's all I've ever really drove.

 

 

Krista

[Former Member]

LOL i have only driven a stick once and that was on a country road. My cousin wanted me to get my drivers license so i could buy there car. I so wasnt buying there car i hate it. They taught me how to change gears and stuff and i ended up spinning the car around and taking too wide of corners. Dads truck is a automatic and 1 day he wanted me to drive his truck on another back road and he was telling me to turn left and my mother (my parents are now divorced since this incident) was telling me to go right. I slammed on the breaks and ended up almost having the truck in the ditch, MAN was he pissed. Mom tells me to go start her car 1 mornin and the radio turns on and i go back inside and she comes out and says "You didnt start the car" and i go "the radio is on that means the car is started" For a man i know nothing about cars. At least i know how to change a tire & check the oil. I decided when i get my license and a car that i want a cute little car that will be easy to drive & cheap on gas.

[YaP]

All the cars i had so far were with a stick. Its still very common here - and those cars need less gas too (which is an even bigger argument here considering that gas is way more expensive in Europe than in the US). Only some rented cars i had on vacation were automatic. So yes, i can definitely drive stick.. even the ones in Australia and NZ where everything is on the wrong side (although i keep hitting my right hand into the door trying to reach the stick on the first days down there ).

[rknapp]

One thing I've noticed with new models is that more and more companies are offering not only manuals, but manumatics in some form or another. My last car (2001 Dodge Intrepid ES) had a slapstick (Autostick). My friends old Mazda 3 (now has an Acura TL) had manumatic as well. Some new cars that I am looking at to replace my current automatic car come only with either a sport shift auto (manumatic) or a manual. Some cars even come with (drool) paddle shifters on the steering wheel (Pontiac Grand Prix Competition Group, auto Lambo's, etc.). The one thing that all manumatics share is that they are all essentially Formula 1 style clutchless manual transmissions. The way in which the user-selected shifting occurs depends on the manufacturer, but I have found that they are as fun a manual without the worries of your foot slipping off of the clutch. Also, they have the benefit of the automatics in that they are far superior to manuals in drag racing being that you don't have to get off the gas to hit the clutch and change gears. You just slap the gear selector in the appropriate direction and keep your foot planted! Yes, I've done it and I've beat Maxima's that way .

 

Needless to say my next car will most likely have a sport shift mode. My toy can have a manual (if/when I get a toy).

Edited January 25, 2008 by rknapp

[FrenchCanadian]

One thing I've noticed with new models is that more and more companies are offering not only manuals, but manumatics in some form or another. My last car (2001 Dodge Intrepid ES) had a slapstick (Autostick). My friends old Mazda 3 (now has an Acura TL) had manumatic as well. Some new cars that I am looking at to replace my current automatic car come only with either a sport shift auto (manumatic) or a manual. Some cars even come with (drool) paddle shifters on the steering wheel (Pontiac Grand Prix Competition Group, auto Lambo's, etc.). The one thing that all manumatics share is they are all essentially Formula 1 style clutchless manual transmissions. The way in which the user-selected shifting occurs depends on the manufacturer, but I have found that they are as fun a manual without the worries of your foot slipping off of the clutch. Also, they have the benefit of the automatics in that they are far superior to manuals in drag racing being you don't have to get off the gas to hit the clutch and change gears. You just slap the gear selector in the appropriate direction and keep your foot planted! Yes, I've done it and I've beat Maxima's that way .

 

Needless to say my next car will most likely have a sport shift mode. My toy can have a manual (if/when I get a toy).

 

I have totally noticed that,, And I find it interesting. The mazda 6 that we (my family) have has that. It's kinda fun, you have the better of two world. And sometimes I do change into the manual mode

[rknapp]

I have totally noticed that,, And I find it interesting. The mazda 6 that we (my family) have has that. It's kinda fun, you have the better of two world. And sometimes I do change into the manual mode

I like driving my dad's Infiniti Q45. It has a 5-speed manumatic with (IIRC) the VQ45 Datsun motor. Basically I get to play with a 340 hp V8 in a 5-speed RWD figure. I love entering the highway in 1st and slamming through the gears . When I had my old 4-speed Autostick Dodge I once beat a 1993 M5 Ford Escort... in second gear. That was fun haha.