Can you handle a stick?

[lashrac]

i hate to say that i cant drive a manual at all my mind cant wrap itself around having to mess around with all that and also pay attention to everything on the road too. im also rather easily distracted, even now after being on the road for a few years i'll prob forget to change gears lol.

 

not to mention some of the time when i was learning i had my boyfriend next to me, cant drive a stick if im holding his hand half the time

 

manual looks fun, im hoping i can manage it one day

[S.L. Lewis]

Always have had manual, mostly due to having to drive on snow and ice covered roads. It easier to stop and start with the manual transmission.

 

This is so true. I lived in a town that had snow and ice on the roads for at least four months out of six. That and if you start to skid you can always stall your viehicle, and just ride out the slide properly. Even if it does screw with your car.

I was taught how to drive in two different viehicles. One a big truck and the other a little car. Let me tell you, I found it easier to master automatic after that.

[Tim the Traveller]

I learned how to drive an automatic when I was about 5(My father thought it was a good idea for his kids to know how to drive in case of an emergency), And I taught myself to drive a manual when I was 14.

 

I can't imagine not being able to drive half of the cars made. All it takes is hand-eye-foot coordination.

 

I prefer manuals because of the more precise control you have over your speed. The fuel economy is also an advantage. With my chev S10 5 speed, I get anywhere between 22 and 30 MPG, depending on what speed I drive it and the weather/wind conditions. In Texas and Florida at interstate speeds I was getting 30 MPG, In the colder weather with slower shorter trips I'm getting about 22MPG.

 

And yeah, weren't those "3 on the tree"'s just fun things to drive? LOL I remember my mom had an old old chevy Nova 4 door that was a 3 on the tree, And the linkage rods were forever binding, She said naughty words every time it locked in 3rd gear at a stoplight and she had to get out, open the hood and free the linkage so she could shift it back into 1st.

 

Automatics can be fun, but only when they have a really large engine to put some power into it. Sometimes, If you have enough power, You really shouldn't be thinking about such things as shifting when you should be focusing your attention on surviving

 

Most farm machinery is manual though--If you don't know how to use a clutch, You won't get far LOL

[Procyon]

Manual -- I don't want to think about trying to drive an automatic when there's a lot of ice and snow. And then you've just got much better control over your car, automatics change gears when I don't want them to...

 

Having said that, I had a bit of a close shave doing a hill start today; I had to reverse my car away from a boulder that I'd gotten very close to, and it was a lot harder to do a hill start when reversing than the normal way... which is no trouble at all, usually. Haha.

 

 

[Mark Arbour]

We've got one of each, but I prefer a manual. Much more fun to drive. Much more control over how/when the power is delivered. Plus there's a certain skill required that people driving SUVs and talking on their cell phones just don't have, or don't use.

[Nephylim]

Until fairly recently I had only ever driven manuals. I have a semi automatic now which is way cool but I think I will be going back to manual next. It is too boring driving an automatic.. too many lapses in concentration

[tomon]

Automatic cars aren't that popular over here so yeah i drive a manual. I like it as i feel more in control though to be fair I've never driven an automatic so wouldn't know :S. Unfortunately my car (who i call wendy as she is blatently an old lady) does not like me being in control and so often "plays tricks" on me like fall out of gear or make her breaks ocassionally not work.... Hahaha....

 

If I were a boy racer and thought I was cool I'd probably stand like this in photos not as a complete joke:

 

 

Luckily I'm not delusional.

Edited August 10, 2009 by tomon

[PlugInMatty]

my mum drives a stick...

 

a broomstick

 

 

[Procyon]

Automatic cars aren't that popular over here so yeah i drive a manual. I like it as i feel more in control though to be fair I've never driven an automatic so wouldn't know :S. Unfortunately my car (who i call wendy as she is blatently an old lady) does not like me being in control and so often "plays tricks" on me like fall out of gear or make her breaks ocassionally not work.... Hahaha....

 

If I were a boy racer and thought I was cool I'd probably stand like this in photos not as a complete joke:

 

 

Luckily I'm not delusional.

 

Wendy is adorable. And yeah, definitely an old lady, just look at her make up.

 

my mum drives a stick...

 

a broomstick

 

 

 

Haha... a Nimbus 2000?

[Aeroplane]

And no... I don't mean that kind of stick.

 

I'm stuck drivin my brother's RAM for the next week and it's a stick shift. No one ever taught me how to drive one so I had to teach myself how. Today is the first day I've had it and it's been rainin every time I try to drive it.

 

Rain + Inexperienced stick driver = no fun

 

But I've managed to keep all the tires on the road so far so I think I'm doing good.

 

How many of you drive a manual transmission regularly, and how many of you can do it, but still have an automatic car?

 

 

 

I have only driven a manual gearbox car.

Edited August 10, 2009 by Xeran

[Nephylim]

my mum drives a stick...

 

a broomstick

 

 

 

 

I'm a thoroughly modern witch ... I fly a Dyson

[Mark Arbour]

I'm a thoroughly modern witch ... I fly a Dyson

 

The Dyson with a ball?

[Nephylim]

The Dyson with a ball?

 

 

Of course You can't go flying without having a ball

[Zeoanne]

It's been a while since I held a stick on my hands but yeah, I've owned one in the past, now I have a Chevy Van which, even though it's old, i wouldn't change it for anything, it's too comfortable to drive and maneuver although I miss my AWD. Can even handle a large truck, not an 18 wheeler, that'd be a tad too much for me.

Edited August 15, 2009 by Rush

[KJames]

Of course You can't go flying without having a ball

 

Just don't forget to take the hand model with you in case you want to fly the 'sports model'!

 

And while I can drive stickshift, I don't think I'd want to on the motorhome or van simply because it requires more concentration and could be more of a hazard in traffic.

Edited August 16, 2009 by kjames

[Jack Frost]

Maybe I won't attempt a manual in the UK or Ireland or Aussieland. Driving on the wrong side of the car and road will confuse me for a little bit, though I find it exciting to try it out. Just not on manual for now.

[R-Jayy]

I can't drive.

I never really...learned how.

So I'm going to have to say, no. lol

[Y_B]

My dad had a stick shift Toyota when I was a little kid and he'd sometimes let me..play....with........it.

 

All joking aside, yes I'm kinda familiar with a gear stick. My dad used to let me change shifts for him sometimes on local roads, and no I have never caused an accident. It exhilarated me every time, giving me delusions of grandeur, like I had control over the entire vehicle or something. And then we'd get home and I'd just go "Mom, I drove the car again today!" bahah how cute was I....now I'm just a grump