Driving manual/stick

[usnuzuloose]

I enjoyed my manual when I had it. But now it is straight automatic

 

[firefly_ris]

Yes I can. I've had 2 manuals... a 2001 Ford Escape and my grandfather's 1980 Datsun 210B wagon.

 

[yesdnil]

Learned to drive manual when I was about 17 or 18, but now I have a disability that causes spasms in my left foot, so I can't do it anymore

 

[DisneyHardin]

My first car 22 years ago was a manual. I only had it about a year and have only driven a manual a few times since, but it is sort of like riding a bicycle and it has come back to me when I've needed to do it.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

I've driven plenty of manual cars, but it's been exclusively automatic for at least 10 years now.

Any guy who can't drive a stick shift needs to turn in his Man Card.

 

[sjberg79]

I learned on a stick and drove manual for 13 years. Back in '09 we were living in Seattle and I was getting a new car and I was tired of driving stick on the Seattle hills so I switched to automatic. I'm 99.9% sure if you put me in a manual transmission car I could still drive one. I might stall it out once or twice getting used to it again but I bet it's like riding a bike.

 

[bcla]

I'm on the claims side of the business, so I'm not as sure of the underwriting side but to my knowledge, it really doesn't make a difference. In fact, I don't think most carriers even ask if the car is manual or auto.

I thought maybe there might be a concern that owners might drive them harder. I know plenty of people who drive econoboxes with manual transmissions, that basically need it simply to keep up.

 

[bcla]

You know the thing that would completely mess me up? If I had to drive a right-hand drive manual transmission. I think I could adjust to driving on the left-hand side of the road, but I've got tons of muscle memory of shifting with my right hand that I think it might take me a long time to get used to shifting with my left hand.

 

[tvguy]

True, though it “could” be that the tiny engines typically used in the UK are still more efficient with a manual.

And they could also be diesels.

 

[DISNEYSQUIRRELS]

Either way, I can drive both
My father insisted I learn both & I’m glad I did

 

[georgina]

I've been driving a manual car for the better part of the last 30 years - except for the 5 minivan years! Starting to get some arthritis in my knees, and planning to get an electric car next time, so I will probably be getting automatic next. I will miss it.

 

[bcla]

I've been driving a manual car for the better part of the last 30 years - except for the 5 minivan years! Starting to get some arthritis in my knees, and planning to get an electric car next time, so I will probably be getting automatic next. I will miss it.

Depends on the car. The manual transmissions I've driven were all import makes and had hydraulic clutches with a fairly light clutch pressure. I remember talking to someone randomly about it. I mentioned something about it being easy with a light clutch, and this guy asked me if I'd ever driven an old American pickup truck with a 4-speed and no synchronization. I guess that would the kind of car where you'd get a workout just pressing on the clutch pedal.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I worked at a Dodge dealership while in high school so I learned there for the most part. Then I was a valet at a resort so we occasionally got a manual in.

My first manual was (and still is) the Honda S2000 (pictured on the right) which I've owned for over 10 years now. It only comes in manual as it's very much a true drivers' car and super fun with a 9000 redline. It is a garage queen as well.

 

[ols386]

Yes but it’s been many years since I drove one. My boyfriend in high school drove a manual transmission (it belonged to his parents.) He taught me how to drive a manual.

I think I could still drive a manual now, but it would take me a few tries to get the hang of it again.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I learned on a manual, and never even drove an automatic until I bought one when I was in my 30s. To this day, we laugh thinking of the salesman's look of shock when I first test drove it (he didn't know my history of always having driven manual transmissions). "You mean all I do is put it in D and go?" I just couldn't believe there was no clutch-meanwhile, the salesman probably was about ready to ask for my driver's license!

 

[mom2rb]

Any guy who can't drive a stick shift needs to turn in his Man Card.

At the oil refinery that my dad works at, all of the work trucks are sticks. It is a test that my dad gives to the new guys. He tells them to go move a truck and when they can’t, he tells them that his grandsons could drive a stick at 16 and they had better learn how.

 

[bcla]

True, though it “could” be that the tiny engines typically used in the UK are still more efficient with a manual.

A lot of modern “automatics” are really dual dry-clutch, even in the US. They produce better fuel economy numbers than traditional manuals because they tend to shift early. Ford had some serious reliability problems with its PowerShift transmissions.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cu...oposed-settlement-for-ford-powershift-owners/

A lot of high performance carmakers no longer have traditional manual transmissions with a clutch pedal, including Ferrari. Ferrari had its F1 style transmission which was a single dry-clutch, but now it’s all dual-clutch.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Do you know how to?

I do! I learned as a teenager on a Boss 302 Mustang. (Hey, if you're going to do something, you might as well do it right! ) Years later, DH and I bought a Jeep with a stick. I somewhat surprised myself after that when I bought my own first new Jeep I went for the manual transmission and I loved driving it! Since then have bought Automatics but I think I could easily pick it back up again if I had to.

 

[EscalatorKid]

Yes. I "learned" in a 1966 Pontiac GTO in the driveway when I was about 17. I wasn't legally able to drive that car on the road, which made me more nervous than necessary.

I really got much more practice in my parents' Pontiac Solstice a number of years later. My Dad really solved the issue of me having trouble learning by saying something that irritated me. As I was uh... enthusiastically refuting his statement, I was shifting no problem.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

Ferrari has been dual clutch for a while now and the final run manuals (particularly the F430 gated MT) are super rare and fetch “manual premium” prices aka they go for a lot more $ vs the paddle shifters.

I was fortunate to drive the F458 at the Disney speedway before they tore it down. It was a lot of fun but way too short.