Choosing to Drive a Stick Shift.

[Jim B.]

Why would anyone want to drive a stick shift in their car? I know my cousin has it, and it seems like alot of extra work. Plus whenever he presses the clutch, the car seems to slow down. Why would anyone choose to drive such a thing? Why not just stick with an automatic?

Thank you in advance to all who reply :)

[the PC apeman]

Why would anyone want to drive a stick shift in their car? I know my cousin has it, and it seems like alot of extra work. Plus whenever he presses the clutch, the car seems to slow down. Why would anyone choose to drive such a thing? Why not just stick with an automatic?

Thank you in advance to all who reply :)
Because it's much more fun - especially on twisty mountain roads. If you have to ask, you don't need one.

[GorillaMan]

I hate driving an automatic. I got it kinda by accident, so I'm not complaining about the choice of car. But I still hate it.

Note that I'm in the UK, where manuals are the norm, and everyone learns in one (take your test in an automatic, and your licence doesn't let you drive a manual).

What I feel I'm missing is the sense of being in direct control of the mechanics. I like to plan ahead for dropping down to third as I go round a tight corner on an open road. I like crawling on the clutch when parking. I don't like having the transmission make decisions on my behalf. At best, it's just boring.

And if he's losing speed with the clutch down, he's changing gears sloooooowly! (Slow enough to fail a test here, I suspect...)


(Disclaimer: When I'm eating lunch while driving through heavy traffic, none of the above applies ;) )

[Baldwin]

A stick shift has some advantages, although these are becoming less important as car technology improves. You can get better gas mileage than with an automatic -- though not very much compared to the newer, more efficient automatic transmissions. Also better performance -- but again, that gap is being closed by the newer transmissions.

I used to favor a stick because you had the option of pop-starting the car. However, I haven't had to do this since about 1988. If you're stalled on the railroad tracks and can't get the engine to start, you can put the car in first, let out the clutch while cranking it, and let the starter motor pull you off the tracks just before the train would have plowed into you. Not a very likely scenario, but it could happen.

Personally, I'm ready for an automatic. Being stuck in stop-and-go traffic with a stick shift is a pain.

[Absolute]

It's more fun. Some people enjoy driving as an end in itself, not just as a way to get from place to place, and enjoy the challenge of driving a stick shift.

Also, traditionally, stick shifts have been both faster and more fuel-efficient than conventional automatics, because automatics weigh more and do not involve a direct connection between the wheels and the engine.

Nowadays, automatic transmission technology has advanced to the point where that's no longer true. But manual transmissions are still more fun to drive.

[Duggy Fizzle]

For the sake of argument, I won't consider gas mileage.

I like driving stick because you can "feel" the road much better. I don't know if that makes any sense, but by being in direct control of the car's gears there is no lag between giving the engine gas and feeling that power transferred to the wheels.

Also, I live in a climate that gets snow in the winter, and I like being able to downshift if it gets slippery. Even just pressing the clutch allows the car to slowdown in snow without having to press the brakes; less chance of having them lock up.

Plus, its a lot of fun. After my lease expires on my pick'em up truck, I'm getting another stick. I miss it.

[Shayna]

If I were ever to move back to the midwest (or anywhere else that gets snow or ice on the roads), a manual transmission is the only kind of vehicle I would own. You have much more control in slowing/stopping/braking with a manual transmission than an automatic one.

Not to mention that they are way more fuel efficient! My 1986 Pontiac Sunbird got 30mpg city driving, and 38mpg freeway, and maintained that level of efficiency for 13 of its 15 year life, when city driving mileage fell to around 25mpg. And that's the best I've ever gotten under any circumstance on my automatic transmission '99 Nissan Sentra.

Besides, they're just much more fun to drive!

And if your cousin's car is slowing down when he shifts gears, he's not driving it correctly.

[Mrs Johnson]

It is much more fun - once you're used to it. I like having control over when I shift gears... especially when I had the Rx-7. (Damn I miss it).

The only time I think about having an auto is during 5 o'clock traffic on the street we call Hell.

[D_Odds]

Having driven an old work truck with a hard to operate manual shift through NYC rush hour traffic, I vowed never to get a stick shift. I spend too much time in traffic for it to be enjoyable. However, I'm not one who drives for enjoyment. I drive for utility - I find the constant attention needed on city streets and highways not to be relaxing.

[alice_in_wonderland]

You feel like you have much more control over the car - you really feel like you're driving, as opposed to an automatic where it kind of feels like you're steering, if ya know what I mean.

Also, on snow and ice a stick is WAY better, as others have said.

I would never buy an automatic.

[Duckster]

If you have to ask, you don't need one.
Shouldn't that be, "if you have to ask, you'll never understand."

All my vehicles (save one) are sticks. The one that isn't is driven by my wife.

One this is for sure -- if you drive a stick the chances of it getting stolen are way down because (WAG) too many just can't do it.

:D

[tomndebb]

This is a poll.

I am going to move it manually stick it in IMHO.

[ /Moderator Mode ]

(Current reluctant owner of a squishomatic Caravan since Dodge stopped building the manual models a few years ago.)

[Hilarity N. Suze]

I drive a stick because I am a control freak.

Plus, in addition to the aforementioned scenario on the railroad tracks, if you have an iffy battery all you have to do is park on a hill and no worries about getting the car started. Just let it roll, pop the clutch, and off you go.

[redtail23]

What they said. I refuse to drive an automatic, even though it's getting much more difficult to find sticks here.

[enipla]

Because it's much more fun - especially on twisty mountain roads. If you have to ask, you don't need one.Ehh. I'm kinda in the middle of the road on this. I drive twisty mountain roads every day. My last vehicle was a stick. It was fine. My new one is an auto. I like it too.

I guess when you drive twisty mountain roads as a routine, it becomes just that.

The one thing I thing I'm gonna hate is when it shifts on icy roads and I might not be prepared for it. Good way to slide out. Well see how it does, haven't had the new car through the winter yet, though my Wife now has an auto and her last car was a stick and she has no complaints.

Other wise, I'm quite impressed with how 'smart' the transmission is.

[iamthewalrus(:3=]

I used to have a stick shift on my Miata, because you can juice a bit more power out of a sports car with a manual transmission. I now have a stick shift on my Rav4 beause it's a pretty wussy engine to start with. Plus I tow a boat with it. It's mighty comforting to have first gear when I'm pulling the boat up the ramp.

The other reason I buy manual transmissions is that they're cheaper. They're cheaper to buy originally, cheaper to maintain, and cheaper to repair (and less likely to need it, too).

[Khadaji]

I can't explain it, I just enjoy it. I have always had one and I can't imagine driving a car without one.

[silenus]

I'd never have anything other than a stick in my trucks. A car I drive in traffic every day - automatic. Anything else - stick.

[SnakesCatLady]

Until 1993 I had never driven a stick shift - when we bought my first Wrangler, Mr. SCL had to test-drive it because I didn't know how! In 2001 when I got my second Wrangler, I fell in love with one painted a color called "Amber Flame" or something like that - a beautiful red-gold almost the color of my hair. I wanted that Jeep - until I noticed it was an automatic.

WTF? An automatic? In a Jeep?

It probably took a year before I was really comfortable driving a stick, but now I don't like to drive anything else. Mr. SCL got a Prius - it's a nice car and gets great milage but damn it's boring to drive.

[Hanna]

I'm cheap. When I was picking out options for my MINI, the automatic transmission was a $1300 option. Since i know how to drive a stick, saving the money was a no-brainer. I also chose to save the $1700 they wanted for the navigation system - for that kinda dough, I can read a map mysef.

I don't drive a stick because it is funner, or I need to be in control or to prove anything. if the automatic would have been the same price, I may have well chosen that insead.

[NoClueBoy]

I prefer an automatic on my work trucks. Pulling out of mud, uphill, with a heavy load, is a pain with a stick.

However, all of my cars have been (and are now) manuals. Honda Prelude, several Mustangs, classiv Camaro, Honda Accord, Subaru 4WD, etc... as a stick, all are just so much more "driveable" to me for a variety of reasons, some of those reasons are intangibles.

[PastAllReason]

You feel like you have much more control over the car - you really feel like you're driving, as opposed to an automatic where it kind of feels like you're steering, if ya know what I mean.

Also, on snow and ice a stick is WAY better, as others have said.

I would never buy an automatic.
All this is true, however, I now drive an automatic after years of standard driving. Why? It's more difficult to get a good remote starter on a manual, and boy do I love the remote starter in winter time. My car's warm by the time I get in it.

[TheLoadedDog]

Yeah. To me, I can't imagine paying a couple of thousand extra for something that is slower, less fuel efficient, more likely to be stolen, and less fun.

Automatic technology, as people have staded above, has advanced to the point of equalling or bettering manual transmissions in terms of performance and economy but only at the top of the market. It will be a while yet before your average Toyota will perform better as an auto. And one thing automatics can't do is anticipate. It's nice to enter a curve in the correct gear, rather than have the auto box suddenly change gear on you halfway through.

I also don't understand the "no good for city driving" or "it's too much work" arguments. I prefer a manual in stop-start traffic, and can usually tackle those low speeds just by using slight pressure changes on the clutch. It's no great mental effort. In any event, that type of driving is dull at the best of times, so I welcome something to do. You use three of your limbs to drive an automatic, and you don't consciously think about it as you do so. Introducing the left foot into the equation is no big deal, and anyway, when you're driving, you should be immersed in it. If a manual stops you getting on the phone or drinking coffee, that can only be a good thing.

[John DiFool]

I used to think exactly the same as the OP, back in my ignorant youth. "Why the hey would
someone go thru the hassle of driving manual?"

Well now I know. Last vacation was swooping around the curves of mountain roads in North
Carolina (yes incl. the Blueridge Parkway). When you absolutely nail a heel-and-toe downshift
there's no other feeling in the world. The amount of control I have over the car is as I currently
want it. And it also keeps your head in the car (situational awareness and all that).

[Ximenean]

I also don't understand the "no good for city driving" or "it's too much work" arguments. I prefer a manual in stop-start traffic, and can usually tackle those low speeds just by using slight pressure changes on the clutch.
And unless it's literally stop-start, you don't have to use the clutch at all. Leave a slightly bigger gap and you can crawl along in first without ever touching the clutch.

The things I really notice when I have to drive automatics are the unnerving lack of engine braking, and how underpowered they feel for their engine size. I don't advocate engine braking as a primary means of slowing down a car, but it's nice to have that subtle slowing effect available merely by lifting the right foot a bit. As for automatics' lack of power, I presume that is due to the power going through a slush box rather than a clutch. Maybe recent autos are better in this regard, I haven't driven one for a few years.

[Magiver]

And unless it's literally stop-start, you don't have to use the clutch at all. Leave a slightly bigger gap and you can crawl along in first without ever touching the clutch.

The things I really notice when I have to drive automatics are the unnerving lack of engine braking, and how underpowered they feel for their engine size. I don't advocate engine braking as a primary means of slowing down a car, but it's nice to have that subtle slowing effect available merely by lifting the right foot a bit. As for automatics' lack of power, I presume that is due to the power going through a slush box rather than a clutch. Maybe recent autos are better in this regard, I haven't driven one for a few years. My Saturn recognizes if I'm braking downhill and downshifts.

I drove sticks until automatics caught up in fuel mileage. At 55 mph my engine is turning at 2000 rpm. Having a torque converter makes 1st gear launches fun. I would much prefer an automatic for daily stop and go driving as well as extremely hilly terrain. I still have a stick shift sports car for the occasional romp although right now it's in pieces.

[Fugazi]

I also prefer to drive a manual. I like the extra control. I hate driving along at a steady speed and slight extra pressure on the gas for a hill or to speed up causes a downshift. Then when you really do need to step on it, it takes it a second or 2 to finally shift, and it usually goes down 1 gear too many.

I also hate cruise control in an automatic. God what a waste of time. A slight incline and your car drops 3 or 4 MPH before finally starting to pick up speed. Then you get to the top and it goes 5 MPH over your set speed before finally slowing down again. In my manual Mazda, cruise control is rock steady until you hit an incline large enough to require a downshift.

[Magiver]

I also prefer to drive a manual. I like the extra control. I hate driving along at a steady speed and slight extra pressure on the gas for a hill or to speed up causes a downshift. Then when you really do need to step on it, it takes it a second or 2 to finally shift, and it usually goes down 1 gear too many.

I also hate cruise control in an automatic. God what a waste of time. A slight incline and your car drops 3 or 4 MPH before finally starting to pick up speed. Then you get to the top and it goes 5 MPH over your set speed before finally slowing down again. In my manual Mazda, cruise control is rock steady until you hit an incline large enough to require a downshift. Modern automatics have locking torque converters and are computer controlled so none of these problems should exist. My car acts like a manual transmission on the highway.

[Ximenean]

My Saturn recognizes if I'm braking downhill and downshifts.
I don't mean downshifting, I mean allowing the engine to retard the car while staying in the same gear. You hardly get that in an automatic.

[Skald the Rhymer]

1. Frequently better mileage.

2. More of a sense of control. An ex-coworker of mine, who happens to be a really hot chick (not that that has anything to do with it, but I hadn't thought of her in many a moon and her legs are a pleasant image) told me this was her reason; she enjoyed driving a stick more because it was fun to be in that much control.)

3. On the rare occasion a vehicle comes with both options, the standard transmission is cheaper, everything else being equal.

4. Better chances of picking up hot chicks.

[Magiver]

I don't mean downshifting, I mean allowing the engine to retard the car while staying in the same gear. You hardly get that in an automatic. I got your meaning. My 2000 Saturn transmission was obviously programmed for economy so the torque converter stays locked until the engine is absolutely dragging. It also seems to recognize braking situations going down hill because it will downshift and then lock up.

[GorillaMan]

I also don't understand the "no good for city driving" or "it's too much work" arguments. I prefer a manual in stop-start traffic... Introducing the left foot into the equation is no big deal, and anyway, when you're driving, you should be immersed in it.
How long are you talking about being in stop-start traffic for? Ten minutes? Several hours? I can understand your point if it's just for a short commute, but my left calf is twinging just at the thought of riding the clutch all day long.

[Fugazi]

Modern automatics have locking torque converters and are computer controlled so none of these problems should exist. My car acts like a manual transmission on the highway.


How modern? The wife's car is an '03 Mazda Tribute with an automatic and it does all that stuff I mentioned. Maybe you need a bit higher end vehicle.

[Ender_Will]

As most everyone else has said, it's more fun. If your car is merely a way to get from Point A to Point B, then by all means, go auto. If you want to have any fun on the way, drive a stick. And as John DiFool pointed out, a perfectly executed downshift makes you feel like the greatest driver in the world; conversely, if you screw up a shift, you have nobody to blame but yourself.

To quote my father, "Real cars are manual."

[Ender_Will]

Meant to include this in my post....

The "manu-matic" transmissions that I've driven (Lexus IS250, Porsche Boxster S) are pretty decent compromises. They can shift faster than I can smoothly, do decent RPM matching on the downshifts, and can still be driven in fully automatic mode if you're in heavy traffic. Deffinitely not as much fun to tug on a level as it is to actually clutch and shift yourself.

[Cardinal]

It took me about 2 months to find a Matrix XR manaul in red.

I'M the driver baby, not some hydrolic slushbox.

To turn the question back, how can you sit there, hardly participating in the driving experience? Don't you just get bored? I almost asked if you were a woman, but I checked first.

[Mangetout]

What GorillaMan said. Besides, changing gears manually is not really any extra work at all - once you've been driving a while, you don't even know you're doing it.

[Mr2001]

Cheaper. More efficient. More engaging. Keeps other people from wanting to drive my car.

Plus, I learned to drive on a stick - it took a lot of work to get the hang of it, and the hell if I'm gonna let that go to waste.

[Nava]

I'm from Spain, so I learned to drive stick.

When I bought a car in the States I was pleasantly surprised to find that sticks were a lot cheaper. Yay!

[lawoot]

Learned to drive on an automatic.

1st two cars had automatics.

Bouight a Nissan pickup in 1984, with a stick. Had to figure it out myself to get it home. Never looked back, and don't want to go back to automatic (in fact, it feels WEIRD when I'm forced to drive one [ie rentals, or company vans]). Have to agree with pretty much all of the pro stick answers already posted.

[FRDE]

I just feel uncomfortable with an automatic

I drive 'heavy on the gearbox'

[TheLoadedDog]

How long are you talking about being in stop-start traffic for? Ten minutes? Several hours? I can understand your point if it's just for a short commute, but my left calf is twinging just at the thought of riding the clutch all day long.
Well, really any length I guess...

I would - and this is purely a personal preference - rather use a clutch than a brake/accelerator combination.

Stop/start traffic is always going to be awful. It comes down to a situation at low speeds using the clutch (in a manual) or the brake (in an auto) as a kind of de facto inverse accelerator. The difference is that you'll be hefting the right leg back and forth in the auto, and in the manual it'll just be a slight twitch if the left foot.

So for me, I'd rather a manual regardless of the time spent in slow traffic.

[danceswithcats]

There's nothing to "master" with an automatic.

After the 3 or 4 speed manual in your car, there are 4 and 5 speed non-synchro manuals, where you must learn to feel or hear your shift speeds. Beyond those are 5 speed hi-low and 10,12,13,15 speed transmissions. Operate them all smoothly, and you have reached a point of knowledge and skill.

[Mr2001]

After the 3 or 4 speed manual in your car, there are 4 and 5 speed non-synchro manuals, where you must learn to feel or hear your shift speeds.
The last car I saw with a 4-speed was made in 1982... these days they're all 5 or 6.

[mnemosyne]

I drive an automatic, because thats the car my dad found for me when we needed a "kid's car" - which I promtly took possession of for myself! I did originally learn to drive using manual transmission (well, I learned both at the same time) but it's been so long now that I don't think I could do it without a lot of practise.

Despite that, my next car will have a manual transmission! I remember how much I loved driving my dad's car, and even now when I'm out there enjoying the road (as enjoyable as it can be in a 1996 automatic Toyota Tercel) I tend to put my hand on the gear stick and wish there was something I could do to make it even more fun.

[Mangetout]

Since manual transmissions are pretty much the default here - and as others have mentioned, if you pass your test in an automatic, you have to retake it to drive a manual - but automatics are a bit like mixer taps(faucets) - a level of convenience that many natives just consider unnecessary, if they even think about it at all.

[Lobelia Overhill]

Note that I'm in the UK, where manuals are the norm, and everyone learns in one (take your test in an automatic, and your licence doesn't let you drive a manual).


Same here in Ireland, I sat my test in my [disabled] Da's automatic (because I had to get my licence ASAP and my hand/foot coordination isn't much cop) - I'd never go back to driving a manual.

[Trunk]

If you have to ask, you don't need one.That's all that had to be said.

I never really loved a car until I got my first stick.

[asterion]

Even these days, a few cars are made with stick only. As I've said before, I'd love to have a Subaru Impreza WRX Sport Wagon. It costs another $1000 for the automatic. If I really had money to burn and could buy a WRX STi, the only choice is the stick, as they don't make an automatic even available. And if you're going to drop $35,000 on a car like that, where the whole idea is that it's fun to drive, of course you're going to want the stick. I'm sure lots of other sports cars are still sold manual-only.

[Mama Zappa]

Cheaper in general (cheaper to purchase the car, slightly better gas mileage) - the only car we've ever bought that has automatic transmission is our current minivan.

If you can drive manual, you can drive any car. If you can't drive manual, you're limiting your choices. Not a huge issue in the US (unless you want some performance car that only comes in manual - I'm guessing Ferraris etc. are usually manual) but if you travel to other countries where manual is standard...

Though I'm with the crowd that manual transmission is *awful* in stop-and-go traffic. Before we had the minivan, I drove a Saturn. In morning rush hour. In the DC metropolitan area. For 45 minutes.

Aside from the commuting hell, I'd definitely choose manual.

[yellowval]

Top five reasons why I drive a manual:
5. It keeps other people from trying/asking to drive my car.
4. Guys dig chicks who know how to properly handle a stick.
3. Hi Opal!
2. It's fun.
1. It makes me cooler than everyone else. :p

[Colophon]

I've only ever driven an automatic once (and it would have to be on one of the best roads in the world, the Pacific Coast Highway). There's a lot to dislike about automatics.

First, and most important - they move on their own! Nobody told me this. First time I get in the car in a parking garage, it starts driving off towards the wall without me touching the accelerator. Sorry, but if I want the car to move, I'll damn well press the loud pedal myself thankyouverymuch. I don't want to have to sit with my foot on the brake just to keep from ploughing into solid objects.

Second, overtaking. This apparently requires you to give the transmission a couple of hours' notice of your intentions, so that it stands some chance of shifting down a gear in time. Otherwise, you'll pull out, floor the gas, wait for an age before an appropriate gear is selected, by which time a large oncoming truck will have hoved into view and you have to abort.

Third, aesthetics. Would you rather have your car driven by crisp interconnecting cogs, or by half an electric fan immersed in a vat of Jell-o? Exactly.

[Magiver]

How modern? The wife's car is an '03 Mazda Tribute with an automatic and it does all that stuff I mentioned. Maybe you need a bit higher end vehicle. Actually, just the oposite. I'm driving the bottom of the Saturn barrel. The modern automatic is computer controlled so it's all in how it's programmed. Mine is obviously set up to work with the engine for fuel economy. It shifts super smooth and seems dedicated to maintaining high gear with the torque converter locked.

The Mazda line is billed as aggressive and zippy so your tranny is probably programed for zoom-zoom-zoom. They should include dual programming with a button for a choice of driving style. I certainly hated my 86 Honda Accord. It would slip out of lock-up mode whenever you took your foot off the gas (to coast). It was REALLY annoying when you touched the gas because it would then clunk into lock-up mode. Coasting is fine if the transmission works with the engine to mesh speeds.

I think the biggest advantage to a manual is the cost. It gets really expensive to overhaul an automatic. You use to be able to pull it yourself and get it overhauled for $100 and the removal/installation was $200-$300. That was before computers and lock-up converters and front-wheel drive.

[Kalhoun]

Stick rocks. Except on hills. I was actually paralyzed by fear on a hill once. Luckily Mr. K was behind me in another vehicle. I got out of my truck right there and switched vehicles with him. I could. not. move.

[Shayna]

Stick rocks. Except on hills. I was actually paralyzed by fear on a hill once. Luckily Mr. K was behind me in another vehicle. I got out of my truck right there and switched vehicles with him. I could. not. move. I was terrified of hills when I first got my stick. One time, within the first week of owning it, I was coming out of a parking garage where the exit was up a fairly steep ramp and the ticket booth was approximately in the middle of it. When I stopped to pay the cashier, another car pulled up right behind me. I was simply too scared to take my foot off the brake and the clutch, so I had to have the cashier go ask the car behind me if they'd mind backing up (way up!) so I could roll back down the hill and get a running start at it. I felt like such a dork!

:smack:

[gfloyd]

I love my stick shift. It was ever so cheap, it's fun to drive and gets great gas mileage. And I drive 20+ miles in stop and go traffic each way most days. It takes a little practice, but you learn to spend a lot of time in neutral. What I was most afraid of was driving in San Fransisco in traffic, but I went up and down those hills without any problems.

My best friend was annoyed when I bought a stick. She said they were always jerky. I told her that she had only ridden with people that didn't know what they were doing, then. She gave me that look of 'I'm not having the disagreement, but I'm right." When she visited me in California, I picked her up from the airport. Within ten minutes, she proclaimed that I must be some sort of stick shift genius, as she couldn't tell by feel that it wasn't an automatic.

And I have never driven an automatic that could match downshifting on steep down hills to reduce speed. An automatic has 3 gears, maybe 3 plus an over drive, which is nominally 4. Mine's a 5 speed. Shifting for 5 to 4 pulls the speed down considerably.

As for having to learn new stickshift, I don't see that as a problem. My brother hopped in my car to drive it back from the dealer (I didn't really know how to drive a stick at that point) and never stalled it once on the hour drive home. My father spent more time figuring out the lights than the tranny. The only thing that has ever caused anyone to have problems is the fact my car has no tac. They seem to be incredulous that I can drive without one. It really isn't that hard, folks, you can feel the engine and what it wants.

[Mama Zappa]

I was terrified of hills when I first got my stick. One time, within the first week of owning it, I was coming out of a parking garage where the exit was up a fairly steep ramp and the ticket booth was approximately in the middle of it. When I stopped to pay the cashier, another car pulled up right behind me. I was simply too scared to take my foot off the brake and the clutch, so I had to have the cashier go ask the car behind me if they'd mind backing up (way up!) so I could roll back down the hill and get a running start at it. I felt like such a dork!

:smack:

For future reference, the parking brake is useful in this situation. You have one hand on the wheel, one hand on the parking brake lever (which you've set to on). The parking brake keeps the car from drifting back when you move your foot from the brake to the gas. You start revving the engine while the clutch is pressed, and you start to let out the clutch. Just as the clutch starts to catch, you release the parking brake with practically zero backdrift.

I figured this little technique out when I was routinely commuting up one road that had a traffic light at the top of a steep hill :eek:

Another downside of stick shift: cell phone usage. Yeah, I know, you shouldn't use cell phones while driving, or at the least hands-free. But if you forget about that and attempt to answer the phone.... lessee: one hand for the steering wheel, one for the shifter, one for the phone.... unless you're a mutant, this will not work :smack: You ***need*** a headset or other hands-free tool if you own a cell phone and a manual transmission car.

[gonzomax]

Replacing clutches and throwout bearings . I dont miss it. Driving in a hilly town ,nofun.
It is true that after you drive a stick for a while it becomes automatic. Ya ha ha ha ha
I went the other way, from stick to auto and do not wish to go back.

[BiblioCat]

As everyone else has said, it's more fun, and you have more control.
I learned to drive on a manual, and drove only manuals till we bought a new car when my son was born 10 years ago. That was my first automatic, and when we bought a new car a year ago, it was also an automatic. I felt really lazy at first - I kept reaching for the gearshift and my foot would automatically go for the clutch. It was a hard habit to break.

Whenever I've driven someone else's car in the time since then, I get in and think, "Hey, a stick!" It all comes back in an instant. It's fun to drive and shift.

[Jimson_Jim]

Both of our cars are manuals. Both my wife and I prefer manuals for mileage, control and maintenence costs. There are far fewer things to go wrong with a manual transmission. And personally I don't understand anyone who buy's a 4x4 with the intent to use it off road or in rough weather (lets say winters in Madison WI) and doesn't get a manual transmission.

The only time I had trouble driving a manual was one of the first times drove a Duce-and-half. I momentarily forgot that reverse on the old Duces and 5 Tons is where first normally is. :eek: Nothing like letting the clutch out and nearly bouncing your teeth off that big steering wheel. I'm certain this is a near universal experience. It only happens once though.

[Misnomer]

Keeps other people from wanting to drive my car.5. It keeps other people from trying/asking to drive my car.Exactly. :)

4. Guys dig chicks who know how to properly handle a stick.I made up a bumper-sticker-type-sign for the back window of my old car that said, "Real women know how to handle a stick." It got a lot of admiring comments. :D

[Sunspace]

Exactly. :)

I made up a bumper-sticker-type-sign for the back window of my old car that said, "Real women know how to handle a stick." It got a lot of admiring comments. :D
:: nods ::

Real women also aren't afraid of or know how to handle electronics, art supplies, paintbrushes, power tools, mathematics, science, programming, and/or martial arts. Culturally-imposed powerlessness is for insects. :)

[asterion]

Another downside of stick shift: cell phone usage. Yeah, I know, you shouldn't use cell phones while driving, or at the least hands-free. But if you forget about that and attempt to answer the phone.... lessee: one hand for the steering wheel, one for the shifter, one for the phone.... unless you're a mutant, this will not work :smack: You ***need*** a headset or other hands-free tool if you own a cell phone and a manual transmission car.I find driving a stick is a wonderful excuse not to answer my cell phone. Actually, I have lots of reasons I never answer my cell phone, but driving a stick in traffic is definitely one of them.

[Colophon]

I love the way you folks talk about "driving a stick".

It's a car!

This (http://n0nick.net/img/actionfigures/samantha.png) is what pops into my head when I see "driving a stick".

[yellowval]

This (http://n0nick.net/img/actionfigures/samantha.png) is what pops into my head when I see "driving a stick".

You mean that's not what we're talking about? I'm so embarrassed.

[GorillaMan]

Stick rocks. Except on hills.
Driving in a hilly town ,nofun.

These sentiments are ones I can't understand. Anywhere hilly is where I most notice the lack of control a manual gives you, both in preparation for acceleration into a hill, and low-gear engine braking on descents.

[Misnomer]

It's a car!You obviously don't drive a stick. ;)

This (http://n0nick.net/img/actionfigures/samantha.png) is what pops into my head when I see "driving a stick".That's riding a stick ... completely different. :)

[Shayna]

For future reference, the parking brake is useful in this situation. You have one hand on the wheel, one hand on the parking brake lever (which you've set to on). The parking brake keeps the car from drifting back when you move your foot from the brake to the gas. You start revving the engine while the clutch is pressed, and you start to let out the clutch. Just as the clutch starts to catch, you release the parking brake with practically zero backdrift. Yeah, I kinda figured that out sometime after my first week and before my 15th year of driving it. ;) Actually, I got good enough and comfortable enough with the clutch and the gas that I didn't even have to use the hand brake. Never once rolled back into anyone or anything. I was just grateful that the nice person behind me that day was patient with the newbie. He was pretty :cool: about it.

[Kalhoun]

These sentiments are ones I can't understand. Anywhere hilly is where I most notice the lack of control a manual gives you, both in preparation for acceleration into a hill, and low-gear engine braking on descents.
Moving up or down a hill is good. Stopped at the top or middle of a steep hill waiting for the light to change is sheer terror. For me, anyway.

I've driven a stick most of my driving life. It's only the really steep ones that get me.

[GorillaMan]

Ah, Shayna's post has made me realise why you lot don't like hills. Bloody hell, hill starts aren't that difficult. I think I'm right in saying that not being able to do one will fail you in a British test, including when performing a three-point turn on a cambered road.

[enipla]

Both of our cars are manuals. Both my wife and I prefer manuals for mileage, control and maintenence costs. There are far fewer things to go wrong with a manual transmission. And personally I don't understand anyone who buy's a 4x4 with the intent to use it off road or in rough weather (lets say winters in Madison WI) and doesn't get a manual transmission.My understanding is that for personal plow trucks, an automatic is recommended. Back and forth constantly pushing snow on a steep drive burns out clutches fast.

My plow truck is an automatic, and I have had to rebuild the tranny once. It's a '76. 30 years old. It really gets abused where I live. Long winters, chained up on all four wheels. Before it was my plow truck I took it jeeping/off road lots. It did fine.

I've also had manual 4x4's that have had a lot of off road abuse. They did fine too.

Learned to drive on a '3 on the tree'. First car was an auto, then another (my current plow truck from high school), then 4 manuals and now an automatic.

I will say that if you have bad feet and ankles like I do (sprains, planters fasciitis, and an occasional flare up of gout), an automatic is nice.

I guess I'm in the camp that does not really care. Didn't have a choice with my new Pathfinder. It's an auto. Probably would have gone that way anyway.

[brendon_small]

I have always driven a manual, and when I got with my girlfriend, she had a 95 camaro that was an automatic. I refused to drive it at first, but finally, when I did, I felt like I was doing nothing. I also felt like the car shifted funny because that's not the way I shift...

I know it's only because of what I was used to, but I love my standard and will (hopefully) never own anything else..

plus it really is more fun!

Brendon

[Finagle]

Manuals are considerably cheaper to fix. When an automatic transmission goes south, it's really expensive to repair.

[Throatwarbler Mangrove]

Gallantly assisting hapless damsels like kalhoun and Shanya when they are outperformed by their cars - The only reason why I know how to drive stick. :p

Once when stuck on a hill in line entering a parking lot, I somehow managed to put my car into neutral with my foot on the brake, and forget about it when the line finally started moving. The girl behind me was scared out of her wits when she saw the car in front suddenly start rolling towards her, engine revving like crazy. and only screech to a stop 3 inches away from her bumber.


I got her good, I did! :D

[Cat Whisperer]

Add me to the pile of people who choose to drive with a manual transmission over an automatic every time (and my husband, too). The car shifts when *I* want it too - if I was a brand-new driver, this might not make a difference, but I know exactly what I want my car to be doing. I want to undershift sometimes, and I want to overshift sometimes, and sometimes I rev it really high in winter to warm the engine up faster :D. And when you drive a Toyota Corolla, every extra little bit of jump you can get out of it is good.

Driving without a tach makes no difference to me. I learned to drive manual without one, and I almost never look at mine now. Like gfloyd said, you know what the engine wants.

[longhair75]

my jeep wrangler would not be nearly as fun to drive with an automatic

[Sunspace]

So... I do not know how to drive a manual. Anyone want to show me? Are there driving schools that will teach this specifically?

(Last time I raised this with my friend, he lent me his car. After seeing what I was like trying to drive it, for some reason he never wanted to lend me it again. That was 15 years ago.)

[Unintentionally Blank]

I drive both. In stop n go traffic even. If ya get's yer ass up off the couch and take the stairs, your clutch leg will thank you. ;)

I've also found (by watching truckers) that if you give a lot of leeway to the folks ahead of you, you could put the car in 2nd and just wander around without shift a whole lot. (Try it sometime, I can let the car get down to 800 rpm or so and with _light_ throttle, pick the speed back up without causing the motor to strain.)

First gear is good for about 6 mph at idle, and 2nd is good for 10-12 mph. It's _rare_ that you can't use those two in stop n go traffic.

Now, If you drive Lombard Street, all bets are off! (http://home.iprimus.com.au/rspenz/Lombard%20Street%20The%20windiest%20in%20the%20World%203.JPG)

[Mr2001]

First gear is good for about 6 mph at idle, and 2nd is good for 10-12 mph. It's _rare_ that you can't use those two in stop n go traffic.
On a side note, some parking lots and private roads have a posted speed limit of 5 MPH. If you actually observe those, an automatic transmission might be better so you can ride the brakes instead of the expensive clutch.

[Unintentionally Blank]

On a side note, some parking lots and private roads have a posted speed limit of 5 MPH. If you actually observe those, an automatic transmission might be better so you can ride the brakes instead of the expensive clutch.

Nah, then you just goose the clutch to get the car rolling, then drop it into neutral and coast. I spend an unusually high amount of time in neutral.

Besides, the clutch is a wearable item, it's kind of the cost of driving a car. Like Tires or car insurance. If you pull out the value card, why aren't you driving a vespa? Face it, there's _nothing_ high value in any car, just varying degrees of financial waste.

[OttoDaFe]

Most of the vehicles I've owned have been standard transmissions, and I can attest to most of the rationales already mentioned. But there's one more.

Just before I went shopping for my latest car, I happened to notice the extent of grey in my hair (what there is of it), and I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the motivations for seeking out a stick was a futile attempt to keep the snake (http://www.fictionbook.ru/author/barry_dave/dave_barry_s_greatest_hits/barry_dave_barry_s_greatest_hits.html#TOC_id2444219) at bay.

[Mr. Rosewater]

Moving up or down a hill is good. Stopped at the top or middle of a steep hill waiting for the light to change is sheer terror. For me, anyway.

I've driven a stick most of my driving life. It's only the really steep ones that get me.
Where does one find a steep hill in Chicago? It's the midwest, it's flat here. I've driven a stick here almost my whole driving life and I've not seen a hill I needed to use the parking brake on.

[grey_ideas]

Remembering back to when I was taking my driving lessons in the UK. I wasn't too good at hill starts to start with and got my driving instructor to take me out to a steep road at the local Army base. I had to sit there with the hand brake on, find the biting point, release the hand brake and hold the car dead on the hill. Then he had me move up the hill two metres and stop and roll back down the hill for two metres and stop, all on the clutch. A little nerve wracking at the time since I didn't really like doing hill starts but it really got my confidence up, a great way to practice if you can find a private hilly road.

grey_ideas

[Kalhoun]

Where does one find a steep hill in Chicago? It's the midwest, it's flat here. I've driven a stick here almost my whole driving life and I've not seen a hill I needed to use the parking brake on.
I live near the Fox River. Lots of hills coming off the bridges. The one that freaked me out was in Carpentersville/Dundee. The stop light is right at the top of a really steep one.

[Kalhoun]

And I lived in the mountains for a while, too. Switchbacks can be nervewracking as well, though not nearly as bad as river hills.

[Unintentionally Blank]

Moving up or down a hill is good. Stopped at the top or middle of a steep hill waiting for the light to change is sheer terror. For me, anyway.

I've driven a stick most of my driving life. It's only the really steep ones that get me.

Use your parking brake. Set brake, let clutch out while reving gas, release brake, drive on.

Upon preview, I see Grey_Ideas has it...although I'm sure that was an expensive lesson, based on clutch life.

[fessie]

Shoot, there was a time when I could drive my (stick, of course) Honda CRX on Cincinnati's hilly, windy roads - while taking the pickles off my White Castles & putting ketchup on.

Ah, wild youth.

[control-z]

To sum it up a manual transmission:

-Usually gets better gas mileage
-Is more reliable (fewer moving parts)
-Lets you select the gear you drive in for maximum power or effeciency, whichever you choose. Automatic transmissions don't know there's a hill coming up, or a curve.
-Cheaper

[GusNSpot]

I'm a one handed driver so I like the big floor shifts as a place to rest my right hand. ( :: When the wife is not in the vechicle with me. :: )

[Cat Whisperer]

So... I do not know how to drive a manual. Anyone want to show me? Are there driving schools that will teach this specifically?<snip>
I believe they will. Just call some local ones (or the CAA) and ask them. Or you could go with the time-honoured tradition - buy a stick, and *force* yourself to learn. :D

Definitely do it. I'm very glad that I learned. Not knowing how to drive a manual transmission car always seems a little ... short-sighted to me.

[fessie]

I learned in an hour flat -- but that was b/c my boyfriends had all driven stick-shifts, so I was accustomed to listening to the engine rev & then shifting. Listening is key. Some cars are easier to learn on than others, too, depending on how "tight" the clutch is.