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]

Originally Posted by 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

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]

Originally Posted by ThePCapeman

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.

[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]

Originally Posted by ThePCapeman

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by TheLoadedDog

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]

Originally Posted by Usram

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by Magiver

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]

Originally Posted by Usram

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]

Originally Posted by TheLoadedDog

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]

Originally Posted by Magiver

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]

Originally Posted by GorillaMan

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]

Originally Posted by danceswithcats

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]

Originally Posted by GorillaMan

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]

Originally Posted by ThePCapeman

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.