I want to get a Jeep what has manual transmission. Right now I have a Ford Ranger, and it is very cool, but it is only automatic, so a loss of man points. I don’t even know how to drive manual (don’t tell anyone). Is it hard to learn? I think I will look very cool driving my jeep around with the top down. And also I will paint it to look like the jeeps in Jurassic Park.
good idea?
yes/no/maybe
You’re trying to impress girls with your car?
Are they 16?
I used to love Jeeps. I even bought one for my first husband. They can be a lot of fun, and I think you will like knowing how to drive a stick. It’s not too hard to learn how.
Whether or not you will impress girls, I dunno. I don’t have much expertise with that.
I have never cared about a guy’s car beyond “Does he have one.”
Yeah, a nice car is a cool thing. But it’s not enough to make me date a guy who I’m not otherwise into, and a beat up hoopdy is not enough to make me drop a guy who I am into.
It’s called “not being shallow”.
Impress more girls? Good idea? Oh God yes! Give 'em a ride and have the gal grab your shifter and give it a pull!
If you have a hard time attracting women now, a different vehicle isn’t going to help much. ESPECIALLY if you paint it to look like a movie prop.
I take that back. Based on what I saw in way too many women-seeking-men online dating profiles, there is one vehicle that might be considered a chick magnet. A Harley.
Take it as you will, but every single girl that dated me, including the one who eventually married me, met me while I was driving a Toyota Corolla.
Rangers are pretty fucking cool, but you need the manual transmission. If you don’t need the Jeep for offroading (and you don’t, otherwise you wouldn’t be asking this question) then the Ranger is perfect for you.
If you still want to impress the chicks, then take a chisel and take off the ‘R’ of the Ranger - then you’ll be driving a Ford Anger, and what could be cooler than that? A fucking Anger! Instant Bad Boy!
Been there, done that, 87 Wrangler.
A jeep will break the ice with some girls, just like lots of others will. Check the demographics and if Jeep girls are your thing, then go for it. Be aware that a Jeep girl might not stick around if you just HAVE a Jeep but are not a Jeep guy. that doesn’t mean you have do drive it straight up mountains, but it will help if it is used to do something rugged.
no I don’t need to off-road but I want the option there in case I need to drive through the woods to get around a bad traffic jam
This thread is a joke, right?
i mean, i made it in a very jocular manner, but I am really considering getting a Jeep.
Sorry, I think much less of a man who can’t hang with me in driving stick. I rock the stick driving, man! And Jeeps are kind of wimpy.
ETA: Forgot to add, learning to drive stick is not particularly hard. Just remember that clutch and gas are opposites, and release your parking brake.
Get a Jeep if you want a Jeep.
I personally prefer manual because I can’t drive a stick and I could never borrow you car if it was a stick.
What if you’re really, really lazy?
“Does he have one” is already too shallow in my book.
A manual is a stick.
Get a Jeep if you want one, but it has a lot of drawbacks. Mine is a soft top with no A/C, so it gets treated as a motorcycle most of the time. I just leave it in the shop with no top or doors and drive it when it’s nice out or I want to go down a trail. It’s not fun above 40 miles an hour and it’s hot, so it’s not a practical daily driver.
When I was a teenager, girls loved it. They would jump in and ask for a ride. When we started moving, they would realize that wind messed up their hair and demand we go back. They liked my Mustang GT too when I was an older teenager and it didn’t mess up their hair.
Don’t get a vehicle to attract other people, get it for how you plan to use it. If you’re going to take the top and doors off and run over stuff, a Jeep is great. If you’re going to commute for 2 hours a day, it not so great. Once I got a fast motorcycle, I no longer needed the Mustangs and now I daily drive a… Ranger 4x4. The Jeep and motorcycle are still in my shop though for when I want to use them.
ETA: I’ve never owned and automatic and don’t plan to.
Whoosh.
On thing to remember about a Jeep is that you can never keep anything in it. You will probably be replacing your stereo pretty often, even if you do take anti-theft measures. My uncle had a Jeep, and eventually he took to just leaving it unlocked because he got tired of thieves slashing the cover.
I’m missing the joke, too.
Anyhow, learning to drive manual isn’t that hard. It’ll take a couple minutes to get the basics, then a few hours of road time to get used to it, then several days to weeks to feel comfortable and completely confident. (To wit: my SO had to drive my manual transmission car home once when I had gotten drunk. She had never driven a stick before and managed to get me home fine, only stalling the car three times. Of course, I did talk her through it.) Getting in and out of first is the trickiest part when you’re learning. And hill starts might take a few tries to get the hang of, too. But it’s a great skill to learn and may prove quite useful one day.
In an off-road vehicle, though, there are a lot of advantages to automatic gearboxes if you will actually be doing hard-core off-roading. I know off-road enthusiasts who swear by automatics for the real slow crawling-through-boulder-strewn-canyons/riverbeds/etc type of off-roading.