# How good are you driving stick? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 2, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720 "2017-05-02T15:26:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/61 "2017-05-03T01:42:08Z")
> [@Tranquilis](#): > > I learned to drive on an Autmatic transmission, but I far prefer (and currently drive) a Standard transmission. **Intaglio** can drive a Standard, but far prefers the Automatic. Me too. I learned to drive at 17 on an automatic (72 Chevelle), but when I was 21, a friend taught me to drive stick, and the next car I owned after that was stick. I exclusively owned stick, and drove automatic only when I rented a car until last year, when I traded in my 1994 Integra for a brand new car with 26 miles on it (Chevy Spark). When I was looking for a car, I looked for a manual, but couldn’t find one. The only ones were some used cars I didn’t want, and things like Corvettes. I love my Spark, except for it not being a manual. As my husband says, driving an automatic “isn’t driving, it’s steering.” ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/62 "2017-05-03T01:57:47Z")
Doesn’t mean bigger blocks and more finely tuned engines with automatics are slower. Just less fun. Throw money at a really good mechanic & he can do Wonders. (Its like Cheating at a video game) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/63 "2017-05-03T02:00:03Z")
Yes, to the extent that I am pretty religious about rev matching on the downshifts, including using the heel and toe technique. Can pretty much nail the revs now thanks to years of repetition. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/64 "2017-05-03T02:01:02Z")
All of my vehicles are automatics. All of my vehicles are for work, so aren’t particularly fun to drive. I like manuals and am very competent at using them, if I find myself with extra money to blow on a sports car I’d probably opt for a manual. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/65 "2017-05-03T02:43:27Z")
Professional level with the trophies to prove it. And no, that isn’t just a jest. Of all the vehicles I’ve owned only one has had an automatic tranny; and that only because I couldn’t find the right classic/antique manual to swap out and convert it. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/66 "2017-05-03T02:44:12Z")
Out of 20 cars since '78, 11 have had manuals (including my current 3 vehicles) and 9 automatics. My main ride now is a loaded '13 Hyundai Elantra GT. The only option I didn’t get was the automatic. I am starting to get a hankering for a new land yacht, however. I drove a Grand Marquis for a few years, and it was sweet in the mountains and in interstate slowdowns. Stop & Go sucks with a clutch. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/67 "2017-05-03T03:05:19Z")
Learned on three on the tree trucks. First car was an automatic, then had a couple of sticks. Now own two automatics. Don’t really care, but probably prefer automatics. I have a tendency to sprain my ankles. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/68 "2017-05-03T05:00:21Z")
I prefer manuals in general but I don’t hate automatics. I’m not fond of _stock_ automatics for the most part, I prefer a crisper shift. And I don’t like the behavior of automatics when coupled with underpowered engines (particularly the way they shift to a lower gear and ROARRR when all you’re trying to do is climb the damn hill without losing speed). I was on good terms with my old GM turbo-hydramatic in my '65 Pontiac. Automatics are far more pleasant than manuals when you’re embedded in a traffic jam and have to inch and lurch and stop every 14 feet for a couple hours. Clutches don’t like that environment. All things being equal, though, manuals are just more fun and I like directly controlling what gear my car is in and when it shall be shifted. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/69 "2017-05-03T05:01:37Z")
I never learned, the theory doesn’t appeal to me at all, and I have no idea where I’d find a car to practice on anyways. > [@PastTense](#): > > This results are really surprising to me. I expected a much higher results for no idea how to do it and could do it if forced. This board is not exactly a random sample of the population, and beyond that, this is one of those topics where only one side gets a lot of gratification from their choice. Threads about computer operating systems will be dominated by Mac users in the same way. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/70 "2017-05-03T06:57:20Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > :dubious: Did you mean “Automatics might as well be driverless?” :smack: Don’t post at midnight. Yup, I did. ---
**Author:** ![Enuma\_Elish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5e9695/32.png) [@Enuma\_Elish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enuma_Elish)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/71 "2017-05-03T08:54:04Z")
I prefer a stick. I’m a bit of an airhead. Driving a stick forces me to focus. I have more awareness of my acceleration, , front and rear traffic, braking speed, and my surroundings when I drive stick. My mind tends to wander when driving an automatic. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/72 "2017-05-03T12:40:23Z")
I learned to drive on a manual-transmission 1972 Volvo, which also had no air conditioning (and I was in Florida), itchy olive-green wool seats, and a hand-crank sunroof. I think it’s a cool car still. My vehicle in college was a mid-1980s Mustang, which was a four on the floor. I said that I’m competent, but in truth I’d prefer a manual transmission vehicle. However, I have a bum left knee that would occasionally \*really \*disapprove. I may get one anyway as my second vehicle once the SUV is paid off. I want another Mustang. Why yes, I’m trying to relive a tiny bit of my youth. 🆒 ETA: My most recent “kids today!” moment was finding out that no one under age 35 at my office could drive a standard shift…except the ones from overseas, who all learned on a manual. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/73 "2017-05-03T12:43:33Z")
I’ve driven manual all my 25 years’ driving, and indeed you won’t get a full driving licence in the UK if you don’t test in one (you can take an ‘automatic only’ test). However, your poll didn’t give me the option I prefer - I can drive a manual without thinking, but have grown to prefer automatics, if only because I sit in slow driving traffic twice a day and sit there - with throbbing clutch knee - feeling very envious of my wife’s lovely Lexus automatic. I don’t love ALL automatics - drove a horrible Citroen as a hire car in France last year which I was thrilled to give back, as it had such a lag between ‘automatic’ gear changes. But the Lexus is a dream to drive. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/74 "2017-05-03T12:45:47Z")
Both of my cars have been manuals, but I wouldn’t say I “prefer” it anymore. They’re fun at times, but they make day to day commuting a bit more annoying than it would otherwise be – especially when in stop and go traffic. My next car will likely be an automatic. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/75 "2017-05-03T12:46:33Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > In 40 years of a stick daily driver, usually used car with high mileage from the start, I never wore out a clutch once. I learned to drive stick on a 15-year-old Volvo that had been all over Europe, Seattle, Phoenix, Texas, DC, and then Florida. And never wore out a clutch…though my stepmum was sure that I’d do so. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/76 "2017-05-03T14:15:10Z")
Learned to drive a manual in Air Cadets on some soon to be retired military Jeeps. No syncro on first. It was a blast! I’ve alternated each of my vehicles with auto and manual and the next one will be a manual. The only reason my current ride isn’t a Legacy GT with a 5 speed was because my wife was also driving (and co-paying) it at the time and refused to drive a “stupid stickshift” (even thought she knows how, she doesn’t like them). WRX or Focus RS with a 6 speed manual? Yes please! ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/77 "2017-05-03T14:35:27Z")
I learned to drive and took my driving test in a 64 Belair with a column stick shift. That was in 1970. Most of the vehicles I drove up until 2006 had stick shifts. When I have had occasion to drive a stick since 2006, things went pretty smoothly right away, so I think I’m still competent. I prefer automatics. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/78 "2017-05-03T14:48:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > None of the answer choices really fits me. I _know_ how to drive a stick; I’m just completely incompetent at the execution. > > Or at least, I was as a teenager, when I was first trying to learn to drive. It might be that nowadays, with decades of experience at shifting on a bike, and not being an awkward teenager in general, that I’d be able to pick it up. But stick-shift cars are so rare any more anyway that there’s not really much point in trying. Me too. After many lessons, I can make the car go forward. No one wants me to do this outside an emergency situation because I’m not able to do this will any degree of skill whatsoever. I have trouble with making right turns or getting above 3rd gear. And I think people who \*\*prefer \*\*to have to do so much to make a car function are insane. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/79 "2017-05-03T15:23:30Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > So fewer and fewer cars are being made with manual transmissions. How well are you at driving stick? Do you currently drive a car with it? Would you prefer a car with it? I’ve driven manuals almost exclusively the last 20 years, but I don’t have a real preference - it just works out that way. For example, my current vehicle is a “fleet-spec” Dodge Dakota pickup truck, and those have almost no options - manual windows, manual transmission, cassette player - not even cupholders. Where I do have a preference is motorcycles- manuals only. The automatic bikes I’ve ridden are horribly slow, but I’ll concede I haven’t tried the new DCT versions or an electric. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720/80 "2017-05-03T16:20:01Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > I’ve driven manuals almost exclusively the last 20 years, but I don’t have a real preference - it just works out that way. For example, my current vehicle is a “fleet-spec” Dodge Dakota pickup truck, and those have almost no options - manual windows, manual transmission, cassette player - not even cupholders. > > Where I do have a preference is motorcycles- manuals only. The automatic bikes I’ve ridden are horribly slow, but I’ll concede I haven’t tried the new DCT versions or an electric. DCTs (in my experience) go from “meh, I guess it’s alright” to “this thing is a piece of crap.” They’re OK so long as they’re shifting sequentially through the gears, but if they need to skip ratios (e.g. 4-2, or 5-3) they’re staying on the same input shaft and are horribly slow at shifting. EVs don’t really need multiple gear ratios at all, so they just pull. it’s one of the reasons they feel so quick. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-good-are-you-driving-stick/785720.md?page=5)