I can drive a stick, and have driven them extensively in the past.
It’s been a long while now, though.
I can drive a stick, without using the clutch; US; none of your business, whippersnapper.
No, and would be completely clueless if James Bond yelled to me to take the wheel of his sportscar while he dealt with the bad guys. This is the only motivation I can come up with to learn, as I’ve never been in a situation where I’d only have a stick-shift available to me.
US.
Under 30, female.
Oops sorry, 50, USA
(1) Are you comfortable driving a manual transmission?
Yep. I prefer it, but my husband can’t do it so we don’t own one.
(2) What country do you live in?
U.S.A.
(3) How old are you (roughly)?
Over 40 :blushes: But I learned to drive a stick when I was 20, back in the '80s.
US, 45, male. I’ve driven manuals off and on since I was 17.
My beloved 1992 BMW 325i died recently (sob), and I replaced it with a newer car (BMW 330i), and for the first time in ~20 years I’m driving a vehicle that has an automatic transmission. GodDAMN I miss having a clutch. The 330 has an automatic that you can “shift” up or down, but its just not the same. I’m used to laying rubber going from 1st-2nd whenever I like.
Oh, well. My BIL left his Boxster in my other garage, I guess I’ll suffer through with that when I need a fix.
(1) I didn’t learn to drive a stick until I was 24, but it’s the only kind of car I’ll drive now (except when I rent cars, because it’s cheaper to do so in the States). I loooooove driving stick (and I drive & park in San Francisco several times a week).
(2) US
(3) 37
Yes; love it, too. When I drive an automatic, I use my left foot for the brake. It needs to do something! (didn’t even realize I did that until one of my daughter’s friends remarked one day - Hey, this isn’t a two-footer car. What are you doing?
USA
almost 60
Took a 2 week trip to Ireland last year and absolutely loved shifting with my left hand. You do have to think and fight your instincts - 40 years of shifting with my right hand is not immediately forgotten!
- I prefer manual trans
- US
- 39
I’ll post for Mrs. Pagan as well:
(1) No - she’s never driven my car as a result, although she supposedly knew how once upon a time.
(2) USA
(3) 46
Oooh, shiny!
I can see how you came by your screen name. 
Yes
US
31
No
US
24
Bonus info: I can’t drive very well, not having really driven much at all, although I have my license in case of emergency. In Japan, this is called being a ‘paper driver.’
- No. My sister and a friend of my ex both tried to teach me and ended up saying, “Let me drive. You’re going to kill the damned car.”
- Midcoast USA
- Damned near 50.
The words “driving” and “enjoy”, IMSNHO, don’t belong in the same sentence. I hate driving, and will happily let someone else drive if they want to. I’m a good driver…it’s just that my mind tends to wander. My good wife is also known as my ‘regular driver’.
- yes I owned an XKe -a Mg and 3 VW beetles.
- Michigan
- 64
After you drive stick foe awhile shifting becomes automatic.
I would not want to do it again.
I do not know how to drive a car with a manual transmission. I do not want to learn; driving itself is stressful enough! :eek:
I live in the US.
I am over 40.
(1) Are you comfortable driving a manual transmission? Not only comfortable, but prefer it.
(2) What country do you live in? Canada.
(3) How old are you (roughly)? 41
This is a common problem. I first tried to learn as a teenager, and I thought I was doing the right thing in paying for professional lessons. Uh uh. The instructor was a cranky young Scottish guy who had a dual clutch installed, and he made sure he used the thing all the time, to protect his precious car. Result? I got no feel for the clutch.
The best way to learn to drive a manual is to study up on the theory of it (it honestly isn’t that hard), and then have a day ON YOUR OWN in an old beater in a carpark somewhere. If you want a relative or friend to teach you, then it’s definitely worth the money to get them to pay for a hire car for the day. That way, they won’t be so concerned - and you can’t kill a clutch in one day anyway. I’m happy to teach a friend to drive in any manual car I own, and for the same reason. If I’m replacing that clutch at 100 000 or 200 000 kilometres, then one day with a dozen or so rough gear changes isn’t going to be a blip on the radar, and that’s certainly within the realms of friendship.
(1) Are you comfortable driving a manual transmission? Yes, I prefer them.
(2) What country do you live in? USA
(3) How old are you (roughly)? mid 40’s (female)
What an awful instructor! If you teach people to drive for a living, your clutch is going to be hammered into the ground, no way around it. And good use of dual controls means very little use.
And I agree with the rest of your post completely 