# Stick Shift vs Automatic vs Single Pedal **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 17, 2025, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932 "2025-11-17T20:49:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/61 "2025-11-19T19:06:47Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Three on the tree is a manual transmission with a steering-column-mounted shift lever. Generally distinguished from “Four on the floor.” Wait, like the manual shifting knob with the “H” pattern for different engine speeds? That can be mounted in different places? (Sorry, I’d only ever experienced them in arcade games where they’re usually next to the e-brake. I don’t know how they actually work in a real car.) And were behind-the-wheel paddle shifters ever a real thing with manual cars, or are they only used in faux-manual CVT autos and EVs? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/62 "2025-11-19T19:14:47Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Wait, like the manual shifting knob with the “H” pattern for different engine speeds? That can be mounted in different places? Yes, depending on model and year, the gear shift could have been on the steering column itself. Or in the center between the driver and passenger seats. For the “3 on the tree”, it’s probably an older vehicle, though. Is this rare now? I recall some automatic transmission vehicles used to have the gear shift lever on the steering column. Is it all just buttons now? Paddle shifters aren’t really a thing with manual transmissions. Not that it couldn’t be done, but it doesn’t seem practical or economic. It’s not just CVTs and EVs. You can put them in regular automatic transmission cars (ETA: come to think of it - my father’s car is a regular ICE car with paddle shifters). I can see that being a nice option if you live in hilly areas. Modern automatic transmissions are pretty smart but that might be a good use case for paddle shifters. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/63 "2025-11-19T19:15:02Z")
> [@qpw3141](#): > > If you believe that you’ll need to stop at some way in the distance, allow the car to coast, bringing its speed down to a rate that allows you to gently brake to lose the last mph and get back some energy. Thank you, that makes sense, and it’s how I’ve been trying to drive. There’s probably some inter-model differences here too. In my EV, as soon as I start to let off the accelerator, the blue “regen charging” bar on my dashboard starts to show, indicating that it’s doing some minor regen while coasting. If I let it off more, the bar gets longer. I’ve gotten pretty good at throttling it so that’s usually enough, but if I missed it, gentle pressure on the brakes will further elongate that bar. If I _really_ missed it, a harder push on the brakes causes the brake light indicator to come on, indicating I’ve now passed the regen absorption capabilities and are using the friction brakes — I take it that’s what I’d want to avoid whenever possible (and safe). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/64 "2025-11-19T19:23:47Z")
Umm… Three on the tree is a gear shift lever mounted on the steering column. Under the steering wheel. It might remind you of the old automatics where you have a lever to put it in D R or whatever. But with this you have a clutch just like any other manual trany. My memory is fading, but the H pattern was/is One is pull it back and down. Two is push away from you and up. Three is push away and down. Reverse is away from you and up. Oh the heck with it. Hard to explain. Here ya go - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_NulOgzG\_XY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NulOgzG_XY) ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/65 "2025-11-19T19:31:05Z")
Yes, if you search three on the tree on youtube you’ll get a bunch of videos showing it. It’s not a superb engineering solution because it’s all mechanical shift linkages with 50’s era mass production tolerances, so no quick snappy short-throw shifting like in your 90’s Civic CRX Si, but the manual transmissions of the 50’s and 60’s weren’t exactly quick to shift even with floor shifters so it didn’t matter too much. But, in that period you mostly had bench seats in the front and column shifters had advantages in that regard. Not that floor shifters are impossible with bench seats. Dad’s new grain truck in ‘77 had a standard Chev pickup cab with a bench seat and four on the floor (on a beefier 1 ton chassis with a hydraulic power take-off to drive a hoist). Long-ass shift lever sticking up in the middle, if anyone was sitting in the middle seat you’d almost molest them to get into reverse. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/66 "2025-11-19T19:35:06Z")
That’s… wild and interesting, actually. I did not know that manual shifters could be mounted on the steering column like that — it must have been quite the engineering marvel to have all the mechanical linkages inside that one tube. I’d only ever experienced steering-wheel mounted shifters on (automatic) work trucks and U-hauls. I thought it was just a stylistic choice from certain manufacturers; didn’t realize there was a historical, mechanical reason for them. To this day, I’ve still never operated a clutch or manual shifter. (Probably a good thing for all the other drivers.) But definitely feels like I missed an era. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/67 "2025-11-19T19:44:52Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I learned on a four speed 1977 Honda Civic with a manual choke. Wow, I totally forgot that my first Honda had a manual choke. Thanks for the memories! 🎶 > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Is it all just buttons now? Is it? If so, my 1963 Plymouth Valiant would be stylin’. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/68 "2025-11-19T19:53:26Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Long-ass shift lever sticking up in the middle, if anyone was sitting in the middle seat you’d almost molest them to get into reverse. I was looking at a '57 Belaire online. A real beauty. It was redone with a 350 and 4 on the floor. When I looked at the pictures and that bench seat it seemed like, well, what you said. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/69 "2025-11-19T20:01:01Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > For the “3 on the tree”, it’s probably an older vehicle, though. Is this rare now? “Tree” mounted manual transmission shifters were common through the '50s and '60s, but are pretty much nonexistent now, AIUI. As noted upthread, manual transmissions are close to extinct in the US, though still common elsewhere in the world, and I think that they are pretty much all a floor-mounted stick at this point. That said, some cars, esp. performance cars, have “flappy paddle” shifters mounted on the steering wheel, which let the driver change gears without having to take a hand off the wheel. [![](https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/b4698b6c998418f68b116284c61b0afc81a365ff/hub/2020/05/07/533ffd35-c262-4bc2-ba56-7660eadbd217/stelvio-2.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&height=675&width=1200) ](https://www.cnet.com/a/img/resize/b4698b6c998418f68b116284c61b0afc81a365ff/hub/2020/05/07/533ffd35-c262-4bc2-ba56-7660eadbd217/stelvio-2.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&height=675&width=1200) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/70 "2025-11-19T21:15:18Z")
F1 cars use paddle shifters, but they simply send messages to the computer which actually changes the gears (in something like 50ms). There’s no other way to shift so quickly. > [@hajario](#): > > Is the rear wiper really an EV thing? I’ve never had a car with one. The Chevy Equinox and Blazer, VW ID.4 and ID.buzz, and new Ioniq 5 all have rear wipers. Many aerodynamic body shapes that are somewhat common for EVs don’t require a rear wiper. Also, many rear windows are pretty small. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/71 "2025-11-19T21:17:12Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Many aerodynamic body shapes that are somewhat common for EVs don’t require a rear wiper. Also, many rear windows are pretty small. My Ipace has a camera display disguised as a rear view mirror. I don’t need a rear window at all. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/72 "2025-11-19T21:54:15Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Many aerodynamic body shapes that are somewhat common for EVs don’t require a rear wiper. That was the excuse they gave me too. In reality, it sucks still. > [@Procrustus](#): > > My Ipace has a camera display disguised as a rear view mirror. The Toyota has that too but only on the highest trim. Cheapskates 😕 It’s like the lack of a wiper was meant to upsell… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/73 "2025-11-19T23:12:39Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Is the rear wiper really an EV thing? I’ve never had a car with one. Are you asking if rear wipers are _only_ an EV thing? At least in the U.S., rear wipers are pretty close to ubiquitous on SUVs and minivans, regardless of EV versus ICE or hybrid. Most of those have rear windows which are, if not truly vertical, at least fairly steeply pitched. OTOH, most traditional car designs (i.e., coupes and sedans) _don’t_ have rear wipers; they also tend to have rear windows with a shallower pitch, which may be part of why they don’t have/need wipers. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/74 "2025-11-20T08:06:55Z")
For many years, my car was a standard ICE while my wife’s was a Prius. There is a noticeable difference when you try to slow gently to a stop. If you don’t want it to jerk right at the end, you need to let up on the pedal as your speed approaches zero. In my wife’s car, I found myself slowly creeping forward when I thought I was at a full stop. The braking force that is available from regeneration drops as you slow down. The computer needs to make up the difference with the friction brake. It seems tricky to calibrate right at that zero speed point. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/75 "2025-11-20T10:56:22Z")
Some EVs are programmed to duplicate the forward creep at idle that’s common in automatic transmission ICEs. You may have encountered that in the Prius. My own ICE has a switch to have the brakes auto-hold to prevent the typical ICE creep that the transmission naturally provides. When activated, once I bring the car to a 100% stop, the brakes auto lock up to hold the car in place and won’t release until the throttle is depressed to go again. This is not a recent development; some makes and models have had this feature for 6-8 years now. That feature needs to be switched off for running through a carwash tunnel. I sometimes forget to switch it back on after they’re done washing my car. It’s really surprising when the car doesn’t stay where I stopped it at the next traffic light. D’oh! 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/76 "2025-11-20T13:41:11Z")
I went ahead and turned on one pedal driving for my commute home last night. No problems but I do need to stay more alert when taking my foot off the pedal. I drove the other car today but I’m going to make a commitment to use one pedal driving for commuting from now on unless I find it unbearable. Gotta stay up with the times. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/77 "2025-11-20T14:13:50Z")
I got a new-to-me car 14 months ago. I groused then about the kinda crappy automatic “smart but not very smart” cruise control / lane keeping system. Swore at it more than by it. It now drives about 95% of my freeway miles and 50-75% of my suburban boulevard miles. Darn handy invention I must say. It’s an ICE with no one-pedal option. But if it had one pedal, I’d probably have adapted to using it full time by now. > [@Telemark](#): > > Gotta stay up with the times. Yup. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/78 "2025-11-20T17:52:54Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > And were behind-the-wheel paddle shifters ever a real thing with manual cars, or are they only used in faux-manual CVT autos and EVs? It is a bit complicated. Flappy paddles started with automated manual transmissions. These are transmissions that use a clutch (or multiple clutches), like a manual transmission, instead of a torque converter, like a traditional “slush box” automatic transmission. Flapping the paddle triggers the clutch(es) and moves to the higher or lower gear. So only two pedals, but still a manual transmission. With a computer operating the clutches, it can also do the shifts, so it’s possible to have a fully automatic “manual” transmission. So flappy paddles move from race cars, to high end sports cars, and into mainstream cars. Being able to easily downshift an automatic is good for mountain driving, so maybe the paddles are nice then. In those cases I prefer the traditional PRND32L arrangement over other variations I’ve used, like buttons on the shifter. One pedal EV driving is even easier in the mountains. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/79 "2025-11-20T20:18:13Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Some EVs are programmed to duplicate the forward creep at idle that’s common in automatic transmission ICEs. You may have encountered that in the Prius. My foot was on the brake but, out of habit, I wasn’t pressing hard enough to tell it to engage the friction brake. When they were making the ‘08’, they may not have had the zero calibrated just right. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2025, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932/80 "2025-11-20T20:25:01Z")
We had a 2008 Prius and it crept foward if you took your foot off the brakes. It drove just like any ICE car, just slower. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stick-shift-vs-automatic-vs-single-pedal/1024932.md?page=5)