Why do so few Americans know how to drive a stick shift?

In My Humble Opinion
161

The modern automatic transmission is a very sophisticated, reliable, efficient piece of engineering. They don’t fail like they did in the past. They normally last the life of the car. Any car you buy today is controlled by the computer which regulates everything from braking (including traction control), the fuel injection system, the climate control, the GPS and most importantly, operating the transmission for optimal shifting points. In modern high-performance cars there are paddle shifters (without a manual clutch) yet, the computer will not allow you to do something stupid. I’m talking about Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s, Aston-Martin’s, Jaguar’s and the rest. If you try to go from 5th to 1st it won’t let you even if you are in manual drive mode. The computer is sophisticated enough that the human brain can’t make a decision fast enough to make a better decision even though you may think that you are making the decision. The computer won’t let you fuck up the engine. That’s why modern race cars utilize paddle shifters and no manual clutch. Everything needs to be instantaneous and in synch. The computer will override arrogance and stupidity.

If the average driver, and even the above average driver, was better at shifting than the computer then there would be no need for traction control. The fact is that when traction control takes over, those drivers are already on a path to wreck the car. Even in the '60’s it was recognized that it took an exceptionally skilled driver to outperform an automatic (as primitive as they were). Drag racers were utilizing the old Chrysler button shifters because they were better than the lever and clutch.

Thank Dog for the technology. I got my first lesson when I was driving down Berthoud Pass in the winter with a car that had a manual transmission and I downshifted at the wrong time and put the car in a snowbank. The downshift spun the rear end of a rear wheel drive car. Thankfully, shortly after, someone came by and pulled me out. Oh yea, if I had been Parnelli Foyt that wouldn’t have happened. So these guys are telling me that they are Graham Fittipaldi? Oh yea, they got driving lessons from Dale Schumacher. Now I understand. Also, the babes are just lining up because they are so irresistible and they know every right move at every right time. If that’s so, why aren’t you earning Schumacher type money? It’s so easy.

162

For me, automatics were so common (in the US), I never learned. I really wanted to learn to drive a stick, because for me culturally it really felt like a rite of passage and not knowing how to drive a stick didn’t make me feel masculine enough (stupid and irrational, but that’s how teenagers can be). The problem I had was that nobody who had a stick shift wanted to teach me/let me figure it out because I guess they were afraid I’d ruin their clutch or something.

How did I learn? Video games :stuck_out_tongue: but really, I learned initially on my brother’s dirtbike. Honestly the only tricky thing about it [for me] is putting it in gear from a stopping position. I learned on a car through deceptive means; I’m a bus driver and we often start/end our shifts out in the middle of the route; drivers often bring their cars to the relief point out of convenience. I heard, “Do you know how to drive a stick?” and enthusiastically said yes.

I lied. I liked through my freakin teeth I knew how to drive a stick. I didn’t, but the deception was really the only way for me to learn. While I don’t think I ruined anyone’s car, it gave me the opportunity to get the hang of it and teach myself.

Stick shifts are fun, but I’d only be up for it if I was driving a fun car. When I commute, I put the car in cruise control on the highway and let the car do the work. I’m too busy being a lazy american to fiddle with some weird joystick with numbers and a third pedal to bother getting from point A to B :wink:

163

Eh, more power to you both.

164

I know I’ve already attempted to correct this poster, with no response, but for the benefit of others reading, I’ll point out again that almost every single statement made here is completely wrong, and the poster has no understanding of how transmissions or race cars. This is ironic for someone attempting to belittle people who prefer manual transmissions by way of the supposed technological superiority of automatics.

165

Paddle shifters in true performance cars still use a clutch, even if you don’t have to push it. That’s nothing like an automatic. They still have engine breaking that aids you in slowing through turns. Modern automatics may claim to have “engine breaking” but until I see them start to win at auto-crosses and in road course racing, I’ll pass. The only place an automatic can be superior is drag racing, and that’s only to a point. The fastest level of cars still use a clutch.

Automatics have their place, but they aren’t for me.

166

Here’s a theory I’ve heard:
Until well after WW2 most Europeans tended to use cars for sporting/Sunday drive purposes–if they needed them at all. In contrast, pretty much since the days of the Model T Americans have thought of cars as near necessities that should be able to be operated by all adult members of the family. Rightly or wrongly, it’s assumed women and teenagers will pick up driving a automatic quicker than a stick. It’s certainly easier to eat a burger/yell at the kids/change the tape in the stereo while driving a auto than a manual. Anyone want to poke holes in this theory?

167

OK, Mr. Expert, why don’t the most sophisticated, fastest, most advanced cars in the world, whether they are race cars or high performance sports cars have a manual clutch? Geez, you would think that if it was better it would be there. Cost is no object in these cars. Some of those high performance sports cars offer the clutch as an option but not because it is better, it is to satisfy people like you who live in a dream world. Tell us. Give us the reasoning behind the engineering and design of these cars and why they are built that way. Do they get rid of the clutch because the drivers are lazy and don’t know how to get the best performance out of an automobile?

I’m not belittling anyone, you are.

168

My sister and I both know how to drive sticks. Mom insisted.

169

You don’t have to push it? Well, huh??? You’re ignoring the whole point. Of course there is a clutch but it’s electronically controlled and not by a foot pedal.

The point is that the manual nuts get their jollies from having to push a clutch. That’s the thing that makes them feel like they are “driving” the car. There’s no need for a manual clutch in a high performance car (or any other) and therefore they’ve been designed out.

Enjoy your tranny but be sure to use a manual crank to start your car because electric starters are for people that really don’t know how to drive. While you are at it rip out your electronic fuel injection system and replace it with a carburetor because that is what NASCAR does and they are the penultimate in motor racing.

170

If this is your premise, it is no wonder you come to such ridiculous and false conclusions. A manually operated clutch is very far down on the list of things I like about manual transmissions, and I suspect the same is true for the others here.

171

I assure you, planetary automatics still have clutches. obviously you don’t have to push them.

“engine breaking” is not a feature I want in a car.

Or the day-to-day drudge driving that most people do. hardly anyone races.

so what? nobody worth mentioning owns one of those cars.

172

Nitpick: AAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH! Cut it out with the apostrophes, please?

173

My car has a manual transmission and a cruise control; the two are not mutually exclusive.

Funny, that’s my complaint about the automatic. If I know I’m going to need to accelerate to hit a gap, I can downshift a couple of seconds before I nail the accelerator. Along similar lines, I can delay an upshift until I know I won’t need to accelerate.

I can’t. 2003 Nissan Maxima, 6-speed manual transmission. Last year I tried it, and the engine refused to run. Cruising about 40 MPH, I went to neutral and turned the key off. Turned the key back to the “run” position, selected 3rd gear, and eased the clutch out. I had the engine revving up to about 2000 RPM, but as soon as I pushed the clutch in, the revs fell to zero. I’m guessing this is deliberate, i.e. the ECU is refusing to run the engine (i.e. refusing to administer spark/fuel) unless the key has been turned (at least momentarily) to the “start” position.

174

I never knew that. How does it work? Suppose you are on a flat road, with no traffic, in a high gear, and then you start going uphill. Without cruise control, you’d go into a lower gear to get more power for the hill, right? But now you have a manual transmission that won’t change gears without your okay, and the cruise control is flooring the acceleration to maintain speed. What happens? (My guess is that the cruise control disengages, just as if you had tapped the brakes, in order to force you to take control.)

175

I don’t know, good question. There aren’t enough hills where I live to test that on my car. I just assumed it’ll do what it can in the gear it’s in. if it can’t maintain speed, so be it.

ETA: consulted the manual for my car ('12 Mustang): “If the vehicle speed decreases more than 10 mph (16 km/h) below your set speed, your speed control will disengage.”

So there you have it.

176

Though I’d chalk up any actual race win to the driver, before I would any part of the car, autoX and course racing certainly don’t have the same demands as the street. Again, for most who prefer manual because it feels good, they’d have a tough time reproducing their perceived skill on the track. The gearbox doesn’t make them better or worse drivers by default.

How would staying in lower gear create more wear on the engine? It’s doing nothing different than it normally would (operating across its normal RPM range). Furthermore, over the life of the car, why would that be a concern?

This really depends on the car, and again, driver. Everything from the cars gearing, to TCU programming, engine powerband, or throttle input, etc. will determine how readily the car will pass from any cruising speed. In my experiences with most modern autos in moderately powerful cars, you can get a good feel for when the car will downshift, depending on the RPM and amount of throttle you input. As the driver, it’s something you can establish-- most cases, you just hit the throttle sooner and with more “intent” (but I stress, it varies by car). :slight_smile:

As to delaying upshifts, I completely agree. That much can only marginally be controlled by throttle input, and again, really falls back on how the gearbox and car were designed. I’ve driven cars where staying on the throttle, but not varying RPM, is enough to maintain the current gear.

Well, if you think about it, the purpose of cruise control is to maintain your current speed. For the most part, once set, you shouldn’t be shifting or have much need to stray from your setting, including most inclines and turns.

If you do go up a hill and need to change gears, cruise disengages after hitting the clutch, exactly as it would the brakes, as you assumed.

177

I think I’d be less unhappy if I didn’t have to drive as much. Then I’d have more time and money to do things that are more interesting to me, and gas prices would go down for those of you who actually want to drive. If I want a hobby, I’ll pick something less expensive and dangerous than driving. Video games, for example, did not directly kill more than 30,000 Americans in 2010. If you screw up while playing a video game, it’s not likely to result in your death in real life. The games I like to play don’t cost $30 per week for gas (some online games may cost more).

At best, driving is boring for me. At worst, such as when something goes really wrong, it’s stressful. Not something I enjoy at all. I don’t even want to enjoy it more, I want to do it less.

178

Don’t know for sure, but I suspect my car is like JZ78817’s, i.e. the cruise control will disengage if the speed drops by more than X MPH. My car has a decent engine (3.5-liter V6) and I live at low altitude in a relatively flat region (southern Michigan). I’ve never driven in a place (e.g. I-70 across western Colorado) where the car was unable to maintain speed without downshifting. Those places exist, but they’re uncommon; moreover, the roads there tend to be curvy and littered with slow-moving vehicles, so I probably would not use cruise control in such situations even if the car were capable of it.

FWIW my motorcycle (manual trans) also has a cruise control.

179

Now that we’re officially in IMHO territory I’ll throw this out. Back in 2005 I needed a car – just a little commuter car to get me to and from work. It was the final year for the Pontiac Sunfire, and the dealer was extremely anxious to get them off his lot. My wife claimed to be more comfortable with a stick (something about having better “control” over the driving), so I bought it.

The Sunfire has big tires and a spoiler, but it is not in any way a sports car, even with a manual transmission. Still, it looks better than our other car (a minivan.)

At the time, our two sons were in college, and whenever they were home, they wanted to drive. They had learned to drive on an automatic, so both my wife and I offered to teach them to drive the stick.

“It’s easy to learn,” we said. “It’ll take just 30 minutes,” (20 to figure out the clutch, and 10 more to learn when to downshift.) “It’s not a problem. It’s good to know just in case.”

They both turned us down. Repeatedly. Two 20-year old American males, who, despite the active encouragement of both parents, were AFRAID to try to drive a manual transmission! Two young American men who would rather drive a freakin’ minivan than attempt to drive a stick.

Six years later we still have the Pontiac (and the minivan.) Whenever my sons come home and need to borrow the car, my wife and I still offer to teach them how to drive a stick. They still don’t want to try.

And despite the fact that they have to admit that their mother and father can do something they can’t do, they will never, ever learn to drive a stick.

180

I don’t get that either, kunilou. I wanted to learn to drive a stick very badly; if someone had made is so easy for me, I would have jumped all over it. As it was, I had to do the time-honoured tradition of buying one and jumping in the deep end. :slight_smile: (Years later, I still drive a stick and still enjoy it tremendously.)