Because they want to allow space for cars behind and assume you’re capable of pulling away without drifting backwards? Actually driving into you before you’ve moved off is pretty stupid though.
I normally leave a bit of space but will pull right up if it will allow a car behind to move into a turning lane that is moving.
One would think people would care too much about their paint job or the integrity of their headlights to do that.
Half of the cars in this city are smashed-up pieces of shit…there are enough drivers out there who don’t give a fuck about their own car to make it a problem for the ones who do.
A truly disconcerting number of them drive with earbuds jammed in their ears or Beats-style headphones jammed over them. It’s scary how little of a fuck some of these drivers care. There’s a constant stream of accidents every day.
It’s possible I would buy another stick. Not a muscle-car stick. I once drove a Mustang with a stick and that just sucked. I like the eco-Japanese sport sticks though.
I’m, umm, rolling back the years…
Had a '79 VW Scirocco. Back in the day.
Manual of course. And an engine with headers, high compression head and pistons. And a different carburetor set up to handle it.
It was a blast to drive. But I’m not 20yo anymore. Surprised I survived the 70’s.
Wow, a choke knob…what a blast from the past! Remember the big vents near your feet in the front and the wing windows?
I remember only one time thinking that my manual transmission was a handicap. I mean, I drove one for over 20 years and it really became second nature.
But once, I was stuck in a motel during a snowstorm. When I went to get out, I was stuck in the snowdrifts. The solution, I knew from growing up in the rust belt, is to rock the vehicle…forward, back, forward, back, build momentum until you climb out. That’s a lot easier with an automatic. A kind soul in the hotel saw me, came out, pushed to help overcome the lag between reverse and accelerate to (very quickly) clutch shift 1st accelerate to (very quickly) reverse and accelerate again…
It has the wing windows (‘windwings’, as we called them when I was little in San Diego). It also has this behind the speaker console:
Number 55. Vent flap. There are no vents on the dash. You open the vent flap to get fresh air on your legs/ankles.
Advance that 2022 by 5 to 10 years and the question “would you buy a stick shift (they are hard to find)?” will become “would you buy a car with an internal combustion engine (they are hard to find)?”. So the stick shift question will increasingly be moot.
Anyway, I’ve had only two cars with manual transmissions – a Volkswagen Beetle, where that was the only option, and a 280Z, which was totally a sports car. I wouldn’t buy one now, but then I have no interest in “sporty” vehicles.
The Beetle did have an “AutoStick” option in the early 70’s models, though; a little pressure on the knob of the shifter would engage the clutch and allow the driver to shift into another gear.
I drove one once; it was a little weird and I felt like I was wearing out the floorboards under my left foot with my clutch reflex.
All of my cars have been sticks. My current car is only 2.5 years old (with less than 9k miles, thanks to the pandemic): I have no idea what I’ll get — or what’s going to be out there — whenever the time comes to replace it, but I’m hoping to not have to think about it for several more years.
I bought my 6-speed M240i in 2020. I didn’t know they stopped offering that transmission! 
Bought my current ride, a Chevy Cruze hatchback, new in 2018. Had to special order one to get a manual transmission. Waited a few weeks for delivery. For the 2019 model year, no manual was available. If I live long enough to wear this one out, an EV will probably be next. I’ll miss the stick, however.
I’ve always had cars with manual transmissions. They’re just more fun to drive.
(My first car, a 1971 Datsun 510, had a manual choke too. Yes, it’s true. I’m old.)
I never heard of that! Anyway, mine predated that newfangled stuff. The Beetles were amazingly well-built cars. AIUI, the transmission shared technology with Porsche and was wonderfully silky-smooth. The Beetles were an odd combination of primitive features but quality construction.
Yup, no more manual or convertible M240 any more. Gotta spring for the M2 if you want a stick in that series. No convertible at all!
No, thanks. I don’t think I want one more thing to think about while I’m behind the wheel. I remember getting the chance to drive stick once. I was an intern at a somewhat rural newspaper and the person making the offer figured those sparsely populated roads would be ideal as far as giving me fewer things to crash into. I was about as awkward as you’d imagine, and never pursued the chance again.
I sometimes play the “what if something happened to my car” game, and right now I think an M2 would be the plan. New vs used would depend on (a) how much insurance/trade-in $$ I got and (b) how much of a car payment I’d be willing to take on. But I hope to hang onto my M240i for a while!
The lack of a convertible option doesn’t bother me; I love sunroofs, but convertibles are too much wind.
I applaud you for realizing that about yourself! Shifting quickly becomes second nature (honest), but definitely not immediately.
I already did that in 2021, so I see no reason to do it again this year. But I would, if I were in the market for a car. I haven’t owned an automatic since 2001.
I wouldn’t any more, but that’s because I’m older, can’t easily get into / out of a smaller / lower car, and the larger / taller vehicles don’t seem to come with manual transmission.
Our last manual transmission car was bought in late 1998 - a Honda Civic. It finally died nearly 2 years ago.
Would I buy a stick shift in 2022?
I’d buy nothing but a stick shift in 2022.
Which works out, because I buy used sporty cars anyhow, and I love that I can search everything from Craigslist to Autotrader and check the box labeled Transmission: MANUAL.
Too much? I say too much is not enough. And of course I would, because I think of myself first and foremost as a motorcyclist. And there, that’s a place where you can get too much wind. And to stay on topic, that’s also a place where you can still easily get a manual transmission.
No. I learned to drive on a manual, but I’ve never owned one and never found them more enjoyable to drive. I also spend far too much time in traffic to make any tradeoff worthwhile, and it’s more convenient to have a car my wife can drive in a pinch, and she’s never driven a manual.