Community Chat

[On It]

Back in day, our Driver's Education car was a manual transmission. Brilliant idea. Everyone learned. 

[Kachina624]

Perhaps a lucrative side-hustle for us senior retirees might be to give stick-shift driving lessons to young thugs who aspire to a life of crime.  For a price, of course. 

[twinny70]

My sister and I got our drivers license in the summer of 1964.  Our Dad had ordered a brand new Studebaker station wagon with a stick shift.  Thank goodness it arrived with automatic.  Thank goodness for small favors.  Yes, we are dinosaurs.

When we got married in 1970, I bought our first car.  It was a 1966 Ford Galaxy automatic.  I had an accident with it in February of 1971.  Traded it & my dh had to have 4 on the floor.   Since he had to have a cassette player, it was a stick shift on the post.  Ha.  Ha.

One day, I took my Mom to a neighboring town to shop etc.  I had  my White "go go boots" on when I went to a drive thru restaurant. It was raining and my foot slipped off the brake.  She hit her head on the rear view mirror.  That was the first & last stick shift.🤔🙂🤔.

Glenda

[Pook]

I have driven a stick since the early 70's.  I wanted 4 wheel drive and back then there was no such thing as an SUV and all 4 wheel drives were manual.  My neighbor who was like a brother to me and a truck driver took me out for several hours one night and kept going back to a hilly street that seldom had any traffic.  I learned in that one night and have never had anything but a manual since.  So fun to drive and I want to actually control the vehicle better.  

[RedTop]

I learned on a manual and made both daughters learn to drive manual transmission. 

Trucker daughter's personal vehicles are always manual.  Last time she took her truck in for service, she was called from the waiting room to drive her truck into the garage because none of the mechanics who were working could drive a manual transmission!!  

[Venezia]

I learned on a manual transmission and I always thought everyone should at least know how to - you never know when an emergency will happen and a stick shift will be the only vehicle around!

It stood me in good stead when I moved to England.  I have no idea what it's like there now, but at the time automatic transmissions were rare and had to be specially ordered.  All my cars during the 20 years I was there were manual transmission.

Also, if you got your license in the U.K. driving an automatic, you weren't allowed to drive a manual.  It was noted on your license.  (Unless you took your test again and passed in a manual.)  And almost all rental cars were manual.

I'm glad I can drive either.

[chrystaltree]

This same thing happened to a coworker several years ago. He parked his car on the street instead of the parking lot.  He opened the car door, remember that he forgot something and ran into the office to retrieve it.  In the interim, 3 young guys jumped in the car but none of them could drive a stick shift.  The fools sat on the car arguing with each other....while he called the police.  They were standing by the car fussing with each other when the police arrived.  Arrested but charges were dropped because they didn't steal the car or damage it any say.  

[Trailrun23]

I learned how to drive in my brother's 65 mustang while he was in Viet Nam ...manual transmission....then I got a VW beetle....more stick....only problem is we lived in an area with lots of hills...you were never finished shifting. The idiot would-be carjackers deserve to look stupid...but hooe the victim's transmission wasn't ground into shreds.

[icezeus]

My mom only drove manual transmission cars. Therefore, I learned and took my DL test on one and passed. I also taught my younger brother how to drive a stick shift.

I have not driven one in years, but I assume it would come back to me if the need arose.

I purchased a new car last year, and if I want it to drive like a stick I can do that. Why??? It's not even like a real stick shift. 

[Venezia]

@icezeus - Sometimes on steep grades, you might want to control which gear it's in, rather than relying on the automatic transmission to do it.