Manual (stick) shift cars are rare today and I'm wondering how many people still know how to drive them. How did you learn and do you have a desire to own one?
Rare? I wouldn't say they're rare. Cadillac even has a model with a stick now. The Subaru WRX isn't even available in an automatic in the United States (that's the car I currently have; an '11 WRX). Frankly, I've never owned an automatic. I've been driving now for 22 years now and this is my 4th car with a stick.
I learned to drive one, believe it or not, by playing the arcade game called Hard Drivin'. It was the first arcade game I know of that not only had force feedback steering, but it had a full manual gear box (including reverse on some editions) with a full clutch, brake and gas pedal and yes, you could stall the car. Admittedly, you won't get a great "feel" for a real clutch slipping and grabbing seeing as the game has no transferable vibrations from the "motor", but it was plenty good practice going through the gear changes. I drove my first car home from about 27 miles away and I think I only stalled it once on the way home. Of course, it took plenty more practice to get good on hills and creeping in traffic, etc., but as long as you have decent hand/eye coordination and the ability to rub your head and stomach at the same time you're whistling, I think you can learn to drive a stick in a reasonable amount of time.
The reasons for driving a stick are a little different now than back then. Back in the day, you got the best gas mileage with a stick. A stick typically cost $2500-5000 less than the same car with an automatic (even going through a clutch or two during the life of a car won't cost as much as that difference and if you're good with it, you shouldn't need a clutch for 100k-200k miles anyway; I sold my 2nd car (a Probe GT) with 140k on it and it was still on the original clutch. In fact, I liked that car's clutch better than any I've driven (i.e. it had a short throw and it was always easy to push in which is great in traffic jams and the transmission could creep at 2-3mph without stalling with the clutch fully engaged so it was GREAT in traffic jams, something many sticks give you a work out in like my first car which was a late '80s Cavalier Z24. The WRX I have now is somewhere in-between, although the acceleration is definitely NOT in the middle.
Anyway, the primary reason for a getting a stick shift in my mind is and has always been about CONTROL of the car. Newer "automatic manuals" with paddle shifters, etc. and/or dual clutches have largely wiped out the acceleration advantages manuals used to have over automatics, but in day-to-day use, I just can't abide paddle shifting. It's always count up, count down or stare at the dash to see what gear it's in now (the computer will typically shift down for you in some circumstances such as a stop without asking). Frankly, I'm surprised no one has made a traditional gear shifter but with "shift by wire" so you can directly select any gear selection instead of having to go through them sequentially yet it could (at the push of a button or stick position) go to full automatic at any time. Yeah, I'm VERY surprised one of these hasn't appeared yet. Maybe I should apply for the patent immediately (although the fact my PC gaming rig has basically just that makes it doubtful).
Then there's the old comparison to manual SLR cameras. A real photographer can still take great pictures with a fully manual camera whereas many amateurs would be lost without the automatic and semi-automatic exposure and/or focus controls on today's cameras. In other words, if you can drive a manual transmission WELL, then you can pretty much drive anything out there (well a big rig might take some practice, but you'd still be a hell of a lot better off than someone without those skills).
Oh and I'm willing to be half the people on here who THINK they know how to drive a stick, actually suck at it. I've ridden in cars with people that have driven sticks for over 20 years and it's JERK JERK JERK through the gears. I asked a friend of mine who fits that description when I rode with him if he ever HEARD of rev-matching and he said NO. Being able to get somewhere in a stick shift and being able to drive one CORRECTLY with almost no clutch wear and completely smooth (so smooth that the passengers can't even tell you shifted with their eyes closed and the stereo running) are two different things.
