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Can you drive a stick shift car?

I've never been impressed with them but the last time I used an auto was in 1983 so I've obviously never tried any of the fancy auto shifting modern cars.

I don't have a problem using a left hand drive car with manual gears, you just use your other hand. :D
 
Every car I've owned has been manual, don't see that changing.

1991 Honda Civic Si - no one could drive that as smooth as I could. Kind of wish I still had it, felt like I mastered a rare skill :cool:
 
steviem said:
Although in sports cars, sequential gearboxes are best.

When I move to the US though, I will probably be driving an Automatic, it will be simply something to get me from A to B. Rather than over here when I drive around lovely B (country) roads to get to places and a manual gearboxes are just more fun on twisty roads.
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Yes in terms of quick shifting a sequential gearbox is it.

However for fun, I like a manual with a clutch.

We have some very nice country roads here in the US. Some very close to my home, Therefore in my case I'm able to fully enjoy the fun only a true sportscar provides.
 
It's been 9 years since I own a car with a auto transmission. Both my cars are stick. I learned to drive manual on a motorcycle.
 
I've only owned cars with a stick shift. It's sad to see that more and more models are now available in automatic only.


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ThaDoggg said:
I've only owned cars with a stick shift. It's sad to see that more and more models are now available in automatic only.
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The only automatic I've ever owned was a car that was only ever made in auto form: a Jaguar XK8. Fortunately in the UK most mainstream cars are still available in manual.

There is another disturbing trend though: many modern manual cars (VAG group cars I'm look at you) won't let you use all three pedals at once. This is terrible for the spirited driver as you cannot heal and toe down the box. Kills the slight enjoyment one might get from driving a bland hatchback like a Golf.
 
My first car years ago was an automatic (had no choice). Since then all were manual and that's the only way to go imho. I do not and will not buy automatic car for a long time because I despise them. Nothing more pathetic than a sports car with an automatic. Honestly, any man not driving a family car/taxi/limo/truck that drives an automatic is not very manly in my eyes.

I remember going to Dominican Republic a few years back. We couldn't take a Jeep tour because it required 2 drivers the could handle a manual and I was the only one who could drive it out of 6 people (3 guys and 3 girls). Very sad.
 
My first car was a shift so yup I had to learn. My girlfriend is being taught by me right now too :)
 
Harley-Davidson doesn't make automatics. I never learned to drive automatic anyhow, I wouldn't have the first clue what to do in one of them. What does P R N D 2 1 even mean ?
 
maclaptop said:
Yes in terms of quick shifting a sequential gearbox is it.
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To be fair... it's not just about the speed of the shift. It's also the fact that (in a double-clutch anyway) it opens up a different approach to driving compared to a conventional manual, for example you can downshift as you left foot brake whilst turning in and balancing the car on both the throttle and the brake through the corner, whilst also changing back up, all the time without upsetting the balance of the car. It's a different approach, but no less challenging than a conventional manual.

But it's also like what robbie has pointed out, many modern ECU's no longer allow a driver to heel-and-toe because as soon as the brake pedal is depressed, it overrides the accelerator, so you can't blip the throttle, coupled with the generally tardy throttle response of drive-by-wire anyway, you could end up with a situation whereby it's impossible to actually heel-in-toe at all.... never mind left foot brake.

Have to say, whenever these threads crop up, I'm alway left with the opinion that in the U.S., being able to depress a clutch and move a stick at the same time is seen as some kind of divine talent... :p :p :p For the record, I can drive a manual, but then so did my granma. ;) :p
 
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I currently drive a manual transmission car and I prefer them over automatics, but the traffic situation is pretty bad where I live, so my next car will probably be an automatic.
 
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When I learned to drive in the mid-70s we were taught on automatics in Driver's Ed, as far as I know there weren't any manual transmission cars as part of the program, but I think we were "taught" about them in the book portion of the class. I drove automatics from that point on.

Fast forward to the mid-80s and I was going to buy my first new car, an 1985-1/2 Ford Escort and since gas was at the astronomical price of $1.20-1.30 per gallon I wanted a manual transmission. I had a friend who had a 1985 Ford Escort so I asked him if he could give me a basic lesson, we spent about an hour one afternoon on the back streets with basically zero traffic, but I learned the basics.

Bought the new Escort and for my first real drive (I didn't test drive it) drove it back home from the Dealership approximately 15-miles, covering stop and go city traffic up to highway speeds of 55mph. I was a bit rough on takeoffs for the coming weeks, occasionally stalling it or lurching about, but I got better. Backing up took a while longer to get the idea of but that eventually came to me.

One funny memory I have of those early days, it that my wife (then girlfriend) and I were attempting to leave a local department store's parking lot. I always tried to use the less frequented exits and streets as I wasn't very good with takeoffs at first. To compound things this store's driveway went slightly uphill to the street. Oh-oh, I'm sure you can see where this story is going. Every time I tried to accelerate forward the car would start rolling backward, I didn't understand the friction point on the clutch yet, so I pulled up the parking brake to hold the car in place and told my wife, "when I say now release the parking brake", she did when I told her and I was able to get the car to move forward and out on to the street without rolling back into the car behind us. :)

I had that car for 12-years. It's the only manual transmission car that I've ever driven. I miss it. :(
 
I learned to drive a stick when I was about 25. I had no choice, I bought a new car that was a stick. It was rather easy to learn.

Funny memory about the night I picked up my new car that I never forgot. The dealership gave me a coupon for a free tank of gas. There was a steep hill on the way out of the gas station, so the car kept rolling backwards. Luckily it was late in the evening, so no one else was around. I think it took me 3 or 4 tries to figure it out. :D
 
iGav said:
Have to say, whenever these threads crop up, I'm alway left with the opinion that in the U.S., being able to depress a clutch and move a stick at the same time is seen as some kind of divine talent... :p :p :p
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That's because in the US most of us drive on two types of roads, crowded ones and dead straight ones. Automatics are superior on crowded ones and it doesn't matter on straight ones.
 
QuarterSwede said:
That's because in the US most of us drive on two types of roads, crowded ones and dead straight ones. Automatics are superior on crowded ones and it doesn't matter on straight ones.
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Yep, when I'm driving in town, I'm always thinking 'I wsh I had an auto'. In the UK however we have some pretty awesome 'A' and 'B' roads, which make the manual worth it. Blasting through the tree's when the roads are quite, taking each corner as it comes it great fun.
 
QuarterSwede said:
That's because in the US most of us drive on two types of roads, crowded ones and dead straight ones. Automatics are superior on crowded ones and it doesn't matter on straight ones.
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Actually, you're wrong on both premise. On crowded roads, manuals are better. No need to constantly hit the brakes, you can better control a car's speed with a manual with compression and clutch manipulation. In traffic, I hardly ever touch the brakes.

On straight roads, manual is again better. For passing, a quick throttle blip/downshift gives you better boost than waiting for an automatic to kick in as you stomp the pedal.

It's just that Americans tend to not like driving and anything that isolates them from the road is considered superior. Any driving enthousiast doesn't mind a clutch and a stick, no matter the situation.
 
KnightWRX said:
Actually, you're wrong on both premise. On crowded roads, manuals are better. No need to constantly hit the brakes, you can better control a car's speed with a manual with compression and clutch manipulation. In traffic, I hardly ever touch the brakes.
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While this is true, stop and go traffic is rough on the left leg/knee. I drove through an hour's worth of a heavy traffic jam, and I would have been perfectly ok with using the brakes instead.
 
KnightWRX said:
Actually, you're wrong on both premise. On crowded roads, manuals are better. No need to constantly hit the brakes, you can better control a car's speed with a manual with compression and clutch manipulation. In traffic, I hardly ever touch the brakes.

On straight roads, manual is again better. For passing, a quick throttle blip/downshift gives you better boost than waiting for an automatic to kick in as you stomp the pedal.
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Valid points however, anyone driving in stop and go traffic will tell you automatics are a lot easier on the knees. Also, after a tiring day at work the last thing I wanted to do was drive a stick in that mess.

Also, you can downshift in an automatic as well. Most people don't do that though.

KnightWRX said:
Any driving enthousiast doesn't mind a clutch and a stick, no matter the situation.
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I think you mean most driving enthusiasts in most situations.
 
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Yeah. Being a guy I was raised that it comes with being a male.

Kind of sucks because none of my friends know how to drive a manual, so if my car was taken for the night no one else could drive. Ditto for long car rides.

I feel that coupes should be manual and the rest autos, except for 2 door suvs (wrangler, D90). Just my opinion.
 
KnightWRX said:
Harley-Davidson doesn't make automatics. I never learned to drive automatic anyhow, I wouldn't have the first clue what to do in one of them. What does P R N D 2 1 even mean ?
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OK, so apparently you don't have experience with automatics...

KnightWRX said:
Actually, you're wrong on both premise. On crowded roads, manuals are better. No need to constantly hit the brakes, you can better control a car's speed with a manual with compression and clutch manipulation. In traffic, I hardly ever touch the brakes.
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But yet you have an opinion on how superior your choice of manuals is.
 
as the other guys have said, in the UK automatics are pretty rare. i think we all know one friend or so who has an Auto only license, everyone else just gets a normal license.

if you are the sort of person who enjoys driving to any degree then a manual gearbox is much better. autos are just so boring, they never kick down when you need it or bizarrely hold on to a gear for much longer than you were expecting. im sure there are some good autos out there but they will always be more inefficient than a manual.
 
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