What do you call a car without an automatic transmission?

[Tap]

I voted stick, but am just as likely to say manual (poll still only allows one vote).

 

Stick,manual, standard, straight drive,.. on the floor,... on the tree are all common language in my world.  

[DawnM]

When I lived in Seattle I had an automatic. When I moved to LA I got a stick.

 

I went back to visit Seattle almost 2 years ago now and my BFF lent me her car for the day. It was a stick.

 

I thought I was pretty good with a stick, but wowee, I went to meet another friend for lunch and went on the 5, getting off at James Street towards the hospital (Swedish maybe???). There is a STINKIN' LIGHT half way up some huge steep hill that turned red just as I got to it.

 

I was so scared my knees were knocking in the car! I was sure I would stall out and not be able to do it and hold up everyone behind me.

 

I ended up flooring it to the point of smelling rubber, but dog gone it, I made it!

 

Dawn

 

I hated driving west - east in downtown seattle with a stick.   hated it. foot on the clutch, other foot on the gas, car in gear, hand on the parking brake . . . . otherwise, I like driving a stick.  you have more control.

[advocateteacher]

Growing up we called it a manual car, but when I moved to the States I always heard stick or stick shift. (West Coast)

 

I had never heard the term Straight Drive until I moved to the South. My friends laughed when I asked what a Straight Drive was.

 

Dawn

 

If I'm shopping for one I call it Manual but commonly it's a stick shift.  As in "Do you know how to drive a stick?".

 

East coast, USA

[Jeannie in NJ]

I have always owned stick shifts (yes that is what I call them) until 2 years ago when I got my first automatic.  And someone earlier in the thread had mentioned San Francisco.  When I lived in Los ANgeles, I went on a week vacation in San Francisco with my stick shift Toyota.  Oh yeah, that was an experience.  Sweating it at the top of hills, hoping the car would not stall and then flooring it so the car would not roll backwards.

[happi duck]

In a car ad I would expect to see "manual" but in common usage we say "stick".

[Carrie12345]

You were extra cool if you drove stick in NJ.

[Pegasus]

I live in the South and drive one.  The first term to pop into my head before I opened the poll was "straight shift."  I've heard of all the terms in the poll.

[nmoira]

Inconvenient

[MissKNG]

I typically call it standard. But manual and stick are also common here.

[Firefly]

I call it a manual, though sometimes will say stick.  I haven't heard of standard or straight-drive.

 

FTR I much prefer manual cars, though I've had both over the years.  It just feels like I have more control over the car.  (My current is a 6-speed Mini Cooper).  I don't understand the hill-fear thing though.  You just engage the clutch to the catch-point and once the light is green give it a little gas.

[twoxcell]

In general conversation it would be a stick or a stick shift but I also hear Manual Transmission. I have never driven one. :leaving:

[Meriwether]

I say stick shift, but I'd say manual if I was speaking more formally.

 

ETA: I see I'm not the only one to say this.  My first car was a stick shift.  I really enjoyed driving it.  I want my kids to learn on a stick.  Hills can be tricky in the snow, though, so it may depend on where we are living.

[Laura Corin]

My first car was a Citroen Dyane: the stick was neither on the floor nor on the column - it was right in the middle of the dashboard and (if memory serves) you had to pull/push it as well as moving it left and right.

 

L

[Tap]

I call it a manual, though sometimes will say stick.  I haven't heard of standard or straight-drive.

 

FTR I much prefer manual cars, though I've had both over the years.  It just feels like I have more control over the car.  (My current is a 6-speed Mini Cooper).  I don't understand the hill-fear thing though.  You just engage the clutch to the catch-point and once the light is green give it a little gas.

Depends on the car and the hill.  Some cars stall pretty easy and you have to finesse the clutch just right to get enough power before you roll back and smack the car behind you. My cars with a clutch all handled it pretty good, but I have driven cars that had a very touchy clutch that made steep hills stressful.  

[sassenach]

Mostly stick, but also standard. Never heard of straight.

[Firefly]

Depends on the car and the hill.  Some cars stall pretty easy and you have to finesse the clutch just right to get enough power before you roll back and smack the car behind you. My cars with a clutch all handled it pretty good, but I have driven cars that had a very touchy clutch that made steep hills stressful.  

 

Ah I see.  Thanks for the clarification!

[wintermom]

Four on the Floor!

 

You brought back a memory. There used to be a sketch comedy team with that name on tv here. They weren't around for ling but they paved the way for The Kids in the Hall, a more famous Canuck comedy team and you might still here the odd Canadian singing the FotF classic, Boot to the Head.

 

This is too funny! I'm a canuck, so perhaps that's why I'm strongly attracted to this simple, physical humour. :lol:   (My brother's nickname for me growing up was 'boot' - now I know what I can bequeath to him!!)

[wintermom]

I hated driving west - east in downtown seattle with a stick.   hated it. foot on the clutch, other foot on the gas, car in gear, hand on the parking brake . . . . otherwise, I like driving a stick.  you have more control.

 

I've opted to let go of that kind of control when driving my insane (used most lovingly) kids around in our van! :laugh: I really need to focus all my energy on other things.

[KrissiK]

I say it has standard transmission.

[TracyP]

I voted manual, although I'm just as likely to call it a stick.

 

I would know what someone meant if they said standard, but have never heard of a straight drive.

 

FTR I much prefer manual cars, though I've had both over the years.  It just feels like I have more control over the car.  (My current is a 6-speed Mini Cooper).  I don't understand the hill-fear thing though.  You just engage the clutch to the catch-point and once the light is green give it a little gas.

 

I prefer manual shift myself. But I was once a beginning driver (learning on a stick) in snowy, icy, hilly Duluth, MN. Oh yeah, you just engage the clutch to... NOT! LOL. It was hell. The second worst driving experience in my life.

[Pegasus]

Depends on the car and the hill.  Some cars stall pretty easy and you have to finesse the clutch just right to get enough power before you roll back and smack the car behind you. My cars with a clutch all handled it pretty good, but I have driven cars that had a very touchy clutch that made steep hills stressful.  

 

I was taught to engage the emergency brake when stopping on steep hills.  Once the clutch is released enough to catch and a bit of gas is given, you can feel the car wanting to surge forward, which is when you release the emergency brake.  I only had to use this trick when I was first learning to drive a straight shift. Now I'm able to release the clutch and give enough gas that rolling backwards isn't a concern.

[Rhonda in TX]

I voted "standard" because that was the first thing that popped in my head. However, I would recognize/understand "stick" and "manual" as well. I've never heard the term "straight drive".

[dirty ethel rackham]

In casual conversation, I call it a "stick", but in other situations (mechanic, bank, etc.) I call it a "manual transmission."

[DawnM]

Ah, ok, so I am not going crazy.  I live in NC, although one woman in the group that used the term was from Tenn.  The rest were from NC.

 

Dawn

 

 

Lived in NC all my life. Straight drive is a common term, but the others are used too.

 

[lailasmum]

Manual. As Laura said automatics are fairly rare in the UK. I know a few people who driven them but usually it's because they have a family member with a disability and an automatic allows them to drive it or a few friends have an automatic because they struggle massively with clutch control and need to drive.

 

 

[plath]

5 speed or stick shift

[Erin]

 

If the stick change is on the floor, and a four geared car, then this would be Four-on-the-floor.

Makes perfect sense. Sort of. In an Australian way.

Clear as  mud?

 

They  had the exact same terminology in the States.  Four on the floor, or three on the tree.  

Three on the tree was fairly short-lived, whereas floor shifters have remained.  Probably because of simple proximity to the transmission?

[Mrs Mungo]

I call it a manual, though sometimes will say stick. I haven't heard of standard or straight-drive.

 

FTR I much prefer manual cars, though I've had both over the years. It just feels like I have more control over the car. (My current is a 6-speed Mini Cooper). I don't understand the hill-fear thing though. You just engage the clutch to the catch-point and once the light is green give it a little gas.

Ha, it is that easy in a Mini maybe. Try that in a manual truck!

[Firefly]

Ha, it is that easy in a Mini maybe. Try that in a manual truck!

 

Fair enough.  :)

[FeFe]

I'm not going to lie...I opened this looking for a punch line...

 

In conversation I would call it a stick shift but when talking with someone like a dealer I would refer to it as a manual.

[Amy in NH]

I call it manual or standard transmission, as compared to an automatic transmission. 

 

I could only pick one, though, so I voted manual.

[Word Nerd]

Stick shift or manual. It's been a long time since I've called it anything at all, though. I rarely need to distinguish between manual and automatic.

[TrixieB]

I call it a stick.

 

Dh calls it a regular car.  :huh:

[gardenmom5]

Depends on the car and the hill. Some cars stall pretty easy and you have to finesse the clutch just right to get enough power before you roll back and smack the car behind you. My cars with a clutch all handled it pretty good, but I have driven cars that had a very touchy clutch that made steep hills stressful.

I didn't have a stall problem. It was ALL about rolling backwards on a STEEP hill.

[Kathryn]

I've never driven a stick either. All my high school boyfriends drove them, so I was in a lot, but never drove one myself.

[QuirkyKapers]

stick shift

[Kakids]

A stick or a manual.  There was no option to choose more than one.

[ScoutTN]

a pain to drive

[HRAAB]

I usually call it a stick, but either standard, manual or stick all are used.

 

I love driving a standard.  That makes driving fun.  Whenever I can, I will drive the 5 speed although dh usually takes it because it gets better mileage.

[KarenNC]

NC born and bred----straight drive, though I've used all the others at times. ;)

[GailV]

I'd call it manual or stick.  Dh would be just as likely to call it standard -- he uses all 3 terms.

 

Cousin Russell would call it a fun project.  He's the type that picks out an auto body, finds an engine he'd like to put in it, an appropriate transmission, etc., and put together his new car or truck in his spare time.  Or, if your automatic transmission goes out, you'd ask him to fix it in the evenings after work.  It's nice to have someone like Cousin Russell in your family.

[DawnM]

Every car works a tad differently. If I had been in my OWN stick shift car I may not have been as freaked out, but it was my first day driving that particular car and I wasn't familiar with it.

 

It was a very steep hill.

 

I call it a manual, though sometimes will say stick.  I haven't heard of standard or straight-drive.

 

FTR I much prefer manual cars, though I've had both over the years.  It just feels like I have more control over the car.  (My current is a 6-speed Mini Cooper).  I don't understand the hill-fear thing though.  You just engage the clutch to the catch-point and once the light is green give it a little gas.

 

[DawnM]

HA!  Unless there is a car very close behind you and you can't roll back!

 

I didn't have a stall problem. It was ALL about rolling backwards on a STEEP hill.

 

[gardenmom5]

  I don't understand the hill-fear thing though.  You just engage the clutch to the catch-point and once the light is green give it a little gas.

 

how steep are the hills you've gone up with a stick, while stopping in the middle?  some of the hills in one city block rise TWO office building lobby stories.  you can't depress the clutch, release the brake, put it in gear, and give it gas fast enough to stop it from either dying or rolling backwards on those hills.  that's where handbrakes come in - you use that instead of the foot brake so you've got a good gas feed before releasing it and you start right forward.  seattle and sf have lots in common with hills.  (that's even with the top of one hill being washed into Elliot bay)

 

eta: to be clear.  entrance on first ave is level 1. next floor.  entrance on 2nd ave is level 3.

HA!  Unless there is a car very close behind you and you can't roll back!

so, are you saying we should roll back and hit the car behind us until we start forward?  I'm sorry I'm not understanding you.

[Erin]

Ha, it is that easy in a Mini maybe. Try that in a manual truck!

 

:confused1:

I do it all the time in our 3/4 ton diesel pickup.

Or do you mean a truck?  (ie, a semi)

[mamatohaleybug]

Stick shift or standard. Mostly stick shift. :)

[fraidycat]

I can't vote. I use standard, manual, or stick shift interchangeably. I've never heard it called " straight drive".

[YaelAldrich]

Grew up in NC with a car-loving father (may he live and be well).  I have used all of the terms including straight, stick, manual, standard, and four on the floor.  Haven't heard straight drive in a LONG time.

[KarenNC]

The biggest problem with hills is that, because so relatively few cars here are straight drive, people don't leave space between cars at stoplights or stop signs any more. They're right up on your bumper.

[Firefly]

I didn't have a stall problem. It was ALL about rolling backwards on a STEEP hill.

But if you're at the catch point, it CAN'T roll back; that is where my confusion is coming in. That's the way it's been on the manuals I've driven-- maybe it's different for different cars?