S/O: Stick shift driving, can you do it? Do you enjoy it?

[DawnM]

Just curious based on the previous thread.

 

When DH and I got married we both had two door, stick shift cars.  

 

When I got pregnant, I could no longer push in the clutch (I am 4'11") with my reach!  So, we got an automatic.

 

As soon as I was finished having kids, I got a manual transmission again.  Then we adopted a child and 3 was too many for the back of that car with car seats.

 

Right now I drive an SUV.  It is an automatic.  But DH got my older car (Saturn VUE stick shift) and I drive that one at least once per week as I still prefer it.

 

I learned to drive a stick in Los Angeles with some very patient friends!  

 

ETA:  Apparently I did this same poll a while back.  I thought I had, but couldn't find it.......oh well......indulge me in my absent mindedness!

[Flowing Brook]

Where is the option for other? Not that I was going to vote other just that every poll must have a other :D

[unsinkable]

You did a poll like this in July.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/481445-can-you-drive-a-manual-transmission-and-do-you-have-one/

 

I remembered it when I read Wendy's thread.

[Pawz4me]

I learned to drive with a four-speed manual transmission (that was fun :blink: ) and my first car also had a four-speed manual transmission.  The next one was a five-speed.  So I'm quite adept at using clutches and changing gears.  But for the last 20 years or so I've only had automatics, and don't plan to change that in the future.

[Punchie]

I've never owned anything but a stick shift - I wasn't allowed to get my DL until I could drive one. I actually don't like renting cars because I have a tendency to treat the brake like a clutch, and bad things can happen unless I tuck my left foot somewhere out of the way.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I've always owned at least one manual transmission car. I had to learn to drive one when I was a teen because that was what was available to me.  My husband has always worked on my cars and with the better gas mileage that I get with them, it's been cheaper for us to own cars with manual transmissions.

 

I commuted in a 1979 Honda Civic (SMALL) for many years.  For the past 21 years, I've driven a 92 Civic sedan with a manual transmission.  I don't even think about my shifting as I've done it for so many years.  I'm very proficient. 

 

We've only  recently purchased an automobile (SUV) with an automatic transmission.  I feel less control when I drive it, which is not very often.  I really don't like depending on braking alone to slow the vehicle, especially in bad road conditions.  With a manual transmission, you can downshift to slow the car -- you get more control.

 

So yes, I enjoy driving my standard transmission cars over my automatic transmission vehicle.  My 68-year old mother recently purchased an automatic after many years of driving a manual, and she says she misses her stick shift as it was more fun to drive. 

 

 

[Ottakee]

We had to have basic level skills to pass driver's training.

 

Then a year after dh and I were married his brother was killed and we inherited his old truck.....that was a stick......with a racing clutch. I learned to drive it around our area, etc. and did drive into town a few times but wasn't confident in it. That clutch was super touchy and dh assures me that a regular stick shift would be much easier.

 

Now my friend has a stick again and hopefully she will give me lessons again someday, just in case I need that skill again.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

AMDG

 

I learned on a stick shift, have mostly driven stick through out my life, have taught a number of people to drive stick shifts themselves, and, far and away, prefer it over automatic.

 

I I don't have one right now, though.

[Cinder]

I'm ok at it but prefer to drive an automatic. I'm actually a little better than ok at it but that's the closest answer. I drove a stick for nearly 20 years before we got our minivan. Since I've been driving that for the last 8 years or so I've gotten a bit rusty driving a manual--particularly hills. We currently have a stick shift and I can drive it--though mostly ds1 drives it to school--but I prefer not to given the choice. I don't find it as fun as I once did.

 

The funny thing is, driving a stick gets into your brain. I still find myself--very occasionally--wanting to shift at random times when driving the van.

[Word Nerd]

I can drive one and think it's good to know how in case you ever need to (and I have had to drive a stick unexpectedly before). I prefer automatic.

[DawnM]

Oh shoot.  I thought I had, but then couldn't find it.  I thought I only asked what you called it.

 

Oh well, enjoy another round!

 

Dawn

 

 

You did a poll like this in July.

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/481445-can-you-drive-a-manual-transmission-and-do-you-have-one/

I remembered it when I read Wendy's thread.

 

[unsinkable]

Oh shoot. I thought I had, but then couldn't find it. I thought I only asked what you called it.

 

Oh well, enjoy another round!

 

Dawn

:-) it's like double prizes!

[Wheres Toto]

I voted - very confident but don't on a regular basis.  Really, it's that I no longer do on a regular basis.  Until fairly recently, I drove a stick almost daily.  I learned to drive a stick about 2 weeks after I got my license.  I needed a car to drive to school and a manual was much cheaper than an automatic (the car also had no air conditioning, no radio, manual windows).   It was rough at the beginning, especially since I was driving through urban areas of NJ including the parkway in stop-and-go traffic.  But, I can drive pretty much anything with a stick now - including a 24 foot box truck with a double-clutch (although that is an experience I never want to repeat).   Until recently there was always at least one vehicle with a stick in my household.

[HRAAB]

Out of all the cars we have owned, only one was an automatic. I drive a manual almost daily. Automatics are boring, manuals are fun....

[Amira]

I learned on a stick shift and the car we owned from 1998-2010 was a stick shift (loved that car).  Since it's awfully hard to find larger cars with a manual transmission we're stuck with automatic cars for a few years since we're a one-car family.  I'm definitely planning on switching back to a stick shift in 5 years when we're back to one child at home.

[Ipsey]

I learned to drive on a stick and loved it. Still love it. Unfortunately, all of our vehicles are automatic. I'd drive a stick, if I had a choice.

They're just FUN!

 

[Firefly]

 I *love* driving a manual.  I learned to drive on a standard and currently have a 6 speed Mini Cooper S which is a blast to drive. 

[regentrude]

I love driving stick shift. Much more fun than automatic. And especially so in the mountains!

 

DH searched for a very long time to find his new car because manual transmission is to priority.

My kids learn to drive stick first. They can always learn to drive an automatic easily later, but the other way round is much harder.

[Bambam]

I love driving a manual transmission. It is so much more fun!

 

It isn't easy to find a new four door manual transmission car anymore in the US though. In Houston, there were only two manual Hondas on all the lots.

[joannqn]

I learned to drive both an automatic and 5 speed stick when I was a teen.  I owned manual transmission cars exclusively until we bought a minivan that happened to be automatic.   I don't mind driving either kind of transmission, though, I prefer stick on those rare days we get snow.

[dbmamaz]

I've always driven a stick - well, when I was 16 my parents gave me the use of the third car, which was an auto, but made sure i could drive their 5-speed hondas.  Almost every car i've owned has been a stick shift.  My husband couldnt drive when I met him (he was legally blind much of his life) and he did drive my car a few times, in a parking lot, but has refused other than that.  My daughter cried and cried and hated my stick shift, but when she was living in CA, was glad she knew how, as that was the only car she had the use of.  

 

I drove 5-speed subaru wagons for a long time - finally I bought a 5-speed mazda 5!  I call it my mini-mini-van.  I'm so thrilled that I can still drive a manual!! 

 

My mom said that in her 60s she finally started driving an automatic.  thats one of the things i dread most about getting old, that I'll give up my stick.

[Hannah]

I've never driven an automatic car. Ever. And I've been driving for 25 years. Stick shifts are the norm here. It would be something to consider for someone hiring a car in South Africa.

[Crimson Wife]

I prefer stick in places where there is little traffic but am very glad to have an automatic out here with CA traffic.

[PrincessMommy]

I voted "very confident but don't drive as much as I used to"  When we first got married with both had a stick shift car too.  Today, my dh's car is a stick and I drive it occasionally, but it's mostly his car.  The other's are automatics.  I don't mind driving manual trans. unless the the traffic is bad - then it's a pain. 

[SKL]

When I was a young college student, and my dad was also a student at the same school, we used to drive together some days.  Well, he drove his stick, I was a passenger.  One day his class had a little celebration at a bar, and he stopped on the way home.  In about 60 seconds before he went in to meet his classmates, he told me "all about" driving a stick.  Just in case he was inebriated when he came out.  (Normally he didn't imbibe.)  He came out normal and drove home.

 

That was about 30 years ago.

 

So my honest answer would be, "I think I could drive one if I had to, but probably not well at first."

 

I did have to teach myself how to drive a lift truck and a few other interesting vehicles, so I am not afraid to try.  I just never had a need to do so.

[Forget-Me-Not]

I don't drive one frequently, but I enjoy it. My dad made me learn before I could get my drivers license because the teen car at our house was stick.

 

My brothers car is a stick. I had to borrow it on the spur of the moment last year when the battery in my car died, and I was pleased to see that the ability to drive it came right back after years of driving only automatic. :)

[mytwomonkeys]

i learned on a standard, but i prefer an automatic. my car is automatic. my husband drives a standard & when i have to use his car, i hate it!

[Word Nerd]

I just had a memory of Dad teaching me how to drive our old Chevy Chevette. I must have killed it 30 times before figuring out how to go forward in first.

[carriede]

I drove a Honda Del Sol through high school and college. Traded it in for a mid sized sedan when I was pregnant with DS. I miss my del Sol so much!! But it's not practical at this point.

[Freckles]

I wasn't allowed behind the wheel of an automatic until I was proficient at driving a stick shift. I learned to drive in a 1981 Datsun 280 ZX. I had to learn to drive backward around cones in the school parking lot before he allowed me to drive forward. There was this huge paved hill on the school campus, and he would make me stop in the middle of the hill and practice moving again without rolling backwards very far. I'm very grateful for my ability to drive a standard. I ended up driving that 280 ZX all through college. I now drive an automatic mom mobile because there is just too much stop and go traffic in L.A. 

[AlmiraGulch]

I learned to drive on a stick, and the first two cars I purchased myself were manual transmission (a 6-speed and then a 5-speed).  I don't drive one regularly anymore, because I don't want one again as long as I live in a high-traffic area, but I drive my sister's sometimes when I visit her and it's just as easy and natural as it was for me when I had my own. 

 

I did drive a super fun stick-shift car fairly recently.  It was a brand new Camaro, with a manual transmission and a Corvette engine.  Oh, wow, was that fun!  That's actual driving, not just steering.  

[Farrar]

I've never driven an automatic car. Ever. And I've been driving for 25 years. Stick shifts are the norm here. It would be something to consider for someone hiring a car in South Africa.

 

Yes, this is the one reason I kind of wish I could drive stick.  Every time we leave the country poor dh gets stuck driving the whole way.  He drove across Namibia and back and I felt terrible that I couldn't help!  But stick shift is just not the norm here.  I've never needed to drive stick in the US and all rental cars are automatic.

[texasmama]

Learned to drive one when I was 17 and drove one for years.  Had a lot of fun with my stick shift cars, which were sporty or classics.  :)  Miss driving my old Mustang and my cool 300ZX (pre-kid car). I was super cool in the vehicle department before kids.

[gardenmom5]

I enjoy driving a stick if it is well set for gears. (our kid car is a 4sp I despise. plus the clutch is hard to push in.)

 

we've reached the stage where we are buying cars that don't come in a stick. (at least, not with the features we want.)  high end sports cars supposedly can switch back and forth, but we've no interest, or use, for one.

[Mom2TheTeam]

I prefer a stick.  My first car was stick and so was my second and third.  After that they were automatic for various reasons.

 

We still own the 3rd.  It's a Corvette and I rarely drive it.  Though, that is because I have 6 kids and it only seats two. I went through a time when I was driving it daily to work. I rarely go out alone and when it's just me and my husband, he drives. 

 

So, I feel perfectly confident to drive a stick, but I don't do it often anymore...even though I could.

[hillfarm]

I drive a stick daily. Dh has an automatic transmission in his car, but my car doesn't. I like the control and better gas mileage it gives me and also the lower sticker price on the car. However, if I have to drive a long way in stop and go traffic, my left leg gets rather tired. The only other draw back I can imagine is that if I ever had an emergency and needed someone else to drive my car, not as many would be able to help me since so few know how to drive a stick any more.

 

I jokingly call it my anti-theft device. Most car thieves in my area are too young to know how to drive a stick! (Not that I really think they are itching to swipe my 4yo, no frills Kia Sportage!) I doubt they would get around the corner before they gave up and bailed out.

[mazakaal]

I'm completely confident driving a manual transmission. Most of my cars have been manuals. When I was young I was quite environmentally minded and wanted to get a manual Honda Civic for its fuel efficiency. The car salesman taught me to drive it. I had already had a couple of old automatics and had a new automatic after that Civic, but have driven only manuals for the past 13 years, since living in England. Most cars here are manuals because everyone wants the most efficient car possible; gas here costs about $8-9 a gallon.

[Rosie_0801]

I've only driven an automatic once. I could probably do it again in an emergency. I hate them.

[Matryoshka]

I much, much prefer a stick shift.  The only reason I voted that I don't drive one regularly is that I'm stuck with the minivan.  I drive dh's stick whenever I can get away with it.  When the van goes, I'm getting a stick!!  The minivans we've had since kids are the only non-stick cars we've ever had.

 

And yes, they are fun to drive.  Driving an automatic isn't fun at all.

[Guest]

As beginning drivers, we had no choice but to learn on a stick shift.  We were allowed to test for our license on an automatic, but we HAD to know how to drive a stick first.  Dh has never bought one, and I would prefer one.  I told him that since he has stuck me with the crap car (he needs our good/dependable) one for travel, that my next car is going to be a stick.

[Lady Florida.]

I can and I love it, but I haven't driven one in many years. I learned on an automatic, and my first car was automatic. My second was a 5 speed, which I had to learn to drive in a weekend, then take it back to Georgia where I lived at the time. My younger brother taught me how to drive it. 

 

Two of the cars I had, I bought specifically because they were sticks. I can also drive the old H-pattern manual with the shift on the steering column. 

 

A manual transmission costs extra at most dealers around here. I'm old enough to remember when it was the other way around.

[RoughCollie]

I love driving a car with a stick shift, especially on hills.

[Grover]

I learnt to drive in a stick shift, and much prefer it, but these days I drive an automatic because manual's are so hard to find.  I don't know if it's stil the case (or, come to think of it, if it was true in the first place) but I remember being told that if you got your license in an automatic you were only licensed for automatics, but if you did it in a manual you could drive either.

[Mandylubug]

I test drove a 6 speed Challenger a couple months ago! It was lovely :) I miss the days of not requiring four kids in one vehicle and being able to have a sporty stick shift. One day, I will get my freedom back :D

[Sherri in MI]

I had one for years and loved it.  But I've had automatics for so long, I really wouldn't want to get used to a stick again.  Do they even still make them?

[Jenny in Florida]

I significantly prefer to drive a stick shift. In fact, I talked myself into settling for an automatic when I bought the most recent new car, after months of test driving and researching and failing to find a car that met all of my other criteria AND had a manual transmission for a price I could afford. After eight months, I was so unhappy that I traded it in for a used car three years older that had a stick shift.

 

I've pretty much decided I will never buy an automatic again.

 

Driving a manual is just so much more fun and provides so much more control (not to mention getting better mileage), that I can't imagine intentionally bringing home anything else.

[Hannah]

And just when I said I'd never driven an automatic I did so today!

 

Had to help someone move a car - no more than 5 min drive, but I can say I've done it :) It did feel rather weird not undoing a hand-break and then having nowhere to go with my left foot.

[Soror]

I learned on an automatic. My dad tried to teach me to drive a stick but I gave up w/ his teaching. When dh and I got married though his dad was selling a car that I wanted and it had a stick so dh taught me, he was a MUCH better teacher. I drove that car for 7 years until it burned in the house fire. LOVED that car. I got to where I was very proficient as I commuted 3hrs to college multiple days per week for 3 yrs in it. I've not had a stick now since we went to a minivan after that so I'm sure I'd be rusty but I'd love to drive one again.

 

I have a hard time believing the poll results though as the vast majority of people I know do not drive sticks and many don't know how to drive them but that probably depends on the age group answering.

[G5052]

I drove them all the time with my summer college job, and owned one for 5 years when I lived in a remote area.  Stick shifts are great for mountain driving!

 

Haven't had one in over 20 years though. They're agony in heavy traffic IMHO.

 

[AuntPol]

I used to always drive a stick and drove one living in Los Angeles with all the hills.

 

I don't drive one anymore because I'm in the stereotypical mini-van stage of life......