OT: Talking Cars Tuesday - Return of the stick

Learned to drive with a manual 5-speed and owned a few on the floor and on the column transmissions. I don't regret learning them other than the bullshit of replacing clutch plates. 

There's just no point in it today other than the nostalgic "cool" factor. I have two 8 speed automatics paired with a Hemi and an LT1.  They have buttons or paddles but hardly ever use them because their Transmission Control Systems are way smarter than me. 

Besides I need that right hand to hold my beer...err Pepsi Zero, so I don't miss shifting. 

I've always wondered, what is the benefit of waiting until you're at higher RPMs (sometimes at or near redline) to shift into a higher gear? It would seem like it would be better to shift up earlier, not later. (Admittedly, I know very little about the finer points of shifting with respect to racing, efficiency, etc.)

One of my proudest moments was when my high school basketball coach threw me his car keys and asked me to move his car that was located on the other side of the parking lot closer to the gym to load it up.   I was 16 at the time and learned how to drive on a manual RWD Chevy S-10.  So manual transmissions didn't make me anxious.  But I was not prepared for the three-on-the-tree experience that faced me in this situation.   Wiping sweat off of my brow, I successfully got that bad boy rolling without stalling or lurching, and I even managed to touch 2nd gear by "taking the long way" around the parking lot.   

I have not driven another three-on-the-tree manual again.

Had a 2000 Kia Sephia. It was a manual and sea green. Lasted over 200k miles, saw the east coast and west coast, and Canada and Mexico. Best car I ever had. It was called the mousetrap because it was quite small and you felt trapped like a mouse in it.

Were it not for the fact that my wife never learned how to drive one, I never would have switched from a manual to automatic transmission.

My last two 5-speeds were a 1980 VW Scirocco S followed by a 1984 Audi S4000. Only reason I traded in the Scirocco after only 4 years was that it didn't have air conditioning. Loved both cars. 

At least I followed them up with Audis and VWs with Tiptronic so I could switch over and shift them when I felt like it. But its not the same as rowing through gears.

Now a dumb question - 'cause I've really never been all that enamored with paddle shifters - do all the cars offering manual transmissions today actually have stick shifters and a clutch pedal, or are some equipped with paddle shifters only?. 

I'm on my third manual in my lifetime. First one was a VW Beetle that I drove for a few years while an undergraduate in Ann Arbor. I learned to drive a manual on my brother's Renault Le Car while driving home from a ski trip in Ontario. After graduating, I stepped up to a rally-bred 1988 Mazda 323 GTX ...a fuel-injected, turbo-charged DOHC AWD pocket-rocket. Got 200k miles over 10 years before donating it to charity and getting family cars to cart the kiddoes around for the next 16 years. The GTX was the most fun I'd had in a car until my next manual, a 2014 Subaru WRX ... another AWD rally breed that I still drive most days. One of my favorite mods is the short-throw shifter! 160k miles and still purring like tiger.

I learned to drive on my parent's 1962 Rambler Classic—one of the most ungainly, clod-like cars ever manufactured in the U.S. To make it even more unsexy, it had three on the tree. However, it did have one positive feature: front seat backs that folded down, so it did come in handy when out with my girlfriend.

Aside from the 1966 Pontiac Catalina that I owned for a few months back in the mid-'70s, all the other cars I bought were sticks until 1992 when I came across a used '86 Accord with an automatic that was in great shape for a great price. I was not looking for an automatic, but it was such a good deal overall that I sprung for it anyhow. In short order I was converted as I discovered that I could drive and talk on my comically huge brick mobile phone at the same time, which actually came in handy for business stuff. Or drive and drink coffee at the same time. 

One skill that's valuable to have when driving a stick is being able to parallel park on a steep incline. My brother taught me how to do that in his VW Beetle in San Francisco, and that's when I learned the parking brake had more uses than simply anchoring the car after the ignition is turned off.

I had a 93 MR2 Turbo which was stick. That heavy clutch was a left leg workout for my friends who drove Hondas and other cars with feather-light clutches lol. 

Rented a car during our honeymoon on Tahiti. They were kind of expensive, so I asked if they had anything cheaper. They had one car, but tried to convince me not to get it b/c it was all manual - seats, windows, locks, transmission. Sold! for half the rate of the nicer cars with slushboxes. 

I wouldn't mind having a manual transmission car and teaching my girls, but at this point, it's going the way of the dodo bird and will just be a novelty. 

Guessing? Yes, it's dead cat bounce. EVs are coming.

DCTs are faster, as are paddle shifters, than sticks. The paddles also give the same granular control as a stick with no need for a third pedal. This speed difference annoys every "kid" that tries to play with me in the paddle shifting ZO6 while in Track mode; and *really* annoys every kid that tries to shift faster than a single speed i4 M50 in Sport Boost mode. They're just not thinking when they give me the "let's go, old man" look. Still fun to crush their hopes and aspirations. Usually, there's a follow up, nice convo at the gas pumps or car shows with most of these same guys.

Learned on a three on the column POS Chevy owned by a friend's father. Then learned to row 4 on the floor in Chevy Nova, bought a 2002tii and learned my way around a track for the first time. A Supra with a stick was a fun ride as was the GTI that I used to "borrow back" from my younger son. Last stick was a C6 ZO6 with the LS7. Linear pull as only a NA engine can provide.

Alas, no more sticks for this driver. Honestly don't miss them. 

I think of a manual the same way I think of button-fly jeans.  A stylish choice for a 20-something, a significant mistake for those over 50.

My lawnmower is a manual.  I like the feel of it.

I dragged fox body mustangs in 80s 90s and manual was definitely the way to go unless you had thousands (a lot back then) to drop in a built C4 or 700R4 (I know GM trans, but damn, ford's AOD was garbage). A built automatic with a reverse manual valve body and appropriate stall torque converter for power band of engine was the way to go for a serious track car even then. But now, the bone stock autos outperform sticks even driven by masterful operators, and get better mileage. Sadly, as someone who prided myself in being able to row the gears and hole shot with the best of them, I wouldnt waste the time with a manual these days---would get tired of studying taillights of comparable automatic equipped cars being driven by someone who bought it yesterday.

I can remember my dad teaching me to drive a stick when I was a teen.  I would get so nervous if I had to stop on a hill and the driver behind me would pull up really close. I was always afraid I would roll back into his car or stall out when the light changed. My great dad would always calmly talk me through it and it never happened. Really miss him.

I have a manual in my Shelby GT500 and love it. It is nice to tell the car when to shift even if it is not possible to do it anywhere near as quickly as the new automatics can accomplish the same task. It's just fun.

The vehicles I have orders in for are not even offered with a manual. Hell, I'd want one in an electric car if it were possible.

Sad

Two of my cars have Tiptronic, and though I shift gears manually on occasion - I usually drive in “automatic” mode.

Earlier in life, especially just after college - I bought cars with a manual transmission - and liked them.  Once the kids arrived, I said “goodbye” to manual transmissions.

And, most likely, the only way I’d pick up a manual today - is if I purchased a “vintage” sports car in the future.

Learned on a stick many moons ago but now I have a wonky knee and I figure the time I get a manual transmission I'll be driving one-legged following surgery so I only have automatics.

I was a die hard who thought all sports cars must have a manual.  When I got my GEN 6 SS Camaro, I got an automatic mostly due to just wanting to cruise around in it. Not sure I'll ever own a manual again now. If I put it in track mode, it shifts how I would but it's much smoother and the car has much more acceleration.  I can always switch over to using the paddle shifters if I want that feeling but I'll never come close to being as smooth and accurate as the computer.

I learned to drive a stick on the spot as a teenager when I bought a used car that was a stick . . . and I needed to get home.  Lots of angry horns on the stuttering 25 mile trip home through town and highway.

Meanwhile, my kids have never even seen a stick shift car.

What is interesting is how many cars overseas are still stick shift.  Even in highly developed countries.  When you rent a car in those places it is likely to be a stick by default.  Even vehicles like a minivan.

I was a hero in my family a couple of times for being the only one able to drive the car we rented overseas, when we didn't pay enough attention to the default (stick) shifting mechanism it came with.

Shopping/browsing for a 2022 Subaru WRX Limited....6spd manual

I DD a 2005 BMW 330i ZHP 6MT with 171k miles on it.  Taking time off work in two weeks to replace the clutch and shifter linkage.  Installing the UUC EVO6 short shifter system and upgrading all bushings.  Can't wait!

My first girlfriend at Michigan let me learn how to drive shift on her grey Mazda 6 (it was called Grey Ghost), it had those 1990s purple Colorado license plates.  She was so nice that she let me drive it to an appointment by myself without ever having driven stick!  I had played enough car video games to be decent at it the first time.  Since that time I have owned a stick 2003 VW Jetta 1.8T, 6MT Chrysler Crossfire convertible (terrible gearbox), 2009 VW Jetta Sportwagon Dirty Diesel (great car, sold it before it got busted), and now the 330i.

I also DD a 2001 BMW 740i Sport.  :-)

I have a 1978 Trans am that is a 4 speed car sitting in my garage but it hasn't been on the road in at least five years. I keep thinking I need to put some money and time into it to get it going again. I enjoy driving manual cars but not really for every day driving.