Learning to drive a stick

For most people, commutes ARE a general rule.

 

I love shifts. My first car was a 69 Volvo 1800 Damn, I loved that car. Went like a bat out of hell Also drove a VW Sciroco--mid 80's

Haven't had a car with one in a long time but as Evil pointed out everybody should learn to drive one.

 

Heard this all my life (and I don't necessarily disagree.) But I have to ask ... why should I?

In this day and age, nearly 90 percent of the cars on the road (at least in the U.S.) are automatic. My parents got rid of their last sticks before I turned 8; I never had the opportunity to learn to drive manual, even if I wanted to. None of my friends in high school drove a stick, so I never had an opportunity to have to drive their cars for the usual reasons (they're too drunk, etc.)

In all my life, I've been close to exactly one person whose manual-transmission car I might have ever driven, and then under only the most extreme circumstances (medical emergency or something).

I've never had a rental that was a stick, I don't intend to ever buy a stick (mostly because I've never driven one, for all the above reasons).

So, why should "everybody" still learn to drive a stick? What possible value does that skill have anymore, unless you happen to really love owning a manual-transmission car (which, granted, some people do.) Are there places out there, or occupations, or stations in life, where you might have no choice but to drive a vehicle with a stick shift?

 

From the "I can't fucking believe no one has asked this already" dept.

Did they not teach this in driver's ed?

 

Not my driver's ed. We had two K cars and a fancy Buick Regal sedan.

 

Hell, no school in my home county has had driver's ed since the 1980s.

 

No. Too advanced, I suppose.

 

Years ago, in Europe, rental vehicles had manuals. Dunno if that's still the case, but if so, chalk one up for manuals.

Buck-Dub, sticks offer you a better chance to actually DRIVE a vehicle. Not just steer it with a knee while consuming your Taco Bell goo in one hand and a cell phone in the other. It's a driving experience that, if you get the chance, many don't soon forget.

In bad weather, the ability to better control upshifts, downshifts, engine RPMs and such subtleties should not be overlooked. The opportunity to slow a vehicle by downshifting instead of slamming on the brakes is a nice little skill in the driving toolbox. You're not a lesser driver for not having knowledge of a manual, but those who know how have a golden opportunity to improve their driving skills.


That baseball game a kid always grew up watching at the local municipal park looks like the greatest thing in the world ... until that kid sees the same games played at Fenway Park, Wrigley Field or Camden Yards. They're both games, but one experience is clearly more memorable and worthwhile than the other.

 

I get all that, Sam, but my point is: I've NEVER had an opportunity to even be around a stick car. They're nowhere to be found in my world.

I grew up hearing my parents' stories of learning how to drive sticks -- they both had 'em when they were teenagers -- but to me, they're just nonexistent. Nobody I know drives a stick, only one person I've ever known since I became of driving age had a stick.

The only reason I would ever have to learn how to drive a stick is if I were, at some point, possibly going to be in a situation where I might have to drive one.

And I've never, in 12 years of driving, been in anything resembling that situation.

 

Learned to drive on a VW bug and drove a stick-shift from 14 until I was 48. I've had automatics in my truck(s) ever since and would never go back.

But it is a nice skill to have, just in case. And it's like riding a bike, you never forget how to once you learn it.

 

At the risk of sounding much older than I already am (ugh ... concession of life, eh?), it's a long-lost skill that no one really wants to teach.

Auto manufacturers aren't as willing to make as many vehicles with manuals because automatics are more convenient and a pricier option on the window sticker. The opportunity to learn should be much more readily available, but it isn't and that's a serious shame.

FWIW, I've driven nothing but manuals since I've had my license. And that is truly by choice ... automatics and I don't get along. If I want more power or the ability to change speeds and such, I simply downshift. In an automatic, I've been known to want a little more power, display a lack of patience and have the slushbox downshift twice in retaliation. Ridiculous ... and likely a product of driving manuals.

I'm the sort who has tapped the space to the left of the brake pedal trying to find the clutch in an automatic, and have had to sit on my right hand to avoid making expensive sounds with the transmission, remembering that downshifting isn't needed as I approach the upcoming intersection.

And you were discussing not being around manuals. When I turned driving age, two of the three vehicles in the driveway were equipped with manuals. And I didn't want to drive the minivan, so I learned. Thank goodness.