This is really bugging me

[oil_spaz]

These days cell phones and coffee drinking are the killers for sticks---men and women.

My wife had a '83 Chevette with a four-speed stick when I first met her. She was pretty good with it. She didn't lug the engine, grind the gears, or ride the clutch.

Back in the 70's my father insisted I learn to drive a stick. His theory was that (A) If you could drive a stick, you could drive anything and (B) Manuals were much more reliable than automatics. These days automatics are so reliable that I don't feel the need to bother with a manual.

 

[Colt45ws]

Heh. I could care less about fitting in. My car probably illustrates that pretty well. Im also afraid of ruining the clutch in my Mom's Saturn. No thanks. Don't really feel like putting another clutch in that.

 

[Gary Allan]

Quote:
I don't think it's that uncommon for Canadian women to drive standard.


Hmmm..The Guess Who were on to something

 

[andyd]

I drove manuals for 25 yrs or so. Rowing back and forth to work got old fast when I started commuting into Boston. Now when I drive a 5 speed, I am always missing gears. I never had this problem with my 3 and 4 speeds. I have a company van now, so my next toy car will prolly be a stick. I taught Marina how to drive a stick, when we were first married. My mother got her first automatic car when she was in her 80s.

 

[wcbcruzer]

Originally Posted By: sprintman
Mori, you have not covered the major point, why do American women not drive stick, when Australian women do, and by jesus are d#amn proud of it?


Honestly, I don't think it's just women who don't prefer stick. Men don't like it either. I think it's funny though when our European relatives come to visit and scoff at the fact that most of our cars here are automatic. Line em up and lets see who's faster b****!

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: wcbcruzer
I think it's funny though when our European relatives come to visit and scoff at the fact that most of our cars here are automatic. Line em up and lets see who's faster b****!


You mean, who'll reach a whopping 65 mph first?

 

[Steve S]

My wife drives a stick like a pro .Can drive a semi truck as well!!![with a stick] Drive a tractor and even ride a horse.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
I taught my girlfriend to drive a stick. I swear she drove it better than I did.


We're still talking about cars, right?

 

[1sttruck]

You need to think at least a bit when using a manual, making decisions about when to shift and such. It's typically easier to use a manual when you can hear the engine, as opposed to listening to a loud radio. A manual is not very forgiving, it won't let you skip a few shifts while you diddle with the radio. One needs practice and a bit more attention when driving on steep hills in traffic with a manual. Most people in the US seem to start whining a lot when using a manual in traffic.

My wife is German, learned to drive a stick, our Civic had a stick, but we're on our third Taurus and she definately likes the auto. I guess it's a 'bandwidth thing', and she like most people prefers the mindless nature of the auto over using a manual.

 

[1sttruck]

"These days automatics are so reliable that I don't feel the need to bother with a manual."

As part of a community action program I think that Ford and Chrysler started hiring high school students to help the auto tranny designers, students who unfortunately were crack babies. They did so well that Honda did the same. All three makes being famous for the same level of auto tranny quality over a number of years.

 

[wcbcruzer]

Originally Posted By: moribundman
You mean, who'll reach a whopping 65 mph first?

65?? What kind of car do YOU drive?

 

[Crashbox]

I vastly prefer a stick over a self-shifter any day!!! Manuals are FAR better in adverse weather conditions, tend to get better mileage, and they do make you pay more attention to your driving which is always a plus.

I am SO thankful I learned how to drive with an old '49 Chev 1/2 ton back in Claire City, South Dakota when I was visiting relatives there in '74. I like manuals so much that I have contemplated changing my '77 Chev 3/4 ton 454 over to a stick; maybe get a professionally-rebuilt SM420 to put behind it if it can handle the torque.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: 1sttruck
"These days automatics are so reliable that I don't feel the need to bother with a manual."

As part of a community action program I think that Ford and Chrysler started hiring high school students to help the auto tranny designers, students who unfortunately were crack babies. They did so well that Honda did the same. All three makes being famous for the same level of auto tranny quality over a number of years.

Actually I think it was mostly the bean counters. The engineers knew how to make it last, but had to struggle with a tight budget. The modification I did to my transmission was designed by a retired Ford Drivetrain engineer who did lots of work on the AOD/4R70W project. It funny because since he published his mod Ford has implemented most of the modifications it calls for to the point where with my '04 trans I didnt really have to do alot.

 

[John K]

My wife and I both prefer manuals. When she got her first job out of college, before I met her, she bought a VW Beetle (1963) and had never driven a stick. The salesman explained it to her when she picked up the car and off she went!

As to the comment that women are easier on equipment, I am not so sure. Secretaries where I used to work really slam and bang on things like copiers and other office equipment. I used to cringe expecting the glass to break.

I can't imagine anyone driving a Miata with an auto! What a waste, especially when they have such a sweet short shifting automatic....

 

[John K]

Just re-read my post. Of course I meant to say sweet short shifting MANUAL!

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: wcbcruzer
Originally Posted By: moribundman
You mean, who'll reach a whopping 65 mph first?

65?? What kind of car do YOU drive?

How FAST do you drive on US roads?

 

[moribundman]

Originally Posted By: 1sttruck
You need to think at least a bit when using a manual, making decisions about when to shift and such. It's typically easier to use a manual when you can hear the engine, as opposed to listening to a loud radio.


Actually, I shift totally subconsciously. I find steep hills, and we got plenty of those where I learned driving and here in SF, easier with a manual that with a slushbox. Many drivers ruin their automatics on our hills. Of course, my car doesn't have a retarded foot operated e-brake, but a useful handbrake. And yes, having owned two cars with slushboxes, I do know about automatics.


Quote:
Most people in the US seem to start whining a lot when using a manual in traffic.

In stop-and-go traffic I don't care much for MT either. The manual then does not do anything to boost the joy of driving, but the MT surely will strain my left leg.

 

[TallPaul]

Agree with mori, if you have driven a stick very long (I'm going on 33 years), you don't need to hear the motor, see a tach, or really think about it, it becomes second nature, like breathing. You know when to shift by the feel of the power laying down on the road.

 

[1sttruck]

Been using a manual of some sort for 40 years now, bikes 250cc thru 100cc, cars / trucks 1.5L thru 5.9L. I rarely listen to the radio when driving, and on one trip the family talked me into turning it on. We wound thru some road construction on the highway, and about half an hour down the road I noticed I was still in 4th gear. The Cummins was happy turning the revs, running smoothly, but fuel mileage would be better in 5th so I snicked it into the next gear.

 

[Turk]

Last time I was in Ireland for work I rented an Alfa Romero that had a stick.

It was fun to drive on the left side of the road with a stick - you shift with the left hand. Loved it!