Stickin' to it!

[Argabarga]

Thought I was getting another "Oh please don't tow me for my illegal parking" note when I came up on this car, since I could see something taped to the the back window from across the lot.

Instead, it said:

LEARNING STICK, SORRY!!

Uh... okay.

No need to apologize to me for that, (In hindsight, that was probably for the benefit of people who end up behind our learner on grades so they don't freak out when the car starts drifting back on them...) in fact, you're doing pretty good. You remembered to put the e-brake on when you parked, a surprising number of people don't do that with manual transmissions. At least a few of which we have to tow every year when they come out of the classroom/gym/McDonalds and find that they neglected to do the same and as a result, their car got taken on a joyride by gravity, and there's now upwards of 3 other car owners and at least one friendly police officer who'd like to have a word with them about that....

So, driving stick grade? "A"

Now, your grade on parking? Eh.... uh... well, tell you what, I don't wanna embarrass you in front of your friends, so, why don't you just come and see me after class? Cuz' thanks to ignoring the "PERMIT ONLY" signs, you're walking stick now, buwa ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaaa!

[Gilhelmi]

Ah, Standard Transmission. First vehicle I drove (by myself) was a 10-ton grain truck, "fully-loaded" (overloaded 15-tons). Ten speed, 5 high, 5 low.

Large hill, about a 30% grade, 100 meters long. Five meters from the hill crest, I needed just a little more power to climb over. Dropped it from high to low and floored it (just like father taught me). Nothing, no power to the wheels. I put my foot on the break, I knew the E-Break would never hold 15-tons, but the foot break would let me ride backwards down the 100 meter hill. I white knuckled it down safely. My father came along 30 minutes later and found the Differential Gear shaft was sticking out the axle. He was proud that day, and he stopped overloading his trucks that day also.

I love standard transmissions.

[Jetfire]

Ah learning to drive a stick. If I were forced to I could probably do it, but otherwise I'll stick with a standard.

Dad had an old Nissan truck (nicknamed the puddle jumper) back when I was learning to drive. We also lived on a half acre lot with lots of trees on it, including one tree at the end of the driveway. That tree seemed to have magnets on it, since numerous members of the family tried to uproot it with their vehicles.

For me, my incident with that tree was with dad's truck. I was turning into the driveway, kept turning and swung straight into the tree while trying to shift gears (or remember everything I had to with a standard). Crunch, right in the driver's front panel.

The truck was on the road for years after that, but it always had those dents from its encounter with the tree.

The tree on the other hand, we eventually had chopped down (I think just before my sister started driving. )

[earl colby pottinger]

Personally I don't like stick-shift.

The reason I did learnt how to drive SS is the show The Amazing Race, a show where you race to win $1,000,000 that I had wished to get on.

Every season a team would enter and then get removed from the race because they did not know how to drive a car/truck/tank (yes a Russian tank with explosive special effects) because it did not have automatic drive. Who would not like a chance to drive a tank during a war-game?

[Shangri-laschild]

Yeah, we have a lot of students here who forget to put the brake on and then we have to go find them since their car is in the way. One kid did it in a beautiful sports car and was lucky no one had hit his car with where it ended up. He comes out, pops the door open (it wasn't locked) and pulls the keys from the center console. This is not an area where that is a bright idea by the way....

[MoonCat]

Who would not like a chance to drive a tank during a war-game?

I have 10 or 12 places in mind that I'd like to drive one of those through right now...

[mathnerd]

I had quite the opposite experience recently: learning how to drive an automatic. I'm 38 years old and in April I purchased my very first automatic. There were some interesting times getting used to it.

[Sapphire Silk]

I had quite the opposite experience recently: learning how to drive an automatic. I'm 38 years old and in April I purchased my very first automatic. There were some interesting times getting used to it.

I know what you mean. I've gone back and forth between stick and automatic all my life. I just got back from a trip with a friend; we took her car which is stick (she was really pleased not to have to do all the driving). When I got home and started driving my truck, my hand kept dropping down to the stick, and my left foot kept looking for the clutch for about a day

[Android Kaeli]

Wait, there are still cars with stick shifts? *mind blown*

In all seriousness, when I was looking for a new car some odd years ago the roommate pointed out that the stick shift cars were about 3-5k less then the automatic and said that I should consider getting one. I told her as I'm about to tell everyone else: I've never driven a stick, I've never learned how to drive one, and if you don't want to pick my body from the morgue, I'm sticking with an automatic.

[otakuneko]

My car has an optional manual mode, wherein shifting is accomplished via flappy paddles.

I tend to leave it in auto.

[fireheart]

Every season a team would enter and then get removed from the race because they did not know how to drive a car/truck/tank (yes a Russian tank with explosive special effects) because it did not have automatic drive. Who would not like a chance to drive a tank during a war-game?

I do believe that they now put the question on the form: Can one/both of you drive stick?

Also, for those who haven't seen the show, one of the challenges involved contestants driving a SNOWPLOW machine. This was a giant snowplow that basically looked like a mechanical crab feeding snow up a ramp. And they had to drive it through a course.

Wait, there are still cars with stick shifts? *mind blown*

They're still fairly common in Australia. My current car is a manual but my previous one was auto. I learned in another manual and my driving instructors car was a dual transmission.

My partner cannot drive stick.

My car has an optional manual mode, wherein shifting is accomplished via flappy paddles.

I tend to leave it in auto.

My driving instructor's car was a dual-transmission. I got in the car and got excited when I saw the gear stick, but then wondered where the hell the clutch was. He was a good driving instructor though, signed me and my sister off on several competencies in our first lesson. (Over here, you can either pass a number of competencies to get your licence which culminates in a final drive, or you can just do the driving test straight up. Most people do the former)

[Sapphire Silk]

Wait, there are still cars with stick shifts? *mind blown*

In all seriousness, when I was looking for a new car some odd years ago the roommate pointed out that the stick shift cars were about 3-5k less then the automatic and said that I should consider getting one. I told her as I'm about to tell everyone else: I've never driven a stick, I've never learned how to drive one, and if you don't want to pick my body from the morgue, I'm sticking with an automatic.

Manual transmissions used to be cheaper because automatics were optional that made the car more expensive. That's changing; some high end cars only come in automatic.

However, I think sticks will be around for awhile. There are a lot of people who really enjoy driving a stick shift and will demand they remain available. Also, there are some situations where having one is really desirable. For example, if you're going uphill on a dirt or icy road it's easier to control how much power you are using by up/down shifting into different gears. That's harder to do with an automatic (though you can do it).

Manuals are more fuel efficient on the highway. Automatics are more fuel efficient in stop and go traffic.

This conversation is making me regret selling my Jeep a couple of years ago

[otakuneko]

My partner cannot drive stick.

Must...not...make...joke........

Manual transmissions used to be cheaper because automatics were optional that made the car more expensive. That's changing; some high end cars only come in automatic.

However, I think sticks will be around for awhile. There are a lot of people who really enjoy driving a stick shift and will demand they remain available. Also, there are some situations where having one is really desirable.

Also, mid to high-end sports cars. Saddling one with an automatic is kinda like...castration. Many aren't available in auto (for example, the WRX).

[wolfie]

You remembered to put the e-brake on when you parked, a surprising number of people don't do that with manual transmissions. At least a few of which we have to tow every year when they come out of the classroom/gym/McDonalds and find that they neglected to do the same and as a result, their car got taken on a joyride by gravity, and there's now upwards of 3 other car owners and at least one friendly police officer who'd like to have a word with them about that....

My employer used to have a couple "short term" parking spots that were VERY convenient for people who just needed to get their paperwork. Those spots are now "No Parking". Why? People were forgetting to set their parking brakes, and there was a slight slope. A couple vehicles headed out the driveway (straight shot from these spaces), across a major street, and through the fence on the other side - fortunately, no cars on the street got hit. Why weren't they left in gear? The company trucks have a "safety feature" where the starter only works in neutral, so people typically shift into neutral before parking (why can't the switch be on the clutch pedal the way my car has it?). Anyone notice how I said "company TRUCKS"? Yep, these runaways were 18 wheelers.

Ah learning to drive a stick. If I were forced to I could probably do it, but otherwise I'll stick with a standard.

I was under the impression that "standard" and "stick" both referred to a manual transmission. What's the distinction between them.

I had quite the opposite experience recently: learning how to drive an automatic. I'm 38 years old and in April I purchased my very first automatic. There were some interesting times getting used to it.

I hope the vehicle in question was one where the parking brake was a hand lever (both manual and automatic versions of my car have this type), instead of a foot pedal conveniently located to the left of the brake (as in most minivans). The second type could get rather interesting for someone who's used to driving a manual.

[Golden Phoenix]

I'll admit I haven't driven much since I passed my test 9 years ago, but I don't recall ever even riding in an automatic.

I know they exist in the UK, but i've never seen one. My driving instructor had a manual, and it seems to be pretty much assumed that manual is the default over here.

Or maybe I'm just a bit oblivious...

I recall a tv show from many years ago (Possibly called driving school?) featuring a woman named Maureen Rees who had failed her test many times, possibly as many as twenty times according to unsubstantiated googled forum posts, and much ado was made about the fact that she eventually passed, by learning in an automatic.

(Quick note: Internet rumour has it that she later passed both her manual test, and an advanced drivers test and is now herself a driving instructor!)

EDIT: Further checking says she passed on her 7th attempt and instead used her reality tv money to set up her own cleaning company.