Can you drive a manual transmission car?

[BrewMaster]

I'm just curious about the ratio of people that can and cannot drive stick. It's a yes/no question. Either you are capable of driving a manual tranny car without stalling or giving people whiplash, or you cannot.

[IrishSS]

Yes, and I actually prefer it in most cases. The times I dont... stop and go traffic and towing.


And I've only owned manual vehicles.

[Mike_N_Ike]

Yes sir. And I'll never go back to auto.

[ray]

No. I have always wanted to learn, but on the same token, I don't think I would ever buy a manual tranny car because I'm way too lazy to have to hold down the clutch and shift gears etc etc.

[yippiekiyeh]

No. I have always wanted to learn, but on the same token, I don't think I would ever buy a manual tranny car because I'm way too lazy to have to hold down the clutch and shift gears etc etc.


It's like second nature, I don't about it, it just happens.

But I like to call it a standard transmission.

[DaFunkyUnit]

but driving a manual would require one hand on the stick shift (as opposed to it using the cell phone, grabbing cds, eating a cheeseburger, reading the paper, smoking the cigerette, holding the hot styrofoam cup of McDonalds coffee, etc....)

[Airencracken]

but driving a manual would require one hand on the stick shift (as opposed to it using the cell phone, grabbing cds, eating a cheeseburger, reading the paper, smoking the cigerette, holding the hot styrofoam cup of McDonalds coffee, etc....)

That's a big hand!

*rimshot*

Anyone?....
No?...

Okay.
:dead:

[IrishSS]

No. I have always wanted to learn, but on the same token, I don't think I would ever buy a manual tranny car because I'm way too lazy to have to hold down the clutch and shift gears etc etc.
It gets to be such second nature its like walking. You dont even think about it, unless you miss a gear.. which happesn to everybody sooner or later. Going back to first when you mean to get 3 or 5 is particularly fun =).

[Memo]

Ya I drive a standard. It's also funny when you accidently stall it out and people look at you as if you're an idiot who doesn't know how to drive.

[Mike_N_Ike]

Clutch drops...

...J-Turns...

...Heel/toe shifting...

Just a few of the things I'd miss if I had an auto

[ski]

The first car I ever drove was a manual transmission car.

[InfiniteNothing]

how about a bit of gray in the poll
(I can, every car I've owned is manual )

[Airencracken]

My car doesn't even have gears per se. :D

But I can drive a manual and every car from here on out is either a manual or a CVT (E-CVT too), no more crappy auto's.

[djsusm]

yup. ever since I was 10...

[mechmike0034]

Anything from two wheels to eighteen, and, to quote Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, "all points in between..."

[bachviet]

Yes but I'm not very good at it. :D

[mechmike0034]

but driving a manual would require one hand on the stick shift (as opposed to it using the cell phone, grabbing cds, eating a cheeseburger, reading the paper, smoking the cigerette, holding the hot styrofoam cup of McDonalds coffee, etc....)

When I was driving a wrecker (C3500 Chevy, one ton, 4-spd with granny low) for a living some years ago, I got pretty good at juggling the shifter, a 20 oz. coffee, a Marlboro Red, the bag phone (remember those?), and a clipboard and pen all at once. Even while towing another vehicle... Even in traffic...

But I was a trained professional... :)

[DarkFury]

Yes... I can drive a stick, however both vehicles I currently own are both automatics... (and neither had a manual transmission as an option when I bought them... not that I have selected it if given the choice).

I learned to drive on a stick ('78 Chevy Monza with no power nothing...except the engine), and my second car was a stick ('89 Ford Probe). :D

[Hopper1]

I can but don't have one and in traffic I have knee problems.

[gear02]

I can't. Dude, why would I want to worry about something else when there are morons on the road to worry about?

But it looks like fun and I do want to learn...when I get a new car, I might get one of those auto/manual hybrid thingies where I don't have a clutch and can just shift around.

[SnowSurfer]

i love driving stick, driving automatic puts me to sleep

[attgig]

learned on my friend's car in college

[brainsmile]

yup yup

[Nanotech9]

gear 02 - i'de rather drive a standard in heavy traffic... if for some reason your only escape in a bad situation is to punch it and drive out of it (i.e. shoot for a hole in traffic the next lane over instead of rearending the 40 morons in front of you) and if you're thinking ahead like you should be, you'll already be in the best possible gear, and all you have to do is punch it and go... in an automatic you have to wait for it to decide to downshift, and then TRY to go... about 3 secs late.

honestly, i dont even think about shifting or clutching or any of it now... it just happens, and i drive. My brain already has me in the right gear every time. I heel-n-toe downshift also. Naturally. Requires little or no thought either.

and yeah, i drive the living daylights out of a standard tranny... go watch any of the videos of my car on the track on my website. Its a blast.

likewise, bikes (except for some pansy ass bikes) have "manual" transmissions... 6 gears, no reverse, neutral is between 1st and 2nd etc... the cool thing about bike transmissions is that you dont always have to use the clutch... theres enough play in the drivetrain and you can learn to flick the throttle quick enough and use the rear brake well enough that you can up and down shift a bike transmission w/o using the clutch. Its not the "fast" way to shift, but its much more leisurely when you're too lazy to put your left hand back on the left bar, or if you're giving your right hand a break and holding teh throttle with your left hand.

[nhbilly]

only time I drive an auto is when i know I will be in traffic. especially in freaken LA

[Eugene]

learned on my friend's car in college
Wow, perfect!! I had no choice in the matter... stick shift was all we had. But I don't regret it... I just don't envy my dad sitting in the passenger seat, watching as I stalled repeated and burned the clutch with my sloooooow shifts. :) Thankfully, I've gotten a little better.

Also... where to read up on heel-toe shifting? I can sort of do it, but it's still kinda wild...

[Grubbie]

I get bored with automatics. Im trying to teach my gf how to drive standard each time I go home. Even if drove in very bad traffic every day I perfer the standard, just that much more fun.

[nhbilly]

I get bored with automatics. Im trying to teach my gf how to drive standard each time I go home. Even if drove in very bad traffic every day I perfer the standard, just that much more fun.


good luck still teaching mine to drive a standard :cheers:

[RoniMan]

i learned two years ago and i love drive stick whenever i have the chance....


but driving a manual would require one hand on the stick shift (as opposed to it using the cell phone, grabbing cds, eating a cheeseburger, reading the paper, smoking the cigerette, holding the hot styrofoam cup of McDonalds coffee, etc....)

actually, that's another reason why i like to drive manual, b/c it keeps me focused on driving.

my next car WILL be a manual

[Grubbie]

good luck still teaching mine to drive a standard :cheers:


She can do decent in the giant parking lots :D the problem is I am home for a week here, then a week there, with big gaps inbetween so it isn't constant practice.

And my car is a junker with a very loose clutch which makes it easier to learn on.

[BrewMaster]

what exactly is heel-n-toe shifting? i may do it but i don't know it by that name.

i made a point to learn to drive a manual transmission car a while back. now i will not buy anything but that. i bought my F-150 last year (no manual option) and it was a disappointment not having manual transmission. now with my 6 speed Matrix i have a blast whenever i drive. i don't have to think about it, but sometimes i stop and say, "dang, did i just do that? that was fun!" after blowing by people or hitting holes in traffic that i could never hit in an auto.

i am surprised by the number of YES votes. Although on an Automotive Forum, i would guess there would be more car enthusiasts and hence more people capable of driving manual transmission. I find that in the real world, the majority of people in my age group (I'm 25) can't drive a manual transmission car.

[Houdini]

what exactly is heel-n-toe shifting? i may do it but i don't know it by that name.


It's a way to accelerate smoothly after braking, as in a turn. You step on the brake to slow down, step on the clutch, shift into neutral, release the clutch, blip the throttle with the heel of your braking foot to match the revs for the lower gear, step on the clutch, shift into the lower gear, release the clutch, let off the brake, and step on the gas.

I miss my manual. My current car can be driven as a semi-auto, but it's not the same.

[Nanotech9]

not even... thats "double clutching... or something like that.

heel and toe shifting is simple... right as you begin breaking, you downshift. you have the ball of your foot on the brake and as you clutch in, you roll the heel of your foot over on the gas to get the revvs up and perfectly match RPM's to the wheels in a lower gear as you let the clutch back out...

This keeps you in the right gear all the time, and doesnt upset the brake balance (i.e. lockup the rear wheels if you didnt match RPM's) under heavy breaking.

go watch a race... when you see them go into a corner, you hear them downshift 2 or 3 times... you hear the engine revv that many times consecutively very quickly. They're working they're way down through the gears so that when they start to approach the apex, they'll be in the proper lower gear to drive through and out of the apex.

[Houdini]

not even... thats "double clutching... or something like that.

heel and toe shifting is simple... right as you begin breaking, you downshift. you have the ball of your foot on the brake and as you clutch in, you roll the heel of your foot over on the gas to get the revvs up and perfectly match RPM's to the wheels in a lower gear as you let the clutch back out...

This keeps you in the right gear all the time, and doesnt upset the brake balance (i.e. lockup the rear wheels if you didnt match RPM's) under heavy breaking.

go watch a race... when you see them go into a corner, you hear them downshift 2 or 3 times... you hear the engine revv that many times consecutively very quickly. They're working they're way down through the gears so that when they start to approach the apex, they'll be in the proper lower gear to drive through and out of the apex.

"Double clutching" does the same thing, but is easier on the transmission/synchros.

[kimchicowboy]

woohoo. when i get back to america, my friend's gonna let me drive his s2000. wahoo!

[johnnymk]

I think that only 5% of the cars sold in America are stick.

That's all I had the first twenty years of driving, but got sick and tired of depressing the clutch in stop and go traffic. And I went through a ton of clutches, pressure plates and throwout bearings. They are fun, but a big pain.

[kimchicowboy]

dude, my friend's family was sooo pro-stick that they probably bought the ONLY ford aerostar minivan that came in a stick. hahaha

[bachviet]

...

i am surprised by the number of YES votes. Although on an Automotive Forum, i would guess there would be more car enthusiasts and hence more people capable of driving manual transmission. I find that in the real world, the majority of people in my age group (I'm 25) can't drive a manual transmission car.
The poll asked "Can you drive a manual transmission car?" not "Do you own a manual transmission car?" ;)

[Nija]

I can and prefer to.

[Kim]

Yes, I learned on a manual. When I drive the Wrangler, it takes me a few minutes to get back in the habit of shifting, as my car and the Durango are automatic.

[WhiskeyPapa]

Five of the six vehicles in our household are manual transmission. My 13 year old daughter can drive a manual.

[DaFunkyUnit]

i am surprised by the number of YES votes. Although on an Automotive Forum, i would guess there would be more car enthusiasts and hence more people capable of driving manual transmission. I find that in the real world, the majority of people in my age group (I'm 25) can't drive a manual transmission car.

:stupid:

i think people are answering "YES, I can drive manual!" and not "YES, I can drive manual without giving people whiplash and pealing out all the time". :hmm:

[StonedWheat]

Yup, driven manual for 12 years so far. Next car will be a auto...my clutch leg is giving me problems.

[ufcrusher]

Damn it....there is no choice for me. I can and did drive manual transmissions for years. In fact with the exception of my trucks every car I owned was/is a manual. (Probably because I like to buy sports cars and they need a stick.) The problem is that due to my bad ankle, it hurts like hell to drive a stick, so I really cant do it anymore. We had to sell my Mustang GT because of this and I havent driven our BMW in g-d knows how long as a result. Quite depressing.

When I learned how to drive I had automatics at one house and manuals at the other and both my parents made sure I could drive both. The one thing that I remember is that our one manual was a damn turbo which really screwed with me when I was first learning to drive it.

[Nanotech9]

i'm pretty sure you'll never catch anyone at a national autocross event or anyone at a local race track "double clutching" down off the front straight into turn one...

thats a technique that was used for older REAL race cars that didnt have synchronized transmissions, as well as some older tractor-trailer rigs. However, if you were good at driving a big rig, you could shift clutchless (my dad used to drive them about 25 years ago.)

no current production vehicle that i know of benifits from double clutching - and in fact it only causes you to take longer during a shift.

but what do i know... i only race on the weekends.

[Maarchk]

I was gonna say, double clutching isn't much used these days. It was funny if you caught fast and furious, when they were talking about double clutching... I was like are you sure you got that right vin? Then i realized it was a crappy movie.

But yes, i drive a stick rsx, and i drove some stick trucks, jeeps and all kinds of other stuff... Although i find a very cool girl who shifts with her left hand so she can hold her boyfriends hand with her right and never have to let go of it while driving.

[Yossarian]

i can, but because of my large industrial sized frame and legs and feet, it is much easier jsut to use an automatic

[ShawnLee]

I learned before, but didnt' get comfortable until this year when I took over my friend's car for him. I've found that a month of driving manual constantly will get you where you need to be. Now it's second nature. When I go back to my old car now, it feels somewhat weird because if I'm not thinking, I'll go through a two-second period where my left foot freaks out looking for the clutch.

[mcs328]

I like to learn but no..I can't drive manual.

[Kevster]

i love driving stick, driving automatic puts me to sleep

Every car I have owned up until 6 months ago has been standard transmission. I learned on a VW diesel rabbit/truck combo and I remember my Dad telling me, "If you learn on this car, you can drive anything!".

I tried hard to find a standard transmisison Honda Accord, but they just don't sell many of them and trying to find a decent one used is like finding a needle in a haystack. My next car will be a standard transmission if I can get it.

[BrewMaster]

The poll asked "Can you drive a manual transmission car?" not "Do you own a manual transmission car?" ;)

i know. and that's what i said. what the hell is your point?

i was saying that I know a lot of people who CAN NOT DRIVE a manual transmission car. i made no mention of people owning manual transmission cars.

[BrewMaster]

Damn it....there is no choice for me. I can and did drive manual transmissions for years.

then i would say that you are a YES according to this poll. personal injury is the only thing keeping you from driving a manual transmission, otherwise you are certainly capable of doing it.

[Realrammstein]

Can...yup. Next car will be an auto. IMHO manual is awful for driving in traffic (commute over 100 miles every day now)and I really hate it in San Francisco (stuck at a stoplight near the top of a *steep* hill and trying not to overrev as the wheels are on a cable car track and trying to grab traction).

[Houdini]

i'm pretty sure you'll never catch anyone at a national autocross event or anyone at a local race track "double clutching" down off the front straight into turn one...

thats a technique that was used for older REAL race cars that didnt have synchronized transmissions, as well as some older tractor-trailer rigs. However, if you were good at driving a big rig, you could shift clutchless (my dad used to drive them about 25 years ago.)

no current production vehicle that i know of benifits from double clutching - and in fact it only causes you to take longer during a shift.

but what do i know... i only race on the weekends.

Hey...settle down. I'm not arguing! I never questioned your expertise. You imply that you're more experienced than I, and I'm sure you are. I've always heard double clutching is easier on the synchros, and it was a nifty skill to learn. Heck, I still blip the throttle when downshifting my semi-auto tranny.

[ShawnLee]

Can...yup. Next car will be an auto. IMHO manual is awful for driving in traffic (commute over 100 miles every day now)and I really hate it in San Francisco (stuck at a stoplight near the top of a *steep* hill and trying not to overrev as the wheels are on a cable car track and trying to grab traction).That's gotta suck. On the other hand, learning to drive there is probably the best way to learn, assuming you don't kill yourself or someone else in the process.

[Nanotech9]

dont worries houdini... i get a little excited typing sometimes ;)

take everything on the internet with a grain of salt.

[Houdini]

dont worries houdini... i get a little excited typing sometimes ;)

take everything on the internet with a grain of salt.


Heh...always good advice. :)

[BrewMaster]

well, given the explanation, I have never tried hell-n-toe shifting. it's unnecessary for the driving I do. no matter how fast I take the turns on the freeway on-ramps, i am not a racecar driver.