Stick Shift

[cabinetman]

Its been a few years since I've had a vehicle with stick shift, and I miss it. OTOH, LOML, a lead footed hot rodder has had several cars with both stick shift and dual mode shifting. I get lucky once in a while to drive her car, and I just don't take well to the dual mode shifting. One was with an auto trans that the shifter can be placed in 'manual', and just bumped through the gears. Another one was an auto transmission with the option of a 'manual' with paddle shifting. In either case it isn't like having that gear shift on the floor, and a nice clutch pedal.

I remember when in high school my first car was a '51 Chevy 2dr sedan. It was the product of several owners that demonstrated their own abilities to create a 'sleeper'. When I bought it for $150, it had a 265 cu in Chevy V8, 3 deuces, and a 3 speed La Salle floor shift. My first stick shift...what a blast. After that my next one was a '58 Bel Air V8 with 3 on the tree. Not that much fun.

It seems that as I get older, priorities change and a 'stab-n-steer' was the only transmission available for the vehicles I've chosen. What's your opinion on stick shift? Do you have one now?

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[pelligrini]

I like a manual (standard to me) trans, but I am getting used to an automatic. I've been driving a Ford Taurus lately, mainly because it has AC.

My first car of my own, a '69 goat, was a 3 speed automatic. The console shifter would work in a manual mode, but I hardly ever needed to use it that way. The valve body on the trans was programmed just right, didn't even need to mess with a shift kit. The shifter wasn't a Hurst His&Her, but if I put it all the way down into low and pushed the stick to the right it would stop in the next gear.

I drove my dad's '74 Pinto with a manual trans a bit before I got the GTO.

My second car was a '69 Dodge A100 with a manual box, great big long shift rod from the floor. That granny low gear might have been great for pulling a load, but I hated when I forgot and put it into first.

My current car, a '69 Camaro, is a 4 speed. I wouldn't want it any other way, 'cept for something with a couple more gears and an overdrive. It's shifted with a Mr. Gasket vertical gate. Not to many folks know how to operate that shifter. T-Handle on top with a pull trigger to get it up into the first and second slot of the H pattern (turned on its side). There's a little rod off the right rear corner for reverse. Sure was great for going forward really quickly from a stop. Get it up into first and just pull then push and pull again and you're moving along in 4th.

[chopnhack]

Had one in the past, no longer do. Lots of fun, real connection to the machine, however for most people, especially people who are challenged behind the wheel which is probably 60+% of the general population (between their cell phones, notepads, ipods, etc.) stab n steer is probably great accident prevention. Perhaps that is why manufacturers are using them as standard equipment!

[mpc]

As anybody that knows me, and quite a few folks at work in the area hear over and over (no matter if they like it or not) I'm a die-hard fan of stick-shifts and rear wheel drive. 3 of my 4 cars are just that. Only the newest - the only 4-door in the fleet as a matter of fact - is a slushbox because that's all that was available for it. I needed one "large" car for when my folks visit; forcing them to crawl into any of my 2-door coupes is mean.

This car (Genesis sedan) has the "manu-matic" mode as well on the shift lever, not steering column paddle shift levers. Not the least bit interesting or involving to use either - nowhere near a proper clutch & shift lever. So far the only advantage it has is to pre-downshift if I know I'm going to punch-it soon - the transmission downshifts decently on its own but it still is much quicker overall to have it not in as high a gear as it might like on its own.

mpc

[JimD]

I own two vehicles, both with manual transmissions. My 2006 Suzuki Grand Vitara was purchased new and works great when I need to haul things or 5 people. My newer car is a 2009 BMW 128i convertible with a 6 speed manual. The ratios are very tight in the bimmer between 4 to 5 to 6 so I often shift from 4th to 6th. 6th is where reverse is in the zuki. So far no damage but I have take my brain out of automatic to avoid messing up. Otherwise going back and forth is no problem.

I drive automatic rental cars and have owned automatics but mostly for my wife to drive. She could drive a manual, when she was with us, but preferred an automatic.

The most fun automatic I've driven is the DCT in a BMW M3 at M school. They had us put it in M mode and manually shift with paddles. That was fine for control over the gears and the bimmer blips the throttle on downshifts like you should but I still would have preferred a manual. A DCT is an automated manual box with two wet clutches, one for odd gears and the other for the even gears. The next gear is always cued up so gear shifts are instantaneous.

Jim

[twistsol]

For me cars are just transportation as you can tell by the list of cars I've owned. All boring, practical, and dark blue, none of them purchased new, and none of them fun.

1981 Olds Cutlass 4 door diesel
1989 Ford Tempo
2000 Dodge Intrepid
2008 Hyundai Sonata

I've driven manual and automatic and it doesn't much matter to me unless stuck in traffic then the manual just gets to be a pain.

[toolguy1000]

dad made all three of his children take their road tests in a stick shift chevrolet corvair. we had 2 of them in succession, and they were a lot of dun. but dad, ever the mechanical engineer, made us test on shifters because he felt that if you couldn't shift gears, you weren't driving....all you were doing was steering. he believed driving involved both steering and shifting. i've never regretted it.

[cabinetman]

There's a little rod off the right rear corner for reverse.

I remember the first reverse lockout I had was on a '64 Corvette, with a Muncie transmission. There was a "T" type lift up lever (actually a left and right lever from the shift shaft) just below the shift knob.

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[os1kne]

I learned to drive on a manual transmission and I really enjoy driving one - except in heavy traffic. I haven't regularly driven a stick in 15 years or so, but I have found that when I do have a need to drive a stick it comes back to me pretty quickly, even if it's been a couple of years.

Being that I frequently need to drive in city traffic, and most vehicles that are practical for my family aren't available with a manual transmission - I don't see my daily driver being a stick anytime soon, but if my wife and I were to get a 3rd vehicle, it would probably be something fun and a stick.

[LinuxRandal]

I like them both but for different driving. Around town (thankfully I really don't have to deal with rush hour much), a stick shift is more fun. It used to get better mileage then an automatic and still does with older cars. Not so much anymore with all these computer controlled new cars (they can shift quicker). But my stick shift is also a four cylinder, that people who have them love them for their torque, but say they can't get out of their own way on the freeway (2.3L Ranger)

I prefer my automatic when I have to drive long distances on the highway. An 8 cylinder (6 if I had a car would be plenty), automatic transmission, and cruise control make my full size truck my highway vehicle.

But as twistsol said, cars are just transportation. I've spent too much time in a garage fixing them (worked in one), to really consider them much fun.

[frumper64]

My wife's car is an automatic, but I've been driving stick shifts basically since I was a teenager (which was a LONG time ago). After several sports cars when I was young, I finally moved to pickups. My last three have all been Nissan 4 bangers with the 5 speed stick shift. All have been great on gas and nearly indestructible while also providing a modicum of fun.

[Pappy]

Like most, over the years cars have become 'transprortation'. The only manual I own now is my Harley.

[drillman88]

I have both and like them both for different reasons. The stick I have is a 1990 Ford Probe that was given to me by my neighbor. He was going to send it to the crusher after the car had sat for about 4 years without being driven.
The body and interior were in pretty good shape. It ran but barely. I had to do a good bit of work and head scratching to get her going again. The car runs strong, is fun to drive and gets better than 30mpg. The main reason I wanted is to save on gas driving to work and keep those miles off of my truck, but I have to admit I wanted a stick to drive again.
The auto in the truck is great for cruising and towing. Its fun to drive as well but I really missed being a part of the whole mechanical part of driving.

[Lonnie in Orlando]

Autotrans are practical. As a salesman on the road for years, I couldn't have written notes, looked up addresses, juggled samples, and sipped on a Diet Coke while driving a stick. But at the end of the day, I never reflected on any joy of feeling my company car tranny shift from second to third.

A stick adds some fun - in a way that only a car nut can understand.

As a teenager, the first stick I drove was a '50 Hudson Hornet. We've owned five sticks ... my '78 Corvette L-82 (sold many years ago), my '54 Chevy 3100 pickup (which I work on more than I drive), and my wife had a Toyota when we were married and a couple of BMW sticks since then, although she has an auto BMW now. I love/loved every shift.

Maybe I enjoy a stick more in Florida, 'cause the Florida flat landscape avoids the "fun" of starting on a hill from a dead stop.

With the growth of hot rods that have automatics, one of the guys on Stovebolt.com, who's a better motor head than a speller, pokes a finger in their eye with his signature line ...
"If it don't have 3 pedals, it an't no hotrod"

- Lonnie

[pelligrini]

I remember the first reverse lockout I had was on a '64 Corvette, with a Muncie transmission. There was a "T" type lift up lever (actually a left and right lever from the shift shaft) just below the shift knob..

The reverse lever on the V-Gate is a totally seperate rod and will only go into reverse when the shifter is in neutral.

My Camaro had a M21 Muncie when I first got it. Blew through a few clutches too. I spun the teeth off a couple gears and mangled some others (looked like a previous owner let it get too low on gear oil) and ended up with a freshly rebuilt Saginaw. The Saginaw cost less than just two new gears for the muncie.