Stick Shift

[gerti]

I learned driving on a Deutz D8006 with 16 forward and 7 reverse gears, 2 sticks. OK, it was a tractor with a max speed of 20mph or so, but it was a lot of fun. First car (back in Germany) was an Autobianchi A112 4-gear stick. Since moving to the US it was all automatic, my wife doesn't drive stick and we share a single car.

[JimD]

I eaten a sandwich, drunk a beverage, shifted and driven all at the same time before. I like my bluetooth in the car now but I still hold the button down for my top to go down on the bimmer while shifting. It is best to concentrate on your driving but I've never found a manual to prevent me from doing whatever I needed to do. Shifting only takes a few seconds. It doesn't require much thought after you've done it for a few decades. It helps if your car makes enough noise to make it clear to you it needs shifted, however. My little bimmer is marginal. It might need a muffler transplant. But it is nice that it is quiet on the highway.

Jim

[cabinetman]

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

The real feel of stick shift driving is when the car has 4 pedals (the 4th being the dead pedal).

.

[sparkeyjames]

I had one car with a stick. Then I got caught in a 3 mile long freeway traffic jamb out in BFE with no way off the freeway. 1st then 2nd then brake 1st then 2nd then brake repeat for 2 and 1/2 hours. I vowed from that day I would never ever own a stick shift vehicle again. So far so good.

When I get the urge to drive a stick shift car I have friend who loves them. I just go to his house and take a spin. He has a WRX right now so there is a little fun involved. Before that he had an Audi and before that a turbo Beetle all with sticks. Fun to play with for a few miles but I would never own one.

[JimD]

I don't remember any 2 1/2 hour traffic jambs but I have been in many and it has not changed my opinion. I've had an automatic frustrate me at least as often. When I want the car to go, I do not want to wait for the transmission to get the message. They do not always start right away, they shift at questionable times and take their time to shift other times. All easily solved by doing it yourself.

The last woman I dated noticed I was shifting and asked what I was doing. I explained and she said something like "I didn't realize anybody did that any more". It wasn't a good sign.

Jim

[cabinetman]

I don't remember any 2 1/2 hour traffic jambs but I have been in many and it has not changed my opinion. I've had an automatic frustrate me at least as often. When I want the car to go, I do not want to wait for the transmission to get the message. They do not always start right away, they shift at questionable times and take their time to shift other times. All easily solved by doing it yourself.

The last woman I dated noticed I was shifting and asked what I was doing. I explained and she said something like "I didn't realize anybody did that any more". It wasn't a good sign.

Jim

Made me think about my frustration the last time I had a dead battery in a car with an automatic transmission. It could not be pushed to start.

.

[cwsmith]

My first car was a 56' Merc which I bought from my Dad in 1963 when I got out of highschool. By 1965 I was able to buy my first new car and I had decided on a VW "bug". That was a 4-speed standard and I had never driven a car with standard. But, I figured I could learn!

Took me a couple of minutes to move it off the dealer's lot and my Dad followed me home. By the time I got a block or two, I had pretty much figured it all out.

In 1967, I got married and the LOML couldn't deal with standard so the following spring we bought a 68' Plymouth Valiant with auto and then later a 76' Mercury that was also automatic. The latter was such a bad car that my wife stopped driving and in 84' I bought a new Toyota, with standard.

"Standard" is great and I much prefer to drive one, but I must admit that when I'm with family it's just a lot nicer to not have to deal with "shifting" and pay more attention to my family. So, the last two family vehicles have been vans with automatic. Much easier around town and great vehicles for tripping.

But, I have a 95' Miata. It's 5-speed has become second nature and it's great fun to drive.

I bought a 70's MGB-GT for our son when he turned 16 (he's now 42), but he never drove it. I then bought him a 80' Datson 200SX, but he didn't take to that either.... definitely not a "stick-shift" kid I guess. Both were "fun" to drive but I figured he'd prefer a auto, and since then all he has ever driven is a auto; including a "Mini". I just don't think he knows what he's missing. But, we all like different things.

CWS

[RAFlorida]

Many opt for the automatics.

I'm so use to standard, that when I drive my wife's 4Runner, (which is rarely) my left foot tries to find the clutch The first car I owned was a Buick '48 straight 8 with auto, but after that it was standard shift, even most of the service trucks I drove were stick.

[mpc]

I've often wondered about folks that hated stick-shifts in traffic. I had to drive sticks in DC/Virginia/Maryland traffic many times and never found it particularly tiring... yet when I drove dad's automatic equipped pickup instead, having to constantly shove the brake pedal was more tiring in traffic. Its idea of power brakes was not what most cars, especially GM sedans, would use - it required a good shove. It wasn't until a few years later that I drove a Ford Mustang (test drive from a dealer so it was brand new - 1985 or 86) with a stick shift - and a mechanical clutch linkage. Good grief - is this why folks hate sticks in traffic?!?! Everything I'd driven up to that point with a stick had a hydraulically operated clutch - same basic setup as the brakes. Not a whole lot of clutch pedal travel necessary; I could plant the back/heel of my shoe into the carpet and just rotate my ankle when operating the clutch pedal. No big deal, not tiring, not much force necessary. But when I drove that Ford, I thought my knee might end up in the back seat somewhere before the clutch finally engaged - it had at least 3 times the pedal travel I was used to/expecting. To drive that Mustang, or a friend's Fairmont, I had to hold my foot completely off the floor and use my whole leg to work the clutch - I could easily see that getting annoying fast. I certainly hated it just for a few miles of open-road driving; never had to drive one like that in traffic.

So my question for those that tried sticks in traffic and swore "never again" to stick shifts: any idea if the subject car had a mechanical clutch linkage (common in American cars) or hydraulically operated (Toyota, Datsun/Nissan), or a cable operated (like a bicycle's brake/shifter cables - typically Honda)? I think the hydraulically operated setups will generally have a LOT less pedal travel. (hydraulic clutch pedals self-adjust as the clutch disk wears, unlike cable or mechanical linkage setups that have oodles of excess travel so they don't have to be adjusted constantly - that's why brakes are hydraulic too)

I don't remember any 2 1/2 hour traffic jambs but I have been in many and it has not changed my opinion. I've had an automatic frustrate me at least as often. When I want the car to go, I do not want to wait for the transmission to get the message. They do not always start right away, they shift at questionable times and take their time to shift other times. All easily solved by doing it yourself.
Jim

As for automatics, I agree with Jim's statement above. Especially with modern "shift into higher gear ASAP for MPG ratings" automatics. They can't wait to pick a higher gear... and seem loathe to downshift unless you bend the floorboards with the throttle. If I anticipate needing power - e.g. I'm about to pull out and pass on the highway - and I'm in my one auto-tranny car - I'll stick my Genesis automatic tranny into the "manu-matic" mode and pre-downshift 2 gears just so the V8 can respond the way it was meant to. Otherwise the transmission thinks about it a while and the net result is lag in actual acceleration worse than "turbo lag" on 1980's turbocharged cars.

I've also felt that learning to drive on an automatic tranny car is actually harder, and more nerve-wracking, than learning on a stick shift. Kids learning to drive are nervous anyways... so when they lift off the throttle to slow down and instead the automatic says "whoopie - I can upshift 1, 2, or even 3 gears now" the car doesn't really decelerate much... so the student doesn't feel "in control" and ends up more nervous. With a stick, the accel/decel feedback is immediate - and sometimes stronger than they desired - so they're forced to learn to control/modulate the throttle pedal, not just stab or release it. And with a stick, the student "knows" what gear the vehicle is in... so their auditory feedback of engine RPMs gives them a good idea of speed. With automatics, it's too easy for the transmission to be in a higher gear than expected/realized so the vehicle speed may be higher than the student expects based on hearing the RPMs. I've seen that happen to two friend's kids when they were first learning.

mpc