Huh? How many people can't drive stick?
 

I heard two people talking and I heard that 82% of the US driving population do not know how to drive stick.

Would you agree with that? And where can I verify (if possible).?

Pete

Sounds a bit high to me as we still get a fair amount of sticks in the shop. Age doesn't really seem to be a factor either.

Unless it's from a sampling survey, how would they know? Can't go by car sales since a lot of "shift for yourself" folks become "shiftless" every now and then, especially if you have AMG ambitions.

Remember back when an auto tranny was an option on a vehicle?

Especially with econoboxes, don't remember why it was so tough to design an automatic for some of these?

Eeek!
 

You have *no* idea how much I hated reading that.

Ick.

Just had to add:

Here's a quote from the article above:

In a car equipped with a manual transmission, gridlock can mean pushing and releasing a clutch pedal over and over again. And since some pedals are stiffer than others, driving can be physically exhausting. And talking on a cell phone and sipping coffee — favorite pastimes of today’s drivers — is much easier without worrying about shifting gears.

---

You know, I'm sorry, but if pushing the clutch "exhausts" you, maybe you should join a gym.

Ok. I'll stop now.

Pete

Im 17 and never learned stick, though for my first car that I buy myself, it will have a manual transmission for sure. My dad hasn't had a stick shift since the late 80's I believe, his Toyota Tercel. So I never got a chance to learn.

I know how to drive a stick-shift, but I wouldn't want one to drive in rush hour traffic. My sister drives a 1994 Honda Accord with a stick shift and my mom used to drive a 1971 VW Cabriolet with one as well, and that's what they say is the only downfall to it. To me, there's already too many crazy people to look out for driving out there, all close together in rush hour, just add shifting and clutch depressing, and well, it's best to look out for crazy drivers with an auto tranny, so I can have both hands on the wheel in case I need to perform an extreme manuever quickly. Manual transmissions are better suited for open highway driving or racing in my opinion. As for the longetivity, as long as the transmission filters are changed at regular intervals along with a good, synthetic fluid, you can get a long life out of one.
-Joe

Uh Huh
 

And if your FAVORITE pastime is drinking coffee driving, and chatting on your cell phone, you shouldnt be on the road anyways. you could hurt my car....

With all the advancements in transmissions, how long will it be before you can't buy a car with a clutch pedal?

I learned on a stick, and wouldn't have it any other way. I think it played a big role in increasing my overall "road awareness", b/c I had to think about which gear I was in and the amount of torque I had available to the driving wheels, in case I had to get moving quickly.

Anyway, I had no problem driving a stick (my Mazda pickup) in heavy traffic. Got the 190 as an auto, drove it like that for over a year. Swapped in a manual, and it only took me a few days of heavy-traffic driving to get used to it again.

Heh - Whine about the stick in rush hour traffic? Man have you guys had it easy. Try driving a truck with manual steering and brakes with a three on the tree double clutching in the same conditions and tell me that isn't easy.
All you must think of is the simple physics of the operation, the engine meshing with the transmission at perfect rates. Once you have this down it will be much smoother than any automatic.... I prefer to select my own ratios thank you, but on my Mercedes I have no other choice than to let the valve body do it for me.... :(

I don't understand what the complaining is all about regarding clutching. I learned to drive stick as a teenager, as manual trannies were the only thing my Dad would own. Add to this, learning to drive vehicles with as many as 13 forward gears - all unsynchronized, and in heavy city traffic, clutching became second nature. If you hate clutching so much, learn how to shift without it. Some of the time, I use the clutch in my truck, others I don't. Most of the time, I couldn't tell you which way I'm doing it at the time.

It's actually sad to see the manual transmission fading away. Unfortunately though, it's as much a part of emissions, as it is people who want to turn on the car, shove it into "D" and disengage the brain. My Prius for example, cannot exist with a manual transmission. Automatic trannies allow for the car's computer to decide which ratio is right for the power demand, and keeping the exhaust clean. As hybrids expand, and then give way to fuel cells, conventional transmissions will die due to being obsolete.

I still don't get why you lot insist on driving cars with sticks- over here we have a gear shift lever, surely that makes things much easier? No splinters...

It's the one thing I miss on my Merc though, that and a proper handbrake.
Though sitting in a traffic jam on the M25 (London's orbital car-park) I don't miss working that clutch constantly...

I'm sure you know manual transmissions are the norm over here in old Europe, though auto's are becoming more popular as we get lazier. Usually they're seen as 'luxury' options on high-end cars.

I find that hard to believe, I know one person over the age of 18 who can't drive a stick (my wife).

I think it's an important skill to have, and agree that all first time drivers should learn w/ a stick.

I was going to ask where the best place for my wife to learn was. I had miles of empty road to learn on.

Finally, a good use for a church.

Kidding!

I learnt on a stick. Never had any problems being exhausted in traffic. That said I wouldn't drive a high performance clutch in traffic all the time, they tend to be very stiff.

Like my VW. It was fine driving in stop and go traffic with the stock clutch...

...then I went and beefed up the engine and put a 1700 lb. pressure plate and heavy duty throwout bearing and thicker clutch cable...

...so I walked around with this big left calf muscle... :rolleyes2

I don't know how to drive an automatic.

And either does my wife.

Any of you young whipper-snappers know how to drive a Model T Ford (I can!)?? :D Now that would be an automible difficult to drive while talking on the phone, drinking coffee and generally being an idiot while driving! :eek:

I have driven a stick before. Can't say I like it at all. If I really wanted to control the gears on my Vette, I would have installed a manual valve body. Personally, I couldn't wait to get back to my auto cars when I had the stick. In any case, I have seen too many people fumbling with the gears at the lights to really care for them in the city.,

One of the first cars I learned how to drive.

Very simple and easy once you know how: There are 3 pedals,press the left one down all the way,that's low gear,release it and you're in high. Holding the left pedal in the middle is neutral,this is done automatically by pulling up the handbrake.

The right pedal is the transmission brake,the middle pedal operates reverse{while the left pedal is held in the middle position remember}.
Stamp on ANY of the pedals and the car will stop by locking the fabric covered bands around the planet gear clusters.

If the engine pops or sputters while driving reach for the knob on the dash which adjusts the carb jet,clockwise leans it and counterclockwise gives you a richer mixture, simple,ain't it??

The throttle is just under the steering wheel on the right,the left lever controls spark,you usually leave it advanced,except when cranking.

I've broken my arm twice because of failure to retard the spark.

In my experience driving around greater Boston I would add that 90% of Americans with drivers liscenses don't know how to drive.................period. The tranny type is moot....rant off...have a good weekend

hehe you would LOVE to see a first timer drive my RHD non-snychromesh tranny land rover.....

I think people should learn to drive on a manual transmission car.................I also think people have no business on their cell phones while driving....particularly new drivers.

240D to 300SD
 

When I go from driving my 4 speed stick shift 240D to my 300SD and put the 300 in reverse, often, my left foot goes down to depress a non-existant clutch pedal.

LOL about 20 years ago I had a girlfriend with an auto.....I was driving it (I rarely drove it) and at the first traffic light I locked up the wheels pushing the brake as if it were a clutch....My girlfriend got a good close look at the windshield....It may not sound funny but it was actually pretty hilarious.

That same thing happened to me the first time I tried to drive an auto in the states- as well as immediately positioning the car on the left side of the road.

My friend also did this in a traffic jam somwhere in Ohio, in his father-in-laws chevy boat/wagon thing, locking up right next to a highway patrol car- the officer was not amused when he did it for the 3rd time, politely shouting that he would 'hammer us' if we didn't start driving normally. :)

Thats why I love the rest pedal on my Benz. When I get back into it after driving my sis' protege stick I make a conscious effort to keep my left foot there until I mentally get reprogrammed for the automatic. I have actually come close to getting rear ended once like you described I just slammed on the brake thinking it was the clutch :rolleyes: :)

My first car was a stick - 4-speed Hurst in a modified 1965 Lemans turned into a Goat. It took me several days to get the hang of it and get comfortable on steep hills at a red light. But after that it became second nature, and I agree with other posts - it makes you a better driver.

When I go to Europe for trade shows most all ther rentals are manual trans, so I'm glas I learned when I did. I am now teaching my daughters how to drive a 5-speed in addition to automatic, so that they better understand the engine-drivetrain-torque relationship and driving in general. It certainly helps here in the Winter driving in snow if you know how to downshift! Saves on brakes, too.

OTOH, I went to Manhattan last week in my manual Colt Vista, and it does get tiring clutching in stop-and-go rush hour traffic.

I don't know how to drive stick but I want to learn.
You can't do clutch drops with an auto. :D

I have driven a semi manual though, where you would kit the shifter up or down to change the gears. It was a heck of a lot of fun.

Howdy All,
I couldn't afford an auto. The differance in about 4 mpg would hurt the wallet even more than it does with the manual tranny.

Well I just gave up a clutch, been driving manuals for all but a couple (one car) of years over the past 35 years. The wife required it so she could drive my car.

Can't say wether I miss it or not yet, although I keep stomping the clutch pedal before starting the new car.

When I started, manuals gave better performance and mileage, now at best they are equal and autos probably lead.

I never minded traffic, didn't even notice it - it was automatic :-} for me. Even the 140 lb pedal pressure needed on the 69 440 dodge didn't matter.

Although the VERY first day I drove a clutch, took my new car over to my cousins (read surogate dad), stopped at a stop light, up a steep hill. I look in the mirror and see a funny object from the dash to the mirror in the car behind me.. A Shotgun, it's a cop. Remember, I've now been driving a stick for 20 miles (TOPS). Sure scary at 17, but I pulled away like a pro and drove off. Sure thought I'd roll back and start things out well.

I do shift the SL manually from time to time, and sometimes kick the pedal to shift. But I guess we all have to move into modern times.

I think every driver should know how to drive a stick shift, it's just one of those things you ought to learn when you're learning how to drive. I learned to drive in my mother's brand-new (at the time) Ford Thunderbird, a big heavy car and apt to roll backwards down hills if you didn't time an uphill start just right. It drove her crazy when I would grind the gears on her new car. "If you can't find 'em, grind 'em!"

I had two manual-transmission cars immediately before buying the vehicles I have now, and sometimes miss having that level of control while driving. I also have to say, even after an hour or 1.5 hours of stop and go Atlanta traffic, driving a stick never 'exhausted' me: how ridiculous. I was also able to drink coffee while driving the thing, and even talk on the cellphone when necessity dictated. Sfter a while of driving stick, as most of you know, you don't have to think about shifting up and down; you just do it. So I think the 'there's already too much to watch out for when driving without worrying about shifting' argument is also sort of silly.

Why? If I can't drive a stick, there are plenty of autos out there. Not like it does anything really when you know how to drive a stick. I learnt how to drive one. Doesn't change a thing for me when I drive/

It's put my wife at a bit of a disadvantage now we're living in the UK (she's American)- she can't drive a manual. Made a good excuse for me to get another Merc though- so she'd be able to drive it. Luckily, she's a bit scared of the size of the E300D and the narrow roads here so I still get to drive 99% of the time :)

She'll most probably have to learn manual at some point though, I guess it's almost like learning all over again.

How about driving a chopped Harley with a foot clutch and a jockey shift? No snapped hand clutch cables for me. :D

sure you can, they are called neutral drops.

The only advantage I see with a stick is when you go thru a road course. Something I can probably get with a manual valve body. You would be hard pressed to beat an auto on the quarter mile as many racers have found. I think a lot of the stick vs auto started back when the autos were new and were unreliable so they had to be put into lower powered cars. For example, with the 85-89 Merkur XR4Ti, the stick version had 15 psi boost while the auto had 10 psi boost because the tranny would dump if it didn't and Ford didn't want to keep replacing the tranny. I had a GM rebuilt 700R4 break in 6 months of babying behind a 400+ HP 383 motor. Got it professionally rebuilt and it lasted 3.5 years with me beating on it daily.

I hate to sound like a weaney but more than once, after a long day on my feet, I've had to slug my way through SF traffic (it gets really bad) and my poor li'l left foot starts *****in'. That's on my BMW 325i, maybe the clutch is more stiff than others, don't know.

I much prefer a manual in most situations but myabe I'm just getting old and lazy, I'm liking automatics more and more.

i learend to drive stick at the same time i learned how to drive. I wouldn't trade my manual for an automatic in my current car, but i must admit i loathe that damn stick shift when i'm stuck on I-4 in stop and go traffic for hours. However, gunning the throttle till redline, pushing the clutch in, giving it just the right amount of gas for the next gear and then getting right back on the gas will never loose its thrill. Somehow regardless how cool the "button" or "paddle" is, without the clutch it just loses the thrill to me. In fact, i've driven a few cars with that "tiptronic" bull**** and it just seems lame to me, if theres no clutch you might as well let the car shift for itself. Alot of people seem to get roped into the tiptronic thing and then realize they never use it. I know i wouldn't.
Ryan

One thing I've noticed on Nissan's versions of the "tiptronic" is that they're really only good for holding a gear longer than normal, regardless of pressure on the accelerator. For normal passing situations, you lose the "half-gear" downshift - where the engine RPM's pick up a bit w/o the car actually shifting down one gear.

I find I mainly use the tiptronic when merging onto freeways, or when I need to downshift 2 gears and punch it.

On my car, it is set to shift at 6000 if I have it on WOT. Otherwise, I can let it shift normally. I have driven a car which allows me to shift it into the gear at will. The only difference is the clutch is not present. What is the big charm of the clutch anyways? I have driven stick before I and I can't seem to find this big thing other than kids would snicker at my "Dogamatic" before I blew their doors off.

Try a '4 on the tree' manual shift with manual steering, like on 'Miss Daisy', my '60 Fintal!
She does have power assist (drum) brakes though.
I used to drive a '72 250 sedan, but that automatic was no fun. I now much prefer my Fintail but I don't have to drive her in rush hour every day.
Took her to Sam's Club for new tires. Older tire guy had no trouble driving in then left some young kid to back her out after the tire installaton. Manager said "no customers allowed in the service bay!" but let me back her out anyway after the kid couldn't!

Happy Motoring, Mark

I hear this alot, but the main differance i've found is people that regulary drive a stickshift tend to miss the clutch. Its more of a pain than an enjoyment when you are mentally taxed at every shift, but once it becomes second nature its a differant ballgame. Also, is most instances a manual transmission will be more efficient and put more power to the wheels. Views on automatic vs. manual transmissions vary greatly depending on what you want out of your car when you get in to drive it.
Ryan

Ditto, but pre-teen.

I like to keep a std transmission car for teaching my kids, too. Got a Talon Tsi 5-spd. Kids love to drive it if they can coax their mom out.

By golly, my parents didn't teach me on anything like that! I learned on a six-banger '55 Ford station with three on a tree. Steel dash and no seatbelts. Learned to drive in 'lanta. Like a wild bronco, Wahoooo!

Generally in cars with manual trans,the clutch is used solely for full stops and reverse.

I was taught stick on a sports car {Bentley 3 liter} but the same applies regardless if it's a lamborghini or geo metro.

All upshifts and downshifts are made WITHOUT THE CLUTCH.

You simply must accustom yourself to the vehicles idle speed,I,E, the moment when the engine drops down to idle,then you quickly upshift into the next gear,all without using the clutch.

This was a fairly common practice years ago,even a fellow I know who cleans out houses with his big Chevy 350 does it.

Big riggers swear by it too.

My father referred to it as the "block change".

When you need to downshift you simply approximate the engine speed for the appropriate gear with a deft manipulation of the throttle and just flick the gear lever from 4th to 3rd or whatever.

Anyone else familiar with this method?

I learned how by accident one time. I was driving a big six cyl Deutz and the weld holding the clutch pedal busted. I clashed gears a bit before I figured the spin-up/idel-down the rpm thing. A neat trick would be to get it started without using the clutch! I had no solution for that one.

I float the gears in my truck all the time. I learned how to do this when I drove big trucks, as those transmissions don't have synchros in them. One eventually gets the idea that double clutching is redundant. However, the fully synchronized transmission eliminates this need. The clutch is indeed required to shift a synchromesh transmission "normally."

We're a shiftless society.

I read an interesting review by Warren Brown of the Washington Post. He said is wife only drives automatics because 'God made us smart enough to make them.'

Works for me.