Can You Drive A Standard

[undercoverbrother]

I ask, because a mate of mine can't.

He is 30 and was surprised when I was surprised he couldn't.


So can you drive a standard transmission vehicle, and how old are you.

[Swarly]

no, 29
never needed to and unless I'm buying a super fancy sportscar I never will, in fact thinking of most of my drives through rush hour traffic I'm very glad not to drive stick

edit: to add a third option in the mix I currently have Shiftronic (sp?) in my car. Best of both worlds, I like it

[Travis Munroe]

back in the day I would go through a new (to me) car every 6-9 months. I literally went back and forth between stick and auto.... each time I had one I wanted the other.

To answer your question, yes but I would say 75% of friends can't.

[Daradon]

Yes. I was 18 or 19 when I learned. Went on to teach two of my friends.

I prefer standard. Except for some obvious situations.

[Hemi-Cuda]

29. i learned how to when i was a kid, but have never owned a standard vehicle so i'm sure my skills are rusty at best. and with a daily work commute dealing with lots of traffic i don't see the point in ever buying a standard car

[the-rasta-masta]

I like driving standard, I always feel it makes me feel more engaged. Automatic is basically point and shoot, I find it a lot easier to start daydreaming and lose focus. Stop and go traffic in a manual transmission isn't as bad as everybody makes it out to be.

[_Q_]

Yes. I'm 30. I learned how to drive standard when I first learned how to drive at 17. Would never want to own an auto transmission vehicle.

[Coach]

Yes. Im 23 and I think its a skill that is important but has diminished, especially amongst women. Most of my guy friends drive standard, but I dont think I can name a single woman I know that can drive standard.

I forced myself by making my first car a standard on purpose. Now I prefer it and in fact, just bought a new car. Standard once again.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Learned 4 years ago when I bought my Civic SI. Was 28 when I learned. I find it turns driving from being a chore to being a bit more fun.

[MarchHare]

Maybe?

I learned how to drive a standard for a summer job I had 15 years ago. I haven't driven one since, so I'd probably be pretty poor at it these days.

[polak]

Yes, learned how to when I was 16 and I refuse to buy an automatic as a daily driver.

I love driving and an auto just takes so much of the fun out of driving. I've driven a 500+hp GT-R on a race track and that was (in laymans terms) an auto (in manual mode) and while at the time I was so focused on the track and brake points etc that I'm happy I didn't have to worry about the clutch, if I took it off the track I could see it getting boring quickly.

IMO, drivers cars need to be stick.

Also every man should be able to at least drive a stick to an acceptable level just in case. You never know when you might be put in a situation where driving a stick is necessary. Also, not knowing how to drive stick instantly eliminates you from any driving talk.

[Table 5]

I'm 31, and I am vehemently pro manual transmission. Have yet to buy a car without one, and will hold out for as long as humanly possible.

Out of most of my friends, about half the guys seem to be able to, and the other half I make fun of. In terms of the girls, it seems pretty rare that girls can drive them....I'm always a little surprised when I run into a girl who can.

It's getting more and more rare though to find people who drive them....but I gotta admit, I instantly respect people more when I find out they drive a stick. I also lose a lot of respect for anyone who has a fantastic sports car, and goes automatic.

[afc wimbledon]

My truck is an auto, the car is stick, hate automatics but almost impossible to get a pick up with stick here.

Can't understand why anyone with less than a 3 litre would have an automatic, guts the engine of power

[Bunk]

Yeah, learned when I was 16. 31 now, only buy standard transmission cars. My wife, who doesn't drive, but is learning curses me. She wants an automatic.

[Old Yeller]

Learned on a standard (I remember shifting from 2nd to 5th a few times and my dad yelling at me) and have never owned anything but a standard.

Although I fear my next car may be an automatic as it seems like a lot of car manufacturers aren't even offering standards anymore.

[InglewoodFan]

Yup, I'm 42. Have always been able to drive a stick. But I can see it dying out. It's getting to be a bugger finding manual cars.

As for the traffic argument, I drove a manual Mini Cooper S in Toronto in 401/427 traffic for a year and it was never really a problem. Guess I'm just used to it.

The only downside is my current S4 is a stick and my GF can't (won't) drive standard.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

Learned on a standard (I remember shifting from 2nd to 5th a few times and my dad yelling at me) and have never owned anything but a standard.

Although I fear my next car may be an automatic as it seems like a lot of car manufacturers aren't even offering standards anymore.

i'm surprised there are as many standards available as there are. there's no real advantage to a stick other than the fun factor, and the fewer options car manufacturers have to make available the more money they can save by streamlining everything

[Nyah]

Yes. I'm just really horrible at it.

[Mustache]

26. Yup. Learned when I was 17 or 18. Love how much more control is possible, especially in wintry conditions.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

30 and no. I've only ever had automatics and never felt the need to learn.

I worked for Nissan as a lot boy(parking and washing cars) and I would struggle thru some of the stick shifts. I was pretty awful at driving a stick. Bumped a couple cars in the overflow lot as well. ssshhhh.. Still not sure how I got that job. I used to get some of the salesmen to park the standard cars into tight spaces for me.