Driving a manual transmission

[rabler]

The wall street journal recently had a commentary that only 18% of Americans can drive a stick. And only about 1% of new cars are manual.
I'm not surprised, but I lean toward manual transmission myself. But only 1 of 3 of our vehicles is a manual. A manual transmission wasn't available from the limited number of diesel pickups when I bought the duallie (2005), and it doesn't really work with the hybrid engine in the Ford Fusion (2013). Our daily drive is a Toyota Tacoma (2004), which is a 5 speed manual.

I'd guess the demographics here lean a bit more toward manual. Feel free to comment ...

I learned to drive a manual transmission at about age 12. My father parked a jeep in the corn field across from the house, gave about 3 sentences of instructions, and said bring it back to the house when I got it figured out. Oh, and don't drive in the low spot over there, you'll get stuck. Then he walked away. @RJSakowski has probably seen that field ...

 

[mmcmdl]

Up until my latest truck , all my vehicles were sticks . 2 Toyota Tacomas and 2 S-10 Chebbies .

 

[Jubil]

I drive a 5 speed Ram 3500 regularly. It sits in my carport most of the time.
I like the manual in that type truck. Learned to drive in a “three on the tree” sometime in the 60’s. Those were the days.

 

[EricB]

I love pounding the gears but my knees don't like the clutch anymore. Learned to drive on farm equipment.

 

[MikeInOr]

It really depends on the circumstance. Stuck in traffic a stick sucks. On the back roads in a sports car or on the trail in a 4wd a stick is beautiful.

I learned how to drive in a car with a manual transmission... that is what my parents had (80's). My first car (small pickup) was a stick. I still have a 76 Scout with a T19 granny (4spd) that is perfect for exploring trails with. Being able to compression brake down a hill instead of ride the brake is really convenient. My pickup with a 6 speed Allison automatic transmission allows some compression braking coming down hills on the highway but not as much control as a stick.

I actually really love my hybrid if I have to be stuck in traffic. If I am sitting still or creeping along the engine isn't even running. It is also excellent for passing, it is always in the peak powerband when the pedal is down since it has a CVT.

 

[woodchucker]

Both my wife and I drove 5 speeds when we met. And kept getting them. I bailed when I was stuck in traffic for 3 hours more times than I cared, to get to work. I said enough.. I miss DRIVING it many times, as I like the winding roads.. I love hitting the apex while in the lower gear and powering through... It doesn't even have to be fast, just that hitting it right, and coming out faster. I also miss a manual in snow.. I can't understand why there's no way to put a car in second or 3rd when needed. The traction control systems are not up to the task...

 

[Larry42]

I greatly prefer a manual transmission. Learned to drive on an old International pickup that was so loose the only time I needed the clutch was to get started. The heavy trucks I drove were all either 5 & 3s or 5 & 4s. Macks had the easiest shifting 18 speed boxes. Flick through the gears w/o ever needing the clutch. Way faster than using a clutch. Learning to split shift the two sticks takes a bit of practice.

 

[Winegrower]

In a few years the question will be "do you know how to drive a vehicle with a transmission?"

Think electric.

 

[DavidR8]

I learned on a stick, but except for the motos have automatics now

 

[RJSakowski]

I can go either way. My wife, being from the UK prefers a manual transmission; at least she used to. Our last three vehicles for each of us have been automatics. If I want to drive stick now, it will be one of the two tractors.

Stick shift when launching a boat requires some finesse. Releasing the hand brake while releasing the clutch and giving it some gas to prevent the vehicle from rolling back into the lake can be challenging.

Then there was the time that I was driving back from downtown Chicago in rush hour traffic and the clutch on my S10 failed. The clutch had an auto adjust feature and the ratchet and pawl failed to engage. I don't remember how I managed to deal with the stop and go traffic but it wasn't fun. I think that I tried to shift between neutral and second gear. Once I got clear of the traffic, I could keep it on 3rd for most of the remaining 90 miles. It happened once again in a snow storm and I managed to jam a C cell from my flashlight in mechanism so I could shift get home.