Sir, can you please come pull your car out of the bay?

A city detective stopped at my house a couple years ago after he spotted my red ‘92 Foxbody 5.0 5 speed in my open garage.

Him: “we’ve been looking for this car for three weeks”
Me: “it’s been sitting in the garage facing the street everyday”
Him:
Me: “so why you looking for it?”
Him: “d’joo hear about that break-in down the street, where they hauled out that guy’s gun-safe in broad daylight?”
Me: “yep. Think this Mustang was involved?”
Him: “It was seen on the street at the time of the crime.”
Me: “I was at work.”
Him: “You got kids?”
Me: “yep, two teenagers”
Him: “any chance they could have been driving it?”
Me: “ nonewhatsoever. They can barely drive an automatic.”
 
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Jeppo said:
I’ve told the story about the Eye-talians that insisted I drive the company BMW. None of them knew how to drive an automatic. 😂
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No joke … I got to drive a fancy $150K Mercedes AMG coupe and it took me at least 2 minutes to figure out how to release the parking brake and put it in gear. That crazy control thingie in the console is about the same as a clutch and manual transmission is to millennials …
 
I have an older BMW that seems to be ground zero for the Takata air bag recalls. I think its been recalled at least three times, and I have had each recall done at the dealer.

I pull up, walk in and start the paperwork with the female service writer. She sends the runner out to get the car. Young kid, Couple minutes later there's dead silence, nothing happening. I look at the female service writer, she looks at me. We are both doing the math on whether the kid is gonna get it. I tilt my head and say that " Well, t's an older car with a 5 speed". She sighs, gets up from her desk, goes outside and rescues the dweeb who was trapped in the car with no clue how to drive a stick. Seems that 98% of all their new cars now are Automagicals, only dinosaurs go with their old-timey standard trans.
 
It’s really not THAT difficult.

About 9yr ago I had never driven a manual, bought a brand new WRX w a manual and drove it home 35min w/o stalling or glazing/smoking the clutch. 🤷‍♂️ I did watch a few YouTube videos on how to do it though haha
 
Jerzsubbie said:
It’s really not THAT difficult.

About 9yr ago I had never driven a manual, bought a brand new WRX w a manual and drove it home 35min w/o stalling or glazing/smoking the clutch. 🤷‍♂️ I did watch a few YouTube videos on how to do it though haha
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We actually had a conversation about where I learned to drive stick. That was at the car wash I worked at in my teens on customer’s cars.

He asked if I’d pay that forward and let him learn on mine.

“Nope”
 
Sadly to say I never had a manual transmission vehicle so I never learned. My friends that had them wouldn't let people drive theirs. I feel...........so left out.
 
Every car I've owned has been manual -

95 Toyota Corolla
85 Toyota Celica GT-S
95 Nissan 240SX
03 Ford Explorer Sport
04 Ford Focus SVT
11 Honda Civic Si
13 Mazdaspeed 3

It'll be a cold day in hell before I pay money for an automatic.
 
I learned to drive in a '36 Plymouth dump truck at 10 y/o on the farm & have driven manuals almost exclusively, up until last year. I took my old Nissan Frontier in to the dealership for a new clutch a few years ago. All the mechanics came out, oohing & ahhing 'cos they never get manuals in anymore & most didn't even know a manual was available in it.

I love my big, cushy, full size Chevy that I stepped up to after sadly destroying that Frontier on an icy bridge, but I can not for the life of me understand why you can't get a friggin' manual transmission in a 1/2 ton truck with a V8. WTH? I get that the modern slushboxes are a whole different breed, but dammit, I like changin' my own gears. I'll drive my own drive, don't need the computer doin' it for me.
 
NCFubar said:
”Passive Theft Deterrent” that only those 9of us Pre-Millennial can appreciate … 3 on the tree is even funnier!
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Years ago, my daughter's boyfriend was almost carjacked. They pulled beside him at a light, pointed a gun at him and ordered him out if the car. One guy got in and the other car started off. When he didn't follow, they circled back. "I don't know how to drive a stick!" He ran back to the other car and they took off.


One of the most fun times I've ever had driving was when I borrowed and old friends early '60's era step side Chevy. It was all manual, power nothing, with 3 on the tree. The clutch was tough, braking was hard and turning the wheel took work. Not to mention you bounced on the coil spring bench seat as you went down the road. I laughed the whole time I drove it. It was a blast!

It looked like this one...
1960-chevrolet-apache-c10-stepside-short-bed-box-original-farm-truck-low-miles-5.JPG
 
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Gaston said:
Every car I've owned has been manual -

95 Toyota Corolla
85 Toyota Celica GT-S
95 Nissan 240SX
03 Ford Explorer Sport
04 Ford Focus SVT
11 Honda Civic Si
13 Mazdaspeed 3

It'll be a cold day in hell before I pay money for an automatic.
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For a sporty vehicle, having a manual just feels right. But you need to try an auto sometime, it's nice to just get in and go. Plus, driving in city traffic (jam) in a manual gets old fast.
 
HMP said:
For a sporty vehicle, having a manual just feels right. But you need to try an auto sometime, it's nice to just get in and go. Plus, driving in city traffic (jam) in a manual gets old fast.
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For small displacement sports like cars he listed, I’d want a manual too! That’s part of the fun of driving those vehicles IMO. If we’re talking high powered sports cars (V8, turbo 6, etc) and modern dual clutches, different story.

The first time I drove a 911 with a PDK (dual clutch), I was surprised that it was always in the right gear; this was at the Porsche driving experience in ATL so I was having a lot of fun with it!
 
I was a scrawny little 8 year old growing up but had strong legs and strong memories from having to drive the dump truck around in the hay field while dad loaded round bales of hay. The strong memories come from the parts where i was slipping the clutch and he could smell it on the tractor occasionally and the yelling at me from the tractor to quit riding the clutch would start. Meanwhile im trying to stand up and drive just to see over the dash and not to run into a round bale. Fun times😁.
 
Good god. I was driving a manual transmission VW bug at 12. A 3 on the tree truck at 13 and a dual speed rear axle big truck at 14.

These days I drive a 12 speed Mack all day. It ain’t hard. It just takes doing it.
 
I laugh every time my wife says "you never taught me to drive stick"

Nobody taught me, jumped in and did it. Listen to the engine and shift when she tells ya to
 
Chdamn said:
Good god. I was driving a manual transmission VW bug at 12. A 3 on the tree truck at 13 and a dual speed rear axle big truck at 14.

These days I drive a 12 speed Mack all day. It ain’t hard. It just takes doing it.
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When I started driving over the road I drove an R model Mack with a duplex. Later got a Pete with a 12 speed. Hauled everything from swinging beef to propane before I quit driving.
 
Back in the day, our high schools provided Drivers Education (classroom) and Drivers Training (in car). When I turned 15 1/2, there were no slots available in Drivers Training so I used my savings to pay an agency. They had only one manual transmission vehicle available, a Bug. I reckoned that I might as well kill two birds with one stone (learn driving and shifting).

The Bug had duplicate petals for the instructor but only one steering wheel. If him controlling the pedals wasn’t enough to avoid disaster, he’d simply reach over and jerk the wheel. I‘m not sure what kinda damage I did to the transmission and clutch but it was probably significant.

I vividly remember the end of the very first lesson. He had me drive up to the stop sign you see below. Can you imagine how difficult it was for me to get the car going and make the left turn? Notice the front wheels on the two parked cars. 🤬

41878965-A8B2-4B41-80FB-2A6F31CA1703.jpeg
 
I’ve been driving a manual transmission since my first vehicle, a new 1974 Jeep CJ 5. My next one was a 1967 Ford F100 with 3 on the tree. I can drive anything from a Jeep to a tank! I didn’t own an automatic until sometime in the early 90s and still always bought my Jeeps in manual until the last 2. The wife said ”get an automatic, I may want to drive it!” She’s yet to grace the driver’s seat with her azz! But, I’ve learned to like the automatic. I still have and older 99 TJ with a 5 speed that I dearly love, but, on a trip, that automatic is the ticket!
 
Jeppo said:
Back in the day, our high schools provided Drivers Education (classroom) and Drivers Training (in car). When I turned 15 1/2, there were no slots available in Drivers Training so I used my savings to pay an agency. They had only one manual transmission vehicle available, a Bug. I reckoned that I might as well kill two birds with one stone (learn driving and shifting).

The Bug had duplicate petals for the instructor but only one steering wheel. If him controlling the pedals wasn’t enough to avoid disaster, he’d simply reach over and jerk the wheel. I‘m not sure what kinda damage I did to the transmission and clutch but it was probably significant.

I vividly remember the end of the very first lesson. He had me drive up to the stop sign you see below. Can you imagine how difficult it was for me to get the car going and make the left turn? Notice the front wheels on the two parked cars. 🤬

View attachment 425930
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When I took driver’s Ed, the county got its cars from local dealers for the summer. Mine was a brand spanking new, bright red, Trans Am with a manual transmission! I loved that car! It was the last manual we had.
 
Clutch learnin’ … I started on motorcycles … a Honda XL70 with a real easy clutch but moved up to the chainsaw 2 cycle 125 Elsinores with touchy clutchys that required more finesse. By 12 or 13 I could drive an old Dually with a 3 speed with a granny and a clutch that was heavy as hell. After that about anything was easier and glad I did learn …
 
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A favorite family story…

Grandpa taught my mom to drive. She rarely remembered to use the clutch. Beginning with lesson two, she had to be barefooted. He tied a string around the big toe of her left foot. Each time she shifted without the clutch, he gave the string a hard yank. 😂
 
My old lady just got her first automatic at 45. Manual is fun.
I'm old enough to appreciate an auto. I drive an Outback. Not gonna wring much out of that thing. Better to just accept it.

If I had a fun car I'd choose a manual.
 
I've owned mostly manuals. 85 F150, 94 Nissan pickup, and 2 mustangs. The frontier I drive now is an automatic. I wanted the 6 speed, but I was told at the time they're nearly impossible to get. Heck, no truck is even made with a manual anymore that I'm aware of.

Driving an automatic just feels a little 'off' to me. I find myself reaching for a shifter that isn't there pretty often.
 
I taught my bride to drive my manual Fiat 128 when we were in Germany. She revealed several years later she could never get the car in reverse, so if she had to back out of a parking spot, she'd push it backwards and then jump in! All of our vehicles until the '94 Club Wagon were manuals and she did fine with them. My 4 kids learned manual transmissions too, and my youngest is driving a Fiat 500 turbo with a manual right now. The car is a hot little roller skate!
 
Learning on a tractor at around 5 years old was great. Give it a little throttle and slowly let out the clutch. Too fast and itll jerk and grandpa will yell. Farmall cub, 1954 model. Currently in my basement tore down for restoration. Plan on teaching my boy on the same tractor.

I had more hours on a tractor by 16 years old than kids today do playing fortnight.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk
 
My first straight drive experience was in a 64 dodge D-100, slant 6, 3 on the tree. Older brother took me out on a seldom used road to try. I did great....went through all gears...pulled up to the stop sign....and stalled it.
I was under the impression that the only time I needed to use the clutch was to change gears :)
 
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