It occurred to me today while driving that I don't know anybody that drives a car that isn't automatic. That said, none of my friends have high-end sports cars. Still, my first car was a stick shift. It was a Chevy nova, not a sports car.
Who here drives a stick? Who here doesn't know how to drive a stick? Preferences?
Is it a dying thing?
Nearly all cars here are stick. Automatic is seen as something for old people. I have driven both, though, and I prefer stick because I feel much more in control. Automatic feels like giving suggestions to the car, whereas stick allows you to directly dictate the accelleration of the car.
Same thing in New Zealand. Most people buy manuals. Also, the secondhand vehicle market seems to be much more robust in NZ than the US which explains a preference for manuals as they tend to age a lot better and are easier to service or work on yourself. I was talking to an American cousin a while back and he explained that in his state secondhand vehicles were impractical because the salt used on the roads in the winter drastically reduces the lifespan of any given vehicle. I've owned both and, in the long run, my auto ended up costing me a lot more in terms of servicing and parts replacements.
Got to disagree with you - it's tough to even find manual transmission cars here these days, and they tend to cost more as well (which is just wrong, since auto's are more complex and costly). But maybe that's just Auckland. Most of our second-hand cars are Japanese imports, since we have no local car-making industry anymore.
I'm from Auckland too. I guess my experience has been biased by the fact that I'm only six or so years out of high school. All of my friends have bought secondhand, and the majority seem to be manuals. Most new vehicles (and newer secondhand vehicles) do seem to be autos though so I guess the manual fleet is getting slowly replaced.
Me. I can't stand automatics. I feel like I have no control. I press the accelerator, and it's a full two seconds before the car shifts. I would drive a 'high-end sports car' if I wasn't so cheap, so that might say something about my preferences. Currently driving a base model Lancer.
I drive a stick. I prefer it as it seems to keep me concentrated on the road. I go into auto pilot during most any activity I do on a regular basis so working the transmission at regular intervals distracts me enough from thinking about tying knots with loops in them, writing a TV pilot, driving to the bookstore later or whatever stupid thing my brain is sharing foreground processing with. I can auto pilot through acceleration, but when it comes to everyday traffic, standard transmission keeps me focused enough listening to engine noise to react. My first car was a '66 Volkswagen and I learned when to shift based on the specific weird noise each gear in that piece of shit made. Even a quiet, modern engine makes some noise when the rpms rise. It is not dying because of every country in the world besides America. I drive a car designed for the world market and the automatic they dropped in it for the US apparently makes it accelerate like a Rascal scooter. But yeah, in America a lot of people don't even know what it is. But a lot of Americans also can't steal my car.
My second car was a stick. A Volkswagen GTI. Sweet car. I've got an automatic Honda CRV (love that thing) but I drive her manual Mini Cooper when she get's bored with it. Manual's can be fun to drive in the mountains but torture in heavy traffic. I think it's definitely more a European thing than here in the States. I believe everyone oughta know their way around a stick in case of emergencies. Lots of people brag about it but it's not rocket science and learning, while frusturating, is so fun once you get a feel for it.
I currently have both. My company utility is auto, and my personal car is manual. I definitely prefer manual. One, I feel much more in control of the car, and there's something about the whole mechanical process of changing gears yourself. I've also owned a 330rwhp/250rwkw Nissan 180sx, which I used on several circuits in Victoria, Australia, and an auto simply wouldn't have cut it for that style of driving. My current car (Mazda 6 MPS) is a bit of weekend release for me, and if that were auto, I'd almost feel as if I was driving my company car around, albeit a fair bit quicker. Plus, heel toe is fun!
Disclaimer, I am not from the US. I am Brazilian, but now live in Europe. All the cars I had throughout my life (for the past 12 years) have been manual. I don't ever see myself buying a car without 3 pedals as long as manufactures keep making them. I know now-a-days manuals are slower, less economical (new high end cars, at least) and less practical. But the feeling of executing a perfect heel and toe downshift is just awesome! This year I got a new BMW M135i with a manual. The owner of the dealership made a point to meet me, as he was impressed by my choice of car. Not only it was a manual, but also orange. He says 99% of cars he sells are black, gray or white. And last year, out of 1500 cars sold, less than 5 were manual.
The first car that I bought was a 1991 Dodge Stealth. It was a stick, and I didn't know how to drive it, but I bought it anyway. My parents both grew up driving standard, and they reluctantly showed me the ropes. I say reluctantly because they were never really comfortable with the idea of me driving a car. But I bought it, and so I needed to drive it. It was a learning curve. I wound up burning through the clutch that first summer. That car lasted me about a year before it fell apart, and then I saved up to buy a new Hyundai Accent for about ten grand. I opted for the stick shift because at this point it was a matter of personal pride. It felt like a super power that I had, to operate a manual transmission. I'm currently driving a Ford Explorer, and although I never thought I'd be driving an automatic, this car was being sold at a heavy discount by a family member, and seeing as how my wife and I just had a baby, I felt like it was the universe's way of telling me it was time to move on. Will I ever get to own a stick shift again? I hope so. There's nothing like driving with that feeling of total control over your car.
I drive a stick (2007 Fit) and always have. When I drive automatics I find it boring and I am easily distracted. Besides, sticks are just fun. You have way more control and even small car like a Fit feels like a "sports car" with a stick!
European reporting in! Everything else than stick shift is weird :P Currently making my American fiancee drive a stick shift so she gets used to it :D When I drove her automatic in America, it felt kind of weird. And it makes hours of driving even more boring. Over here, automatics basically only come with very expensive sports cars which require automatic. I wish it was the same as in the US, though, and sticks would be cheaper :(
arguewithatree, a 2015 model Fit at that. Took us forever to get the car because that gorgeous purple + stick is so rare. My mom has sold cars for 15 years now. You'd be surprised how many still want their manuals.
my car in CA is stick too. it's a 99 volvo stationwagon that i grew up in :)
My truck is an automatic, but I did learn how to drive a stick. One of my family members had an 87 Ranger, which he gave to me when he got a new truck. I used that to learn on, until I blew the engine driving in the snow.
I don't currently drive stick, but I want to get one in my next car. I grew up with stick, and drove a stick until two years ago. The only thing I like more about Automatic is cruise control (though I've heard they exist on standard - seems like a unicorn to me.)
I drive a stick. Most of my cars have been stickshift. Last automatic I had was 16 years ago. I like them way better than automatics. I feel connected to the road, connected to the engine, connected to the driving experience. When I drive an automatic, I really miss the sense of control. They don't feel as safe to me.
Both my wife and my first cars were standard, but now our only vehicle is automatic. We did recently drive my mother in law's truck when we moved, which is stick. I did like having standard when I was driving, it made you feel much more involved in driving, more in control. Of course it was a pain in the ass when traffic ground to a halt. Stop and start for an hour was a pain in the foot, for sure.
I've never driven a stick but I would like to learn some day. A few of my friends can drive stick and they rave about it. Once I have the funds to buy a stick shift car and the patience to learn I'll do it.
My first car was a hand-me-down Nova. It was kinda sporty, but an automatic. I needed cheap-and-reliable when I first bought a car and ended up with another automatic, a boring Corolla. The next three cars I bought for myself were all manual. These days I rarely drive Monday-Friday, so I enjoy getting in the car on weekends, and the stick is definitely part of the appeal.
I am now driving the first car I have ever owned that is not a standard transmission. It's funny because I think "standard" is really automatic at this point, but my next car will probably be a stick again. I like it because there's is more control/generally people that drive stick drive better/safer than automatic car drivers as you actually have to know how to drive to drive a manual car.
I wonder if accident rates would drop if everyone had a stick shift? The impetus for this post was this one: Harder to text while working the shift.generally people that drive stick drive better/safer than automatic car drivers
this makes sense to me. Like tacocat said above:
I drive a stick. I prefer it as it seems to keep me concentrated on the road.
I think part of it also is that when you learn to drive stick you actually have to learn to drive the car and pay attention to what it does/is doing, whereas you could stick a baby in an auto and if it could reach the pedals, it could make the car move.