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.