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I’ll only drive automatic. No desire to work harder at driving in the city.
What, you don’t want to shift gears endlessly while stuck moving between 10 mph and a dead stop on the freeway for three hours?
Hear me out for a second…
Maybe, just maybe, it’s spending 3 hours in stop and go traffic that’s the problem, not the transmission.
Agreed, but having lived it myself with a manual transmission, it’s rough with a manual. It’s one of the few scenarios where I don’t prefer it.
I’m one of the weirdos who wouldn’t mind this. I’ve been dailying my '97 Prelude for most of the summer since I bought it. I didn’t think I’d want to drive it in traffic, but honestly, it’s not the stop and go that ruins the experience for me. It’s the fact that if I get hit by just about any of the trucks on the road, I’m getting a faceful of bumper and best I can hope for is to retain the use of my arms. It’s basically a motorcycle that I can’t lowside.
But I totally get that I’m a fringe case. I completely understand why this would just be too much for someone to want to keep up with in stop and go traffic. Besides, all that starting is bad for clutches. Autos with torque converters handle it a million times better.
Most people aren’t car enthusiasts and enthusiasts need to come to terms with it. Manuals are dying. It’s just the way the world is moving. Let’s enjoy what we have now and appreciate we get to be a part of something we love.
I daily a manual. More people complain about manuals in freeway traffic than there are manual drivers left. Lol
I think cars may have something to do with traffic but not sure.
Burn the witch!
There are correlations sure, but I’m not aware of any studies proving a causal link between cars and traffic.
I could just as plausibly say that 95% of cars in traffic have automatic transmissions. And so, just speculating here, but if they all switched to manual transmissions, we may see a significant reduction in traffic.
So… Is a manual transmission not the correct solution? should I move so I can drive a manual?
One way or the other. Cars are the real problem there.
Manual transmission or not, yes, I would confidently say that moving or changing jobs is the best solution to address a 3 hour commute. Bonus point being that you will better be able to enjoy your manual transmission.
Just saying, you can stay in 1st gear for 10mph.
It’s funny because this is the exact same argument anti-cyclists make. Lol
“Tell someone they should ride a bike and suddenly everyone has to move a fridge”
For me the only reason to drive manual was becase automats used to be less effective. With current generation, the computer with its 12 gears is much more ecological then my macho hand lovingly stroking my cars stick can ever be…
My biggest thing is that they make people pay more attention. I dont think better drivers drive stick, i think the stick makes YOU a better driver.
Less eating, drinking, phone holding, texting etc. You have to know speeds and rpms for which gears. It keeps me from speeding knowing this street is a 4th gear street. When i end up driving a auto car, i will often loook down and wonder how i got to the speed i am at, though that may also be due to the fact its not my car and im just not used to the sensation of speed.
On another note, i think on average manual trans are less prone to failure. I know alot of cars that have essentially been junked due to an auto trans problem, but a manual just needs a new clutch every one and a while. Though this might be less common on newer cars compared to 90’s and early 2000’s cars.
And with the rise of EVs auto transmission failures will be a thing of the past. Except for the few sports EVs that for some reason have a multiple gears.
Do you not know how gears work? For some reason? Do you really not understand why they have more gears?
Electric motors have so much torque even at low revs that a gearbox is unnecessary for most people. If you can get enough torque for a fast start in 5th, there’s no reason for the gearbox, you might as well save the extra complexity and keep the car permanently in 5th.
Combustion cars have gearboxes because they only work well at a narrow range of revs. Bicycles have more gears than cars because humans have an even narrower range of revs where they work best at.
EVs still have peak operational variables, things like heat. Having 2 gears solves the danger problems. Quicker acceleration and better efficiency. Just because it’s expensive right now doesn’t mean you won’t continue to see them on high end vehicle and start to trickle into the mid range stuff.
We do
EVs have a single reduction gear and no transmission or gear change. Most are rated for around a million miles and only require a gear oil change every few years or so.
i think the stick makes YOU a better driver.
It doesn’t make me a better driver, it’s a continual distraction. I recently switched from a manual to an automatic car and I now have far more available headspace to pay attention to the world around me.
You just never properly learned it then.
i think on average manual trans are less prone to failure.
As far as I’m aware this is still true. They’re also significantly cheaper to repair/replace if need be.
For speed control I wish every car had easy to use cruise control and speed limiting, I hate having to constantly worry I’ve crept above the limit and will get a ticket especially on long boring roads littered with speed cameras.
Imagine just being able to concentrate on what’s around you and where you’re going without needing to be endlessly worrying about engine revs, speed enforcement, and the potential cost of getting either wrong.
I drive a manual because all through the 90s a manual was a lot more reliable and cheaper to fix than an automatic. I also hated the automatic gear selection. It was always in a gear I didn’t want. I recently had a rental car which was a Ford with a 10-speed automatic and yeah they have come a long way. I’ve only ever owned manuals but I think my next car will be an auto. I hear reliability is good now.
Do you love cars stick? Are you a gay car?
i very recently learned how to drive. Learned manual because it is still the majority of cars on the roads here… Looking forward to the majority of the vehicles being automatic! It makes a lot more sense
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Yes, but only once
Actually means Republican.
Handbrake start is for noobs. Learn to use your clutch.
Roll backwards into the person behind you to establish manual dominance.
On a steep hill, your clutch will thank you for using the handbrake. Especially in stop and go traffic towing a trailer. Ask me how I know.
How I know?
I know you’re being funny, but to answer the question I posited: every summer, after people came back from towing their caravans up through the mountains, my dad’s shop would be replacing loads of clutches with people complaining about the weird smells their car started making. Or the sudden trouble they had shifting.
There’s a nightmare scenario if I ever heard one.
Cars are for nubes, real chade walks🫡. Talking about the true manual here.
true! although wouldnt manual be walking on ones hands ?
No, that would be handual.
yeah but manual is an adjective often meaning ‘to do with hands’ or whatever. like a teeth are dental
BTW, I think you can technically drive a car with only hand, but that sounds like a bad time in most cars.
Handbrake start is what’s taught in countries where the the driving test isn’t “Press go pedal, press stop pedal, congrats you passed”
In upward inclines it’s better for your clutch too.
Not having the coordination to use both feet and both hands independently of each other is what’s for noobs
Not having the coordination to use both feet and both hands independently of each other is what’s for noobs
Laughs in knowing how much clutch pressure to apply to start your car uphill without grating cheese
I’ve been taught to balance between brake and clutch for inclines. Or is that the same thing?
That was the case 20 years ago.
Aye even my poverty-spec car locks the manual transmission on a hill until the clutch bites
Didn’t even know it did it until I’d had it for over a year 😂
Using your third foot…?
You let the clutch up until the rims start to drop a tiny bit, at this point you can let off the brake and move your foot to the gas. You shouldn’t move backwards as long as you are slow and feel for the engine to not stall
You get the car rolling with just the clutch. Quite the pain, not a fan of driving stick myself.
Tell me you are a diesel driver without telling me. By the time you get an average gas car moving the light is red again if you don’t rev it to at least 1500
Ah, you mean that because diesel cars have more torque, you can do things like starting uphill with just the clutch.
I was wondering, because I certainly didn’t opt for a handbrake start for the fun of it. My car’s engine simply died, if I lifted the clutch too far without accelerating and ‘too far’ was far below getting enough torque to not roll downhill.
You give it a bit of gas while letting the clutch pedal go up though. Or a bunch of gas if you lease a car because who gives a shit.
good point
Tips for a learner? My stompy parking brake won’t play nice right now, so I kind of need to figure this shit out in my new old truck. Lol.
Well, it’s just a trick you need to get the feeling for. Start one foot on the break, and other on the clutch. Let clutch go halfway, without stalling the car, and quickly move your right foot from brake to gas. Press on gas pedal, while releasing clutch. If you do it right, the car starts driving forward, even on a upwards hill. It takes practice, and every car feels different.
A good indicator for learning this – especially if you don’t have the feel for your clutch yet – is to watch your RPM counter. If it starts to dip, the clutch is starting to engage. From there on, continue as described.
Ever drive in Seattle?
Mine has a brief brake assist, about 1.5 seconds it won’t roll backwards on a hill start.
It’s so subtle and I’ve had the car so long, I completely forget about it.
Any time I drive a car without it freak out when I come off the brake and the car starts moving backwards.
If you can’t hold the brake with your right foot and roll start with the clutch left foot without touching the gas, you need more practice.
exceptions given for fully loaded old as dirt pickup trucks that don’t like to idle properly, those you can heel toe… not that I’d know anything about that of course.,
I haven’t driven a whole lot of cars and none of them were old as dirt pickup trucks but I’ve seen enough where the idle gas was not enough to get the car rolling on an incline without stalling it. Sometimes you just need a good handbrake start
On flat ground, agreed. On a hill, my car just doesnt have the power to do that without some gas.
I got pulled over a couple of months ago and the cop told me to put it in park. I wiggled the stick back and forth to show it was in neutral and they thought I was fucking with them and kept saying to put it in park. Idiots
“Sorry sir. I was in airplane mode.”
smartest cop
Isn’t it best practice to park in 1st? So that if the handbrake fails the engine brake slows the car a bit rather than it being a free falling projectile.
If its at an angle, yes. But i presume this was on flat terrain. BTW, 1st gear is only if its in danger of rolling backwards. If its in danger of rolling forwards, park in reverse gear.
Reverse is better, it’s an even shorter gear than first so the engine has to spin more times per wheel revolution.
This is the funniest.
I just got a car with no transmission instead
Do EVs have a transmission?
I mean technically they all do, but if you mean multiple gears, very few.
Nope
The response is arguably better than a manual (I had the consecutive manuals) but there’s no shifting.
I do, too, and drove one for many years. I’ll be the one to splash cold water on the conversation, though.
Driving a stick arguably requires the use of both hands and legs, which is great and partly the reason why so many enjoy it - that sense of engagement. It’s far less boring.
But here’s the deal. Injure any one of those appendages and driving a manual becomes a whole lot less fun. In some cases, you can get by, but it’s less than ideal. Having your arm closest to the shift in a sling, for example, makes your vehicle undrivable.
It won’t matter to most people… right up until the moment it does.
-
Clutch with left foot
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stabilize steering wheel with right knee (if necessary)
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reach over with left hand and engage gear
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grab steering wheel with left hand
-
drive normally
Me drinking coffee in the morning, a tutorial.
Hey I do that too!! There’s a skill for moving from 1st to Reverse with the left hand while the right looks for the cup holder with the coffee in hand.
-
I love driving stick. Or I did up until the day my left knee fell apart. Now it’s just not an option for me.
I used to be an
advstick driver like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee
Having your arm closest to the shift in a sling, for example, makes your vehicle undrivable.
I broke my right shoulder and spent two months driving my stick shift SC2 (in the US) entirely with my left hand. It’s doable, you just have to shift really quickly and get your hand back on the steering wheel. Not having the use of both feet would probably kill the deal.
I’m a manual aficionado, but my mother hasn’t driven a stick, despite teaching all her children how to, since I was born due to her arthritis. Apparently her knees don’t like having to clutch constantly. I’d rather have her mobile and active as she is now, than have her stuck at home reliant on my dad to give her rides.
I was a manual purist, until I move to a large city and had to drive in it often.
I still miss my manual cars, but god damn it was a pain in the city.
This happened to me in highschool. I got a bad skiing injury, my leg wasn’t broken but I pulled my ACL, and they put my leg in a brace. My parents had to come pick me up at 10PM and drive my car home for me. Nobody was happy about the situation.
Nah, dude/dudette, I’m done churning butter. If you have to change gear every two seconds because the bellend infront of you couldn’t navigate a straight road it just gets annoying.
Also handbrake start at a hill is for amateurs who don’t know their transmission (⌐■_■) yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
Poor clutchy
Also driving in Seattle or San Francisco
It is very difficult to find manual transmission in a passenger car in the US now. I would like one but good luck finding what you want used. Even new, very few models have a manual option. And I think it costs more for a manual transmission now. It used to be cheaper.
The cheapest car I know of off the lot is a base model versa which comes with a manual that’s decent.
The noob trap is “upgrading” it to get the automatic. It’s maybe the worst new cvt you can buy.
Nissan Versa?
Does the base MSRP of $15,980 have the manual transmission?
Imma have to test drive that, I think.
Yeah the lowest trim level has a manual (or can be had with a manual). Call ahead to the dealership to make sure they have it in.
Can confirm: I drive a Nissan and the CVT is feckin awful.
I could barely find any sticks when I was car shopping, and they were all base models. I finally found a dealer with a manual Impreza but it was actually more expensive than the automatic next to it with a sunroof and heated seats
Your luck may change… Way back when I was car shopping I found a used BMW 328i with the sport package discounted because they couldn’t find a buyer who knew how to drive a manual. I have been driving that car for 12 years now.
>BMW
>12 yearsStop lying.
I didn’t say it was cheap.
Every car I’ve owned has been manual and I hate my latest decision since 99% of my driving is stop and go. Honestly I’d prefer no cars at all.
Hell, in a car, is other drivers.
There’s a game that is called “Hell is others” I got it for free, but haven’t installed it. It seems to be some sort of survival horror game where you attempt to avoid everyone else and escape the city
I prefer my manual even in stop-and-go traffic. Gives me something to do other than hate the people in front of me.
Car won’t start? Push it down a hill, avoid running over my foot, and climb in before it pulls away from you.
This is how I got to nursery school on at least one occasion I can remember.
I love manual transmission, and miss it badly. It was awesome getting out of both mud and snow. Plus, I felt like I was actually driving the car, not guiding it.
Where’s my manual electric car?!
What do you mean electric motors have no transmissions?!
I do like manual transmissions but I will happily drive my electric car with no transmission.
If I want to go faster it just goes faster, and faster, and faster. No lag, just faster.
I wish I could afford one 😭
They’re getting cheaper quickly now that the Chinese automakers are ramping up exports. Give it a couple more years.
The Electrek Uncar had a 4 speed manual transmission. For… some reason. So yes you can free rev it.
Not a lot of information out there https://www.autoevolution.com/news/electrek-uncar-is-a-frankenstein-ev-from-1979-100-zero-emission-ride-165880.html https://youtu.be/FyZd4_2unFM
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/FyZd4_2unFM
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
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What do you mean electric motors have no transmissions?
They do though, it’s just that most are single speed reduction boxes (unless you’ve got a Taycan).
Electric motion makes an electric trial motorcycle with a clutch!
Best I can do 🤷
Ahhh we had a different method - push it until you get to a decending road (don’t know the right term in english lol) put in 2nd gear and start rolling while trying to start like maniac - worked every time lol
Descending works, but “a downhill road” would be the more conversational way to say it
What about… a condescending road?
Nah that’s when the road is like, “that’s some real good driving for a moron”
You tell your car explicitly where to go, when to start, when to stop, when to accelerate and when to slow down.
Sounds like actual driving to me.You can ride in a taxi and you won’t be the driver even if the actual driver is patient enough to let you tell him explicitly when to start, stop, etc.
Wrong analogy. You command your car, not taxi driver.
Been able to push start an auto before just a bit fiddly holding in the override detent and jamming it in second
The the car I drive for work has a volume knob and I hate it with a passion.
Those piss me off for reasons beyond manual supremacy - they’re bad UI design too. A knob is for controlling something (like volume) which varies continuously over a range. It is not for selecting from a short list of discrete options!
Ah, gotcha! We need a menu inside the entertainment system where you can select a gear via touch-screen… /s
Please stop giving them ideas
yep.
My car is a stick shift. I love it.
But our pickup and my wife’s car are both automatic. Those are fine, too. Stop and go traffic - I’m gonna want an automatic. The pickup is for towing our trailer, and while I understand theoretically a stick would be better for that purpose, I’m glad to have the automatic and not have to worry about it. Plus then my wife can occasionally drive it as well.
I’ve driven fast automatics, and I’ve driven slow stick shifts. It’s never just ONE thing about a car.
Our pickup, you can push the gear stick left and it becomes basically manual with no clutch. You tell it to change gears and it will except when it says “no” ie high speeds and you ask to change down a gear when it’s high revs in current gear, it beeps at you and won’t change.
We’ve found that more than adequate for towing a 19ft caravan.
Our Mazda has “manual” control of the automatic where you can tell it to shift by clicking a button or moving the gear selector. But like yours it won’t do anything stupid. I’ve played with a few times, but I just can’t get into it.
For towing (or hauling heavy loads in general) - you definitely need to be able to lock out higher gears sometimes in the mountains. If your transmission is hunting between gears, then lock it to a lower one. Our pickup has a tow/haul mode that handles this automatically; the motorhome I had before just had an “overdrive” button that locked out the overdrive gear for the same reason.
I rented an electric car over the summer and the acceleration damn near pushed my eyeballs back in my head. No gear shifting at all, just continuous acceleration. An electric grocery getter will blow the doors off nearly everything you can throw at it from the previous 50 years. Will not be looking back fondly on my manual transmissions.
Speed has not been the reason to get a manual for a long time.
Yep just got a slow e-2008 looks great and this is a slow one…
It’s funny manual is the standard here so there’s no ego boost to driving one, people always tell me it’s because we have more corners which has never made any sense (I e. You need to go into second or third at roundabout which I think older autos would have a little lag with or something, certainly not a problem in cars from this century)
I would love an automatic, i think it would make my driving safer in several ways, for a start not having to focus on gears at key moments like navigating road changes and corners or pulling away in a busy carpark. When I drove in the US it was so nice not having to constantly be doing stuff in traffic that I wasn’t anywhere near as tired which again is a big safety issue
I grew up in the UK, learning on stick, moved to us drive a manual.
i live in a city, I work in an office, I don’t have any hobbies that require something I can’t lift with two hands (except my piano, but I hardly take that around with me).
I can’t for the life of me think of a reason why I would need a stick. its so pleasant to be able to drink coffee or water while driving, have an arm out the window, or even just being at rest driving.
I dont get the appeal.
Its appealing for people that want driving to be more engaging in contrast to people that want it to be less engaging and more layed back (like you do).
For me, driving a manual feels more rewarding/tactile, like typing on a mechanical keyboard instead of a touchscreen.
(And manual cars are usually cheaper to buy and, more importantly, maintain here in Europe)
Out of curiosity, how far do you drive on an average day, and what’s considered a long drive for you?
I’m wondering if the popularity of automatics in the US is affected by longer commutes on average, which makes manual driving more exhausting. My personal feeling is, on a 5 hour drive to my parent’s house, I really want to be able to relax and listen to some podcasts without getting too weary to drive, but I’m not sure if it really makes a difference.
