Can you drive a stick?

[baylensman]

I've been flabbergasted this week. I have a crew of 13 guys here. I have a fleet of 6 Chevy vans, all v-6 autos. I have 2 NPV diesel box vans and 2 ford picks up all with automatics. I also have an '02 escape with around 250,ooo miles on it with a stick shift. Well several times this week I had to send one or the other of the guys out that wasn't riding in an installers van. I gave them the keys to the Escape and told them to go here of there, 5 minutes later, they're back in the office saying they can't drive a stick! These aren't 17 year old kids but most are men in their late 20's early 30's.

 

I just don't get it. when I first learned to drive, my old man made it clear I was to learn on a stick shift with out power steering or power brakes, before I drove anything else, we had an old 66 impala with a 3 on the tree 6 banger that passed thru each of us when we learning. Most if not all of my contemporaries ( class of '76) also learned on a stick. Even though most of us ended up with autos with PS and PB, They were the cheapest and most plentiful of the used cars at that time.

 

both of my kids, who learned to drive in the early '00s, I made them learn on my 5.0 Capri with a 5 speed, just so they would learn to be a little more conscious of rolling to a stop sign and taking off when it was clear ( I sold it right afterwards, so I didn't have teen drivers with a high performance car in the drive way)

 

Asking around at the park all of the guys and most of the women who drive also learned on a stick shift.

 

Is it just me, and a select group of people or is it a trend I failed to notice.

[GAWildKat]

My husband is 38, I'm 43. When we met he didn't know how to drive stick either. His Dad can't drive stick either, he knows how, but strips transmissions, so the lessons were not passed on. I know how to drive stick, but my cerebral palsy makes it difficult to do it comfortably. At some point more than a decade ago the hubs needed a pickup for a job and I sourced him an '79 F150 that was a stick. We bought it and before we left the lot I had to teach him how to drive stick. The sales guys were laughing their asses off at the role swap. He's gotten very proficient at stick these days and prefers it to auto.

 

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[SilvrT]

I don't think there even was automatic trannys when I learned to drive....

[BG Hawks]

yep but my kids can't as I don't own a manual car...not sure about my wife...

[The Tooch]

Actually there is a related crime trend........ATTEMPTED Car Jackings.

 

[h=3]Two attempted car-jacking incidents in Toronto highlight how the manual transmission is becoming an anti-theft device[/h]

• http://www.autofocus.ca/media/6dnkx0ykjw7pyr/atom_featured/Stickshift.jpg?t=1cf5d63f51ad8553b72ad909435b1a50
  

 

 

 

 

Until recently, buying a car with a manual transmission was a lifestyle choice, one made either for the lower purchase price or because the buyer enjoyed the additional level of driving engagement.

But as the stickshift continues its slow descent into obscurity, with fewer and fewer drivers learning how to use one, the three-pedal trans is starting to serve a new purpose: anti-theft device.

As CP24 reports, a teacher who had stopped for her morning infusion of caffeine at a Tim Horton’s in suburban Toronto was about to continue on her way to school when two men, one of them brandishing a gun, approached her in her car in the parking lot.

She obeyed when they told her to get out of the car and watched as they got in, then dashed out and back to a nearby getaway car. The closest thing the cops could figure is the suspects couldn’t drive the manual transmission in the woman’s car, so they bolted, leaving her frazzled but unharmed.

Perhaps the weirdest part is Toronto police said this was the second such incident reported that morning in the same part of town: two suspects forced someone out of their car, got in, then got out again and ran away.

The manual transmission may be on its way to an ignominious end, but it’s not going down without taking a swipe at crime.

(via CP24)

[Guest]

Learned on a stick and taught three women how to drive stick on my first car.. If you learn how to drive stick, you can drive anything.

[Flyinfool]

I prefer a car with a stick. The only reason that my truck is an auto is that none of the creature comforts can be had with a stick, I like my carpeting, my power everything and premium sound system.

 

Way back in the 70s I learned how to drive stick on the way home from the dealers lot with my first car.

 

Now I even get weird looks from car salesmen when I tell them that my definition of a sports car is rear wheel drive, a V8 (or a V more), and a stick.

 

Besides, If I get a sports car with a stick I will never have to worry about the wife ever wanting to drive it.

 

But you are correct in that very few people know how to drive a stick anymore, especially young (under 40) people, some are able to, but do not really know how to.

[BlueSky]

Both my boys drive stick shifts. The oldest is 38 and all of his cars have been stick shift, Escort and several Mustangs. The youngest (25) has a Miata. After he totalled his first Miata, I bought a cheap auto Mustang for him. My daughter has always driven an auto. She was accident prone like her mother for many years but finally turned into a good driver. My ex has always been an accident prone driver. Current wife has never driven a stick. I taught her to drive at age 42. She is a careful driver, so far accident free (knock on wood).

[uncledj]

First vehicle was a 48 Willys CJ2A, and I'm pretty sure it was a stick......hell,...it had 3 sticks.

Transmission

Transfer case 2wd / 4wd

Transfer case HI / Lo

 

Next was a 69 Rambler, 3 on the tree.

 

Taught the girlfriend / now wife on a 87 Honda CRX.

 

These days the only things I have that are manual shift are the bikes and the tractor, although when I resto that 69 Chevelle sitting in the garage, I'll go stick.

 

Sadly, it's becoming a lost art. Auto is much easier, but stick's a lot more fun.

[bongobobny]

I've heard some women can fly a broom, does that count as a stick??

[CaseyJ955]

I prefer a clutch over auto. I made sure both my kids knew how to drive a stick, couldnt turn them loose on society without knowing how to drive real cars and trucks. When I showed my wife how to drive a clutch in my tuned 9-5 ARC Turbo I found out her inner child is actually Guy Martin, now the pass seat has an array of pucker bites in the leather.

 

When I went to sell the above mentioned SAAB I found out how many young men had no clue how to drive a stick. Whats the world coming too?

[Guest]

Bobby.....you're playing with fire, my friend. Funny though.....

[RandyR]

Well, I really appreciated having an automatic when my right arm was broken and in a sling for a couple months.

 

I haven't bought a stick shift since the 1980's when I had a Chevy Citation hatchback. Nothing but Ford automatics since then.

[slowrollwv]

I learnt to drive a stick when I was 10 years old. 49 chevy 4 speed with a granny. My first car was a 56 chevy with three on the tree so we put a conversion kit in it. When I tried to teach the wife to drive it was a 66 GTO 4 speed. I had to replace the clutch twice but she got the hang of it. When I got the 90 f-150 she would drive it more than her Dodge Monico. All of my kids learnt to drive a stick.

[baylensman]

I don't think there even was automatic trannys when I learned to drive....

 

JUST HOW OLD ARE YOU?

 

The automatic transmission was invented in 1921 by Alfred Horner Munro of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and patented under Canadian patent CA 235757 in 1923. (Munro obtained UK patent GB215669 215,669 for his invention in 1924 and US patent 1,613,525 on 4 January 1927). Being a steam engineer, Munro designed his device to use compressed air rather than hydraulic fluid, and so it lacked power and never found commercial application.^[1] The first automatic transmission using hydraulic fluid may have been developed in 1932 by two Brazilian engineers, José Braz Araripe and Fernando Lehly Lemos; subsequently the prototype and plans were sold to General Motors who introduced it in the 1940 Oldsmobile as the "Hydra-Matic" transmission.

[Yammer Dan]

Learned on 3 on a Tree. Then my 1st Hot Rod 59 Flymouth with 318 and I found a 4 speed for it. 4 in the Floor!!! High Tech back then!!!

[Kretz]

I learned to drive in the UK where the majority of vehicles are manual (stick) shift (I believe they still are) I drove stick all my life. When I moved to Canada I had to take a driving test, because then (2002) the UK & Canada did not have a reciprocal exchange agreement for driving licences.

The reason? (absolutely nothing to do with driving on the left v right) The UK at that time differentiated between Automatic & Manual transmissions. Canada did/ does not.

Back then if you passed your UK test in a manual (stick) you could drive all cars including autos. BUT if you passed your test in an automatic you were limited to driving automatics only.

So when I came to Canada I had to prove that I was capable of driving & take a driving test! My clean UK licence of 35 years counted for nothing! I also had to take a test for motorcycle too but did that sometime later.

I believe things have now changed & I understand there is now a reciprocal agreement between the UK & Canada, so I don't know how they got around the Auto/ Manual transmission thing.

Currently our Chevy truck is Stick, our Jeep is Auto, so we swap from one to the other with no problem.

[GAWildKat]

I prefer a car with a stick. The only reason that my truck is an auto is that none of the creature comforts can be had with a stick, I like my carpeting, my power everything and premium sound system.

 

Way back in the 70s I learned how to drive stick on the way home from the dealers lot with my first car.

 

Now I even get weird looks from car salesmen when I tell them that my definition of a sports car is rear wheel drive, a V8 (or a V more), and a stick.

 

Besides, If I get a sports car with a stick I will never have to worry about the wife ever wanting to drive it.

 

But you are correct in that very few people know how to drive a stick anymore, especially young (under 40) people, some are able to, but do not really know how to.

Mike was always the accident prone. Every dent and scratch on MY caprice is from him. He would even go off road in the thing when I said not to. I said it's not a jeep or a truck....still did it....notice it's still parked!

 

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[SilvrT]

JUST HOW OLD ARE YOU?

 

The automatic transmission was invented in 1921 by Alfred Horner Munro of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and patented under Canadian patent CA 235757 in 1923. (Munro obtained UK patent GB215669 215,669 for his invention in 1924 and US patent 1,613,525 on 4 January 1927). Being a steam engineer, Munro designed his device to use compressed air rather than hydraulic fluid, and so it lacked power and never found commercial application.^[1] The first automatic transmission using hydraulic fluid may have been developed in 1932 by two Brazilian engineers, José Braz Araripe and Fernando Lehly Lemos; subsequently the prototype and plans were sold to General Motors who introduced it in the 1940 Oldsmobile as the "Hydra-Matic" transmission.

 

When I learned to drive *, Most vehicles on the road were standard shift. I do recall my step-dad's 1952 DeSoto having some sort of automatic trans. You had to use a clutch to get it rolling but after that, it shifted on it's own.

 

* - to clarify, I actually learned on a farm tractor when I was 8 yrs old. I'm now 70.

[djh3]

1966 VW for me, about the same time I was working on the neighbors farm and had tractors and a C-10 pickup all manuals. Part of the problem is the EPA. With all the mileage demands of the guberment thats the way it has gone. With automatics and the PCM telling it when to shift VS you deciding the power YOU want they can get mileage and emissions. I was reading an article last year I think and the fellow writing it was looking for an F-150 stick. Seems that the last year you could get a stick in a 1/2 ton anything was about 2012 or so. Try to buy a F-250 with a stick. I love my old 96 Cummings stick. I to taught the wife on my Maverick which was a 4 spd car, then she got a 6cyl camaro 3 on tree. My boy learned on a saturn sedan. Stick shifts are on the way out friends.

[Air Ready Auto]

I learned on an old T-100. My dad about pulled his hair out the first time I tried. He got rid of it after that and all my brothers learned on an automatic. I'm the only one at my work who can drive a stick and I prefer them. I've owned several.

[saddlebum]

I learned on a milk tanker (and had to split shift) with a 5 spd transmission and 2 speed axle when I was 15. The guy driving the truck taught me on the back roads of Nova Scotia while we picked up milk from the farms. Later when I was about 20 I was driving an old Hayes clipper with a 2 stick 5 & 4 20 spd transmission.

 

Here is the real kicker. When going for your truck drivers lic here in Ontario I am told you no longer need to know how to drive a standard truck, you can take your test in an Automated trans truck.

[Sailor]

Waaaay back when I learned on a stick. Most cars were stick as auto cost extra. At that time if you passed your test on an auto you were restricted to auto.

Most cars now come with auto and stick is special order. In Europe most cars are still stick. A few times I have been over there and rented a car. I always got priority service because all the American tourists ahead of me could not drive stick so I got moved to the front of the line while they had to wait for an auto to be returned.

[bongobobny]

Yup, like most of us geriatrics around here, when I grew up there were more standards than automatics! I learned standard on a '55 Plymouth as well as a few other cars of the era...

[Snaggletooth]

Dang Saddlebum, never thought I'd hear those numbers again. I'd driven manuals most my life since I got my first license. Made my life simple when i first started driving truck. Back then 9 speeds were the common trany until the 13 speeds got popular. I had applied at a local company that made and delivered marble construction siding and raw marble material all over the Midwest. The boss man there was asking me about what kind of equipment I had experience with and as I rattled off my background his grin just kept getting wider. He finally looked at me laughing and said "I think I have a truck for you, come on outside and we'll go for a drive...... If you can got it off the lot!"

 

That made me think it was going to be a beater. He led me to the far end of the lot and pointed to a fairly new Kenworth long nose sitting in a muddy hole with weeds growing all around it and covered with dust from the plant and lime rock lot. But it had everything a driver would ever want. Big chrome California West Coast bumper. Polished aluminum rims all around. Polished 250 gallon tanks on both sides and another 200 gallon tank on the drom deck all fitted with tank heaters and a polished aluminum headache rack with storage compartments. More lights than I'd ever seen on any truck. It was only a single sleeper but as it was only Midwest runs I didn't care. I found it had a 3406 Cat, a model with the mechanical governor which I favored. Dual turbos, and high back air ride captain seats on both sides. Not to mention the air ride suspension. From what I'd seen it was the nicest truck in the fleet. I had to ask the boss man what the deal was. Why is this truck not being used? The answer was simple. "No body could drive it, or even wanted to." The owner had specd it out for power and range in any conditions. He wanted a "Go anywhere, do anything truck." The problem was the transmission. He'd specd as a Two Stick with a 5 over 4 with a splitter and granny low in the box. He didn't have any drivers that could figure it out to make it work. So the next question was "Wanna go for a ride?" My only answer was "I'll drive!!!"

 

So off we went. Stopped that the truck wash to clean off the dust and mud from sitting so long. Found a nice Forrest Green metal flake with silver trim. So with a few tips from the boss on Double Clutching we had a decent "Test Drive". So after a go through inspection and a few adjustments I left the next day on my first trip in that truck. Spent the next three years in it.

 

Found I could out run the push dozers on the muddy job sites with the granny low gearing with an 80,000 scale ticket. Then this was back in the days when the bull haulers ruled the fast lane...... until I got there. Managed to pick up an "Honorable Mention" (just a warning) from the Kansas State Patrol on the turnpike as he figured his radar had malfunctioned. I wasn't about to argue with him about the reading he got that night.

 

So in my three years in that truck I ended up learning a lot about over size and overweight loads. Did many trips with 9 axles on ground and went places most people wouldn't go on a dirt bike. I still chuckle a bit when anyone asks me if I've ever driven a stick. So ya got me started.......