<p>It’s a good thing to know how to drive a stick. Both my kids learned to drive initially on a hybrid automatic but our 3rd car is a manual and they’ve needed to become “fluent” with it if they wanted daily transportation. They each appear to both be the only one among their friends who know how to drive a stick; the parents of one called to ask if we’d be interested in giving lessons to her son. (One, only one, of the local driving schools has a manual and an instructor who will teach on it. They are usually not very busy.)</p>
<p>I was in the passenger seat next to S#2 when he had “the epiphany” about how to coordinate the clutch and accellerator smoothly. It was amazing to observe.</p>
<p>I drive an automatic after 30+ years in stick shift cars. I drive 1-2 times a week on a congested freeway. My knees started hurting–all of that shifting finally wore me down.</p>
<p>One advantage of a stick shift car–when your battery goes dead, you can start the car by pushing it and popping the clutch. Then you can drive to the auto shop to get a new battery or drive around to recharge the battery. Saved my bacon a number of times…</p>
<p>Motherdear, if you are on a really steep hill and at a red light you can use the parking brake to hold you in place. Works really well. </p>
<p>I love driving a stick shift most of the time. The only time I didn’t like it was when I had a 45 minute commute from Pasadena to West LA in bumper to bumper traffic.</p>
<p>I drove a stick shift for years before having kids and loved it. I lived/drove in both NYC and Boston, and once I was used to it, I didn’t think about it being a nuisance in stop and go traffic or on hills. (I used the mathmom method of engaging the parking brake on a hill. It works very well.) But while I didn’t have knee problems, I did eventually develop lower back problems which I realized, once I got an automatic car, were aggravated by driving the stick shift. I’m very glad that I can drive one, as it is useful if traveling in other countries, but I’m very content with automatics now and wouldn’t consider owning another manual.</p>
<p>Ah yes, the “using the emergency brake on hills” method! Since we live near SF, this has been an especially useful piece of knowledge for my sons. If you’re going to drive a stick, find somewhere with a bit of a hill (our driveway was where our kids started, which has only a slight decline, then they moved on to a local low-traffic residential street) and practice, before you get somewhere where you really need to know how to do it.</p>
<p>And once you’ve been driving a stick for a while, you’ll find yourself instinctively pushing down on <em>nothing</em> and reaching out to your right for the stick for a while, when you go back to driving an automatic. (And call me weird, but I find it <em>FUN</em>! to drive a rental car in England, where not only is it standard transmission but also <em>REVERSED</em>! So you sit on the right and the shift is with your <em>LEFT</em> hand. Takes a little time to get used to it, but boy, the feeling of accomplishment once you do…)</p>
<p>We all can use a stick in our family though the wife has an automatic in her car. I find the performance of a stick it a lot better, particularly if you are in a fast acceleration situation. Manuals also tend to get better gas mileage.</p>
<p>Another advantage is rental in Europe. You pay a big premium for automatics. Surprisingly, manuals are very easy to drive in Ireland and the UK where the you drive on the right side. The pedals are oriented the same, so it is only the floor shifter which is different. The first day I tend to reach with my right hand a few times and find nothing there. This little faux pas is never dangerous however.</p>
<p>Used to be that manuals had seveal big advantages, and one smaller one:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>cheaper to buy, cheaper to fix when you burned out the clutch.</p></li>
<li><p>better gas mileage.</p></li>
<li><p>better performance</p></li>
<li><p>jump starting</p></li>
</ul>
<p>(you can pick whichever you want for the smaller one…)</p>
<p>These days, they are still cheaper to buy, but the service cost for a clutch replacement is often as much as to rebuild an AT, at least with FWD. And, if you do a lot of stop and go, or hilly area driving, you’re likely to need a clutch before 100K. And it is not a warranty item.</p>
<p>Regarding performance, some autos are giving better acceleration than manuals these days. Waaay back, when I was in HS, GM had a two speed auto that relied on lots of slippage in the torque converter. This did nothing for mileage. But those days are long gone. </p>
<p>Jump starting can be useful. My starter went out on a Passat V6 last winter. Push started the car (veeery hard to when it is zero!) and drove it to the dealer. Of course the stupid dealer still insisted on troubleshooting the whole engine, fuel injection, ignition etc, as if it would not start, even given what I told them. Never go back there.</p>
<p>A bit of trivia: The same physics allows auto transmissions to “disengage” when idling at a light as causes student pilots to crash planes when they go too slow or too steeply. It’s called stall. One uses fluid, one air, but in each case, below a certain speed, no go. FWIW.</p>
<p>I have only once in my life custom ordered a car- that was a stick
I don’t mind driving sticks- even in hilly seattle, but frankly, since there are so many other distractions, it is one less to thing about shifting.( and actually when driving up the west side of capitol hill in icy rain- it is nice not to have to shift )</p>
<p>I do think it is important to at least know how though, at minimum, you learn how to listen to your car, and that can save you major repair bills and hassle, if you learn what the normal noises are and what arent</p>
<p>( I do prefer a stick I guess, unless you are talking about my Hs truck with the column shifter and the choke- I don’t know if it is the shifting or just because it is such a big truck but it is a PITA)</p>
<p>Also and my most important point, is that most cars seems to be automatics. I saved, thousands, and I mean thousands by buying a car in a lot, over special ordering it, the only difference was that it was an automatic ( a jeep too rofl)
My husband could work on a manual transmission , he can’t on an auto, but there is so much electronic crap on cars anyway that he rarely does much to any of our cars anymore.</p>
<p>my STRONG recommendation for the month
I bought a warranty- from the dealer when I bought the car- since I had negotiated such a good deal for the purchase, I caved a bit re: warranty
However, when I went home and researched the company I found that it was crap- so I went back and canceled the warranty
BUt- I did buy an extended warranty through this company
<a href=“http://www.warrantydirect.com/[/url]”>http://www.warrantydirect.com/</a></p>
<p>I would highly recommend them.
I just had to have some warranty work done on my car, when various things that were fairly unusual( something about the compressor clutch) went wrong, and the auto shop was suprised but pleased that the warranty company agreed to all the work that was needed. The shop said, that most ins warranties, find some sort of loophole and get out of paying.
So really sometimes an extended warranty is worth it</p>
<p>Emeraldkity, I cannot even decide which CAR to actually buy, let alone figure out how or if to choose a warranty. Thanks for the link though - when I do finally decide on something, that’s helpful to have. </p>
<p>And I cannot do all the thinking that seems to be required to drive manual transmissions - just too forgetful about car-related matters. Once, I reported my car stolen, because I bought a new one, but I forgot I bought it, so I was looking for my old car in a grocery store parking lot, couldn’t find it, so called the police. Another time I parked my rental car in a Walgreen’s parking lot, and when I came out of the store, couldn’t remember what I was driving. To be totally fair it’d been valet’d at the airport, and at the hotel so who could blame me - it wasn’t like I’d had any real reason to know what it was. Plus it was easy to figure out because I’d also locked the keys in the ignition. Oh, at least one every few weeks I start day dreaming when I’m on my way home, and drive right past my own house without thinking. </p>
<p>I don’t think I could stay focused long enough to drive a manual/stick whatever they’re called.</p>
<p>My H thinks highly of fords
He has a '64 1/2 ton Ford pick up & a 92 Thunderbird super coupe
Mustangs have always been very good cars as far as I have heard
Ive never heard of a saleen-it sounds like those toothed shrieking eels in Princess Bride for some reason</p>
<p>OIC its a Mustang too.( or is it- do they just make modified mustangs?)</p>
<p>I have to tell you , i would lean toward the GT- if the Saleen engine is too big for the weight of the car, and you aren’t driving on a stock track or something, I would think it would be more trouble than it is worth
My H Tbird, doesn’t like to go slow, and he has prbs with it, it just isn’t made for commuting
( he would never trade it in though- excpet for something like the Saleen- I think it is a testosterone thing)</p>
<p>I learned to drive a stick in downtown LA and then drove the freeway home. My dad’s idea of baptism by fire.
My first five cars were stick shift. They can be tough to drive on hills or in congestion.Had a stick in Chicago, and it was tough in highly congested areas and on surface roads.</p>
<p>Also, very tough to drive and talk on the cell phone. I know, you shouldn’t talk and drive at the same time, even against the law in Chicago, but sometimes you do.</p>
<p>(Although I did master the eating a hamburger and drinking a coke, and driving a stick–and this was all before cupholders.)</p>
<p>A good way to learn to drive a stick is to go to a flat parking lot and practice slowly letting the clutch out without touching the gas. They said you could start the car moving without stalling the engine. </p>
<p>Didn’t believe it, so I tried it. </p>
<p>Hardest thing I ever did with a car. Not because doing it is hard, it isn’t. Hard because every brain cell was telling me to step on the gas, and I almost could not keep my foot off the gas peddle.</p>
<p>Kids, DO try this at home! It works, it’s interesting, and it might save your clutch.</p>
<p>The dealer hasn’t yet called me back re my numbers, so, that tells me I’m probably going to default into a GT. Unless I change my mind again. There’s no hurry; I’m sure they’re making plenty of these on a daily basis. I am getting tired of shopping though…really just sort of ready to make a decision, and be done.</p>
<p>Emeraldkity you’re right on the quality of the Mustangs, and especially the GT - I’ve studied Edmunds and other sources extensively, and the ratings are excellent. And the people posting in the owners forums seem to be just thrilled with their cars.</p>
<p>I shouldn’t say this, but I’ve never thought much of Fords since I dated a Ford engineer–who drove a BMW. (It <em>was</em> almost 30 years ago, though.)</p>
<p>The parking lot method is how I introduced both son and daughter to stick-shifting. It really does work.</p>
<p>Having just taught the 2 oldest kids how to drive a manual transmission, I heartily support the flat parking lot, letting out the clutch slowly with no gas method for beginners. We bought our first manual transmission in a lot of years this past spring. One of the big reasons for doing so was I felt it was my duty to make sure my kids know how to drive a stick. I also confess, it’s just fun to drive one again and I appreciate the necessity of being more engaged in the driving process. I personally think it makes for a better overall driver in the long run. </p>
<p>Of course, I’m also glad I don’t have to drive it every day as I also have a creaky left knee that can only handle so much driving fun. The skill did come in handy in Europe this summer, though; much easier and cheaper to rent a stick.</p>
<p>Yea, the whole idea behind the no gas parking lot approach is to learn where the clutch engagement point is, and gain some confidence in getting things to work together. </p>
<p>It was funny, when I gave my D a brief lesson on manuals, she got started fine. Because she had just got her learner’s permit, she was not the most confident driver. As she got to the edge of the parking lot, I yelled at her to stop, rather than run into bushes. She hit the brake, and stalled the car. When I groaned about that, she reminded me that I never TOLD her she needed to push the clutch in when she stopped.</p>
<p>We ended lessons there, and I don’t think she’s tried since, especially when I learned how much a new clutch runs on our car.</p>
If you’re going to drive a stick, find somewhere with a bit of a hill (our driveway was where our kids started, which has only a slight decline, then they moved on to a local low-traffic residential street) and practice, before you get somewhere where you really need to know how to do it.</p>