<p>I am reminded of a call from my son a few years back. </p>
<p>Is it okay if I give T a lesson on stick shift driving on my car?
Yes, but why?
They just told him he’ll be driving a fuel truck in Iraq and he doesn’t want to stall it.
Okay.</p>
<p>But it turned out that the truck was an automatic… because most of the new recruits can’t drive a stick shift!</p>
<p>(And yes, he came home safely.)</p>
<p>Both of my Ds learned to drive a stick . . . "if Mom can do it, how hard can it be . . " 
An extra benefit - most of their friends won’t be able to drive the stick, so you don’t have to worry so much about other kids driving. :)</p>
<p>My kids both learned manual on a Honda Element. It’s a great car for kids - lots of room to haul sports equipment, etc but only enough room for 4 people. Plus it was cheaper! We have found that they pay a lot more attention to actual driving while using the stick.
Other psychic benefits: S was told by friends that he could never master the transmission, so THAT was kind of fun and D’s male friends are in a awe of her!</p>
<p>My father tried to teach me to drive a standard transmission, w-a-y back in the day, about a year after I got my license. Since he’s not known for his patience, it was a disaster. I was convinced I’d never learn, but my mother, in her infinite wisdom, let things be for about a week, and then took me to the HS parking lot and taught me in about 15 minutes. A great life skill! Haven’t had a stick shift car in a while, but H just got a new car (sort of a mid-life crisis sports car). I told him D & S need to learn to drive a stick, but I think he’d prefer they learn on another car first!</p>
<p>We made sure we had a manual tranny car so our son could learn to drive one. He now owns the one he learned on and at 130k+ mileage it still has the original clutch.</p>
<p>Absolutely she should learn to drive a stick. When I was 18 I had ordered a car with an automatic transmission and I kept waiting months and months for it to arrive. I finally got disgusted and decided to buy a five speed instead. The salesman taught me how to drive it in one afternoon and I drove it off the lot and back to college that same day. Sure I stalled a few times at first but it is a skill well worth having. </p>
<p>Over 30 years later, I still drive a stick. To me you just “aim” a car with an automatic transmission, but you “drive” a car with a stick. It gives you a lot more control over the car, IMHO.</p>
<p>another manual transmission fan here…</p>
<p>When I was 19 and buying my first car, I decided I wanted a stick shift. My dad took me shopping for used cars, and he would drive the car off the lot and then we switched and he would teach me how to drive a stick shift. I think we went shopping once or twice and I ended up buying a red 1965 VW squareback. </p>
<p>I’ve since taught both my sons to drive a stick shift, and as others have commented in today’s world this skill is looked upon as being a bit cool and esoteric.</p>
<p>With my youngest son, he was a bit cocky about learning and was surprised that it wasn’t as easy as he thought (which was a good lesson in itself)</p>
<p>I learned to drive on an automatic and a stick. My mother taught me the basics of steering and so forth on the automatic, then switched me over to the stick. It was bright red Triumph TR250 convertible with a walnut dashboard and black leather interior. AH! The good old days…</p>