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Cracks me up to remember this... there was a guy who posted in one of the Community forums last year that he was coming to the states to go to university, and he had only ever driven manual shift cars, but he heard that American cars were all automatics, so he wanted to know where he could get lessons to drive a car with an automatic transmission.
You better hang on to that truck, manuals are not going to be around for ever. The automatics are getting so much better the manual will probably go the way of the hand crank starter.
Ferrari no longer offers traditional manual transmissions, Porsche has done away with them on the turbos and GT3s as of this year.
I plan on buying my kids manual transmission first cars for a few reasons:
1. Harder to TEXT and shift (also applies to putting on makeup, eating, whatever).
2. Other kids will be less apt to borrow the car (they can't drive stick)
3. It is a life skill, learn it once and be able to do it forever (like riding a bike)
The biggest reason for automatics is the buying power of the female consumer. They are a big driving force when it comes to cars features. Take the minivan it was all designed with the women/ mom driver in mind. There are just about as many female drivers as male drivers in this country. And that's why automatics transmissions and vanity mirrors are in cars and trucks today. How many woman can or want to drive a stick while trying to put makeup on or eat or drink while driving. And the automakers know this. The automakers hire women designers and engineers just for this.
Ugh. I hate stuff like this.
I'm female. I learned to drive on a stick. 3/5 of the cars I've owned have been stick shifts. I'm fully capable of sipping a drink while driving a stick, you just have to time it right. I do not nor have I ever applied makeup in traffic. I don't see many other women doing it either...and for every woman I see putting on makeup I see a man buzzing his face with an electric razor, brushing or flossing his teeth, or READING A NEWSPAPER. Yes, you read that right. Reading. A. Newspaper.
Bottom line: Neither gender has a claim to be better/worse than the other. As a 39 year-old female, my full coverage on my car is dirt cheap. There's a reason for that, and if women were overall crappy drivers...my premiums would be higher. So...there goes that theory.
FWIW, I love stick shifts. I miss my stick shift. My next car will almost certainly be a hybrid which eliminates sticks from consideration...but oh how I wish they'd make a hybrid with a manual transmission. I'd buy one. I loooooooooooooooove driving a stick.
I'm female. I learned to drive on a stick. 3/5 of the cars I've owned have been stick shifts. I'm fully capable of sipping a drink while driving a stick, you just have to time it right. I do not nor have I ever applied makeup in traffic. I don't see many other women doing it either...and for every woman I see putting on makeup I see a man buzzing his face with an electric razor, brushing or flossing his teeth, or READING A NEWSPAPER. Yes, you read that right. Reading. A. Newspaper.
Bottom line: Neither gender has a claim to be better/worse than the other. As a 39 year-old female, my full coverage on my car is dirt cheap. There's a reason for that, and if women were overall crappy drivers...my premiums would be higher. So...there goes that theory.
FWIW, I love stick shifts. I miss my stick shift. My next car will almost certainly be a hybrid which eliminates sticks from consideration...but oh how I wish they'd make a hybrid with a manual transmission. I'd buy one. I loooooooooooooooove driving a stick.
I'm guessing all the improvements to autos was to satisfy woman drivers. PS,PB,power seat, power windows, A/C, auto trans none of those were ever incorporated in cars to make driving more comfortable for everyone only for woman drivers. Who knew?
I'm guessing all the improvements to autos was to satisfy woman drivers. PS,PB,power seat, power windows, A/C, auto trans none of those were ever incorporated in cars to make driving more comfortable for everyone only for woman drivers. Who knew?
I'm saying woman have a huge roll in what a car has why do you think vanity lights with a mirror were installed in the sun visors. The minivan had allot to do with woman allong with the station wagon. Do guys love driveing minivans are they a chick magnet? And do guys use the vanity mirrors more than woman. And built in car seats were designed with the woman and babie in mind. Along with the smaller suv's. Woman have alott of buying power and the automakers know this.
I'm female. I learned to drive on a stick. 3/5 of the cars I've owned have been stick shifts. I'm fully capable of sipping a drink while driving a stick, you just have to time it right. I do not nor have I ever applied makeup in traffic. I don't see many other women doing it either...and for every woman I see putting on makeup I see a man buzzing his face with an electric razor, brushing or flossing his teeth, or READING A NEWSPAPER. Yes, you read that right. Reading. A. Newspaper.
Bottom line: Neither gender has a claim to be better/worse than the other. As a 39 year-old female, my full coverage on my car is dirt cheap. There's a reason for that, and if women were overall crappy drivers...my premiums would be higher. So...there goes that theory.
FWIW, I love stick shifts. I miss my stick shift. My next car will almost certainly be a hybrid which eliminates sticks from consideration...but oh how I wish they'd make a hybrid with a manual transmission. I'd buy one. I loooooooooooooooove driving a stick.
The Honda CR-Z is a hybrid that can be had with a manual transmission. The mileage is only in the 30's though
I'm saying woman have a huge roll in what a car has why do you think vanity lights with a mirror were installed in the sun visors. The minivan had allot to do with woman allong with the station wagon. Do guys love driveing minivans are they a chick magnet? And do guys use the vanity mirrors more than woman. And built in car seats were designed with the woman and babie in mind. Along with the smaller suv's. Woman have alott of buying power and the automakers know this.
You're correct a lot of things were put into cars to satisfy women drivers but automatic transmissions were not one of them.
Do you think garbage trucks have auto so that more women want to drive garbage trucks?
Autos are easier to learn and that's why many men don't know how to drive manuals. I have both and in a traffic jam I would certainly wish I was driving the auto.
I'm female. I learned to drive on a stick. 3/5 of the cars I've owned have been stick shifts. I'm fully capable of sipping a drink while driving a stick, you just have to time it right. I do not nor have I ever applied makeup in traffic. I don't see many other women doing it either...and for every woman I see putting on makeup I see a man buzzing his face with an electric razor, brushing or flossing his teeth, or READING A NEWSPAPER. Yes, you read that right. Reading. A. Newspaper.
Bottom line: Neither gender has a claim to be better/worse than the other. As a 39 year-old female, my full coverage on my car is dirt cheap. There's a reason for that, and if women were overall crappy drivers...my premiums would be higher. So...there goes that theory.
FWIW, I love stick shifts. I miss my stick shift. My next car will almost certainly be a hybrid which eliminates sticks from consideration...but oh how I wish they'd make a hybrid with a manual transmission. I'd buy one. I loooooooooooooooove driving a stick.
Very true. My wife prefers stick too. My sisters can drive stick and even my mom can and does drive a manual. It's definitely not a "guy thing" in my world.
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Who knew?
