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Why do you need to know how to drive stick shift when most cars are automatic? Why learn something harder when there's an easier way? Especially if the easier way is mainstream.
Nobody "needs" to, but you may find it more rewarding.
A lot of people find it fun, or maybe fulfilling to really feel and control a car as they drive it. A stick shift car gives the driver more direct and immediate control of the driving experience and dynamics than any automatic or computer could.
Maybe that doesn't mean you do find such experiences fulfilling which is ok too. That said, in a country and society which seems ready to outlaw anything labelled dangerous, real or imagined, the thought of driverless cars brings the specter of legislation outlawing cars that are not computer controlled. As such, enthusiasts are not exactly ready to buy into these driverless cars.
You do! You clearly belong to the generation that is becoming infamous thanks to the "self esteem" movement and helicopter parenting. Boys wearing tight girl-pants during puberty might have something to do with it too.
Son, back in my day we scored with chicks in-person instead of just trading pictures of our junk... usually in the back seat of the fine not-so-gently used automobiles we bought ourselves with money we made flipping burgers after school and wrestled into running condition with our greasy... no, bloody hands in High School auto shop.
Our pants were baggy, our wallets had chains on them and our grimy T-Shirts said "Alice in Chains" on them too, even if that wasn't what was playing in our tape decks (if they even worked). When our 18th B-day came around, our parent gave us a suitcase and a $20 bill (which was worth like 40 bucks in today's money!), along with a 10 minute head-start before dialing the cops to come haul our asses away. Luckily gas was cheap so we stood a fair chance at making it.
And it ruled.
But alas, those days are gone. You'll get your self-driving car, your easy-everything with soft-padded everything and a benevolent master who will do your thinking for you so you don't have to. Unfortunately too few of us survived our "stupid stage" to change that.
I meant to say I want to belong to MY generation. Because I want to have friends and a girlfriend and be included, I say alone at lunch for many years and didn't have a group of friends to sit with until 10th grade. But I'll have to make new friends down the road. Even my friends mom talked bad about me being alone all the time, that really made my mom mad at her. That friend used to be my best friend, but the day he entered high school he started changing. It barely took any time for him to stop acknowledging me even when I said hi right next to him in the hallway. I'd say hey hey, he wouldn't even look at me. He's a traitor. He fell into that bad crowd of "populars".
Not accusing you of being a ricer, just that ricers are the best at being deluded when it comes to their cars.
That little Honda is unusual and funky though, definitely an "enthusiast automobile" if I've ever seen one.
But switch the car to a Toyota Corolla or Honda Accord or any one of millions on the road just like them,on the grind to work on a Monday morning.
Still having fun?
Most car owners seem to think of their cars as appliances these days and are as excited to get behind the wheel as they are when we load up our washing machines. It's a damn shame... life is too short to own a boring car.
Self-driving cars are the epitome of the boring car plague that is sweeping the nation. Most people already can't drive stick... what will it be like when most people can't even steer?
you just need a change of attitude my friend. for instance i have fun driving an 82 fairmont with the inline six.
some of my so called boring cars that i have had over the years are;
1980 fairmont wagon, inline six
1980 fairmont four door inline four
1979 fairmont four door, V8
1980 pinto inline four
1974 marquis, 460
1983 grand marquis, 302
1984 F250, 6.9 diesel
1971 plymouth fury lll
1970 pontiac catalina
1970 falcon V8
1966 falcon inline six
1964 falcon inline six
1998 taurus wagon
i had fun in each one of those for different reasons. it doesnt matter if you are driving a pedestrian corolla, or a hot mustang. if you cant have fun driving the car, then you probably shouldnt be driving.
you just need a change of attitude my friend. for instance i have fun driving an 82 fairmont with the inline six.
some of my so called boring cars that i have had over the years are;
1980 fairmont wagon, inline six
1980 fairmont four door inline four
1979 fairmont four door, V8
1980 pinto inline four
1974 marquis, 460
1983 grand marquis, 302
1984 F250, 6.9 diesel
1971 plymouth fury lll
1970 pontiac catalina
1970 falcon V8
1966 falcon inline six
1964 falcon inline six
1998 taurus wagon
i had fun in each one of those for different reasons. it doesnt matter if you are driving a pedestrian corolla, or a hot mustang. if you cant have fun driving the car, then you probably shouldnt be driving.
What if you don't have any other way to get around?
you just need a change of attitude my friend. for instance i have fun driving an 82 fairmont with the inline six.
some of my so called boring cars that i have had over the years are;
1980 fairmont wagon, inline six
1980 fairmont four door inline four
1979 fairmont four door, V8
1980 pinto inline four
1974 marquis, 460
1983 grand marquis, 302
1984 F250, 6.9 diesel
1971 plymouth fury lll
1970 pontiac catalina
1970 falcon V8
1966 falcon inline six
1964 falcon inline six
1998 taurus wagon
i had fun in each one of those for different reasons. it doesnt matter if you are driving a pedestrian corolla, or a hot mustang. if you cant have fun driving the car, then you probably shouldnt be driving.
I completely agree!
My first car was a 1981 Fairmont wagon with an I6. It was just awesome to have wheels. (I was in high school, mid 90's).
Even now, my wife an I have a diverse fleet, but our most "boring" is a 2013 Subaru Outback 6 cylinder which we chose because it was the most fun of vehicles which met our towing needs (we also have a Charger and a BRZ).
Why is the Outback fun? I bet I could outdrive 90% of the cars on the road down a curvy mountain road the way the AWD puts the power down, and lets me power through turns!
Anyway, my point is... driving can be fun! Controlling the car, the speed, the adhesion, and doing it well to the point of mastering it is very satisfying.
What if you don't have any other way to get around?
then i will find a car that i can afford, and use that. if need be i will use a bicycle, motorcycle, what ever it takes. i analyze, improvise, adapt and overcome. heck if need be i will build a replica of an old conastoga wagon, and buy a horse to pull it. or better yer, i would just buy a horse and ride it.
I meant to say I want to belong to MY generation. Because I want to have friends and a girlfriend and be included, I say alone at lunch for many years and didn't have a group of friends to sit with until 10th grade. But I'll have to make new friends down the road. Even my friends mom talked bad about me being alone all the time, that really made my mom mad at her. That friend used to be my best friend, but the day he entered high school he started changing. It barely took any time for him to stop acknowledging me even when I said hi right next to him in the hallway. I'd say hey hey, he wouldn't even look at me. He's a traitor. He fell into that bad crowd of "populars".
Well, you're 18 and high school is over, right? Time to move on... Get a job, get a cheap place of your own, meet some girls and forget about the faux world of High School. You can't climb to the top of the ladder until you get on it at the bottom, right? Good things will come...
Still, this is the car forum and we be getting off topic.
I really dread the day my daughter will take away my car keys. I remember that it was a sad day when they told my grandfather he couldn't drive anymore. Then, when the doctor told my dad "I wouldn't want to be on the road with you" and told him no more driving. There is something about the freedom that being able to drive and go where you want to go and how you want to go. There is just something about being able to control a car and enjoy it !! I don't understand these kids nowadays that don't seem to be interested in driving or cars. It just seems so foreign to me. Am I THAT out of it??
My oldest child (a girl) just turned 15 and is counting the days until she is 15 1/2 and can get a learner's permit. So no, not ALL young people are car-phobic!
I think these days a lot of kids have been taught to believe that the ideal living situation is a densely populated urban area where everyone takes public transportation.
I heard if you're over a certain age (25?) you don't have to test for a license. That's dangerous.
Where is this supposedly happening?
I do not know anywhere one does not have to take the test to get a driver's license.
Even those who take Driving School have to test to get an actual driver's license.
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