Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Other than YouTube tutorials I have nothing. I'd have to have the owner of the car park it in some quiet residential neighborhood a few blocks from my house because my house has too many cars come every second,so learning to drive stick in the streets near me wouldn't work.
A manual transmission is obsolete technology. The only reason to learn how to drive one is if you have a situation where you need that skill.
So if you will be doing a stint in a third world country or perhaps driving an old Jeep on a mountain trail, then learn it. It's actually very easy.
I taught my daughter how to drive a stick by just finding a large empty parking lot. I had her engage the clutch without touching the gas pedal to get the hang of it. Do that about 20 times. She learned in 1 day.
I don't think impressing women is a good enough reason to buy a car that you don't know how to drive. They are a PITA in heavy traffic and if you drink coffee in the car. I traded mine in a few years ago and bought the exact same make and model, only in an automatic.
They can be fun to drive but, for me, the novelty quickly wore off. I would only get a manual transmission if I had a sports car and it was my second "fun" car to drive on the weekend.
I mastered a stick shift back in high school when I had one, but I still don't see why anyone would buy one nowadays. Technology has improved so that there is really no benefit to a manual transmission; it's just a preference thing now. Honestly, I think it's just a huge PITA.
And as a woman, a stick shift has never impressed me. If anything, I think it's just childish - like you're pretending that your VW is a Ferrari.
Why would you want a manual? They are horrible to drive in traffic and you'll be severely limited as to what you can buy. Very few vehicles are available with a manual transmission these days. It's been almost 30 years since I've owned anything with a manual and I don't miss them one bit.
You need to think a little harder about this. I think everyone should be able to drive a manual trans.
Someday you or your daughter may be in trouble and the escape vehicle they have access to is a stick.
It used to be that the performance choice for any car was to choose the manual. You typically had 5-6 gears, while the automatic would only have 4 or 5, which was not as efficient. Also, a manual kept repair costs down... Some people can change out an old clutch themselves, and their transmission is as good as new. Fixing an automatic is whole different ballgame.
However, both situations have changed. Manuals are no longer the performance option, most manuals are still 6 spd, though there are some 7 speeds out there... but now automatics are 8 spd, 9 spd, and I've heard that 12 spd ones are in development. They also shift far faster than a human can.
You also don't have too many people working on their cars anymore. The last time I changed a clutch out was a decade ago, and I'm more into cars than most people. Most people would never even attempt something like that at home. I won't do it either anymore, don't have the time nor the space to do it. So choosing a manual for the ease of clutch replacement isn't really a valid reason anymore either, because hardly anyone works on their cars anymore.
Learning to drive a stick just isn't as useful as it once was.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
