OT: The joy of the stick shift

[BABYBULL24]

Anyone remember gliding down a hill - no gas or brakes to see how far you could get?

No dead battery - just pop the clutch/ a couple friends or a hill to get you going...forgot how fun a manual transmission can be.

Anyone have a good hill to go down?

I'm going out and buying a beater stick to relieve the early 2000's - I don't know can you still buy a new Toyota stick Tacoma? I ordered probably the last manual GMC Canyon back in 2005 - so much fun.

 

[Frabjous]

Amen. Manual transmission or GTFO.

 

[Tango Two]

Millennial Anti Theft Device

 

[Debtbubble]

Rented what looked like a small Jeep, oversized go kart in Cairns Australia for about month. Didn’t have power anything. Brakes and steering would work with the engine off. There was a mountain there you could drive up and coast down 3 or 4 miles maybe more without any real sharp turns, almost zero traffic, scenic route. Would drive up and shut off the engine and coast down for 15 minutes.

 

[LC-88]

I-81 near Martinsburg,WV. Coasted 7 miles downhill in my 75 Chevy Monza on my way to Georgia Tech from Jersey.

 

[DirtyRU]

I still drive manual, find automatic to be boring. I drive a 2015 Mazda 6 Touring Edition, 6-Speed Manual. They stopped making stick in the 6 so my next car will have to be something else, bit yeah, big fan. This is my first 6-speed (always had 5 in the past) so I had to get used to the position of R, but I was amazed at the anti-rollback they've developed over the years. Much harder now to accidentally roll back into someone when you're stuck at a red light on a steep hill.

 

[hankee18]

I miss driving stick. My last manual was an 01 Nissan Xterra. Plus it cost about 2k less than ones with auto trans!

With manuals, all we do is steer

 

[RU4Real]

I've probably had 10 cars with manual transmissions, including some solid performance cars. At this point, I'm over them. They simply can't keep up with a DSG.

 

[Jersey Boys]

Learned to drive on a rear wheel Nissan 240SX. As a 16 year old we pull over and my pop hands me the keys and I just plugged away on the clutch. Awesome car to ride in a parking lot.

First actual car was an 85 Honda CRX manual equipped with a couple of 10 speakers in the hatch with a pullout Panasonic stereo. To this day it’s still my favorite car that I’ve ever owned.

 

[Upstream]

I still drive manual, find automatic to be boring. I drive a 2015 Mazda 6 Touring Edition, 6-Speed Manual. They stopped making stick in the 6 so my next car will have to be something else, bit yeah, big fan. This is my first 6-speed (always had 5 in the past) so I had to get used to the position of R, but I was amazed at the anti-rollback they've developed over the years. Much harder now to accidentally roll back into someone when you're stuck at a red light on a steep hill.

Haven't owned a stick in decades. The roll-back on a hill was certainly the worst part. It required a lot of finesse to manage it. Didn't know that they now had antirollback technology.

(By the way, if you want to roll down a hill without power in an automatic, just put the car in neutral.)

 

[KevH]

Amen. Manual transmission or GTFO.

Right. None of this paddle shift bs.

 

[KevH]

I still drive manual, find automatic to be boring. I drive a 2015 Mazda 6 Touring Edition, 6-Speed Manual. They stopped making stick in the 6 so my next car will have to be something else, bit yeah, big fan. This is my first 6-speed (always had 5 in the past) so I had to get used to the position of R, but I was amazed at the anti-rollback they've developed over the years. Much harder now to accidentally roll back into someone when you're stuck at a red light on a steep hill.

I really miss driving a stick and hate that there's not much of a choice these days.

Anti-rollback technology?? Have we become that pathetic. If you're backing into someone due to rollback, they're either way too close, or I question your skills with a manual tranny. Lol!

 

[ecojew]

I bought my first manual in 1979 so I could learn to drive it for the purpose of renting cars in Europe and elsewhere. I've had only manual transmission ever since. My current car was the only manual on the lot when I purchased it, so the comment above is right on target in saying that they are increasingly difficult to find nowadays.

 

[RU4Real]

I genuinely don't understand the people who cling to the nostalgia of manual transmissions.

Would those same people be willing to give up the internet? Would they prefer an IBM Selectric and some postage stamps? May we take away their mobile phones?

 

[RU85inFla]

Have a manual Jeep Wrangler. The top is on it about 60 days a year. I’m rarely on the highways. Great fun.

 

[dconifer]

I'm 56 and have always driven stick. I hope they don't disappear in my lifetime.

If I'm in a tough situation (stopped in a line of cars on a steep hill going up), I occasionally cheat by pulling up onto the emergency brake (poor man's anti-roll technology). It's wimpy, but beats an accident in case I screw it up...

 

[CranfordKnight]

I have a '01 Volvo S60 T5 Turbo with manual transmission available if anyone really needs to scratch that itch!

 

[Steve91562]

I'm 56 and have always driven stick. I hope they don't disappear in my lifetime.

Me too. Same age no less. The remaining manuals these days are mostly in sports cars, which my arthritic back no longer likes, but still a few other SUV and trucks. Maybe the new Bronco will have a manual option.

 

[Upstream]

I genuinely don't understand the people who cling to the nostalgia of manual transmissions.

Would those same people be willing to give up the internet? Would they prefer an IBM Selectric and some postage stamps? May we take away their mobile phones?

My first car was a manual because they were cheaper to buy and supposedly cheaper to own. My second car was an automatic because I was making more money and could afford an automatic. To me, a car is primarily a means of transportation. I don't see an advantage of a manual transmission if I'm driving to ShopRite or sitting in traffic on the Garden State Parkway. The technology in cars is so much more advanced than what it was 50 years ago, I don't know that there is any appeal to 50-year-old transmission technology for most people.

And considering the relative lack of availability of manual cars, market forces suggest that manual transmissions have little appeal for the vast majority of people.

Even in Europe where lower cost and better fuel economy made manual transmissions more economical in the past, sales of manual transmission cars are declining while sales of automatics are increasing, now that automatic cars are more fuel efficient and the purchase price differential has narrowed.

 

[Frabjous]

...because driving a car is about driving. If you want your right hand to be wrapped around your double-shot-mochachino-latte instead of a gearshift then, hey, enjoy your slushbox.

 

[RU4Real]

...because driving a car is about driving. If you want your right hand to be wrapped around your double-shot-mochachino-latte instead of a gearshift then, hey, enjoy your slushbox.

You don't need to have a gear shift selector in your right hand to be about driving.

Formula 1 cars have had DSG gearboxes for decades. It's how the technology get into mass-market cars in the first place. In fact, pretty much the only large-format racing organization that still employs manual transmissions is NASCAR. They also still use carburetors.

"Driving" is about exacting the most performance from the synthesis of driver and automobile. Technology has relegated manual gearboxes to history, along with things like steam engines.

And DSGs are not "slushboxes". It's probably not surprising that the overwhelming majority of people who cling nostalgically to manual transmissions really don't know all that much about performance driving.

 

[Virginiarufan]

I-81 near Martinsburg,WV. Coasted 7 miles downhill in my 75 Chevy Monza on my way to Georgia Tech from Jersey.

You probably mean coming from Blacksburg VA to Salem. It's a long downhill stretch with a lot of truck traffic doing 80 mph plus (and no runaway truck lanes). The VA line to Martinsburg is more or less flat.

And driving a stick allows the driver to feel the vehicle and to become much more a part of the motor and the road than with an automatic transmission. Automatics just don't respond to speed/power demands the way stick shifts do.

 

[RUSK97]

Until recently, all my cars had been manuals. Alas, they’re so hard to find nowadays. Some people don’t understand it’s not about metrics and measurables; it’s just driver engagement and the feeling of being one with your vehicle.

 

[RU4Real]

Until recently, all my cars had been manuals. Alas, they’re so hard to find nowadays. Some people don’t understand it’s not about metrics and measurables; it’s just driver engagement and the feeling of being one with your vehicle.

Which is basically the definition of "nostalgia", as regards driving.

And look, there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, if I were to go out and buy something like a Fiat 124 - which is a great driving car - I'd certainly get it with a manual. But the Spider isn't about "performance". It's about wind in your hair, bugs in your teeth, tail hanging out on the twisties. My performance cars, the cars I want to drive when I want to go 10/10ths, are going to be automatics.

 

[KevH]

I genuinely don't understand the people who cling to the nostalgia of manual transmissions.

Would those same people be willing to give up the internet? Would they prefer an IBM Selectric and some postage stamps? May we take away their mobile phones?

You got it right when you said you don't understand. It's not a matter of being against innovation. Automatic transmissions are certainly nothing new. It's more of a preference.

 

[RU4Real]

You got it right when you said you don't understand. It's not a matter of being against innovation. Automatic transmissions are certainly nothing new. It's more of a preference.

Precisely.

Which is to say that those who believe that manual transmissions are somehow "better" are simply being a) wrong and b) nostalgic.

 

[CranfordKnight]

I enjoy driving my Volvo but if I know I'm in going to be in traffic, I'm taking one of our automatics. On the positive side, manuals are almost theft-proof now.

 

[newell138]

My first brand new car was an 85 Jeep Wrangler with stick. Loved it.

First time I drove stick was my uncles station wagon 3 on the tree

 

[OntheBanks]

Anyone remember gliding down a hill - no gas or brakes to see how far you could get?

No dead battery - just pop the clutch/ a couple friends or a hill to get you going...forgot how fun a manual transmission can be.

Anyone have a good hill to go down?

I'm going out and buying a beater stick to relieve the early 2000's - I don't know can you still buy a new Toyota stick Tacoma? I ordered probably the last manual GMC Canyon back in 2005 - so much fun.

I'd rather relive the late '60's racing my Buick GS400 against, GTO's and Chevy SS on the newly created Rt 287 from New Durham Rd Entrance to Durham Rd Exit.
https://musclecars.howstuffworks.com/classic-muscle-cars/1965-buick-skylark-gran-sport.htm

 

[ru66]

face it stick sucks if you drive in traffic--a year or so ago got rid of my sports car with stick since it was a pain in the ass driving around here and only used it on sunny days anyway--was fun to drive it like my bike but you need to live Wyoming

 

[e5fdny]

I enjoy driving my Volvo but if I know I'm in going to be in traffic, I'm taking one of our automatics. On the positive side, manuals are almost theft-proof now.

The Bopper taught me how to drive a stick with his car in the parking lots on Livingston.

 

[Pils86]

I have a 16 year old two seater with stick and it is my Sunday car, like to be able to wind it out with the RPM's up. We got a great deal on a small car for the kids because it was stick, many people don't want sticks. That said when I had to replace the clutch on the older car it was $1100 so that is an argument against stick. Also automatics are now better for gas mileage and performance so it is really about driver preference. 10 years from now all new cars will be electric so clutch won't even be an option.

 

[Steve91562]

I genuinely don't understand the people who cling to the nostalgia of manual transmissions.

Would those same people be willing to give up the internet? Would they prefer an IBM Selectric and some postage stamps? May we take away their mobile phones?

Why do some prefer acoustic over electric, film over digital, vinyl or CDs ... and yes, manuals over automatics. All have strengths and weaknesses, but if you've driven a manual for a long time, they are not a chore to drive, they're not inefficient, but what they are is just damn fun.

 

[RU4Real]

Why do some prefer acoustic over electric, film over digital, vinyl or CDs ... and yes, manuals over automatics. All have strengths and weaknesses, but if you've driven a manual for a long time, they are not a chore to drive, they're not inefficient, but what they are is just damn fun.

Again, you're making an aesthetic argument. Nothing you say is incorrect. My point is simply that they are a performance disadvantage. Period. That is inarguable.

 

[RUaMoose]

Drove a manual for 15 years. First a Ford Escort then a Plymouth Neon. Was looking into a Dodge Charger recently with a manual but they don’t come with manuals. The Challenger does.

 

[RutHut]

Just don't leave your girlfriend alone in the car after taking spanish fly.

 

[50 yd line RR]

First car was a 60 Chevy three speed on the column. Bat mobile. They don’t make them like that anymore.

 

[Vejai]

Most people who still buy manuals aren't buying them for performace. Everyone knows todays automatics can shift faster than manuals but it's not always about shifting a bit faster and more about enjoying rowing through the gears.

 

[SHUSource]

Most people who still buy manuals aren't buying them for performace. Everyone knows todays automatics can shift faster than manuals but it's not always about shifting a bit faster and more about enjoying rowing through the gears.

That, but also the ability to decelerate properly (whether in traffic or on the winding country road) and always being able to choose the gear you need to be in at that moment. I haven’t found the automatic transmission that can outthink a good driver yet.

I just went back to a 6-speed manual a few months ago and would love never to endure the imprecise and sloppy boredom of paddle shifters again. Jesus, did those suck.

 

[RU4Real]

That, but also the ability to decelerate properly (whether in traffic or on the winding country road) and always being able to choose the gear you need to be in at that moment. I haven’t found the automatic transmission that can outthink a good driver yet.

I just went back to a 6-speed manual a few months ago and would love never to endure the imprecise and sloppy boredom of paddle shifters again. Jesus, did those suck.

The DSG in my Audi does an outstanding job (in Sport mode) of picking lower gears on deceleration and in corner entry. The logic in the TCU appears to be focused on keeping the engine in the middle of the torque curve and utilizes a variety of inputs, including steering angle.