Anyone still drive stick?

[Lagduf]

Taycan is a two a speed.

I…said that like 5 posts up lol. Taycan seems neat.

 

[LoneSage]

I'll drive a manual for as long as cars still have them. An argument can be made that modern automatics shift faster, and that's very true for boring, straight line driving, but the fact of the matter is you can't do nearly the amount of stupid shit in an auto that you can in a manual. It's not just about shifting up and down to the next gear, it's about modulating the clutch so that the engine and driveshaft are spinning at different rates to apply exactly the desired power. It's about using the gas, clutch and brakes at the same time to shift weight to the desired tires for maximum grip. It's about being able to throw it in the exact RPM and gear it needs to be in while braking in a corner so you shoot out of it like a rocket.

that's beautiful bro

 

[theMot]

I'll drive a manual for as long as cars still have them. An argument can be made that modern automatics shift faster, and that's very true for boring, straight line driving, but the fact of the matter is you can't do nearly the amount of stupid shit in an auto that you can in a manual. It's not just about shifting up and down to the next gear, it's about modulating the clutch so that the engine and driveshaft are spinning at different rates to apply exactly the desired power. It's about using the gas, clutch and brakes at the same time to shift weight to the desired tires for maximum grip. It's about being able to throw it in the exact RPM and gear it needs to be in while braking in a corner so you shoot out of it like a rocket.

Settle down, mate.

 

[Orpheus]

Everything up until my latest ute (pickup truck to you murcans) was a manual but now I drive an auto and I can’t see myself going back to a stick unless I ever buy some high end sports car. I tried the manual version of my truck and it was pretty awful to be honest. Auto boxes have come a long way. I was reading an articles the other day and less than 10% of car sales are manual.

Yeah, the days of those shitty single clutch auto's (& paddles in the exotics) is finally in the rear view.
A year or two ago it was about 14% sold were manuals so just under 10% now sounds about right.

Don't wait too long on the sports car thing though. The new Corvette....gone. Ferrari & Lambo......gone. The new NSX...nope. All I can think of right now is the mustang & the miata (and I believe the Miata is supposed to go electric next). You also have the new Lotus coming up which will be their last gas car & have the option of the Toyota V6 w/ exhibition manual. The end of an era.

The manual is all but numbered it seems.

 

[Orpheus]

I don’t think most electrics even have transmissions.

They don't. It's just one, continuous gear I believe.

To address StevenK's Q: As per the above, I don't think a manual would be possible in an EV as the single gear negates the need for a gear box.

 

[Syn]

I'll drive a manual for as long as cars still have them. An argument can be made that modern automatics shift faster, and that's very true for boring, straight line driving, but the fact of the matter is you can't do nearly the amount of stupid shit in an auto that you can in a manual. It's not just about shifting up and down to the next gear, it's about modulating the clutch so that the engine and driveshaft are spinning at different rates to apply exactly the desired power. It's about using the gas, clutch and brakes at the same time to shift weight to the desired tires for maximum grip. It's about being able to throw it in the exact RPM and gear it needs to be in while braking in a corner so you shoot out of it like a rocket.

That's why I bought my Miata. You said to keep them around 200hp but I ended up a bit higher. Once I break the transmission in, a buddy has a dyno then I'll know.

 

[norton9478]

So for this one job I had to drive a company car. It was a 5 speed manual, Geo Metro . An early 90's, 2 door hatchback job. I think it had the 1.0L engine in it as they bought the cheapest one they could get. That car was so turd. Sucked a lot of the fun out of driving a manual.

The manual version of the Honda Civic DX used to not even have power steering (I guess the power steering on the automatic ran off the transmission or something).

 

[norton9478]

I once drove my accord for a month without a clutch.

 

[SignOfGoob]

The manual version of the Honda Civic DX used to not even have power steering (I guess the power steering on the automatic ran off the transmission or something).

You must be young or rich. Power steering was an option on most cars sold before the late 90s. So was AC. So were radios, any radio at all. My first car was an 82 Escort. Those didn’t even have visors and wing mirrors on both sides unless you paid for it. In Hondas from the same period even the center console was an extra option.

Btw, power steering and automatic gearbox are totally separate in these cars and have no interconnection.

 

[SignOfGoob]

They don't. It's just one, continuous gear I believe.

To address StevenK's Q: As per the above, I don't think a manual would be possible in an EV as the single gear negates the need for a gear box.

Even if there is only one range with no selection there is still a transmission. Assuming that the motor isn’t attached at the wheel, it goes through a final drive and a differential at least as well as two driveshafts.

 

[sylvie]

I can drive stick but it might take me a second to get used to it if I was in one again. I learned in a rusty ass 1991 Z24 Cavalier which promptly broke down after I was able to drive it around without stalling the engine. I might be better than I think in a cleaner, newer car. Thought about buying a manual trans for my next car since it's sexier, but on the other hand it makes it hard for anyone to drive for you when you're fucked up. I'm also a fucking bimbo sometimes out there on the road.

 

[massimiliano]

[REDACTED]

 

[GohanX]

Settle down, mate.

I like to drive.

 

[SignOfGoob]

I actually converted my Mini from automatic to manual (it was a great deal when I moved to the states, then I started tuning it... turns out they made no LSD for auto... now it also has a single mass flywheel)View attachment 51638

You converted a new Mini? Does that make any sense at all from a financial perspective? This is a driver and not a track machine, right? So you bought a console and a shift lever and a ECU and probably a gauge cluster and all that just to avoid buying another car?

I’ve never driven a Mini of any era with an auto. I’m think through the entire classic era there weren’t any. I guess I technically knew they existed in new Minis but can’t imagine anyone who wants a Mini and doesn’t want to shift.

 

[massimiliano]

[REDACTED]

 

[norton9478]

You must be young or rich. Power steering was an option on most cars sold before the late 90s. So was AC. So were radios, any radio at all. My first car was an 82 Escort. Those didn’t even have visors and wing mirrors on both sides unless you paid for it. In Hondas from the same period even the center console was an extra option.

Btw, power steering and automatic gearbox are totally separate in these cars and have no interconnection.

I'm pretty sure that by the 80's, power steering was standard on mid sized cars and larger. But everything else was optional.

We were buying/leasing a new Pathfinder and my GF was like "Ohh, this is just the base model...". But I'm like, but this isn't the old days where the base model didn't have cruise/ac/power mirrors/power windows/radio/bluetooth. Even backup cameras are mandated in every vehicle.

Last week, we borrowed my dad's work-truck model pickup and my 4 and 5 year olds thought that crank windows were a really neat idea. They spent half an hour rolling them up and down while we were loading up.

 

[theMot]

I like to drive.

I can tell lol

 

[xb74]

You guys that don't have (or have access to) a manual sports/off road car are missing out.

It is one of the few things that break up the mundane everyday travel and muted world a lot of us persevere in nowadays.

Gohan gets it.

 

[Ralfakick]

Wish I knew how to drive stick but it’s one of those things that I don’t need to know how to do now a days in the US at least. In 2003 I was in Avignon France and my Father and I were lucky to rent the only automatic the rental place had so we could drive to the Cannes (first day of the film festival) and Monaco, everything else was manual back then.

There’s a Neo Geo legend I know from O Hi O who drives his WRX Sti stick style, only person I know.

 

[Lagduf]

You guys that don't have (or have access to) a manual sports/off road car are missing out.

It is one of the few things that break up the mundane everyday travel and muted world a lot of us persevere in nowadays.

Gohan gets it.

Or they don’t like driving or get meaning in their life elsewhere lol.

ffs.

 

[norton9478]

When you've spent 12 hours of stop-and-go traffic in a rickety F-750 box into and out of NYC and your left leg is throbbing... good luck with that.

 

[Digmac]

I knew the basics of how to drive a manual transmission car, but I got a ton of practice working at a local dealer. That really solidified my ability to feel comfortable and natural driving manual vehicles. Being exposed to different types of vehicles with manual transmissions really helped, everything from compacts to entry level supercars, all with different clutch feels.

Yeah, the days of those shitty single clutch auto's (& paddles in the exotics) is finally in the rear view.

When I was at the dealer, I got to drive the old e-gear auto versions of the Audi R8 and Lamborghini Gallardo. Both were not very responsive and lurchy. Absolutely inferior to the manual offerings, in my book. The manual R8s felt the way it should be. I will say, the 2nd gen R8 fixed the auto trans issues, though.

 

[SignOfGoob]

While driving a stick for sure makes one feel more “alive” and some cars simply shouldn’t be sold with an auto (Miata) it’s 2021 and I need to drive something big enough to haul dogs (a wagon) which limits me to German cars and those all shift like crap now. It’s over. Sorry. The manual cars I already have (MkII Fit and NA6) will be the last manual cars I’ll ever buy unless I get something even older like another 8V Golf or a Mini. I’ve driven stick shift all my life but when they aren’t available, or worse only bad ones are available, then it’s fucking pointless man…

 

[Lastblade]

Wish I knew how to drive stick but it’s one of those things that I don’t need to know how to do now a days in the US at least. In 2003 I was in Avignon France and my Father and I were lucky to rent the only automatic the rental place had so we could drive to the Cannes (first day of the film festival) and Monaco, everything else was manual back then.

There’s a Neo Geo legend I know from O Hi O who drives his WRX Sti stick style, only person I know.

Never too late to learn. I only learned to drive manual about 3 years ago, bought a MT Element as my daily/learner for dirt cheap and never looked back (besides hitting a dear on the highway).

 

[prof]

I haven't had a manual since the 90s; however, my current car has those paddle shifters so you can shift manually if you want. It's not the same, but you can out-shift the automatic trans if you're trying to accelerate quickly, like getting up to speed on a tight onramp or whatever. It can come in handy.