Who drives a manual transmission up in this appellation for a female dog co-opted as a derogatory term for women but subsequently reclaimed to refer to a place, however problematic?

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And how manly does that make us?

― Leeeter van den Hoogenband (Leee), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 01:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't drive at all, which makes my calves muscular. I guess that is construed as manly in some circles.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 01:39 (twenty-one years ago)

You have unmanned me.

― Leeeter van den Hoogenband (Leee), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 01:42 (twenty-one years ago)

FIVE SPEED REPRAZENT

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 01:44 (twenty-one years ago)

Ha ha. I drive a six speed.

― jim wentworth (wench), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 01:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I learned to drive on a stick shift, it's still my preference. Automatic transmissions feel so...disconnected. I don't know if it's manly, though. I always thought of it as more cheap-ass, since my family always bought stick-shifts because they were cheaper.

― spittle (spittle), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 01:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Manual or nowt. Automatics aren't even proper cars, they're go-karts.

― Sexual Air Supply (Autumn Almanac), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 01:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I cant drive neither :(

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 01:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Plus it saves gasoline, which proven by America, is a girly thing.

Whenever I drive an automatic, there's that initial fear of "WHERE'D THE CLUTCH GO????"

― Leeeter van den Hoogenband (Leee), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 01:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Two vehickies, both 5-speed. Brum! Ert!

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:11 (twenty-one years ago)

5-speed manual here, biznatches. Automatics make me feel like I'm driving a cruiseliner (ie not fun).

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:24 (twenty-one years ago)

And for me, driving is all about cranking some Venetian Snares and driving as fast as humanly possible.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:25 (twenty-one years ago)

I learned how to drive on a 5-speed '84 Ford Ranger. I've always loved the feeling of control that you have with a stick. WHenever I've bought vehicles I've tried to get manuals. Although, my last one was an automatic and I don't even own a car now. But yeah, spittle's comment - Automatic transmissions feel so...disconnected. - is pretty much right on. Whenever I drive an automatic, I find my right hand instinctively moving down to that space in between the seats...

― Monetizing Eyeballs (diamond), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:30 (twenty-one years ago)

In an automatic, ever stomped on the brake and gas at the same time because you're feeling for the clutch? The engine makes a lovely sound.

― spittle (spittle), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:34 (twenty-one years ago)

this thread title should be preserved for future generations

― dyson (dyson), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:43 (twenty-one years ago)

B-b-but it's so much easier to drive with your knees and eat a cheeseburger at the same time with an automatic!

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:49 (twenty-one years ago)

In an automatic, ever stomped on the brake and gas at the same time because you're feeling for the clutch?

Brake torque!

― Monetizing Eyeballs (diamond), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I do. Bring it.

― Jimmy Mod, Man About Towne (ModJ), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:56 (twenty-one years ago)

The cars that I've bought myself have been manual transmission, 5-speed in both cases. I am now driving a car that I've inherited that's an automatic, and it was too good a car to trade off just because of that.

And yes, I enjoy eating cheezeburgaz while driving the automatic.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I learned to drive on a manual and currently drive one now. Wouldn't switch back ever.

― Elvis Telecom (Chris Barrus), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I mean, the shittiest thing about an automatic is that you CAN'T depress the clutch, rev the engine, pop it into 1st and squeal away..

― Monetizing Eyeballs (diamond), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 02:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Drivin' a stick's easy. It takes a little practice to eat cheeseburgers, slurp your coffee, place a call, change the station, change gears, insert a CD, watch for babes, brush your hair, read War and Peace, while honkin' on a jibber, grab your sweater from the back seat, while scratching your feet, though.

― jim wentworth (wench), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 03:01 (twenty-one years ago)

My experience is there are very few manuals in L.A. I finally learned a few years ago because I wanted to get a proper sporty car, but then I realized how much time I spent in stop and go traffic (this was Bay Bridge etc during the height of dot-com) and went with an automatic which I never regretted (it had tiptronic which was cool).

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 03:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I can understand the urge to go automatic if you spend a lot of time stationary. Fortunately Melbourne hasn't quite gotten so hopelessly congested that this is an issue... yet.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 03:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I drove a manual from age sixteen to 26. I've had an automatic now for four years, and I haven't looked back since.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 03:54 (twenty-one years ago)

My next-to-last car was a Ford F-150 with a stick. I miss it more than I miss nay other vehicle. Not only was it fun to drive with a big mean engine sound and a sexy rattle, it matched my boots. When you need to conduct business with people in Texas, there's no better way to convince them you're not a sissy than to turn up wearing boots and driving an enormous pickup truck. (I am a sissy, BTW.)

By comparison, my big, plush Dodge Intrepid was *no* fun to drive, and made me feel middle-aged, even if it did have a kickin' stereo system.

― Harold Media (kenan), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 03:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I drove a manual from age sixteen to 26. I've had an automatic now for four years, and I haven't looked back since.

Automatics have a reverse gear, you know.

― Sexual Air Supply (Autumn Almanac), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 03:55 (twenty-one years ago)

haw!

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 03:58 (twenty-one years ago)

"Excitement" is a big selling point for high-end cars -- BMWs and Mercedes and sports car ads all sell the point that it has power and it provides "excitement." What they don't tell you is that it's just as exciting, if not moreso, learning how to keep a big shitty 1 1/2 ton truck from rolling into the econo-box behind you while pulling away from a light on a 20-degree hill.

― Harold Media (kenan), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:00 (twenty-one years ago)

You just don't get that with an automatic transmission.

― Harold Media (kenan), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Ahem! I am also this guy.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Learned on an automatic, now drive a manual. Its actually more fun in stop and go, I think. Only thing is I had a clutch burn out on me once on a freeway and have a pathological fear of it happening again.

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I feel so lame for not wanting to learn to drive :/

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:19 (twenty-one years ago)

but the planet is thanking you trayce. one less driver polluting the place etc.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Learning on a stick felt like real work. Every time I stalled out in the middle of some intersection, I'd start yelling at whichever of my parents was riding shotgun that if only we had an automatic like normal American families, this would be way easier and I wouldn't be endangering us by stalling in the middle of intersections. But what I like about it now is the way that all the little maneuvers involved in driving, shifting between feet and hands and everything else, are so programmed into the muscles that I don't even notice myself doing them, my brain just sends the signal that it's time to go into 3rd gear or whatever, and my hands and feet figure out how to execute it regardless of whether I'm holding a burrito or switching radio stations, etc. It makes driving much more of an immersive experience, I think. (Of course, driving an automatic you internalize a lot of stuff too; just not as much, because your body doesn't have to do as much.)(And having said that, I've barely driven at all the last 2 years, thanks to living in a city with good public transit, which has been a whole other learning curve, all the etiquette and figuring out the best and worst places to be on a train or bus and so forth.)

― spittle (spittle), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, don't feel bad trayce. I am now a non-driver as well. I wouldn't have driven so much if taking public transit wasn't so stigmatized and impractical where I'm from. Stupid America.

― Harold Media (kenan), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:31 (twenty-one years ago)

in my state, if you learn and do your test on an automatic you can only legally drive an automatic. if you do it on a manual you can drive both so most people would do that i think. i've always had manual cars. automatics scare me, i feel a sense of loss of control in them. but i hardly drive anymore anyways, i get public transport, walk or cycle as much as possible.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Thanks gem/Kenan :) I like to walk places and catch trams (electric) so yeah, thats how I see it too. Melbourne has great PT, except for its stupid ticketing system, so its all good.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:34 (twenty-one years ago)

People who walk and cycle have nicer asses.

― Harold Media (kenan), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:34 (twenty-one years ago)

Melbourne has great PT, except for its stupid ticketing system

Don't forget the stupid new trams.

― Sexual Air Supply (Autumn Almanac), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:42 (twenty-one years ago)

i think people are lazy about getting into the habit of public transport, they write it off without even trying it. the public transport in perth is notoriously poor, but with a little bit of organisation it gets me everywhere i want to go with minimal fuss. and it's HEAPS cheaper than driving everywhere.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:45 (twenty-one years ago)

i drive a 5-speed motorcycle. though not very well. but then again i only do it to wear ridiculous leather outfits and do donuts on your lawn.

― lolita corpus (lolitacorpus), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I dunno, I thought Perths busses and trains were really easy to get round on and clean and the trains are cool! I only went to Freo on one though.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 04:59 (twenty-one years ago)

To somewhat get back on topic tho the other reason I dont drive is a sheer irrational TERROR of driving. I cant drive for shit, and being a front seat passenger also freaks me the fuck out unless I know the person driving and their level of skill. Taxi drivers who cut lanes and tailgate, and people who TAKE THEIR FRICKING HANDS OFF THE STEERING WHEEL make me want to scream and leap out of the moving car. Seriously. ARGH.

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 05:01 (twenty-one years ago)

there are only two train lines in perth and it is an extremely sprawled out city. so if you live on a train line or bus route it's all good, but a lot of the suburbs aren't serviced all that well. they're building another train line though. i love the public transport, but if i hadn't gotten used to it i could see how people would be a bit apprehensive about it.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 05:04 (twenty-one years ago)

ha if only more people were like you trayce. i wrote my honours thesis on driving behaviour and errors. that was when i started taking buses!! people's detachment from the risks they are taking in cars/trucks/on motorbikes scares the crap out of me.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 05:05 (twenty-one years ago)

I could go on rants about dodgy taxi drivers and whatnot but this isnt the thread for it hehe =)

― Trayce (trayce), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 05:08 (twenty-one years ago)

no you're right, this is a sidetrack. but interestingly, i collected data through pen and paper likert scaled surveys and one of the questions asked if people disliked/were critical of other drivers on the roads - the amount of people who wrote gratuitous comments about taxi drivers! i think i ended up remarking on it in my symposium.

― gem (trisk), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 05:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Driving manual is more fun, and you're more engaged (hence a safer and better driver) rowing through the gearbox than drifting inattentively with one hand on the wheel. I miss it, although I do love my shitbucket Volvo.

― Lukas (lukas), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 05:20 (twenty-one years ago)

I feel so lame for not wanting to learn to drive :/

For this reason you are lame. Very, very lame. Melbourne is a great city to drive in. You should feel ashamed.

people who TAKE THEIR FRICKING HANDS OFF THE STEERING WHEEL make me want to scream and leap out of the moving car.

It is possible to take both hands off the wheel without endangering anyone. You just have to know what you're doing.

ps: I realise this thread has made me seem like some insane driver. I'm not. I don't really "drive as fast as humanly possible". I'm very cautious and calculating as I drive, maintaining a very clear awareness of the surrounding cars and their behaviours. (but I do listen to Venetian Snares.)

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 25 August 2004 05:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Skipping 113 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

It's much safer to drive at the speed of flow of traffic. I don't care what the little sign on the side of the road says. People are going to drive as fast as the police will let them, and if anyone has a problem with that, they should take the backroads. Otherwise, you're impeding traffic and could cause an accident. You may as well drive a tractor to work.

For once, this is actually everybody elses fault...

Maybe so, but if you're going to make the choice to run with wolves, you better grow fangs.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 26 August 2004 12:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Sorry, in my last sentence i meant much LESS likely to be tailgated, obv.

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 26 August 2004 12:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Ken, if you're driving at the ambient speed you are VERY unlikely to have people try and get past you. If you drive much slower than it, you will. Yes, this is a statistical fact.

and why would the ambient speed be above the speed limit? if people actually read what the little sign on the road says?

When someone is tailgating you it is INSANE to slow down as they'll drive into the back of you.

slow down != slam on the brakes, mark.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 26 August 2004 12:19 (twenty-one years ago)

On the NJ highways around here, the posted speed limit is 65, but the ambient speed, at least in the left lane, is usually closer to 80.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 26 August 2004 12:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Ken, your rules work in a hypothetical world where everyone obeys the speed limit. In that world you wouldn't have loonies or tailgaters. But they exist, ergo your world doesn't, so why are you arguing a point that's anti-practical??

The stuff you learn for your driving test does teach you that driving too slowly is dangerous. It's all relative.

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 26 August 2004 13:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Speaking of loonies, today I was making a left turn and I got cut off by this red Celica. There were two left turn lanes, and as we were turning, in the middle of the intersection, the Celica switched from the left lane to the right lane, which I was in. I had to hit the brakes to avoid hitting them. No signal, of course. Then, at the very next stop light, I saw them do the same thing again to a pickup truck! Once again they switched lanes in the middle of the intersection, cutting someone off. Some people really should not be allowed to drive.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 26 August 2004 13:22 (twenty-one years ago)

my rules work in a work where people obey the speed limit. and loonies and tailgaters can exist and everyone are more able to deal with them, because they are driving at a safer speed.

if it's really safer for people to travel in a built up area at 40mph, why is that not set as the speed limit?

driving too slow is dangerous, okay sure. but driving as fast as you're allowed to drive is too slow?

all i'm saying is that, if you want to drive fast, fine. but if you make a stupid overtaking move and cause an accident, don't blame it on the person driving like a responsible driver should.

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 26 August 2004 13:33 (twenty-one years ago)

One nasty trick to do when someone is tailgaiting you:
Tap your brakes quickly with almost no pressure - you won't dramatically lose speed, but it WILL light up your brake lights, which freaks the tailgater out causing them to slow down/slam on their brakes. They soon realise you didn't actually slow down, and probably did it as a 'signal', making them more frustrated. I know this is not sensible, but it does make me feel good in a twisted way.

In reality I'm a pretty fast driver and this is rarely necessary.

Riding my Vespa is a whole other matter...

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Thursday, 26 August 2004 13:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Aslo flashing rear foglights works a treat.

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 26 August 2004 13:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Tap your brakes quickly with almost no pressure - you won't dramatically lose speed, but it WILL light up your brake lights, which freaks the tailgater out causing them to slow down/slam on their brakes.

This is also an excellent way to get shot.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 26 August 2004 14:42 (twenty-one years ago)

mark, you seem to be arguing as though the only danger in driving is having people behind you smash into you, or people overtaking at inappropriate moments. The reason there is a speed limit is mainly because of whats in front of you. that has nothing to do with how many people are behind you.

i have heard many arguments for not obeying the speed limits, but safety just about takes the biscuit. Speeding is indefensible. thats it.

― ambrose (ambrose), Thursday, 26 August 2004 14:47 (twenty-one years ago)

This is also an excellent way to get shot.

Well, I only ever tried this in Canada, which I suppose is a bit behind the times with drive-by, road-rage shootings.

― Rob Bolton (Rob Bolton), Thursday, 26 August 2004 14:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Grand Theft Auto wasn't quite as popular a computer game back then

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 26 August 2004 15:01 (twenty-one years ago)

When I had my first SAAB, which was a seriously fucking powerful car, I learned the fallacy of some of the arguments presented above. However fast you go, some people will tailgate you. Many, many drivers have a "get ahead at all costs" attitude. Plenty of people drive WRXs, TDI golfs, Audi TTs, etc, ridiculously over-powered vehicles, many of which belong on the rally track, not on public roads. My "road to damascus" was when I was on a 2-lane dual carriageway, with the left lane blocked up. Some fucker in a Vauxhall got right on my ass, and I sped up. He kept right on my ass even when I got up to 110mph. As soon as we passed the left lane blockage, he overtook me on the left. What I should have done was slow down to 50mph. Oh dear, he might have got angry and crashed into me. Well, I'd rather get crashed into at 50 that at 110. Since then, if I get a tailgater, I ALWAYS slow down. If you are getting tailgated, you are more likely to get crashed into, if you are in a dangerous situation, you need to slow down, because you are less likely to get killed or badly injured in a crash at lower speed. It's as simple as that

― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 26 August 2004 15:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Random comments:

1. Tiptronic gears are the only sort you can get on a Smart Car, because manual ones wouldn't be as efficient and the car is sold on its efficiency. So I guess automatics can be more efficient than manual if they're built properly (this comes from a manual-lover)

2. In my old B-reg Escort taking the car out of gear and pushing down on the gearstick wouldn't engage any gear but would light up the reverse lights. *that* gives tailgaters the shits.

― Simon (flameproof) (Flameproof), Thursday, 26 August 2004 15:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I have an automatic because I'm dumb and don't know how to drive A SHIFTER CAR.

― Homosexual II (Homosexual II), Thursday, 26 August 2004 16:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Did you know that in California (and elsewhere), you can in fact be cited for going too slow even if you're going at or below the speed limit and all the other cars are speeding? This is due to the fact that driving 45 while everyone around you is going 75 is dangerous.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 26 August 2004 17:00 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.tntsigns.com/graphics/signs/Speed_Limit/r2-4a_speed-limit_with-min/r2-4a_sl_w-min_75_45.gif

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Thursday, 26 August 2004 17:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Most speed limits are set too low, for a variety of reasons. (For instance, do you know why the US highway limit was lowered to 55mph a few decades ago?) Higher speed alone does not lead to accidents (although obviously only to a point, ie if people are going 100mph through a downtown, reaction times won't be sufficient)(I point to the Autobahn has an example of high speed not leading to higher accident rates) Rather, the differences in speed between vehicles using the same road is what causes many accidents.
My dad feels the need to enforce the speed laws on his own, and will drive the speed limit in the left lane on highways (which is the fast lane in the US), and if someone going above the speed limit gets on his bumper, well they just shouldn't be going that fast and they should learn to follow the law to the letter like he does. This causes a dangerous, domino-effect to all cars behind him.
If you'll notice, most people do not drive at unsafe speeds, and also most people do not drive the speed limit. Even the police do not drive the speed limit and do not enforce the law unless you break it by at least 5mph (most of them won't write a ticket for anything under 10mph). Drivers as a society have realized that the speed laws are set a bit low, and have adjusted accordingly. And yet the idea of having limits hasn't been tossed aside completely; there's not total chaos on the streets. It's a beautiful thing, actually.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 26 August 2004 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

That post was my first ever attempt at bolding and it seems a bit extreme.

My dad feels the need to enforce the speed laws on his own, and will drive the speed limit in the left lane on highways (which is the fast lane in the US), and if someone going above the speed limit gets on his bumper, well they just shouldn't be going that fast and they should learn to follow the law to the letter like he does.

Your dad is a menace.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 26 August 2004 19:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Spencer is OTM. Stoning is too good etc etc etc.

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Thursday, 26 August 2004 19:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I had a stick in my last car - but the new one is automatic. I, too, have stomped on both brake and gas in my sad attempt to find the clutch. I miss my Mustang.

― luna (luna.c), Thursday, 26 August 2004 19:49 (twenty-one years ago)

Well I should say he doesn't go out of his way to get in the left lane and do that. But yeah, I've been in the car when he's wandered over there, my mom told him to get out of the lane to let people pass us, and he refused.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 26 August 2004 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

luna=that much more sexy

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 26 August 2004 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

My Australian fiancee and I were talking about the driving differences that she's going to have to get used to once she moves to Arkansas. She pointed out that she'll have to remember to pass on the left on the highway, and I thought to myself No, she'll still probably have to pass on the right...

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Thursday, 26 August 2004 20:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Highway speed limits here in Chicagoland are 55mph. People generally drive about 70mph.
Once you get far enough away from the city, they increase to 65mph. People generally drive about 70mph.
In other states, the limit is 70mph. People generally drive about 70mph.

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 26 August 2004 20:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Soon after I started driving to work a couple months ago, I was driving on the turnpike at close to 80, definitely over 75. The posted speed limit is 65. I wasn't paying too close attention to the cars behind me when I suddenly realized that there was a highway patrol car sitting right behind me and one lane to the left. He didn't have the lights on top or any marking on the front of the car, so you could only tell from the side that it was a patrol car, which was probably why I hadn't seen him approaching. He was matching my speed exactly - probably checking my license and registration on his computer. Of course, I freaked out since I was speeding and promptly slowed down. But he just continued on past me. Since then I haven't worried too much about going over the speed limit by 10 mph or so.

― o. nate (onate), Thursday, 26 August 2004 20:38 (twenty-one years ago)

nine months pass...

Revive because I'm probably going to be buying a car in the near future.

1) Did anyone here first learn to drive on an automatic and then switch to manual? How long did it take to get used to it?

2) Is "TipTronic" a hybrid automatic/manual transmission? I've driven a loaner Acura with a transmission like that, which was fun when I tried it on a highway.

Mind you, most of my driving is within the city, so an automatic might be the better choice.

― j.lu (j.lu), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 00:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, I started with an automatic in 1979, then my 8-months-pregnant wife taught me to drive a manual trans in 1988. I picked it up within a couple of days, but have never been particularly smooth on the clutch. Both of our vehicles are manual right now, and our daughter is showing no interest in learning to drive until we get an automatic.

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Did anyone here first learn to drive on an automatic and then switch to manual? How long did it take to get used to it?

my father first tried to teach me on manual, and i swore to never drive it again after all the screaming that went on. but at some point i was forced to learn stick and i've never gone back. it's the only way to drive...

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:15 (twenty-one years ago)

it didn't take long to switch all-maybe a week. now i won't drive anything else.

― Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:15 (twenty-one years ago)

it's the only way to drive...

No, there is another way, I think.

― Community Cornerstone (deangulberry), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:18 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, and it's for PUSSY FAGGOTS!

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:18 (twenty-one years ago)

LAZY AMERICANS CANT SHIFT GEAR OH NO

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:19 (twenty-one years ago)

RIDE ONE BIKE SISSY

― Community Cornerstone (deangulberry), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:20 (twenty-one years ago)

1) Did anyone here first learn to drive on an automatic and then switch to manual? How long did it take to get used to it?

i did this; learned on an automatic, didn't learn manual til i moved to italy. it was easy-peasy, i already 'knew' how to drive, so it didn't take long at all to learn and getting used to it didn't take much longer than say getting used to drive a new differently sized/aged vehicle.

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:25 (twenty-one years ago)

How do you drink coffee, change CDs and talk on the cellphone while working a stick?

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:28 (twenty-one years ago)

EASY! Live in L.A.!

― Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:29 (twenty-one years ago)

How do you drink coffee, change CDs and talk on the cellphone while working a stick?

smoke joint also

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Don't forget to do a line of coke off the cd, use the handsfree option for your cell, pop the cd in and chug your double tall non fat half caf latte.

It is imperative to never, never EVER use a turn signal. Keep those fuckers guessing!

― luna (luna.c), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 02:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Some manuals are now becoming more efficient than equivalent manual cars, they always used to be considerably less so. Especially some of the new CVT type transmissions that are appearing. Tiptronic is a gimic that most people use a couple of times before leaving the car in full automatic for the rest of time.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 04:14 (twenty-one years ago)

1) Did anyone here first learn to drive on an automatic and then switch to manual? How long did it take to get used to it?

Not that long really, but my training on stick was kinda stretched out, ie would drive my friend's stick car here and there, then drove stick trucks when i worked as a auto parts delivery driver in HS. so when i finally bought car with stick a couple years ago, i was perfectly comfortable with it and would reflexively want to shift gears whenever i'd drive an automatic.
So I'd say if you drove a manual every day or so for at most a month, it'd become second nature.

― ()ops (()()ps), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 04:31 (twenty-one years ago)

If you learn on an automatic here, you aren't qualified to drive a manual. I can't BELIEVE how lax driving education and regulation is in the States.

― Liz :x (Liz :x), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 10:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Many thanks for the info. However, if I am confirmed long-term where I'm working right now (which seems likely), I'll be taking buses to work, and would be driving only occasionally. Therefore the path of least resistance probably will lead me to another automatic.

― j.lu (j.lu), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 12:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Heh, I'm driving an automatic now after having driven manual for 10 years. I'd borrowed friends' cars enough in the past that I don't freak out and hit a phantom clutch, but changing to reverse quickly still isn't intuitive, since I'm used to the stick model where reverse is toward me rather than away from me.

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 12:19 (twenty-one years ago)

I learned on a stick so I'm completely unqualified to answer your questin, j.lu. I really just wanted to say that I was going to post "FIVE SPEED REPRAZENT" but decided to read the whole thread first. I now feel like Pavlov's dog.

(I narrowly avoided writing "I feel like fucking Pavlov's dog.")

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 12:22 (twenty-one years ago)

(What kind of bell triggers that?)

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 15:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I learned on a stick when I was 14 and haven't had a car that wasn't manual since (10 years). I think people that can't drive stick are cute. People that drive stick badly are even cuter. Chicks that drive stick really well are PHWOAR. Danica Patrick!

― giboyeux (skowly), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 15:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I learned on stick and drove those for 20 years basically, but I had a 3 year interlude of automatic which was surprisingly kind of excellent. Because, working out of your car it is U+K to have automatic. So you can do all those things you should never, never ever do while driving: talk on phone to client, eat lunch, jot notes, read maps, check shave, dig through briefcase, drink coffee, learn radio stations of strange city, floss teeth, find address in handheld, get mesmerized by the rental car's navigation screen (these are EVIL, do they still have them?)...things you see other people do and you say "that jackass should be arrested"!

― Hunter (Hunter), Thursday, 2 June 2005 03:59 (twenty-one years ago)

six years pass...

sup

― shite pele (darraghmac), Wednesday, 12 October 2011 00:22 (fourteen years ago)

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