“Wait”, I hear you saying. “Shouldn’t a post about a computer manual be on Techie the Frog, not Smackie.” Well, if I were actually going to write about a computer manual then it would be. But instead I am going to write about a manual transmission. And what everyone out there who doesn’t have one is missing.
When I bought my new car the salesman said that Honda had done studies and apparently only around 10% of drivers anymore know how to drive a manual transmission. I’m not sure I believe that it is that low, but I do believe that it is pretty low. I feel like most of my friends don’t know how to drive a stick, and even many adults that I know don’t really know how to drive one, or drive one well anyway. And all of them are missing out.
Driving an automatic transmission can be so passive. You put the car in drive, press down the gas and point. Now I’m not saying that this isn’t complicated, but it is rather low key. You can drive the car with two limbs; an arm to steer and a leg to work the gas and brake. When you are driving, you don’t really have to think about the condition of the car, just the position of the car.
A manual transmission is completely different. Suddenly you are responsible for shifting the gears, not the transmission. This means that every time you want to even want to move you are going to have to interact with the clutch, and probably the shifter at least multiple times. You are no longer just pointing the car where you want it to go. You are controlling the speed of the engine in a much more direct way.
I realize that this sounds really lame. As I’m writing this I’m having trouble explaining why exactly it is so much fun to drive a stick. The extra control is nice. Having more to do is certainly fun. Even the action of moving the shifter around in exciting. But there is also something more that I can’t explain. It is intangible.
So here is what I am going to offer. If you live in the STL area and don’t know how to drive a stick, I’ll give you the chance to drive my car for an hour. We can go to a parking lot, I’ll teach you how to do it, and you can drive it around for a bit.
But who am I kidding? No one is going to take me up on this. It is too easy to just put a car in drive and go…
6 Comments
I’d take you up on it, but you don’t really like me all that much… That and it’s illegal and all…
I know what you mean, I come from india and the only cars they have are manual shifts, so after coming here it feels like i could go to sleep while driving……which is why i like to take my dads car when i go back. Although now i drive it on the wrong side of the road when im there so im not sure my dad will let me drive anymore
Another reason why more people don’t bother with manual transmissions is that the extra dexterity needed would make it impossible for them to also spend their entire journey jabbering on their cell phone like parrots. I wonder if manual transmissions make a comeback when cell phone use in cars finally gets banned.
Funny, I’ve used my cell while driving a stick, and I know my brother can eat while he drives his manual. But if only about 10% can drive a stick, perhaps it’s a good anti-theft device, too. btw, cell phone use in cars is banned in several states, including New York, but people seem to ignore the law…
Me + Manual = Totalled Car
I think I’ll skip your offer. I’m sure you like your car in one peice.
But I’ll agree with one thing- You’re not the only person to believe that driving a manual is fun. A bunch of people I know like driving stick. Maybe when I can get used to multitasking- maybe.
Best advice for teaching someone to drive a stick I ever heard (from the car talk guys) and I think I had you do this.
One of the hardest things for someone new to a stick is to get the feel of the clutch. Go to a parking lot. Put the car in first and leave it at idle. Don’t give the car any gas and let the clutch pedal out (feather it) to get the car rolling. The person will probably kill the engine a few times but then they’ll get it and get the car rolling. I’ve found this to be very helpful.