Does everyone here also know how to drive a manual in case they ever need to? Party, only way home is someone overserved, you stumble upon the only vehicle in range and it is a stick? And not to offend the ladies but how many signifigant others can drive them?

I had an exact conversation about this and my lady and she simply asked WHY.... I alsmost keeled over.

Everybody in this household, that holds a Driver's License,learned how to drive manual transmissions before they were allowed to even look at an automatic transmission.

My first pickup truck was a Standard Transmission, and I have had no trouble since when required to drive one.

My wife would have great difficulty and her starting to drive was the reason we sold the Standard for an Automatic.

Mike

Thats what I'm sort of asking, should driving a manual be considered training? If the designated or intial driver cant drive and one of the passengers needs to... Yes, I know guy friends that cannot drive stick nor have ever seen one as well.

PS- this is by no means to single out the female population as not being able to drive stick. My GF in HS was actually the one who taught me how to drive it.

How many speeds, how many ranges? Single or multispeed axles? (Air shift, electric or hydraulic? for bonus points)

I have no problems but I know a few people who would be totally lost on a manual transmission.

I agree that everybody should at least be able to clutch and shift.

I've been driving a manual since learning at age 15 on my brother's '53 Willys (3-spd, V-8 short block). My first car was a 3-speed, second was a 5-speed, third was a 6-speed and now I drive an automatic (which would be a manual had I been able to find the right color at that time in this area).

One of the reasons I liked driving a manual is that it's become a deterrent to car theft. Young thieves don't all know how to drive stick.

Well I wasn't exactly thinking split axle delivery truck for getting through zombies, or Rambo: First Blood Troop Transport Truck, more along the lines of something from as simple as a Pinto or a Dart up to some type of manual 4X4...

It would be the complete opposite in the UK, the response would be 'Where's the gear stick' if some one came across a rare automatic. I thought automatics were for partially disabled folks, i.e. those missing a leg or left arm.

I've got a Commercial Drivers License, a Boating Endorsement, and a Motorcycle endorsement. I figure I can drive most common vehicles (though I still have a bit of trouble with old dual-stick trucks).

My father has me beat though, he still has endorsements for tanker trucks and double trailers. He's also a much better driver than I am and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Paul810-

what about your wife, friends or present or coming children?

I learned on a stick, and still drive one. My biggest problem has always been trying to stomp the clutch in, while driving an automatic with a wide brake pedal...

Most people I know drive cars with manual transmission. Almost everyone I know passed their test in one - I can think of only one friend who took his test in an automatic. His mum also drives an automatic, but I don't know if she's driven a manual in the past or not.

Over there, is your choice restricted by what you use for the test?
Here (in the UK), if you take your test in a manual, you're allowed to drive both. If you take your test in an automatic, you're not allowed to drive a manual.

I want a split rear end in my Subaru...

Anyways, I can drive a basic standard. I consider is James Bond skill, thus had to learn it.

We (Parent's company) have one truck that has two ranges and a split rear end, but I had to figure that out. Bought it used for 3k for onsite moving of materials. It hasn't seen a state or town road since we've owned it so we keep it in low range all the time.

Considering almost 80% of vehicles have automatic transmissions that may not be an unreasonable first answer. I learned on a automatic, switched to a standard cause I love Mustangs and a muscles car and stick go together like peanut butter and jelly! I would still be driving a manual transmission today if it wasn't for the fact the manufacturer's are making very few of them! And Ford's new 6-speed autos are about as energy efficient as a 5-speed manual to boot...

But the real reason people love automatics so much is that it frees their hands to do other much important things like apply makeup, texting, holding the phone, eating food and holding up that glorious cancer stick!

Sure, you can manage a synchromesh transmission, but can you drive a 1937 ford-ferguson tractor-the real ideal survival vehicle?

Of all the skills that might prove essential to survival, why choose managing a manual transmission? Negotiating skills, sewing ability, playing the harmonica or performing simple surgical procedures all seem as likely to be useful.

As my kids got old enough to need their own cars I made sure they were manual trans. My daughter cried the first time she tried it and was convinced she would never be able to drive. I was suprised how she learned within 48 hrs to be an expert as she would go to bed one night unable to prevent the car from stalling -but would get up the next day and be 100% improved. I figured her brain was reliving the experience in her sleep and learning. I told her that she should never be forced to turn down driving the best sports cars due to lack of stick experience. She is very grateful now. As a bonus cars with stick are an absolutly cheap as used cars. Make sure the first car they ever drive is a stick! They are more attentive driving a stick and are safer as well.

My wife is going to learn next summer... good`ol truck NP435

Of course, I teach every one I get the chance to. In fact, I've taught quite a few people to run heavy equipment as well.

I've always been heavily into vehicles and engines [thanks to my father, the shop mechanic], so I've always loved driving new things. I don't even own a boat or a motorcycle, but I got the endorsements just so I could if I ever wanted to.

Yeah me too. I have never drove a automatic, only stick shift...

Three-on-the-tree '56 Chevy is what I learned on. My first car! The wife learned on an old Buick Skyhawk manual trans. We taught our kids on a Mustang 5 speed. That was a bit nerve racking the first time out in traffic. Either they'd lurch out into the intersection and stall it, or they'd fly across with wheels spinning at 100 mph. Neither was terribly good for us parent's nerves. But they got it finally. The first time you're stuck in a bumper-to-bumper stop-and-go mess for an hour you'll appreciate an automatic. But out on the road away from heavy traffic a manual is a heck of a lot more fun to drive.

Norway is the same as the UK and the Netherlands. I think the main reason is the peculiarities of our import taxes, which causes a substantial increase in the price difference between automatic and manual transmission.

Having driven stick shifts for almost 20 years I do agree with Haertig: Driving outside city traffic is much more fun with a stick shift. Also, when the road is slippery I like to have the option of disconnecting the engine with an automated, gross motor movement: If you need all your grip for steering, you step on the clutch (an automated movement since you do it all the time when driving). Putting the automatic gear in "Neutral" is a) not automated, b) requires that you remove one hand from the steering wheel. Your car has just turned into a skidding 1.5 ton monster, you do NOT want to take your hands off the steering wheel...


That being said, driving stick shift with a stiff, painful knee is not fun. Been there, done that.

I drive a stick shift. Went back & forth between autos & manuals, but, since I drive a Wrangler, it was a no brainer for me .
I actually didnt get my license until after I left the army, when I was 21 (the first time I got out). I had a learners permit while in HS, and a motorcycle permit, which was my only mode of transportation for those high school years (other than bumming rides). I took several driving courses in the Army, for both HMMWVs & the older dune buggys-which was my first experience with a stick shift.
Now, I am more comfy with a stick shift than an auto transmission. I like knowing I can control the gears.

For a while, like up until a few years ago, auto transmissions were the MORE expensive choice. It seems lately though that a standard is more expensive than an auto...like you belong to some sort of exclusive driving clu or something....lol. a 5 year old could drive an automatic car...it takes a little skill to drive a standard though. Of course, you may have to put your cell phone down to shift...

I got my first driving license in Texas. You had to come with a manual transmission, or your license was stamped "auto trans only," a hideous blot on your manhood.

No longer the case today. It is hard to even purchase a manual tranny....

I learned both as soon as I got my learner's permit. We had a '48 Chevy truck with manual (and a foot-pedal starter!) and a '68(?) Rambler wagon with push-button automatic. (Man, that was fun to drive!)

Because I've mostly had manuals, I plant my left foot firmly on the firewall when I'm driving an automatic. "Clutching" the brake pedal is Double-Plus Not Good.

In my neck of the woods manual shifting is quite common. So everyone I know know how to drive them.
I even learned how to drive with unsynchronised gear and the legendary Unimog (there is an extra lever for reverse).

I taught my wife to use a manual many years ago. She didn't warm up to them until she had to rock the truck out of an ice rut in the parking lot - lots easier when you use the clutch. Since then, she's a convert, almost as bad as ex-smokers are against smoking...

I love manuals for many reasons, some of them going through the mountains here in Colorado. On many steep downhills, I can keep my truck in 4th gear, and get down the hill without touching the brakes. Gotta love it.

When driving long distances with our only auto, whenever it's on cruise control and we go up a hill, the stupid thing downshifts 1 or 2 gears to keep speed up, and sounds like it's going to blow up the engine...

Ford Ranger, 4.0 V-6 with a 5 Speed manual. I've been driving manual transmissions since my '64 VW bug (RIP) in 1970.

Also learned how to drive a stick in a Mustang. Started me down the path of cars should only have two doors and three pedals.

Currently have both, truck is an auto, sports cars are stick. Have converted a few friends and family to driving a stick shift. The last was one of my collage age cousins, made sure that the first stick shift she drove was a 6 speed Z06. With the active handling on she wasn't able to do a smoking burnout though an intersection and she only managed to stall it a few times. Since then she has been borrowing her older sisters Jeep to stay in practice.

That's how I learned to drive a stick - drunk buddy one night. Whatever, it was fine. A couple false starts, then I figured to push in the clutch when the engine goes bonkers. The hardest part was starting the darned car.

Now though, I've owned a manual for about 7 years. Back in an automatic currently, but a stick is cake.

If you only rock it "one way" I agree, but that that aint nescessarily so if you need to rock "both ways" (shift between forward and reverse gear as you rock). Auto or manual, which one is easiest would depend on how smooth the gear shift lever is and how complicated that movement is. All other things being equal, the clutch in - change into reverse - clutch out procedure is more complicated than just push the auto from "D" to "R".

The by far easiest car I've ever rocked this way was a Dodge minivan (grand caravan) with gear level on the steering wheel column. If you pull the gear level towards you, the locking disengages and it is the simplest "two-bumps" movement. One hand on the gear level, one hand steering and no foot movement to syncronize except the tiniest up-and-down motion of the accelerator. Sweet as a breeze... Autos with the level between the seats are usually more complicated, you have to move in a zig-zag pattern to go from "D" to "R".

Althoug I love stick shifts, most autos are very good at providing the softest, slowest possible start with no wheel spinning at slippery roads. Just pretend you've got a rotten grape between your foot and the accelerator, anything but the softest push will crush that grape...

Once, I failed miserably to rock out a manual transmission car because the oil in the gear box was rather stiff at -20 celsius (-4F). Having started the car just one minute ago I was turning into the driveway to pick up someone. As I stopped I felt the front wheel were digging into the snow. If I had slammed immediately into reverse I would have rocked out of there before the wheels had time to crush themself deeper into the snow, no problem at all. Because of the sluggish gearbox oil changing gears took about 5 seconds... bummer! Stuck!

Yes, I can drive a stick.

The military in the 60s ran into this issue, GIs who didn't know how to drive a stick, and pretty much decided to go to automatic transmissions to the extent possible. Vehicles with automatics are a bit more expensive so the up-front cost went up. But maintenance cost went down. In part because automatics can be designed to protect themselves and, come to find out, a lot of those guys who claimed that they knew how to drive a stick really don't know how to do it without smoking the clutch.

Clutches burn out and most vehicles go through at least two or three in their life. Unless you do it yourself replacing the clutch can be the final straw and expense that determines when to give up on a car. Automatics pretty commonly last the life of the vehicle with one or two fluid, filter changes. Often not even that level of maintenance.

In terms of performance it has to be noted that most trucks that are used in all-terrain competitions have automatics because they are much faster going from forward to reverse and save a lot of wear and tear on drivers holding them on a slope. Yes, you can heel-toe the clutch and accelerator and maintain tight control but it is a tense exercise, tends to wear out clutches, and can damage knees.

Another factor in the UK: if you take your driving test in an automatic you are not licensed to drive an manual transmission. So everyone learns in a manual. An automatic-only driving licence is like a second-class one.

I have pretty much no use for automatic transmissions, I've always owned manuals. Shifting gears in 4wd, low range while dodging trees and boulders on the way up a 40 degree incline with huge ruts across it is actually fun for me.

It's always fun before something goes wrong. Having fun if you screw up it is just playing. If your wife and kid was in the back and a delay of an hours to get unstuck is a death sentence your better off with an automatic.

There is also the question of what happens if one of your legs is injured. Especially if it isn't a major emergency. I blew out a knee and had I not had an automatic I would have been stuck. Yes, I know, in a real life and death emergency I could limp along by timing the shifts and hoping the synchronizers hold up making up any differences in the RPMs. Tough on the clutch and transmission. And unless your very familiar with the vehicle and practiced your not going to be smooth enough to make it in traffic. But given a life or death situation hardware and traffic be damned.

As it was with my right knee in a splint I was able to lay it across the passenger seat and drive by sitting catty-corner with my butt against the driver side door and working the accelerator and brake with my left foot. No drama, no extra wear and tear.

i think i have a bum left knee from working a manual during 20 something years of 100 mile a day commutes. i must have pumped that clutch 50 times just clearing the city.

I can drive a manual, pickup or car. In a pickup, I'd much rather have an old TH350 or C6 than a manual. I find manual clutches on decent sized vehicles annoying to my knees.

What I can't do is drive a manual that doesn't have syncros w/o making noises.

My cars have always been automatics, because it's less hassle, safer to let others drive the car, doesn't affect the mileage the way I drive (hard), it's reliable, and makes it easier to eat while driving.

You left out a part of the equation though. Mechanical failure. Which type of transmission is a lot less prone to fail you when you REALLY need it to get you out of a bind? A manual.

An automatic can be built to be almost as strong as a similar manual transmission, but it would require a decent amount of work as well as additional cost.

Out in the woods we put our transmissions through absolute hell. I've seen transfer cases ripped in half, third members ripped out of the axle housing, entire axles ripped out from under rigs. I've snapped 6 axleshafts, probably 20 universal joints, ripped out my rear driveshaft, and a lot of other carnage.

In all that, the factory manual transmission has never let me down other than requiring a throwout bearing once (and it still got me home, just made noise and had to be replaced afterwards). I've seen a lot of guys I ride with have a lot worse luck with automatic transmissions.

I agree that an automatic would be easier if injured. But I'd be trading off capability that I require on an almost daily basis for a possibility that something MIGHT happen. Just not justifiable in my personal case, your mileage may vary.

I think your confusing the issue 2005RedT. Yes, a manual transmission can be stronger than an automatic in absolute terms.



Funny thing is that in an actual emergency any of those listed failures would be the end of it because your going to be hoofing it anyway. If you have time to fix it it isn't an emergency. A transmission that survives such abuse is in a real emergency is fine ... for the people who come along looking for parts to salvage after the emergency is over.

Also whereas a manual transmission proper can be strong and reliable your forgetting the clutch and related mechanisms. Add in the vulnerability of the clutch, throwout bearing and clutch mechanism to that exceptionally strong, bulletproof, manual transmission and your failure rate is still higher than an automatic. I have seen too many clutches stuffed with mud, too many failed hydraulic cylinders and ripped out lines, too many burned clutches and scarred plates to forget to factor them into the reliability of manual transmissions.

Vehicles, like survival itself, is a system. It is the strength of the system, not any particular component, that saves you. Yes, a manual transmission can be stronger than an automatic. But that extra strength is meaningless in the context of getting there because long before your automatic gives up something else will break.

I'm probably split 50/50 in terms of auto/manual driving. Luckily now that I have a much shorter commute, I have more options on what I drive so I can take the 4x4 to work a lot more often, but when I was commuting 100 miles a day, the auto was always the first choice. Just a lot less hassle and easier to drive, especially in traffic.

There are always different strengths for each, but overall if I had to choose one I would probably pick an auto. Yes, I would have to give up the engine braking of the manual while offroading, but the auto offers so many other advantages that it's a small price to pay.




What's ironic is that sometimes these types of damages could have been avoided with an auto. The auto has a fluid coupling, which means you don't get the shock loading that happens in a manual, that results in less stress in other parts of the drive train and therefore less chance of breakages. The trickier the terrain, the more helpful the automatic is. Especially in low traction situtation, the smooth power delivery of the automatic can really be an advantage.

In terms of strength, I personally believe it's a wash. It just depends on how the transmission is designed. Most autos can easily handle more power than the engine can produce with no upgrades. And in terms of longevity, an auto is pretty much a no maintenance item if cared for properly

DuctTapeGuy - I overlook the low traction situations only by accident. My rig gets extremely good traction in everything I've ever put it through with it being locked in the front and welded in the rear. If I wasn't locked or didn't have tires specifically designed for mud and rocks, I could see the automatic being an advantage.

Art - We'll just have to agree to disagree. As much time as I spend on steep inclines and declines, I'll stick with my manual for engine braking and being able to choose my own gear without having to fight the tranny.

And every breakage I've ever had, I've fixed it right there on the spot. A broken U-joint or snapped axle takes less than an hour to fix when you've practiced it a bunch of times. I've never once left my rig or anyone else's in the woods. If it breaks, it's coming out. Even if we have to build a skid and drag it out. I call it my "no rig left behind" policy.

lol, me too. out of my 4 trucks i have owned, one was auto, had it for three months, then back to stick. everyone in my family can drive stick, but i have had to teach pretty much every gf i have ever had.