Random Ramblings

My first car was a stick shift.  Drove it for about a year and a half.  Only owned one other car that was a stick shift, it was more than 15 years later.  Only owned that one for 6 months before someone totaled it.

I love driving a stick.  Haven't had one in a while.

Every car I have ever driven has been an automatic. A friend once tried to teach me,using his car, how to drive a stick shift . I ended up shredding his gears.

I prefer almost everything about a manual. Greater control, greater driver engagement (more fun), theft deterrent, engine braking, winter qualities. If I lived in a traffic-intense town, I'd probably get an automatic to spare my left leg, but I don't plan on living in a traffic-intense town anytime soon. Fun to see the variety of experience with the third pedal here, seems that a lot of you have moved to automatics.

How wonderfully generous of you, Driven. I'm sure your friend really appreciates your help.

I prefer an automatic so I can drive and drink coffee without spilling -- lol -- but most folks I know drive a manual. A lot of them have shifted to automatic when they had kids. I guess it's so there is less to think about when kids distract (as kids do).

Anyway, I think it's awesome that you're giving your time and CAR in that way.

It was at his suggestion. He'll be picking up expenses and whatnot. I'm not using it much during the week anyway, so I don't mind lending it to him and picking it up for the weekend.

After the merging of our two churches our old church was too small.
We have rented a larger location for two years and last year there was a church for sale that we have bought.
That's why Driven.

I want to ask you what is stick shift?

I learned to drive a stick when I was working as a stage manager for an orchestra in college.  It was the summer pops series down at the riverfront and I had to get the equipment from the ampitheater in one part of town to the riverfront ampitheater for the concert.  I showed up at the rental truck place and it was a manual.  I cobbled together everything that the people who had tried to teach me to drive one had said and somehow made it across town, up the winding hill to the pick up location and back across town successfully.  The only tricky part is that Huntington has all these railroad underpasses that have traffic signals on one side.  I got caught at one of those.  Scary moment trying not to crush the car behind me.

rockerVu2 wrote:

I want to ask you what is stick shift?

It's a vehicle that you have to manually shift.  We call the shift lever the stick thus "stick shift".

Xid wrote:

rockerVu2 wrote:

I want to ask you what is stick shift?

It's a vehicle that you have to manually shift.  We call the shift lever the stick thus "stick shift".

In Europe, you'll probably know it as the standard, or manual, transmission. Three pedals. In North America, most people have automatic transmission cars instead and don't know how to drive with a manual transmission.

Driven wrote:

Xid wrote:

rockerVu2 wrote:

I want to ask you what is stick shift?

It's a vehicle that you have to manually shift.  We call the shift lever the stick thus "stick shift".

In Europe, you'll probably know it as the standard, or manual, transmission. Three pedals. In North America, most people have automatic transmission cars instead and don't know how to drive with a manual transmission.

And, since most of us do drive automatic transmissions, there is no need to know how to drive a stick shift anymore.  Even my brother's big rig has an automatic transmission in it these days.

alldatndensum wrote:

Driven wrote:

Xid wrote:

rockerVu2 wrote:

I want to ask you what is stick shift?

It's a vehicle that you have to manually shift.  We call the shift lever the stick thus "stick shift".

In Europe, you'll probably know it as the standard, or manual, transmission. Three pedals. In North America, most people have automatic transmission cars instead and don't know how to drive with a manual transmission.

And, since most of us do drive automatic transmissions, there is no need to know how to drive a stick shift anymore.  Even my brother's big rig has an automatic transmission in it these days.

And then you have hotshot kiddos like me who somehow enjoy rowing our own. A lot of people in Québec have opted for manuals because they are typically cheaper to buy than automatics, although that's changing these days.

Driven wrote:

Quote :

Quote :

And then you have hotshot kiddos like me who somehow enjoy rowing our own. A lot of people in Québec have opted for manuals because they are typically cheaper to buy than automatics, although that's changing these days.

...not to mention more fun        

Driven wrote:

alldatndensum wrote:

Driven wrote:

Xid wrote:

rockerVu2 wrote:

I want to ask you what is stick shift?

It's a vehicle that you have to manually shift.  We call the shift lever the stick thus "stick shift".

In Europe, you'll probably know it as the standard, or manual, transmission. Three pedals. In North America, most people have automatic transmission cars instead and don't know how to drive with a manual transmission.

And, since most of us do drive automatic transmissions, there is no need to know how to drive a stick shift anymore.  Even my brother's big rig has an automatic transmission in it these days.

And then you have hotshot kiddos like me who somehow enjoy rowing our own. A lot of people in Québec have opted for manuals because they are typically cheaper to buy than automatics, although that's changing these days.

In the USA, most vehicles come with an automatic transmission.  You typically pay MORE for the stick shift these days as it isn't considered a standard option anymore.

Yeah, I remember when my wife and I bought our first brand new car (A Saturn SL2), it would have been about $900 cheaper if we opted for a manual transmission.

messiaen77 wrote:

Yeah, I remember when my wife and I bought our first brand new car (A Saturn SL2), it would have been about $900 cheaper if we opted for a manual transmission.

Cheaper?  Really?  When I bought my 2002 Ranger and then again with my 2017 Nissan Frontier, a manual transmission was going to add considerable costs to the purchase price.  With the Nissan, it was an extra $1500 for that.  I'll be cheap and take the automatic, please!!!

alldatndensum wrote:

messiaen77 wrote:

Yeah, I remember when my wife and I bought our first brand new car (A Saturn SL2), it would have been about $900 cheaper if we opted for a manual transmission.

Cheaper?  Really?  When I bought my 2002 Ranger and then again with my 2017 Nissan Frontier, a manual transmission was going to add considerable costs to the purchase price.  With the Nissan, it was an extra $1500 for that.  I'll be cheap and take the automatic, please!!!

Those are trucks. You have to want a manual for those. Whereas for cars, at least up until recently, it's been cheaper to buy an automatic.

An interesting incidental statistic is that the most sold vehicle across Canada is the Ford F-150, except for in Québec where it's the Honda Civic. Shows the difference in culture between the two people groups, if you ask me.

Our car has two pedals, so we have a an automatic transmission?

Sounds like it.

rockerVu2 wrote:

Our car has two pedals, so we have a an automatic transmission?

Yes you do.
You would need three pedals for a manual transmission.  The third pedal would be called a "clutch" and you would need to press it down to the floor anytime you wanted to change gears

^Unless Rocker's got one of them fancy cars with the paddle shifters on the steering wheel!

kerrick wrote:

^Unless Rocker's got one of them fancy cars with the paddle shifters on the steering wheel!

Didn't they quit making those in the 1970's? (just kidding).
I think those were almost exclusively made in North America and typically on trucks or vans.  I could be wrong though.  It happened before....... (once).

They're still used to enable people with a back and leg disability to drive. Also, don't formula race car drivers use a button shift on the steering column. I certainly wouldn't want to take my hands off the steering wheel at 200 mph!

F1 cars used to have levers or paddles on the left and right of the steering wheel.   They shift with just a finger.

F1 steering wheels are quite complicated these days: