# Only the stick-shift drivers will survive!



## Michael Kawalek (Jun 21, 2007)

Thought I'd have some fun being a gadfly and see what happens!

In my opinion, the personalities of stick-shift drivers are fundamentally different than those who drive an automatic only. They tend to be people that focus on performance and economy rather that comfort and convenience. They are in general more CAPABLE people than people that can drive an automatic only. I've met people that were such poor drivers that they couldn't back away from a gas pump. Those are the kind of people that have to have an automatic! They are also the types of people that wouldn't own a gun, or know how to start a campfire. I assume that anyone so incapable wouldn't be of any value in a SHTF situation. Than again. all the people around my homestead that can handle themselves (ranchers, farmers, ect) all drive stick-shifts.

If this country ever faces a real SHTF crisis where a good share of the populaton gets killed, I predict that it will be the auto drivers that are the first to go. Towards the end, only the stick-shift drivers will survive!
Michael

Oh, and of course, all our cars and trucks are stick!


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## pinfeather (Nov 12, 2006)

I don't know about survival, but I do believe I know better than car makers what terrain I'm driving and which gear the vehicle should be in while driving it!


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## Janis Sauncy (Apr 11, 2006)

Oh, great. I'm in trouble now.

I was driving a stick shift until I hurt my right hand in an on-the-job incident and am now limited to driving automatics....permanently.

Does the fact that I CAN drive a stick shift count?

Janis


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I drove stick for several years due to the cost factor and gas mileage difference. My girls learned on stick shift.

Angie


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## donsgal (May 2, 2005)

Michael Kawalek said:


> Thought I'd have some fun being a gadfly and see what happens!
> 
> In my opinion, the personalities of stick-shift drivers are fundamentally different than those who drive an automatic only. They tend to be people that focus on performance and economy rather that comfort and convenience. They are in general more CAPABLE people than people that can drive an automatic only. I've met people that were such poor drivers that they couldn't back away from a gas pump. Those are the kind of people that have to have an automatic! They are also the types of people that wouldn't own a gun, or know how to start a campfire. I assume that anyone so incapable wouldn't be of any value in a SHTF situation. Than again. all the people around my homestead that can handle themselves (ranchers, farmers, ect) all drive stick-shifts.
> 
> ...


Up until 2003 I had never owned an automatic vehicle. I was a die-hard stick driver (even though they are getting harder and harder to find). The only thing I like better is that you do keep both hands on the wheel when turning and slowing down at the same time, which IMHO is much safer than trying to turn the wheel while downshifting.

Nevertheless, I still prefer a stick shift and hopefully, the next vehicle I get will have four-on-the-floor.

donsgal


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## Janis Sauncy (Apr 11, 2006)

Angie:

I learned to drive with a stick, too (a 1962 IH Scout, in a hayfield).

My 18-year-old son's car (his first) is an automatic, he learned on my automatic, and now he doesn't know how to drive a stick and says he doesn't want to learn.

It seems, back in the old days of my high school years, a guy wouldn't be caught dead driving an automatic!

Janis


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## RichieC (Aug 29, 2007)

While I know how to drive a stick, anyone who has to spend a lot of time driving in traffic is likely to end up wanting an automatic pretty quick.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Janis
that's funny, my older daughter took driver's ed in High School and was the only girl that drove a stick (1989 Ford Festiva). Raise her up in the eyes of the guys as a cool capable person.

Angie


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

After years of driving stick, including trucks that needed to be double clutched, I have only driven auto for some time now. Even the tractor is hydro-static drive, as well as the newer 4 wheeler, guess I just getting lazy.

BTW, what does this have to do with being prepared for SHTF?


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## farmer kate (Jan 21, 2007)

We only had stick shift, so that's what the boys learned to drive. An unexpected side effect was that we never had to worry about their friends trying to 'borrow' any of our vehicles......'cause their friends couldn't drive them.

katie


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## Kmac15 (May 19, 2007)

I learned on a stick, took my drivers test while 6 months pregnant on one and killed it under a traffic light, to this day I think the poor guy gave me the license because he was afraid I would go in labor on him.
DS learned on stick (only kind we owned at the time) broke his left leg days before starting drivers ed, had to take his test in his grandmothers sedan OH the shame of it.


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## tomstractormag (Feb 23, 2007)

I much rather drive a stick. I do drive truck in alot of city driving and still prefer a standard. Much more control of your vehicle (stick shift). My personal vehicle (E250 van is auto) but I am looking for a small car and I will not buy one unless its a stick. Everyone should learn to drive on a standard shift vehicle. A few years ago I read that most vehicles in Europe (90%) are stick and most (90%) here are auto.
Tom


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## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

I switch between stick and auto. Keep looking for the clutch when I am in the auto, the stick disappears too!


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

What if you have both?? My 1967 Ford F-100 is a 4 speed stick, and my 1969 F-100 is an automatic. But my GMC 4X4 is a 5 speed stick. With my left leg injury the automatic comes in handy at times, but I prefer the manual shift vehicles - I feel that I have more control. 

Plus you can push start a vehicle with a manual where you can't with an automatic transmission.


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## booklover (Jan 22, 2007)

Gosh, I drive a stick, but I'd never own a gun. Kind of "shoots" your theory out of the water.


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## Madame (Jan 1, 2003)

I prefer a stick, and taught my dd to drive on one (all we had) after she finished driver's ed. We both prefer the greater degree of control.


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## edcopp (Oct 9, 2004)

booklover said:


> Gosh, I drive a stick, but I'd never own a gun. Kind of "shoots" your theory out of the water.


Road kill comes to mind


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## ovendoctor (Jun 28, 2006)

learned to drive on a international load star 5speed with a split rear end and air breaks :baby04:


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Actually cars are going the other way. Many higher end cars even one with stick shifts have gone fly by wire where the stick no longer is attached to the transmission. With more and more computer control, the manual trans is bound to go away.


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## sgl42 (Jan 20, 2004)

i've got a automatic transmission with SportShift in my Acura (ie, I can change from automatic to manual shifting on the fly). What happens to me under your theory?  

I drove a stick shift pickup truck for 15 yrs before buying this car, so maybe i've got a chance.  

--sgl


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## cem (May 5, 2006)

I am teaching my kids on the stick shift. If you learn on a stick you can drive both. If you learn on a automatic, you can only drive an automatic. I'll never forget asking one of the boy's in youth group (19yrs old) if he would move my car. He said" I can't, I don't know how to drive a stick." That is when I decided my kids would all learn on stick shift.


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## charles burns (Mar 21, 2006)

In the UK you can't drive a stick shift if you pass your test on an automatic transmission - you have to take a stick shift driving test to drive a stick shift.

I grew up stick shifting and was happy to go automatic when I got to this country. You need a hand for the coffee and/or cigarette so the choice is not so much manual or automatic but manual or coffee and cigarettes.


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## longshot38 (Dec 19, 2006)

well i drive an automatic but i can start a fire, shoot, live in the woods on the barrens on the coast, my buddy has a farm and he drives an automatic. if there aint no fuel i guess there wont be any worry about stick or auto, just how has the better boots.


dean


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## cem (May 5, 2006)

longshot38, the question is "can you drive a stick shift?"
The funniest story I heard was when a carjacker in Phoenix tried to steal a car and got caught because the car he tried to hijack was a stick. Turns out he only knew how to drive an automatic. Talk about dumb criminal!


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## nehimama (Jun 18, 2005)

Learned on a stick shift years & years ago. Had both DDs learn stick as well. That way they'd never be caught in a situation where they "couldn't" drive whatever vehicle might be available in some unforseen emergency. 

NeHi


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## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

I can drive a stick shift if I need to, but I prefer to drive an automatic. I think everyone should learn to drive a stick before they drive an automatic. Sometimes you need that knowledge. But as long as I have the option to enjoy the luxury of an automatic, I will.  Well, maybe not... I just ask DH to have his BIL (who deals in used cars) look for me one of those tiny little stick shift cars that gets 50 mpg. :shrug: Maybe subconsciously I've got more survivalist in me than I thought I had. LOL


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

I was smileing to my self when very recently I rode in the farmers truck from his barn way back to our job site.
Goes like this on the ole Dodge;
1st-- shift at about one mile per hour
2nd-- shift at about 3--4 mile per hour
3rd--shift at about 10 miles per hour
never did hit 4th (going across his alfalfa fields).

Ever wonder why a good amount of those old "farm" trucks keep on a going. . . . ?????
As compared to Johnny dip **** who red lines it in every gear--every time.

One stick and two autos.


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## Paul72 (Mar 13, 2005)

We have 4 vehicles, mine is an F150 stick, oldest DS is a stick, DW's is an auto but she is very capable at driving a stick, also our traveling vehicle is an auto. Youngest DS is getting a Stick Ford Ranger for Xmas (96 190k miles) so he too will be proficient at driving a manual shifter--paul


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

My son bought a stick shift this summer, he went from a stick shift in our truck (the size of a baseball bat) to the one he has now in his Element (he calls it a toothpick). I'm amazed that very few of his college friends can drive his car.

Dawn


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## Jaclynne (May 14, 2002)

We have 2 automatics and 1 stickshift. I used to drive the manual shift until I injured my knees, now a day (if I made it that long) of driving a stick shift would leave me unable to walk the next day. 
So, if I don't survive a shtf , it won't be because I don't know how to drive a stick, it'll be 'cause my knees are bad and I can't outrun the zombies.


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## james dilley (Mar 21, 2004)

Well I refuse to Buy A Automactic. Theres even the Trucking companies that are going that way. I told one of them a while back to go to HELL if I could not get A REAL truck. Hell I learned on A twin Stick Mack. Then the 1st 4 wheeler I played around in at 11 was A old IH travelAll with A 3 on the tree!!!! And yes I have driven the neighbors New car thats A Automatic, They needed Milk for the Newborn Human baby. Thats All there was to drive that day!!!! And yes I was trying to use the Clutch on it!!!!


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## longshot38 (Dec 19, 2006)

can i drive a stick Cem? to tell the truth i never tried, i have been told how to drive one and i have seen it done plenty of times. there aint nothing i "can't" learn. but i do enjoy the convience of autos.

dean


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## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

When I turned 16 my Papa said since all our family drove was sticks that's what I'd take my test in or not drive....he took us to the school parking lot at night and suffered thru our learning to clutch....but over the years has been worth it. I drove sticks up until this last car but our second car is a Neon manual...drove it the other day and my foot knew automatically what to do. DEE


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## Michael Kawalek (Jun 21, 2007)

Wow, that's 33 responses in just 24 hours. Thank you all for your comments. It was fun posting that statement.


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## highplains (Oct 5, 2006)

I think it is wise to know both!
The new 'James Bond' can't drive stick - didn't bother watching the movie.
No respect for the guy that didn't even want to bother to learn.

Lots stick and auto time, in all kinds of weather - nice, floods, blizzards, storms, etc, heck even my wife had our van out to help with an evacuation once. 
Surprised the national guard units when they saw her puttering down the road, their humvees full of water our van high enough clearance that only the steps got some water in.


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## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

I prefer to drive sticks.

I taught our sons to drive sticks.

While stationed in Italy, all of their cars were sticks, however I saw that most of the young US servicemembers we were getting had licenses but none of them knew how to drive a stick. It became a routine duty, to cycle the kids through a night shift and stick them on a garden tractor or small three-wheeled pick-up truck to learn to operate a stick [doing it at night, and in a vehicle that they could not damage too much, was in the hope that we would not get into too much trouble from the officers].


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## hotzcatz (Oct 16, 2007)

So should I ask my DH to put a stick shift in the electric car he's building?


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## OneCrazyRat (Sep 12, 2007)

I have always said that when people first get a driver's license they should be required to drive a standard shift first (exceptions for physical limitations). Perhaps a set number of hours of familiarization then proceed to an automatic. After the seat time it would be the operator's preference as to which they chose to test on /drive. In Oklahoma something without reason was motorcycle licensing. With an auto license you could operate a motorcycle (requires more skill) yet if you had a motorcycle license it did not give you the privliges to operate a car.

It is better to have the knowlege/skill and not need it than to need it and not have it.


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## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

tab said:


> I switch between stick and auto. Keep looking for the clutch when I am in the auto, the stick disappears too!


I am the same way tab. If I jump into some else's car to drive it some where I am constantly reaching for the floor shifter and clutch.
When I was growing up if I bought something with a 3 speed I was looking for a 4 speed to replace it. 

Michael, I think you are right about the SHTF thing too. 
IMHO
Dennis


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## OneCrazyRat (Sep 12, 2007)

It is confusing switching back and forth especially when you drive an automatic and stomp the power break as if it was the clutch. LOL![

QUOTE=crafty2002]I am the same way tab. If I jump into some else's car to drive it some where I am constantly reaching for the floor shifter and clutch.
When I was growing up if I bought something with a 3 speed I was looking for a 4 speed to replace it. 

Michael, I think you are right about the SHTF thing too. 
IMHO
Dennis[/QUOTE]


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## crafty2002 (Aug 23, 2006)

I got rear ended and burned both of my legs and my left hand with a cup of coffee (Yep, from Mickey D's) doing that. It was an automatic in the floor and not thinking, I reached over to grab the shifter and hit the clutch, (WRONG) locked it down and before I could get rolling good again bam. The coffee just burst and coffee went every where. I was lucky. It was cold as all get out that morning and I had two pair of long john pants on so it cooled some what before it hit skin but it got my left hand pretty good. 
Damn an automatic. I hate them. 



OneCrazyRat said:


> It is confusing switching back and forth especially when you drive an automatic and stomp the power break as if it was the clutch. LOL![
> 
> QUOTE=crafty2002]I am the same way tab. If I jump into some else's car to drive it some where I am constantly reaching for the floor shifter and clutch.
> When I was growing up if I bought something with a 3 speed I was looking for a 4 speed to replace it.
> ...


[/QUOTE]


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## diamondtim (Jun 10, 2005)

This is almost like saying that those who use a gas stove will survive better than those who use electric.

BTW, I can drive stick, both "three on the tree" (grind and find) and "four on the floor" (syncro-mesh), but own automatics. I also can shoot and survive in the wilderness (Wisconsin winters).


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## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

The pickup has a stick, the car an auto. I prefer the auto for driving in town, ie city traffic, as the knees don't like to shift as easy as the hands and arms do.


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## Ed K (Oct 24, 2003)

In addition to performance and economy I used to insist on stickshifts when I had low priced used cars. That way you had the option of catching them in gear to get them started if the starting/charging/battery had problems. I used to rely on that backup system at least a few times a year. 

My wife has knee troubles and can't really work a clutch as well anymore so it's autos now


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## jnap31 (Sep 16, 2005)

Never thought about it but what you say makes sense, For the record I learned on a stick shift and drive one now.


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## cem (May 5, 2006)

I agree with the electric vs gas stove theory. When the grid goes down, gas/coverted to propane will rule.


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

diamondtim said:


> This is almost like saying that those who use a gas stove will survive better than those who use electric.
> 
> BTW, I can drive stick, both "three on the tree" (grind and find) and "four on the floor" (syncro-mesh), but own automatics. I also can shoot and survive in the wilderness (Wisconsin winters).


LOL, For a second I thought you said, shoot and drive! Sorry.
'corse I wonder why they put an electric passenger window control on the drivers side? hummmmmmm


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## Cygnet (Sep 13, 2004)

I was disappointed when I bought my truck & it only came in automatic! (extended cab silverado.) You couldn't even special order a stick!

That said, having driven off road a fair amount, the one time when an automatic is really, really nice is if you're driving a 4X4 on a very rough road. There are times when you really don't want to take a hand off the wheel to shift. Next Jeep I own will be automatic. I've BTDT with a manual Jeep and a very rough road one time too many.

-- Leva


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

Bump...

As to our discussions on the TV show "The Colony", some of the members did not know how to drive a stick shift. Or even what pedal was the 'clutch', to push in - in order to free the drivetrain!!!!


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

My first car was a 4 speed 1980 ford fairmont that had passed from each member of the family, until I got it, ten or so years later with 150,000 miles on it, and no emergency brake. My best friend taught me to drive it on a hill called "Giant's Despair"
(here is a vid of a local race they have annually)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2176940718254465530

We sarted, stopped, started stopped going up hill until I figured it out.

Manual driving is a skill I am glad I learned. My little honda civic is like a sherman tank in first or second going thru a snowdrift, and I never got stuck once in my life, or wrecked my car due to weather, only hit a deer once). I have driven through the great Pocono Ice storm http://news.webshots.com/album/556259143TwUWnC?start=48

with nary a scratch.

Manual is the way to go, although I have heard they will soon be phased out


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## dirty (Oct 14, 2005)

geez, i thought it was common knowledge that "stick shifters" are at significant advantage over "auto drivers".


first there is the mental consideration. those who drive stick shifts are use to doing things for themselves, thinking on the move, adjusting to the changing reality of the road.

the auto drivers are just deadheads. while the machine thinks for them. the auto drivers are not free thinkers and often are not capable of independent thought. they enjoy the feeling of surrendering to the machine.

then there is the physical component. stick shift drivers must use both legs equally. this means they have a the well balanced musculature, giving them a mobility advantage if they should find themselves forced out of their vehicles.

while auto drivers have the distinct disadvantage of an over developed right leg. while being burdened with an atrophied left leg. should an auto driver be forced from their vehicle. they will be reduced to hobbling around in small circles dragging their left leg. 

don't even get me started on those wusses that use power steering.


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## wyld thang (Nov 16, 2005)

I am a total stick girl. Learned to drive a stick when I was 19. First a baling-wiring ancient pickup to go throw hay out in the pasture, then my hubby to be's Rabbit. Which them became my Rabbit. Then I learned invaluable thigns driving a Pinto with bald tires on steep Seattle streets in the rain doing pick up and delivery for a business. Nothing like sliding backwards while trying to go forwards to learn clutch/throttle skills. 

Now we do have automatics, but my dirt bike has a clutch and it was nothing to pick that up of course. Now it's feathering the clutch and using it with the throttle to control application of power/traction/torque to da ground yaya.

Yeah, teaches you to listen and feel the engine and the road. Valuable stuff. I wish we had a stick something to drive, something offroad. rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!


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## gran26 (Sep 17, 2007)

tab said:


> I switch between stick and auto. Keep looking for the clutch when I am in the auto, the stick disappears too!


This happens to me too! We have a Toyota that is a stick shift;
most of the time I drive my car which is auto. Doesnt really matter to me but I dont have a lot of traffic to deal with on my usual jaunts.


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## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

A while back a tree fell down at our church. So dh, 10yo dd, and I went in on Monday evening and cut it up. There were a good two truck loads of wood, so we took one home that evening and decided that dh and dd would drop me at my 4-H advisors' meeting on Tuesday evening and go get the rest of the wood and pick me up on the way home after my meeting.

A few days later as we were driving down the road, dd innocently asked me what those parallel black marks on the road were called. I told her I called them skid marks and how they were made when a car's tires broke traction while spinning. She said, "Oh. That makes sense. I left marks like that all over the church parking lot the other day when Daddy was teaching me to drive the stick shift truck."

Imagine my horror! I would have blamed those teen hoodlums for defacing our nice parking lot, never suspecting my own little sweetie! Now I know better than to leave dh and dd alone together for too much time with nothing constructive to do. Who knows what mischief they will get up to?


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

My dear MIL drives a stick shift car. Always has. I wouldn't call her overly capable in the DIY dept or not used to easy living, just kinda cheap when it comes to buying cars


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## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

I've driven a stick maybe three times in my entire life...and only because my roommie in college had a stick shift car, and sometimes I drew the short straw and had to be the designated driver 

My parents grew up driving stick shift, but for my entire life they've had automatics. I learned to drive an automatic, and it never occurred to my parents to teach me to drive a stick shift.

Guess that means I'm zombie food.... sigh......


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## Michael Kawalek (Jun 21, 2007)

I'm surprised! How did this post get dug up after a year and a half?

Before I bought my Ford truck I went shopping at the Chevy dealership. Told them I didn't care about the color, or the interior; the only mandatory feature was that I had to have was a stick-shift.

The salesman looked at me and said "Well Sir, we can't always have what we want!". I told him my opinion about Chevy sales staff and walked out.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Put me in the pile to survive the zombie hordes. 
We own four vehicles, and have a fifth that belongs to the ranch. Both of our cars are sticks, and both of the diesel pickups. Only our '74 F250 is an automatic.

For whatever reason, driving a manual has always been more fun than an automatic. So, a basic requirement in any purchase is a manual transmission. I joke that I can drive junk happily, so long as I think it's a race car. 

My 9 year old and his 10 year old buddy have already become transmission snobs. Both of them can drive manuals, but their younger siblings aren't tall enough to run the clutch and gas at the same time, so therefore the boys are superior.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

I thought stick shift was only way to go until I had a 3rd degree sprained ankle couple years ago. I managed, but an automatic would have been welcome. 

Otherwise traditionally a manual tranny would last life of the car if you watched for leaks, replaced seals as needed, and checked gear oil level once in a while. Replacing a clutch is shade tree mechanic stuff. Rebuilding an automatic is not and in high mile cars an automatic can leave you stranded with little warning. Now even manual transmissions have come under the bean counter gaze and lot el cheapo manual trannies that are marginal for the job have been produced. And cant even get something like the old granny gear four speeds in half ton anymore. Course I am not sure you can get a standard cab on a half ton or compact truck anymore. Surely there are still people out there that care more about bed space than cab space??? And except for maybe Ranger, not seeing any truly compact pickups now, the mini compacts have all become light duty half tons....


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## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

I drove a stick for years - my little Honda Civic was a real work horse. When it finally died of old age it was literally held together with duct tape & wing nuts. That was such a sad day when it went. 

Since then we've been stuck with automatics because that's what was available 2nd hand & what we could afford. I finally got a Jeep that not only is a stick, it has roll up windows! 

My 18 yo ds didn't want to learn to drive it, but when the Chevy died he didn't have much choice. We also have a Suburban automatic that is now used for woods work & emergencies. The transmission is going & we have to drive it in 2nd gear - top speed 45 mph.


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## frankva (May 21, 2009)

RichieC said:


> While I know how to drive a stick, anyone who has to spend a lot of time driving in traffic is likely to end up wanting an automatic pretty quick.


One traffic jam on an interstate, behind a juicy accident, did it for me.



charles burns said:


> In the UK you can't drive a stick shift if you pass your test on an automatic transmission - you have to take a stick shift driving test to drive a stick shift.
> 
> I grew up stick shifting and was happy to go automatic when I got to this country. You need a hand for the coffee and/or cigarette so the choice is not so much manual or automatic but manual or coffee and cigarettes.


It can be done with manual. Heel of the shift hand. Or cup holder.

Everyone should know how. What if that 19yr old needed to transport a bleeding mother to the H?


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

The only time I needed a stick was going over the mountains when I was in CO. Automatics can shift on you going down a steep grade and you end up riding the brakes.

OTOH, if you are injured and cannot use both hands and feet to drive, you REALLY need an auto.

Is there a hybrid that really works? LOL I can do both, but usually prefer the auto, especially living in the flatlands.


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## Michael Kawalek (Jun 21, 2007)

Cyngbaeld said:


> OTOH, if you are injured and cannot use both hands and feet to drive, you REALLY need an auto.


Well, this is the central theme of this post. If you can't use both hands or both feet, then I would say that your chances of surviving some critical emergency are sharply decreased.


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

I learned to drive a 66 Chevy 1/2 ton with 3 on the tree [column]. Working the clutch is an art form indeed.

Auto's are very nice in stop & go city traffic, but if problems arise, you don't want to be in the city any way.

5 speed with cruise is great on the highway/interstate.


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## wyld thang (Nov 16, 2005)

Michael Kawalek said:


> Well, this is the central theme of this post. If you can't use both hands or both feet, then I would say that your chances of surviving some critical emergency are sharply decreased.


I know this is really bad and unsensitive of me, but that is funny.:rock:


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

Honestly, I think the logic here is flawed -- or at least the perspective is skewed.

To the OP -- you're a stick shift driver, right? 

My mother was a prepper, if you could call it that in the seventies. She was probably the most prepared person I've ever known. She kept well above a years' worth of food in her home at any given time, raised a huge garden and preserved it, made everything from scratch, sewed, knit, quilted, and was pretty much as self-sufficient as it's possible to be. She never drove a stick shift in her life -- she was a "daughter of the fifties" and "ladies" drove automatic.

My sister lives on M&M meat shops fare. She's always driven stick.

I exist in both worlds -- my little homestead provides a great deal of our diet and almost all of our mental health -- this is paradise -- but DH's work dictates that I put on my designer dresses and shoes occasionally and "hobnob" -- I can do that, too. I'm perfectly capable of living a city life -- thrived at it, and did the double-income McMansion thing and did it well. We chose this -- I currently drive an automatic (try and find a five-speed minivan) -- but can drive a stick shift. I've probably logged more hours driving stick in sixteen lane traffic than many here -- but I FAR prefer the automatic.

Accusing people who drive automatic as a rule (or exclusively) of being less attentive or less skilled drivers is silly -- taking that further and saying that they'd be less useful (or less self-sufficient) in a SHTF scenario is ridiculous. 

Bad drivers are bad drivers regardless of what kind of vehicle they're driving -- and good drivers are attentive regardless, as well.


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## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Michael Kawalek said:


> Well, this is the central theme of this post. If you can't use both hands or both feet, then I would say that your chances of surviving some critical emergency are sharply decreased.


OTOH, if you have an auto, you can drive out to get help even if you are injured. This GREATLY improves your chances of surviving.


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## NoClue (Jan 22, 2007)

I learned to drive on a stick, and then didn't drive one again for almost 30 years. My wife had a little Saturn Ion, and I was driving a Ford Escape because my job required a 4 wheel drive. Now, I only drive around town, and my wife is home with the kids and grocery shopping and trips to Grandma's house, etc. and always complaining about needing more trunk space.

So we swapped cars, and after 30 years, driving a stick came back almost instantly. I'm loving it because I only have to gas up once/month now instead of every week.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I know at this time I drive an automatic due to that's the configuration in the car I was purchasing. But I use to drive a small stick shift car. I still occasionally reach to change gears.

But, the automatic was due to having a back problem and it radiating down the clutch leg and still having to go to work. The back problem is fine now, but the car fits the requirements that I bought it for, it gets my older relatives in and out much better than most other cars that have the stick shifts.

(I still wish I had a stick shift Ford Festiva - good little car).

Angie


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

I can drive both, but all of my rigs are automatics.


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## radiofish (Mar 30, 2007)

I did not go through all of the posts - but if the starter goes out in a stick shift, one can always get the engine started by rolling the vehicle and 'popping' the clutch. You can not do that on a vehicle with an automatic transmission.

Plus in my 1967 truck and GMC, I can always rev up my engine at the stop lights to impress the college kiddies in their tricked out cars. A V-8 engine with dual exhaust and glass pack mufflers, can make an intimidating noise..

With my leg injury driving a vehicle with a clutch can be a real pain, but putting my vehicles in low 'granny gear', will get me places that my truck with an automatic transmission wont go..


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