OT: Talking Cars Tuesday (On a Wednesday again)

Submitted by JeepinBen on

I didn't want to clutter the board yesterday after the Used Car Advice thread was posted. We need room to discuss every tweet!

That said, keeping it simple this week while acknowledging the purists:

Can you drive a standard? What did you learn on? Do you own one now?

Simps

July 15th, 2015 at 10:43 AM ^

Yep. Learned on a old Chevette, currently driving a '13 Wrangler with the 6 speed. I get really antsy driving an automatic. Now I need to teach my fiance to drive it, in case of zombie apocalypse. 

JeepinBen

July 15th, 2015 at 10:48 AM ^

The (now) wife tooled around in a parking lot in my '98 wrangler in college and didn't stall, but that was about 7 years ago. She hasn't tried 3 pedals since. She claims that she'll learn on the GTI "when she has free time" but she's not particularly excited to try to learn again.

Simps

July 15th, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^

Was she pretty nervous about driving a stick? I can't seem to get my lady to understand that she isn't going to hurt much with a couple of poor shifts. She seems to think she will break my Jeep. So I may have to wait until we are back in Michigan, get her out there driving the farm trucks that are geared so low that it requires no gas to start creeping upon letting off the clutch. 

JeepinBen

July 15th, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^

She wasn't worried about damaging the Jeep, but in my newer and nicer cars that's been one excuse. "I don't want to hurt/break your car". Putting on my engineering hat I've explained that the car won't let you hurt it. It will turn off. (Not quite true, someone could damage it by slipping the hell out of the clutch, but I wouldn't let her do that. Nothing she does on purpose would damage the car). Either it will stall out or she'll grind a synchro - which does no damage.

SHub'68

July 15th, 2015 at 12:17 PM ^

My dad taught me how to drive stick on a deserted dirt road when I was 14.  Was incredibly easy to learn on that Chevette.  Have had several over the years and hate that I don't right now.  For me, nothing beats rear-wheel drive and three pedals.  My next vehicle is likely to be the ATS Coupe - with a manual.

mGrowOld

July 15th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^

I learned how to actually drive a stick with my Ventura.  I first drove a stick a few years earlier when my late father let me take his 1962 International Travelall out for a sping at his hunting lodge outside of Alpena.  That baby DID have a "three on the tree" so technically that was my first experience with a stick

JeepinBen

July 15th, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^

Older sister let me try out her Mazda 626 when I was 13. Got it going in first, and it made the most awful noise I had ever heard when I tried to shift into 2nd (didn't make it all the way into 2nd. Those synchros sounded like hell). So that was that experience.

My dad also let me try to park the Passat from our steep driveway at 13. After rolling back and stalling it twice I asked what I was doing wrong. He told 13-year-old-me, who was quite the Need For Speed player on my PS1 to "give it some gas". I burned rubber in the driveway, turned the car off and walked inside while he laughed. I figured it out a couple years later.

rockediny

July 15th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^

No, I want to learn but I don't have a standard vehicle or the time to learn. Btw, could someone give me tips on keeping my black vehicle's paint looking good? I bought it used about a month ago and the dealer must've covered some scratches because after one wash, those scratches are showing. I'm planning fixing a couple of them this weekend with 3M's scratch removing kit found here:

http://www.amazon.com/3M-39071-Scratch-Removal-System/dp/B003NS5NK8

I also bought some Ultimate Compound, polish and wax. I know to polish before waxing but not sure where the compound fits in. I'm gonna use a Black & Decker random orbit waxer/polisher to do it. Any opinions are welcome.

BornInA2

July 15th, 2015 at 10:53 AM ^

Yes. Two of five cars in the stable are manuals: My Sky Redline and wifey's 59 Sprite.

I learned on a WWII army surplus Willys with no synchros, and then more on the late 70s Econoline delivery van at Prisms II furnitute in A2 (it had a three on the tree).

There is a connectedness that comes with driving a standard transmission car that is fading away in this era of 8 speed automatics and paddle-shifters. Driving is more like a video game than an art form now.

JeepinBen

July 15th, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^

Many of the old reasons are gone. Automatics are now faster, fuel economy is at least comparable (don't get me started on the EPA cycle for manuals) and downshifting is easily available in most automatics. Now those of us who #SaveTheManuals do it because we like to drive them.

SHub'68

July 15th, 2015 at 12:27 PM ^

Plus one on the connectedness.  The more isolated we are from driving, the less we are actually driving.  There's something about clutch and shift that keeps you 100x more aware of what's going on - not just with the car but everything else.  I once had someone ask me the opposite - isn't having to shift the car yourself a distraction?  I said it only distracts people from trying to use their cell-phones and eat their McBurgers.

bringthewood

July 15th, 2015 at 2:48 PM ^

Even more fun with a dual rear end where you have a hi and low for each gear. I remember driving a truck with a level on the shifter that I believe controlled the rear end. So you had a 1-4 and a hi and low for each gear.

I just sold my 2005 Mini Cooper S becasue my wife was uncomfortable with a stick and we needed another car for the kids.

At one point I was single with 3 manual shift cars and got married had kids and now have none. Is the '59 Sprite a bugeye/frogeye Sprite?

LSAClassOf2000

July 15th, 2015 at 10:53 AM ^

My father drove standard shift cars almost exclusively for a long time, so I got a handle on the basics growing up and then learned in earnest with my first car, which was a 1991 Lumina Z34 V6 (the 3.4 liter), which had the 5-speed manual and I think it might have been the only Lumina to have such a thing available. Now, I drive a 2015 Jeep Cherokee which has an automatic in it.

Hail-Storm

July 15th, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^

Learned on my parents Rodeo and pontiac Lemans. Currently own a 6 speed manual MazdaSpeed 3.

Mentioned this in yesterdays car talk, but if you are learning to drive a stick, this is my suggestion.

- Set your revs at 3000 with your right foot

- Lift off the clutch slowly and find the friction point.

- Slowly lift through the friction point while maintaining your right pedal position

- Vehicle will move smoothly forward

- Push clutch in and stop vehicle

- Repeat

After 1st gear, sticks are easy. I've tought my wife and friend this way, and neither stalled out. I think trying to learn both feet at same time makes it harder than it needs to be.  Clutches are much better than they used to be also. 

JeepinBen

July 15th, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^

Speed3? How about that torque steer?

In terms of learning, I agree that if you can separate it into learning one pedal it makes life a lot easier. That's where the 98 Jeep was so great, it could get rolling in first or reverse with no gas pedal input. I used to be able to do it pretty smoothly even. It was a great way to learn the clutch. Once rolling you could shift into 2nd and keep it moving.

Hail-Storm

July 15th, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^

Torque is limited in first and second.

I usually feel it on On-ramps when I mash it in 3rd, You get an initial jerk in the steering wheel, and that's it. I don't notice it, because I'm used to it, but if you aren't, it could definitly be a suprise.

I love the car, as its fast, handles well, and with the hatch, can hold a suprising amount of stuff. My all seasons work for the most part, but I have Blizzaks (worn out now) that really made it go in the snow.  

JeepinBen

July 15th, 2015 at 11:27 AM ^

A good friend had a Speed3, his only complaint was the gas mileage, which was mainly bad because he couldn't lighten his foot. I'm excited to see what the next Speed3 packs, i would have liked to have had it to compare when I was shopping for the GTI. The only other thing I drove was the Focus ST, which might have been a bit faster at 10/10ths, but the seats were poor compared to the GTI, my supplier pricing made the GTI cheaper, and the GTI seemed to have more useable/every day torque.

Hail-Storm

July 15th, 2015 at 12:22 PM ^

but had bad experience with reliability with my wifes VW and my late 80s VW.  The VW had a lot of electrical issues, as well as replacement of front bearings, water pumps, O2 sensors.  Working on the New VWs was a huge pain, so all of these repair costs were high. My parents have two Jettas that didn't have a lot of issues with. From everything I've read, the GTI is the best of the bunch as a daily driver.  I like the way my first Gen Speed 3 looks a lot, but am not a big fan of the last few gens.  I like the way the GTI looks better now a days, so I think you did well. 

74polSKA

July 15th, 2015 at 11:09 AM ^

Yes. I learned clutch feel from riding motorcycles and learned to apply it to driving in my wife's (then girlfriend) 1984 ? Datsun/Nissan Stanza Wagon. She was embarrassed by that car but I thought it was kind of cool that she could handle a stick (insert joke here, TWSS). I have never owned a standard personally.

Michigan Eaglet

July 15th, 2015 at 11:09 AM ^

I learned on a Z06 which probably wasn't the best idea, but that was years ago I've never owned a manual so I'm really out of practice. It's on my list of things to re-learn once I have the money to get a decent one or buy a crappy one on craiglist and then resell it after I feel adequate about it.

Hail-Storm

July 15th, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^

and had a chance to drive the Mustang GT500 as long as she knew how to drive a stick. I made sure that weekend she would learn so that she would get a chance to drive it. She learned and got to drive it. Sometimes powerful cars are actually easier to start in 2nd gear. 

readerws6

July 15th, 2015 at 11:11 AM ^

I learned on a 1977 Trans am with a 6.6L and Muncie 4 speed, that I bought for way too much when stationed in Hawaii in the Army. I like that style car so after junking that one I later bought a 78 WS6 off of eBay while in Iraq, that I still own today.

Stuck in Ohio

July 15th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^

My dad took me to an empty school parking lot and taught me how to drive a standard in his 1974 Volvo 144. I currently own a vehicle that has a 4 speed manual transmission. It's a 1974 Triumph TR6. I love the feel of how it shifts from gear to gear unlike todays modern standard transmissions that feel very rubbery moving the stick through the gears.