Our Cars (dream or actual)
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Random question that I wouldn’t mind feedback on:
How many of you can drive a manual transmission? Is it something that is still worth learning how to do?
My thoughts are if you can drive a manual, you can drive anything whereas if you can only drive an automatic you are limited in choices (does it still hold true?).
"I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)
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@goosehd I havent owned an automatic since I was 17. First Manual car a year later, and never looked back
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@goosehd although I drive an automatic, i drive my wife’s manual car from time to time, and always enjoy having the extra control of choosing when to change gear. Also useful when hiring cars on holiday.
I ensured that my daughters also passed their tests in manual cars. It’s a great life skill, and as you say, means they have access to a wider range of vehicles in future. -
I'm a Honda and Subaru kid at heart! This is my third WRX, and 4th Subaru. My daily, but hoping hoping to pickup a project car this year.
AE86 or an S14 (ready to try a new (old) platform) -
@goosehd A rather irritating question from a European point of view, where the stick shift is still in the majority. Its days are doomed, though. Car makers are already leaning heavily towards automatics, to have better control of emissions. And EVs don’t even have a transmission. That being said, I avoid automatics where possible.
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Dennis @goosehd, as Tody said in Europe i think it is a must for having flexibility, i have my kids learn on manual as well. As for learning to drive a manual i think it is fairly easy to get used to. I got my drivers license in the US (automatic), when back in Germany i switched to manual and learned by doing.
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Thank you for the replies and it’s great to see there are still manual drivers out there. I learned on.a manual and it’s allowed me to drive multiple vehicles including motorcycles and tractors without much effort.
My kids are still a ways away from driving, but my wife and I started discussing it after a niece got her first car (VW Jetta - Automatic). One of our cars had been a VW Jetta manual which was a blast to drive.
I didn’t know if kids today were even interested in learning how to drive manuals anymore and finding one in Canada (North America) is getting a lot harder than it used to be.
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@goosehd But they are still interested in learning how to drive? That's what I feel is changing (in the much more densely populated) Germany. Young people not having the urge to just drive off and explore the world, but rather stay at home and use public transport when there is a need to. Surely much better for the environment, but man - driving off in my mom's car to a punk rock show for the first time surely was great!
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@tody I counted the days and hours until I could get my drivers license and it never occurred to me kids still didn’t. Some of my fondest memories was filling the car full of people and driving to Washington DC’s 930 Club to see bands perform :). @Jett129 can tell you about that place.
Maybe we need to piss off the kids more to get them out of the house…
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@goosehd manuals for life. regardless of what the car will be, it is always an important life skill.
sure, dct/pdk and the like can shift and make you go fast. but I've never frowned a second while shifting a stick
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@Matt said in Our Cars (dream or actual):
Listen to this old ass bunch of surly grandpas.
That's about right
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@Twistlock Not quite, but I do actually feel that old everyday...
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@Matt try texting with 1 hand grandpa
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I had a manual in high school thru college and my 20s in NY — bought a Passat with an automatic when I moved to Austin and always lamented that decision (in more ways than one). When it was time to get another car, I bought a Crosstrek with a standard. I was pretty stoked about returning to one at first, but I've gotta say it was surprisingly shitty in the long run, but I think that has more to do with the car. A Crosstrek isn't exactly a zippy car, or at least not from a stop. First gear suuuuucked on that thing and the clutch was even more annoying. A WRX, on the other hand, would undoubtedly be much more fun with that config.
Anyway, traded it for an Outback with an automatic and have loved it. Moral of the story: the older the berry, the blander the juice.
