Stick or automatic?

[3manfan]

I have both. But what I get a kick out of is folks thinking that having a stick will prevent theft.

Plenty of news reports over the last several years that it has & has nipped many car jackings in the bud.

 

[Gopher]

Don't forget '3 on the tree' !

I learned to drive in a 58 GMC 3/4 ton with a straight six and a three on the tree.
I factory ordered a 1984 Chevy SWB half ton with a granny 4 speed and a posi-trac rear end. The dealer asked me why? I told him that's what I want. After it came in and he drove it and soon afterward there were four just like it sitting in the lot. He had no problem selling them.

There are almost no manuals left. Go to https://www.cargurus.com and do a search for manual transmissions. Autos and computers get better mileage than a manual now plus helping with emissions.

 

[Kevin]

My daughter's teacher in school told her class they need to learn to drive a manual car in case they are ever at a party where the driver's have been drinking and the only car they can drive home is a stick shift.

We've had both kinds but unfortunately it's hard to buy a manual car these days, BUT! We just ordered a two door manual Jeep Wrangler. Should be here in October or November!!

 

[Fox Mike]

The first auto that either of us had ever purchased was our 2011 Hyundai Sonata. We had 'inherited' a Ford Contour (piece of crap) but up until then every car we had owned was a stick.

 

[RC44Mag]

Most of my ‘fun’ cars have been stick over the years but in 06 I bought a new Corvette. Prior to that I tore up my left knee on the job and a stick was out of the question then so I got the automatic A6 C6. It served well for years though I missed the manual. i Installed a supercharger about 8 years ago along with other supporting goodies which altogether added a bunch of extra ponies to the car. Three years ago the A6 croaked due to the extra hp and the only place that can trusted to build these specific trans are in Texas. I had to have it taken out at my Vette shop in NY, ship gearbox to Texas, rebuild, ship back reinstall with an added trans cooler and new Dewitts radiator, and special tune to keep temps down and parts together at the cost of about 10k all in.

Worked great for those 3 years but a couple months ago the trans destroyed itself again. The car is now at same shop in NY and the trans is on its way to Tx again for another rebuild but this time beefed up even more. It’s going to cost another big bag of hundreds to get back on the road. The A6 doesn’t doesnt compare to the strength of the M6 trans in the C6 and I’m really pissed I didn’t get the stick car. All this cash going into this is seriously taking away from my gun sport purchases( and other things) and Im not happy about it. Just venting more then anything but in most cases manual are stronger then autos so if that helps anyone keep more cash in their pockets that would be good

 

[RC44Mag]

Do you actually  know anyone that believes that? Although I've read of carjackings or thefts being foiled by the inability to operate a manual transmission, I don't know of any personally. I've always taken that as a joke.

I’ve seen more then one vid of carjackings where the crud’s couldn’t drive stick and ended up stalling and running on foot.

 

[Dave P.]

Learned to drive in a Chevy pickup three speed on the column.
Moved up to a 1966 Chevy 5-6 yard dump truck 4 speed with a hi-lo, only
1st and reverse had synchros, also manual steering and brakes. Lot of fun steering
out of a pit fully loaded if memory is right 28,000 pounds. Later we got a 5 speed full synchro
with and two speed ranges and...and power steering!
Plenty of laps in formula fords with the Hewland MK9 dog clutch 4 speeds. Clutch out of the pits
and loafing along, no clutch upshifts while racing just a momentary off throttle to unload the box.
Some corners got clutch downshifting, some just a hesitation in neutral to rev match the gears.
The Skippy school my wife took wanted the old classic double clutch and blip on the downshifts.
Which was OK, the whole school was sort of a "paint by numbers" type of deal.
She still does that if she drives my Z28 or 928, I don't complain, it is easier on the synchronizers
and the 928 slides into gear with less effort which isn't all bad because they have kinda wimpy shift linkages.
I think in the Camaro she just likes the noise.
My Jeep Wrangler is an auto, like it better for daily driving and the kind of off road stuff I do. Had and older YJ
with a 5 speed.
I remember when we went to Jamaica renting something with right hand drive and the shift lever was a shaft
sticking out of the dash that you rotated and pushed in and out for the different gears....gotta google and
figure out what it was?
Motorcycles have been all over the place..125cc moto crossers where you're shifting all the time to open class
450-500cc where on some tracks you could mostly tractor around in 2 or 3 gears.

 

[Roger Kipwell]

I haven't had a stick since my 94 Accord died in 2013. Now I have an auto. I don't really like it but it is what it is.

 

[weaselmeatgravy]

I've probably had about equal numbers of each but manuals are becoming harder to find and all we have now are autos.

Learned to drive in my dad's 1963 Falcon with 3 on the tree and the sticks I've had since were:

1962 Falcon, 3/tree
1966 Mustang, 3/floor (but started out as an auto)
1966 Chevelle SS, 4/floor
1966 GTO, 4/floor
1967 Barracuda, 4/floor
1969 Landcruiser, 3/tree
1978 Scout #1, 4/floor
1978 Scout #2, 4/floor
1993 Saab 900, 5/floor

Autos I've had were: 1969 Mustang, 1969 Buick Wildcat, 1957 Dodge Royal (pushbutton!), 1980 Audi 5000, 1985 T-Bird, 1991 Dakota, 2004 Silverado
Current vehicles are: 2013 Subaru, 2017 Silverado, and my wife has a 2011 Rav4

Oh, and ex-wife #1 had a 1975 Monte Carlo (auto), and a 1982 Honda Accord (I think it was a stick), and ex-wife #2 had a 198? S10 Blazer (stick), and a 1992 Explorer (stick).

I'm probably forgetting a few. Vehicles, not wives.

 

[Colonialgirl]

I learned to drive a stick shift BEFORE I was 16, then my Dad had 1956 Ford STICK SHIFT (always his favorite trans) and my Mom had an older Studebaker stick shift, In driver training in High school at 16 the school had two autos, One was a 1956 Chevy STICK SHIFT and the other was a 1957 Ford Auto Shift. My instructor INSISTED all his classes learn on the Stick Shift Chevy because as he said, "ANY IDIOT CAN DRIVE AN AUTOMATIC". My older Fords 49, 50, 53 were stick shifts. My favorite was my 1969 Alfa Romeo with 5 on the floor that I drove from 1970 until I had to sell it in 1979.Second family auto was always automatic cause my spouse couldn't drive a stick shift.
Any more I go automatic because you just cant find stick shifts on the used auto market.

 

[BuckRimfire]

As an aside a big car magazine writer wrote an article on the new Ford Bronco. He said they did something NEW that no other manufacturer had ever done. They put a Crawl gear in that -get this lol- you don't pull out in - it's just for rock crawling! Guess he never drove an old pickup. We all pulled out in the 2nd gear in the old days

Or 3rd. I learned to drive in a 1976 Jeep Cherokee "4 speed." With just a little extra attention, it would get going OK on a flat road in 3rd and was pretty quiet in that gear up to 40 or 45 mph, so sometimes I would drive around town using only 3rd gear just as a game.

Not the best thing for the clutch, but that wasn't the most abusive driving I did so probably didn't make much difference.

 

[Paul B]

I've alway s preferred a stick shift. Just about every car or truck I've owned had a stick shift until recently. When I sold my Suzuki Samurai to my stepson's girl friend I got a Toyota "Taco" 4 door 4x4 and an extremely good price through y stepson who worked for a car dealer. Damn thing was an automatic and frankly, If I were to base my opinion on Toyota's quality and customer service, it would be a double thumbs down. Damn think like to nickel and dime me to death. Traded it off on a 2015 F150 that I got from my stepson as he worked fo a Ford dealership and got a $50,000+ truck for $42,000. That's when I learned Ford dropped the stick shift on their F150 4x4s back in 2010. Torqued my jaws tight. That truck got totaled in a wreck and I replaced it with a 2019 F150 4x4. I really don't know why as I don't desert rat much any more due to health issued but I sure do miss controling when I wanted a shift done. The 2019 has P, R, N, D and M. Supposedly you can use M to manually shift the thing but the readout that tells you which of the 10 gears you're in is so small and so poorly lit up that it's almost impossible to see. It's a nice truck but it's really more of a boulevard runner than a serious truck. So much for a better idea.
Paul B.

 

[Paladin]

I've always loved driving stick shifts since learning to drive with my brother's 1951 Ford. A six-banger with three on the tree.

Being a manager for Ford Motor Company, I've had over 60 new company cars over the years. After enjoying the Lincoln Town Cars, Continentals and Marks, I gravitated toward the manual shift models. The other managers thought I was crazy for not ordering the luxury cars. But I loved having the latest and greatest manual shift speed demon. My son loved them too.

The most fun to drive was the Mercury, German import, Merkur XR4TI. It was a four-cylinder turbo with a 5-speed. I used to take it out in the evening to drive just for the sheer joy of it.

My second favorite was a Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. Another 4-cylinder turbo with a 5-speed. A ton of fun to drive.

I have a 1965 Mustang with a 289 Hi-Po and a 4-speed to satisfy my current need for speed.

 

[Jeepnik]

What no love for the VW automatic stick shift?

 

[Danjet500]

I have four vehicles, two stick and two auto. My 2014 Mustang and my Cobra replica are stick. My wife drives the other two.

 

[black1970]

The military had to go to automatic transmissions because of women and those other people.

 

[WendyZXZ]

Now that I'm OLD and lazy.........it's AUTOMATIC for me....!!

That is how I am also. I learned on standard and have had them, but laziness does factor in when getting older.

 

[RC44Mag]

I've always loved driving stick shifts since learning to drive with my brother's 1951 Ford. A six-banger with three on the tree.

Being a manager for Ford Motor Company, I've had over 60 new company cars over the years. After enjoying the Lincoln Town Cars, Continentals and Marks, I gravitated toward the manual shift models. The other managers thought I was crazy for not ordering the luxury cars. But I loved having the latest and greatest manual shift speed demon. My son loved them too.

The most fun to drive was the Mercury, German import, Merkur XR4TI. It was a four-cylinder turbo with a 5-speed. I used to take it out in the evening to drive just for the sheer joy of it.

My second favorite was a Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. Another 4-cylinder turbo with a 5-speed. A ton of fun to drive.

I have a 1965 Mustang with a 289 Hi-Po and a 4-speed to satisfy my current need for speed.

fastback, vert or coupe? Pics would be nice.

 

[Hvymax]

I still have my first car. A 1979 Jeep 140,000 miles on the original clutch, still have my second vehicle a 1994 Ram with a Cummins turbo diesel 180,000 on the original clutch.

I’ve had a dozen motorcycles never put a clutch in any of them either.

I’m not saying I enjoy a standard, but at least I’m good at driving them. Trouble is no one in my family can drive them.

You obviously don't hang around with people who get stuck halfway up the body in mud or go through 3 sets of rear tires for every front. Wow I can't imagine. I use a holesaw on the firewall so I can get to the top 2 bolts. Not to mention 140,000 miles is 5-6 years max!!!

 

[Mike J]

I haven't owned a stick shift car in years. When I was about 19 I had a little '74 Toyota Corolla. Fun car. It had a 5 speed. I didn't know how to drive a stick when I bought it. You learn fast when that is your only transportation.
Years later I had a couple of Jap bikes. I haven't driven a manual in a while but I'm pretty sure it would come back quickly. It might just take a minute or two to get the feeling of what I'm doing.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

I have 2 Vetts both are 6 speed. IMHO ALL Vetts should be Convertibles and Std,Trans. Yea they are a pain in heavy traffic
OH well.
In the 50s every kid wanted a Std. My first car was a 53 Ford Victoria in 1959 and unfortunately since it was a high end Ford it was an auto. The first new car we bought was a 64 Ford Galaxy 500 with a 3 speed, couldn't afford an auto that wifie wanted. Had a 68 Chevy PU with a 3 speed.
When the 4 speeds came out it just couldn't get any better. Sorry to say I couldn't afford any.

 

[vito]

In the summer of 2021 I bought a new Mini Cooper convertible for my wife. It is a 2022 model we ordered from the factory. The cost was the same for a 6 speed manual or an automatic, and she chose to get the manual. Fun little car to drive. And all of my now grown kids, who basically learned to drive on one of the Suburbans with auto trans that we had in those days, also learned to drive a manual because one of our cars was always manual. All of them now are glad that they learned to drive a manual, especially my youngest daughter whose husband has a beautiful 2000 Dodge Viper (that looks brand new) that she takes out once in awhile.

 

[trebor44]

Prefer a stick but 'arthuritis' dictates auto!

 

[harley08]

My first car was a 69 Camaro with a stick, when I got married,
my wife wanted a sports car we went to a used car dealer they had a Nova SS 4 speed I taught her how to drive it home in the parking lot.

 

[Dave Schwaab]

Now that I'm OLD and lazy.........it's AUTOMATIC for me....!!

THAT'S exactly why I still enjoy the chance to drive a stick!

My first cars where all stick-shift sports cars. They were an absolute blast to drive around South Jersey roads. I still want to enjoy the occasional jaunt through the countryside with the top down the the wind blowing over my, now hairless, head!

An automatic is fine to run out and grab a few groceries, but a stick-shift, ah, that restores the feeling of life to your soul!

 

[dreamer]

1st stick shift for me was 861 Ford
After that in no particular order
3 on tree, 4 speed/granny low
4 with 2/rear, 5 with 2/rear
5 with 4 aux, 7 speed
9 spd, 10 spd, 13 spd, 18 spd
Then to cars 3 on tree
3 on floor, 4 spd M21, 4 spd M22
4 spd Saginaw, 6 spd behind 427 zo6
Now all slush boxes

 

[moparclan]

I live in a rural area so I enjoy stick transmissions, my 56 Ford F100, 85 Dodge Ram and 2013 Ford Focus are all stick. My wife's Chrysler Sebring is the only automatic, just sold the motorhome and it was auto. My 56 has 274,000 miles and 85 Ram has 210,000 on original clutches. The 56 just got a posi rear-end last year but the rest of the drive train is original.
I do enjoy the auto in heavy Phoenix traffic though.

 

[Jack Ryan]

I get a kick out of people who think driving a manual transmission is some big deal accomplishment.

 

[Richbaker]

I've always loved driving stick shifts since learning to drive with my brother's 1951 Ford. A six-banger with three on the tree.

Being a manager for Ford Motor Company, I've had over 60 new company cars over the years. After enjoying the Lincoln Town Cars, Continentals and Marks, I gravitated toward the manual shift models. The other managers thought I was crazy for not ordering the luxury cars. But I loved having the latest and greatest manual shift speed demon. My son loved them too.

The most fun to drive was the Mercury, German import, Merkur XR4TI. It was a four-cylinder turbo with a 5-speed. I used to take it out in the evening to drive just for the sheer joy of it.

My second favorite was a Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. Another 4-cylinder turbo with a 5-speed. A ton of fun to drive.

I have a 1965 Mustang with a 289 Hi-Po and a 4-speed to satisfy my current need for speed.

I have an 87 XRATTY in my backyard, same color, no sunroof... 5 spd. Needs some work. Lots of fun to drive, handles like a go cart, mine has the good rack and pinion, quick steering.

 

[Richbaker]

What no love for the VW automatic stick shift?

There was an abortion that should have happened. I worked on a couple of those, line tech at a VW dealer...