A tip of the hat to any guy that ever taught his significant other to drive a manual transmission.

I knew a girl who could drive stick, but insisted when slowing on the highway you had to shift into 2nd at 70mph. I told her not to do that. I drove her car once, and for some reason 2nd gear didn't work.

I knew, after getting through the process of teaching my girlfriend to drive a manual, that the relationship would have a fighting chance for success, and we've been married 30+ years as a consequence.

Maybe I should make sell "Our relationship survived teaching my SO to drive a stick" t-shirts :)

I'm not saying she knows how. Just that we got through it. :)

So you're saying you wouldn't try to drink a hot cup of coffee when she drives a manual? :)

[image deleted]

:)

:)

Where I grew up, it was the opposite... My dad drove auto and my mom drove standard. Does that mean my mom is more manly than my dad? O.o

It can go that way too :)

I guess this is mostly a US thing, since (in the EU at least) nearly everyone originally learns to drive with a manual transmission because you're not allowed to drive stick if you got your license with an automatic transmission. I think that's a good law. :)

Our three kids were not allowed to drive our one car with an automatic until they had demonstrated their ability to drive a stickshift first. And this was in the Sierra, so hills were part of the deal.

Yeah, that sounds sensible to me. It really isn't that difficult, so why wouldn't you learn it "properly" to begin with? :)

Seems a little micro-managed to me, but driving in Europe is different from driving here in a lot of ways.

What do you mean micro-managed? Everyone just gets their full license (using a stick), with which they can then drive all types of transmission. It seems ridiculous to me to learn to drive with an automatic transmission anyway, at least as long as stick-shifted cars exist. It really isn't all that difficult and it means you know how to drive any car in production.

Looking it up I found out it's not just in Europe, by the way, it seems to be this way in most places.

Personally I think its a good driving skill to possess, but If I never intended to drive a manual why do I need to know? Or learn when I'm ready to own such a car, as I did when I bought my 1st car? I know this seems ordinary to you as it is part of what you grew up with, which is why it seems extraordinary to me.

I don't know, I still think it's the obviously better choice to learn to drive with a manual instead of restricting yourself with an automatic. Especially since learning stuff becomes more difficult with age, and you can never know what situations you might find yourself in or what you might want to do at some point in your life (even something as silly as a drunk friend needing a ride home in their car).

Your last statement was a great argument for. I haven't had a drink in 15 years and don't put myself in that position but I do see the logic and with that I mind I think I will make sure my daughter (now driving age) learns!

Yeah I actually don't drink either, but I know it happens. :) In any case, I hope your daughter enjoys driving, picks it up well and always stays safe on the road. I don't know the prevalent attitude towards manual transmission among US teens though, she might curse the person who put you up to this. :P Oh well, like I said: it's not all that difficult. Don't know how age comes into play though. In Belgium you can only get a license at 18, but I assume all motor skills are fully developed well before the age of 16. :)

Its 16 here in the states. I was 20 when I bought my first new car and it had a manual. The salesman taught me in about 15 minutes how to drive it on the back lot. On the way home I had to face every manual driver's nightmare, a stop sign at the top of a steep hill.

I know it's supposedly a dreaded situation, but I've never had a problem with that. Though I have to admit the first really steep hill I can remember coming across was when I already had several months of experience, and it was with a diesel car. I imagine it's a lot tougher when you've only had a 15-minute crash course (and perhaps driving a petrol car?) :P

Yes, and this particular hill still made me cuss it many years later. It was even a nightmare for experienced drivers.

If you'll pardon the pun.

LMAO! ! why my old 94 pickup is off limits !

I taught my 1st wife to drive a stick... that poor truck!

Our daughter learned to drive stick in a 1971 VW Beetle. She took it in to get new tires. Nobody there knew how to shift it. So she had to drive it onto the lift for them. She was 17.

That's crazy!

I thought they liked to sit in the middle. To get the feel of the shifter

DUDE!!!! I SO FEEL YOU ON THAT!!!!! DONT EVEN ASK ME TO DRIVE MY RIDE...LIKE EVER WOMAN!!!!!!...or man...

lol