Replies

I taught my daughter how to drive a stick shift and now that is her preference. Currently, she is looking for a new car as it seems like a good time to get a car with all the bargains out there. Something sporty, yet utile without the expensive name brand...

My daughters best friend called me a few months ago. Her fiance was looking for a car and found a Ford Fusion with a five speed at a dealer.

The car sounded OK so I told her that only about 10% of car buyers want a stick and only about 2% of them want a sedan so I suggested a lowball price because the dealer really wanted to move that car.

They took the lowball and waived all their processing fees too.

One of our sons has been driving a vintage 1990 Mazda Miata since he turned 15. My husband said if he helped fix it up, he would buy him a used car when he started driving. It's a little red convertible with stick shift. He's had it for 9 years and really loves it. Our older son never took interest in learning to drive stick and he's happy with his automatic transmission Nissan.

Over the years we've found that it's harder to find manual transmissions in American cars. It's really a shame for so many of us to lose the skill. The technology has advanced a lot, and I'm sorry not to be as proficient with the newest versions. When we travel to Europe, we find that renting a car is a whole different world. I was grateful to be with my husband last time we were in England. He was fine with the 6-speed manual combined with driving on the left. I'm not sure I'd have gotten out of the airport parking lot in one piece.