Has a 62 SAAB. 3 speed on column. Could keep the right arm around her, reach over the steering wheel with the left to shift, and tickle her left ****** with my right hand all at the same time.
Ah, the good old days.
I remember how I learned to drive a stick. I was standing in a muddy footing trench when the jobsite foreman came up and said “We need someone to be the jobsite gopher, make deliveries, pick up materials...do you know how to drive a stick shift?”
The first and only word out of my mouth was “yes.” Now, technically it wasn’t a lie, since I did know conceptually how to drive a stick, I’d just never actually done it. But I figured if I could get that F 150 off the construction lot and over behind the Hardee’s where I could practice a bit without the foreman seeing me, and then get to and from Kokomo Lumber in one piece, I had it made.
I made there and back, got a radio strapped to my side, and never went back to the muddy footer trench. The black guys on the concrete crew called me “easy money” as I drove around Kokomo listening to Milo Hamilton and Lou Boudreaux broadcast Cub games on the radio. Ah...the summer of 1980...
Haven’t owned an automatic trans vehicle since the 80’s and toggled between manuals prior to. My Ford pickup now will never have to worry about replacing a tranny. The transaxle is virtually worry free. Only pain with stick shifting is in stop and go snarled traffic.
oh no kidding!
I guess I am going to keep my 2003 mustang till i die.
I LOVE driving my car!!
I once drove my Brother’s Mazda diesel pickup all the way from North Georgia to the Florida panhandle with no clutch. The only real trouble was I once was forced to stop at a stop sign. I usually could shift into low and just creep up to them and then when it was clear, go ahead and accelerate.
All you had to do of course was synchronize the speed of the engine with the wheels by revving the engine a little then get to feel when the speeds matched. I did plan the trip without having to go through Atlanta or Columbus, GA.
He didn’t have the money to fix it so Daddy had me drive his pickup to my Brother’s place then I drove the Mazda home. My Brother never would have made it.
since 1981 my cars have always been manual. I’ve been planning for a Nissan 370z manual 6 speed (or equiv) in a few years, they sure better still be making manuals or I won’t be buying it.
If you’re not driving a stick, you’re not really driving. I’ve had - let’s see here - seven cars, and six were stick-shifts. I actually held out on my Saturn dealership to have them find the model / color combo I wanted in manual; I wasn’t settling for an automatic when a stick was available somewhere.
The thing with stick shifts is that its difficult to drink and drive.
They’ve been saying manuals are dead for a long time. But there’s enough of us that won’t drive automatics to keep them going, we just get to be more selective. The good news is most of the brands that don’t make manuals also don’t make cars worth buying.
I had an 86 F-250 with 460 and a Borg Warner T-19 manual. I did several things to improve performance including dual exhausts, pre 1967 valve timing gear and since the carb always gave trouble, replaced it with an Edelbrock performance carb.
I am not sure the Edelbrock gave any more horsepower but it sure was smoother running.
The only problem was the gear ratios were awful. First was so low that it ran out of RPM’s before you got any speed at all. Second was nearly as low. When you finally got it into 3rd it would really go then high was about right. It had an extremely good high end.
I would much rather have had an automatic but didn’t realize it until I had already bought it.
I’ve owned 21 cars. 9 were manuals, 11 automatics. Some were old jalopies, a few were V-8 muscle cars (one Camaro, one Mustang, both stick), one was a 4-cylinder economy car (stick shift) and some were just sensible transportation. I learned to drive on a ‘stick shift’ and still like the control of a manual transmission but unless I’m driving a performance car it isn’t all that important. Today I drive a well-equipped late model Honda Civic with a 5-speed automatic. Smooth, efficient and very practical for that particular car. The old ‘slush boxes’ are ancient history. Modern automatics are infinitely superior to the automatics of even 20 years ago. However, if a buyer prefers a manual transmission they should be available and probably will remain so, specifically in ‘economy’ and ‘performance’ vehicles. To each his own.
My father has joked that driving a stick shift has saved his car from being stolen more than once - none of the young thugs could figure it out.
I haven’t owned a stick shift car in 19 years, but I still have a craving for another. I miss shifting on turns and off the line. I guess I better get one soon.
I’ve owned about 6 or 7 MT cars and about the same AT cars. I’ve had to rebuild 4 of the AT’s, Never had any trouble with the MT’s except for the occasional clutch job, which is to be expected.
The 5 speed manual trans in my class 1 car cost 25 grand.
Albins
Driving twisty roads with the window down so I can hear that high-revving V8 wind as I blip up & down through the gears is one of life's greatest pleasures!
Give me an automatic with cruise control any day. My last manual transmission was a 1969 MGB. (I’ve got some motorcycles that are still standard shift, but all but one of the scooters are auto)
Motor trend has this list for 2011
http://www.motortrend.com/features/consumer/1101_manual_transmission_vehicles_the_ultimate_list/viewall.html
They are available!
Manuals have been disappearing for a long time ... anyone remember “three on the tree”? That was my personal favorite.