[ConradofMontferrat]

The mysterious workings of the standard transmission is a lost art.

First car I ever drove was a Willies station wagon. Was a farm car Pop put out to pasture. Lived its life out in the fields. Must have been at least 15 of my school buddies (girls too, my sisters were good at it ) lean how to drive with that thing. Gas was cheap and after school we all had fun blasting the wind rows. I could upshift, downshift and jump a gear.

To the uniformed, jumping a gear was your basic 1st to 3rd shift, jumping 2nd. On a 4 speed, you could always do your basic 1st to 3rd, or 2nd to 4th.

My most favorite trick was synchronized shifting. You know, when you can run through gears WITHOUT the clutch. Just get your MPH in heavenly harmony with RPM and you could slide into the target gear smooth as silk.

Old guys (and a bunch of gals) know what I mean.

[AnAmericanAbroad]

My father taught me sync-shifting. Used to drive my ex-wife insane when I did that in her brand new Škoda Octavia.

Of course, everytime she stalled it coming from a stop into first, I used to look at her. :)

[Charles Martel]

My most favorite trick was synchronized shifting. You know, when you can run through gears WITHOUT the clutch. Just get your MPH in heavenly harmony with RPM and you could slide into the target gear smooth as silk.

Yep, though that's not something that every driver could master. A true heel-and-toe downshift, properly executed, is also a joy. Computerized, flappy-paddle gearboxes just aren't the same.

[higgmeister]

My most favorite trick was synchronized shifting. You know, when you can run through gears WITHOUT the clutch. Just get your MPH in heavenly harmony with RPM and you could slide into the target gear smooth as silk.

Old guys (and a bunch of gals) know what I mean.

In late '72, I got picked up hitchhiking between Louisville and Indiana by a crazy guy in a beat-up Karmann Ghia. He had lost the clutch many miles before and was crash boxing down the highway with skill and aplomb. What a site to behold. I asked him how he knew when to shift and he said it just felt right.

The thought just came to me that vehicle inspections have taken most of that kind of bomb off of the road.

[Rides_A_Red_Horse]

My most favorite trick was synchronized shifting. You know, when you can run through gears WITHOUT the clutch. Just get your MPH in heavenly harmony with RPM and you could slide into the target gear smooth as silk.

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I did that on my motorcycle without realizing I did it until afterwards. My thoughts, “wait a minute, I didn’t squeeze the clutch...”