I learned how to drive 5 speed tonight!!

trouts mom

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I am so excited!!


Now I can shop for all cars and not just automatics!! I am so thrilled because I couldn't find any automatics in town..

Now I can race my car


Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
 

theimp98

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lol that is cool. good job!!!

i remember my sister broke down crying trying to teach her to drive stick shift(why can;t we have a car like normal people)

i have never liked auto's but many places now charge you extra for stick shift.
 

swampwitch

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Wow, you are a fast learner! Hooray for you! Standards are a lot more fun to drive.

When my husband was learning, I made him a little sign (on a wooden stick) that said,

LEARNING
TO DRIVE
STANDARD

and on the other side

THANK YOU
FOR PATIENCE

When he'd get stalled in traffic, he'd stick the sign out the window and people would laugh instead of getting angry.

BTW, never learn to drive in Boston, of all places!
 
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trouts mom

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

Wow, you are a fast learner! Hooray for you! Standards are a lot more fun to drive.

When my husband was learning, I made him a little sign (on a wooden stick) that said,

LEARNING
TO DRIVE
STANDARD

and on the other side

THANK YOU
FOR PATIENCE

When he'd get stalled in traffic, he'd stick the sign out the window and people would laugh instead of getting angry.

BTW, never learn to drive in Boston, of all places!
It actually felt very natural to me..On the way home from my friends place, I was pretending that my car was standard
Its way more fun. I learned in like 20 minutes..and only stalled it maybe 3 times. It was way easier than I thought
 

natalie_ca

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Originally Posted by Trouts mom

It actually felt very natural to me..On the way home from my friends place, I was pretending that my car was standard
Its way more fun. I learned in like 20 minutes..and only stalled it maybe 3 times. It was way easier than I thought
It's pretty easy to learn. Some years back a friend of mine traded cars with her cousin for a day because he needed a truck. We had plans to go shopping and run errands. She called me and was totally freaked when she went to his car to find it was a standard. She didn't know how to drive one! LOL I gave her instructions over the phone. She managed to make it to my house and I took over from there. Now she drives a semi truck!
 

catsrnmom

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My first 3 cars were standards, and I just taught my son how to drive a standard on his car...I love them. They are so much fun!! Happy car hunting.
 

berylayn

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I actually just traded my manual car in. My first two cars were stick and I LOVED it. I love being in that minority that could drive stick. But driving the stick in Washington DC traffic everyday day to and from work was getting on my nerves so now I drive an automatic.
 

neetanddave

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Now you'll really be dangerous Nat..... be careful racing, I'd hate for your insurance to have to go up....
 

katachtig

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I have an automatic because the car I decided on has a clutch I don't like, but I miss it.

I remember when I learned to drive a manual, I had an issue with downshifting, so I didn't slow down as much as I should have. Gave dad some white knuckle moments in the parking lot.
 

KitEKats4Eva!

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That's great! Now you'll be able to drive anything that comes your way!

Is it not the norm to learn on a manual in the US? I'm just curious - I learnt on a manual and have never owned an automatic, although sometimes they're nice to drive.

You're right though, manuals are much more fun! Makes you feel like you're actually doing something
 

katachtig

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Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva!

That's great! Now you'll be able to drive anything that comes your way!

Is it not the norm to learn on a manual in the US? I'm just curious - I learnt on a manual and have never owned an automatic, although sometimes they're nice to drive.

You're right though, manuals are much more fun! Makes you feel like you're actually doing something
The US tends to lean more towards automatics. In fact, it is harder to find manuals except on the high performance cars.l
 

catsarebetter

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I *love* standards. I'm on board with the "not going to drive one in DC traffic" though. So not happening.. But, we have an automatic anyway.. my sister is dyslexic and god knows, I keep offering to try to teach her, but I don't know that she'll ever be able to get it if we try. I will, however, buy my own standard sometime soon.

Luv em.
 

bella713

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That's great Nat...I drove one once it went pretty good


My car has a thing where I can shift gears manually but there is no clutch...every once in a while I do it like that for fun
 

KitEKats4Eva!

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I think it probably makes sense to have predominantly automatics in the States. The traffic there is not quite the sort where you'd want to be gearing up and gearing down every few seconds!

My brother owns an automatic because he does a lot of driving in the city, and constantly changing gears is a pain. Dad owns one too because, well, he's lazy!
They do use more fuel but it's a nice smooth ride. I like using one every now and again but I don't think I'd ever buy one. I like to manually accelerate through the gears - feels more powerful
 

babyharley

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John taught me last summer, but I've totally forgotten how! I think they are so fun... his Neon is a stick, and I'm hoping he'll teach me again when its fixed!

Yay for you learning so quickly!
 
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trouts mom

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Okay, I am kinda freaked out now about driving a stick..I remembered last night as I was falling asleep that a girl from my high school got hit by a semi because she turned in front of it and stalled her car..She was killed.

Am I freaked out for no reason? Now I am having second thoughts about owning a standard...:censor::censor::censor::censor:.
 
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