[Serttyfd]

Hey everyone!!!
I appreciate all of the tips and comments, and I finally found someone to help me learn how to shift. I will start practicing tomorrow, so wish me luck!!!

[chuecafressds]

Quote, originally posted by MitzXJ220 »Over here if you pass your test in an automatic, you can't drive a manual unless you take the test in a manual again.
no such rule here - which is part of the reason, and the other is basically what soul man said - most people just don't have manuals, and teens mostly learn on whatever their parents drive

[Repwailia]

In Australia if you get your licence with an automatic, and you wanna drive a manual, you take the test again in a manual car. Which I think is fair enough because anyone with some common sence can drive an automatic, you need a little bit more brains to drive a manual.

[genna]

Quote, originally posted by syclone » teens mostly learn on whatever their parents drive
LOL, can't imagine myself learning how to drive in my dad's Jaguar Sovereign. He bought me and my brother a knackered Fiesta 1.6 S to learn on, until it got stolen and replaced with a Rover 214Si 16V.
My mum actually made my dad buy a manual car last time (even though he had two autos before), so that we wouldn't become lazy driving an automatic.

[DariushPetresku]

My Dad drives a 2005 camry LE and its automatic. In my opinion, automatic is more of a smoother ride than manual and you wont be distracted to keep shiofting every time you move and stop. i sat in my cousins Audi A4 before with his manual transmisssion and it doesnt seem too smooth. Every time she shifts, the car lunges forwards and it kinda feels wierd. manual transmission is harder to control with because you need to keep shifting and it might not be that safe cause some people look at the themselves shifting and they dont keep their eyes on the road.
But shifting will be easy after youlearn it and get used to it. Good Luck!!

[QiuCIOdO]

My old truck that i still drive some times [1988 Toyota 4Runner] was a stick, i learned how to first drive on a stick. I must say even though a stick gives you power but an automatic gives you less to think about.
Good luck with it though, it's a little frusterating at first, but after probably less than a day, if your a youngin, you will catch on. Learn it right the first time, coming from someone who has ruined 2 clutches that were perfectly good by not pushing down on the clutch or something like that. But once again good luck to ya mate hope ya burn some tread in that mustang.
Cheers.

[chuecafressds]

Quote, originally posted by mercedes007 »Every time she shifts, the car lunges forwards and it kinda feels wierd.
she either hasn't practiced enough to learn how to shift smoothly or just doesn't care... most people i know do the same thing simply because they cant be bother to make balanced shifts all the time
Quote, originally posted by mercedes007 »manual transmission is harder to control with because you need to keep shifting
again, not if you take the time to learn how to drive one properly. actually, being in the right spot in the powerband can make a car easier to control imo. also, if you what speeds and rev ranges you can skip gears (i shift 2-4 and 4-2 quite a bit) and what kinds of corners you can downshift before entering, you really rarely need to be shifting while making any major movements with the wheel.
Quote, originally posted by mercedes007 »and it might not be that safe cause some people look at the themselves shifting and they dont keep their eyes on the road.
anyone who has to look at the shifter should not be on public roads
that said, i realize that for some people, driving a manual can be a distraction that they dont need. heck, i stall at a red light probably once every month or two just because im not paying enough attention in traffic. like others said, automatics these days are very good - but i stick with manuals because excess gadgetry scares me and my last automatic was a nightmare - replaced at 30,000 miles, by 100,000 it was slipping constantly, and at 120,000 it was about to need major work when other things started to go too and i got rid of it.
my advice, like that of many others here would be to find someone who will let you learn on a more forgiving manual. i drove a C5 corvette manual once and made a fool of myself because it was way trickier than my old softie lexus (does lexus even make anything with a manual anymore? otherwise i might have to do the unthinkable when it finally dies and buy an acura). you can learn to drive a manual well enough to deal in real traffic in just a few hours. like Santeno said, though, it takes a lot longer to master it. another good suggestion that was made is to learn where there are hills - because sooner or later you'll have to deal with one.
the biggest advantage to learning before you buy that no one has mentioned, though, is that you might find you just dont like it. the mustang auto is no joke these days.
ps - congrats on whatever you purchase - especially if you are an undergrad, thats quite a fancy ride - i had a windstar (which actually considering its sheer size and market value of under $1000 allowed it to create some crazy memories)'
oh, and if you do get a manual, do yourself a favor and get a nice bluetooth headset for your phone if the mustang doesn't have a bluetooth stereo. trying to drive with one hand, shift with the other, and pin the phone between your shoulder and ear is not fun (or remotely safe).

[EjPWyPm4]

if im carrying a heavy payload in a manual truck, i tend to use the handbrake when taking off on hills; zero roll-back and its not hard on the brakes if you time it well

[gugqgbyzlp]

It can be hell on the clutch, though, if you don't time it just right.

[Escamsrasiush]

I just learned to odrive stick yesterday. I gotta say its quite fun shifting once yo get going. Starting is hard for me though i dont know why. I enjoyed driving our PT loser more than our volvo just because of the stick.

[genna]

Just a quick question, why don't you guys in the US learn on a manual (stick-shift) car in the first place?
Over here if you pass your test in an automatic, you can't drive a manual unless you take the test in a manual again.

[Teomaderm]

same reason we are morbidly obese, were lazy
seriously i wish more americans would drive stick so few cars offer it anymore since in america so few are sold its barely worth it for automakers to offer them