If you drive a stick shift car , why ?

If you lose a gear in a stick, you can usually get around it, say you lose second, you can go a few rpms higher in first, then go straight to third. .

Had a '67 beetle for a work car
lost the clutch a few days before payday
learned to feel/match the engine and road speed
driving was OK
stopping and starting was interesting

learned to pack a 'kit' of spare parts
 

Only my Corvette has stick (6 speed). I would never own a sports car that had an automatic transmission. Way back in the day, when I was a professional drag racer, I owned three cars for the track. All three had stick.

I can remember when a person bought a new car, automatic transmission was an option that the customer had to pay for. Today, standard transmission is only available on certain makes and models.

Bob's Toy.jpg
 

Gary, when I learned to drive a Double Decked Bus
in Edinburgh they had a "Crash Box", this is a gear
box with no syncho-mesh in it and you had to get
the revs the same in order to get it in just like you
discovered in your V.W.
I had a lot of trouble with that for a couple of days,
then suddenly I "Got It".

Mike.
 
Gary, when I learned to drive a Double Decked Bus
in Edinburgh they had a "Crash Box", this is a gear
box with no syncho-mesh in it and you had to get
the revs the same in order to get it in just like you
discovered in your V.W.
I had a lot of trouble with that for a couple of days,
then suddenly I "Got It".

Mike.


Double Decked Bus


"Crash Box"

WHOA!
 
Only my Corvette has stick (6 speed). I would never own a sports car that had an automatic transmission. Way back in the day, when I was a professional drag racer, I owned three cars for the track. All three had stick.

I can remember when a person bought a new car, automatic transmission was an option that the customer had to pay for. Today, standard transmission is only available on certain makes and models.

View attachment 47698

My brother has one
Yes, six gears
I do hate him for that

However
There’s something about a true ‘sports car’
Be it aged Triumph
’59 MG
60s something Porsha
Even a bug eye sprite
86uhVhc.jpg

8HQZSwH.jpg

Top down
Goin’ thru the curves
and gears
Pumping fuel thru the carbs
and adrenalin thru the veins

OHHHHHH
YEAAAAAAHHH
 
My brother has one
Yes, six gears
I do hate him for that

However
There’s something about a true ‘sports car’
Be it aged Triumph
’59 MG
60s something Porsha
Even a bug eye sprite
86uhVhc.jpg

8HQZSwH.jpg

Top down
Goin’ thru the curves
and gears
Pumping fuel thru the carbs
and adrenalin thru the veins

OHHHHHH
YEAAAAAAHHH
f.gif
 
I learned how to drive a car using a stick shift; this was in the 70's. I was always told if there was ever a time you had to drive a car or someone else's in an emergency you could always drive it whether it was stick shift or automatic. Nowadays I drive the automatic (as hubby can't drive the stick shift anyways and won't learn).
 



There’s something about a true ‘sports car’


Even a bug eye sprite
86uhVhc.jpg

8HQZSwH.jpg

Top down
Goin’ thru the curves
and gears
Pumping fuel thru the carbs
and adrenalin thru the veins

The pictures of the Bug-eye are great. My wife and I went on our honeymoon in a blue 59 that I bought new when I got out of the Navy..
 
I suppose it's what you grew up with. Here in the UK, and probably Europe, manual gears are the norm. I learned to drive 50 years ago in my father's Morris Minor. 4 forward gears - no synchro on 1st. The only time I've driven automatics is in the US. Handy when you have to think about driving on the other side of the road!

I prefer manual gears because I like to drive rather than being driven. Now that we're getting self parking cars, electric cars and heaven forbid, self driving cars, the fun of driving is in danger of disappearing.
 


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