It’s unnecessary to be pedantic. We seem to have a pretty common understanding that the clutch in this context commonly implies manual transmission, and the vast majority of people have no idea how an automatic/CVT of any kind works or what the internal parts are.
Ok dude. This doesn’t change what I said. Your explanation is irrelevant to people’s understanding prior to that and your pedantry looking to make yourself right. When people talk about a car with a clutch, we overall assume manual transmission. You want pedantry? Next time say “clutch pack” or “clutches”, seeing as traditional automatics don’t have a singular clutch. So you can at least be right in your explanation.
The overwhelming majority of automatic transmissions made in the last 85 years have had torque converters, not automatically operated clutches (referring to the primary connection between motor and driveline, not torque converter lockup clutches or transmission clutch packs). Cars that use the automatic equivalent of a manual clutch pedal have really only been practically produced in the last 15 years in the form of dual wet clutch automatics.
A car without a clutch could also just be a funny car. They don't really have a clutch, it's more a bullseye looking thing that drops in stages. Basically if you try to dump 3000+ horses into first gear metal tends to explode, so you dump multiple stages that just roast until you get speed. You still have gears, but it's less of a clutch and more of a time delay friction welding system attached to the crankshaft.
The change is coming for you guys as well. I've travelled to Colombia on a regular basis over the past 20 years or so, and transmisión mecánica has gone from nearly ubiquitous to almost exclusively an econobox option. Maybe performance cars as well I guess? Wouldn't know about those
It’s a good way to get answers to Password Recovery questions that people forgot they used when signing up to some website or email service 15 years ago but are still active on
Right. Most of you are from the US. Argentinian here, everybody drives manual. I even wanted to buy an automatic last time but my mechanic was like " Don't even look at it. There is none in this city who can fix those. It might be a great value, but if it breaks, its done for"
My grandfather had a rule for his kids, and my mom passed it down to me.
You can't have a license until you can:
Check and fill all the vehicle fluids
Perform an oil change
Change a tire
Drive a manual transmission
Change belts and hoses
I learned on a stick. I even did some learning on my uncle's beetle with a broken clutch (they were reasonably optional on the OG Bug). And I have not been behind of the wheel of one since. Still glad I learned all that stuff.
My first car was a 1972 Toyota Corolla! I fondly remember driving my first pet, Max, on good ol' Pine Lane, where I grew up, to go see my mother Joan Hart, who retook her maiden name after divorcing my father!
I had an old Series era Landrover as a paddock basher when I was a kid, that had a manual choke. It also had a backup crank handle for starting the engine which I had to use occasionally as I was using starter batteries which had been retired from usage in the family cars, a gearbox with no synchro on first/second, and the foot brake didn't work. Would recommend, I definitely had fun.
Because you're not in full control of the car, which makes the comment I replied to rather ironic.
You get a bit of engine braking when you keep it in gear, which reduces wear on the brakes. Modern engines use basically zero fuel when they're under compression, whereas an idling engine uses some fuel. On loose or wet surfaces especially, you're also less likely to lock up the brakes and get into a skid. To name a few reasons.
Thanks for the info, I really didn't know that, I used to do it because I intuited I'd save more gas by doing so, especially because I see the RPM hand go down when I'm not in gear. But I now I know that's completely unrelated because as you say, the engine still spins, but it's not using fuel. I just watched a couple of videos explaining in more detail. Thanks!
That's not quite correct, every ice car has a mechanism to disconnect the engine from the wheels.
Manuals typically use a clutch to archive this.
For the longest time automatic transmissions haven't though, instead they use a torque converter.
Which also is a type of clutch obviously, but not what people usually refer to when they use the term clutch.
There also are automated manuals and dual clutch transmissions, but those are more modern...
Too lazy to find sources rn, but if anyone wants to know more I'll provide some.
Cvts usually use a torque converter (which is a type of clutch but distinct from what you think of as a clutch when talking about a manual transmission).
Fluid dynamics in a turbine or torque multiplier with the stater. Turbines uses the fluid to spin up and they usually have a lockup clutch for cruising. Torque converters are usually smoother but don't deliver the full power right away, which is why some prefer a manual. Double clutch trannies are another beast which I love on my vw. I would assume the cvt takes the place of the clutch in the torque converter?
if we do our test on a manual we're allowed to drive automatics too. But not the other way round. So i learned on a manual. I now drive an electric without any gears to switch, much less a clutch (but still have a classic mini too)
Learned it from the beginning. It was my first car. Wanna say it was a late 80s or very early 90s really basic Ford Mustang that my aunt sold to my parents for me to use for like $200 bucks. I loved it, but not even a year later on my way to high school a van flying down the road rear ended me while I was trying to make a left turn waiting for traffic to clear... I haven't had stick shift since.
Here's a pic of around what it looked like so you can see it was a very basic car back then or this model was super basic haha.
As someone who learned driving using a manual transmission car, automatic transmission is much better for city driving, I hated having to be careful with the clutch in stop and go city traffic, my left leg would get so sore after a while, plus I've stalled the engine more than once by letting the clutch go too fast.
Yeah I finally went over to the dark side because of bostons horrendous stop and go traffic
Of course I’d use transit whenever I could. However I lived to the east and had to drive through Boston to get home from anywhere else. There were times when it took hours to drive just a couple miles: I couldn’t deal with manual transmission for that
I think it was a Renault Megane. Hopeless car. Left it outside in the cold one night. Every bit of wiring had shorted and if i turned on the wipers, the lights would flicker and the radio turned on.
When I was 15 in the 90s, every adult in the family, and adult friends of the family, said "You're 15? Let's go drive for an hour or two!" I'm pretty sure that, legally, a parent was supposed to be with me, but I guess any random adult was close enough.
I just added up 14 different vehicles I "learned on," including an old pickup with "three on the tree", a Corvette, a 280z turbo, a 68 Chevelle, an International Scout. The rest were boring vehicles. If I remember correctly, 9 were manuals.
I had a total of 6 SAABs. I was a delivery driver that did long distance deliveries, mostly donated organs. None of them died before 1.2 million miles. The closest I ever got to the 2 million mile club was my 1986 SAAB 900 SPG that I got to a whopping 1,854,35*,*** miles. I don't remember the small digits. There are still SAABs out there that are joining that club, and they haven't made one since 2011
That's awesome. I can't think of any car built in the last 20 years that you could expect anywhere near that kind of longevity. Even 'premium' German brands. I had a BMW that started falling to bits after 100k and my SO had an Audi from brand new that was riddled with problems for the 3 years she had to endure it.
I had a total of 6 SAABs. I was a delivery driver that did long distance deliveries, mostly donated organs. None of them died before 1.2 million miles. The closest I ever got to the 2 million mile club was my 1986 SAAB 900 SPG that I got to a whopping 1,854,35*,*** miles. I don't remember the small digits. There are still SAABs out there that are joining that club, and they haven't made one since 2011
Learned on a 2000s era VW Beetle, and then a Mazda B2500 FW/2WD. Last manual I owned was a 2015 Honda Fit. Now both our vehicles are Automatic AWD.
I did get to drive a little 4cyl manual SEAT on holiday in Madeira which was an adventure. 36% grade roads, hairpin turns -- like 150cc mario kart around there
I learned in both because while automatics were the norm, my parents never wanted me stranded in case a manual was my only option.
So I learned in an older cute as hell red paint faded it was almost pink Jeep pick up truck with no tailgate.
Looking at photos online, I think it was maybe a 60s era Willie or a Gladiator from the 70s. It was pretty old, but not a classic, when I drove it.
My first two cars were manuals, and I enjoy manuals (drive an EV now so no choice there) but this post reeks of acting like doing so makes us special. It doesn't. We just learned a different skill, and almost anyone can learn it if they chose to and especially if they enjoy it.
Learned to drive manual on a 1981 BMW 320i. All of my cars are still manual to this day. 1999 Toyota Solara, 1988 Toyota Corolla GTS, 2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder and 2020 Hyundai Veloster N. But mostly I ride my bike, which is also a manual.
I learned on an automatic and didn't know stick. Did that stop me from buying an old manual Mustang? Nope. I figured I had some practice with manual shifting in racing games (console), surely it couldn't be that hard. I stalled plenty of times leaving the lot but once I got it going it was fine. It only really took a couple days of dropping clutch and stalling on hills before I had it down.
Edit- Dang pedants
Exact same story for me. Learned on an automatic, but had ridden a dirt bike a few times and understood the concept. First time driving a stick was when I bought my first car and then had to learn fast as I drove it home. Worked out ok.
OG Mini. So, yes, had a manual clutch. Now, 40-something years later I'm driving an automatic for the first time because they don't make the car I wanted at the spec. I wanted in a manual.
I have my commercial driver's license. Driving an 18 wheeler is an order of magnitude harder, but even that is not too hard once you know the constraining rules. I think it is harder to stay in a minimum width lane than it is to shift an 8 speed with 3 splitters and no synchromesh. The rev band is only around 2k RPM, and you only have around a 200 RPM window, with a 50 RPM sweet spot, where the gears will engage without grinding or shutting out the gate entirely. Cars are quite easy by comparison. Driving a tractor trailer, then getting into a regular manual car makes the car seem laughable. It really isn't hard at all.
I didn’t learn to drive in a vehicle with a clutch, but I did learn to drive vehicles with clutches! I love manual transmission cars. Been fighting the urge to make a poor financial decision and scoop one up before they’re gone.
Still own one. Was looking at going to a Kona EV but sounds like there's a wide spread reduction gear issue with the model I was considering, so maybe not.
I learned to drive on two cars because my parents were divorced: my Dad's Ford Ranger (manual) and my Mom's silly "talking" Chrysler Laser (it literally talked to you, felt weirdly futuristic see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_alert ). I never really had a problem with using a clutch, it was the lack of power steering on that truck that sucked. I made sure that I never bought a car without power steering after learning on that truck.
The UK is becoming more automatic now, and we also have a lot of EVs. I learnt on a manual but didn't get a car until last year, which is electric. It's much better.
An old Chevy pickup, with my dad mocking and bitching at me the entire time which really helped my anxiety about being on the road. Wonderful learning experience. First and last time I ever went out with him to learn to driving.
The fuck is a clutch? Oh, manual gear? I learned at driving school, I think all of them use manual cars in Brazil, since they're way more common than automatics
Go look at the OP's posting history. The posts on asklemmynsfw are particularly enlightening. Really shitty questions that the OP often replies to with 'stories.' My personal money is that it's a bot account meant to get people talking about stuff, offering clues to who they are and linking accounts that people leave behind with new ones or on other instances.
I forget what the cat is even called, but it was an old Subaru hatchback. I wanna say GT? Maybe there's a number... I dunno but it was a tiny lil thing.
Haven't given one since then, though. And I didn't do too well with it either, but I am not a car guy, and I don't drive in crazy road situations that would make it useful.
I'm still glad I learned that way though, as my cars since then made more sense to me. At least until now, since I have a hybrid with a CVT.
My driving school had 2002 Corollas. Had a lot of problems to get the „feel“ for the clutch and after I mastered that the most challenging thing for me was starting on a hill using the handbrake. Auto-Hold these days is truly a blessing :)
I did. 1993 Saturn SL2. I bought that car for $1500 in 2001 when I was 16 and quite literally drove it until the wheels fell off (which then ended in me flipping over the car on the highway, but that's a story for another day. That also ended with being the reason I can't listen to "The Red" by Chevelle without a mild panic attack, also a story for another day.)
The idea of buying an 8 year old car (with only 93k miles, at that) for $1500 just seems so foreign now.
All it needed was a muffler, too. I drove it for about a year and a half before I killed the clutch, and that was the most expensive repair it had.
Chevy Chevette. This may have been one of the worst cars built, take minutes to get up to speed and over-rev cruising in the highway, but it was also a tank that lived through 6 people learning to drive a stick and probably close to two decades.
It was also really easy to work on, but
when I replaced the springs I found them light enough to compress by hand
when my brother replaced the clutch he said it’s the only car he saw where the transmission was light enough to hold one handed while replacing
Nissan vanette and ford focus. Don't miss either of those and have an automatic now. I still drive a friend's van from time to time which has a clutch, whoch is good so I don't forget how to drive it. Although it still feels completely natural since I drove manual for 2 decades.
My second car was manual in high school. It was super fun to drive once I got used to it. I’ve had a manual for about 13 years and since switched to an auto for the last 9. Only reason I’d go back would be a fun sporty car but I’d probably be more likely to get a quick EV with one pedal driving at this point.
Most people not in the US. We just call it 'driving'
It's slowly starting to become a lost art though, there's definitely more and more automatics around, starting with all electric cars.
Good
Automatics have clutches too, they are operated, as expected, automatic. A car without a clutch has just one gear.
It’s unnecessary to be pedantic. We seem to have a pretty common understanding that the clutch in this context commonly implies manual transmission, and the vast majority of people have no idea how an automatic/CVT of any kind works or what the internal parts are.
So I explained automatic transmission has an automated clutch, but sorry for explaining that.
Ok dude. This doesn’t change what I said. Your explanation is irrelevant to people’s understanding prior to that and your pedantry looking to make yourself right. When people talk about a car with a clutch, we overall assume manual transmission. You want pedantry? Next time say “clutch pack” or “clutches”, seeing as traditional automatics don’t have a singular clutch. So you can at least be right in your explanation.
Ok sorry dude, no need to be so pedantic about it.
The overwhelming majority of automatic transmissions made in the last 85 years have had torque converters, not automatically operated clutches (referring to the primary connection between motor and driveline, not torque converter lockup clutches or transmission clutch packs). Cars that use the automatic equivalent of a manual clutch pedal have really only been practically produced in the last 15 years in the form of dual wet clutch automatics.
A car without a clutch could also just be a funny car. They don't really have a clutch, it's more a bullseye looking thing that drops in stages. Basically if you try to dump 3000+ horses into first gear metal tends to explode, so you dump multiple stages that just roast until you get speed. You still have gears, but it's less of a clutch and more of a time delay friction welding system attached to the crankshaft.
It’s not just automatics anymore, but also
The thing is there’s no longer much of a price difference and manual is no longer the efficient choice
The change is coming for you guys as well. I've travelled to Colombia on a regular basis over the past 20 years or so, and transmisión mecánica has gone from nearly ubiquitous to almost exclusively an econobox option. Maybe performance cars as well I guess? Wouldn't know about those
Every car has a clutch. Not all of them are manual.
Most automatics use a torque converter instead of a clutch.
Torque converters (at least nowadays) have a clutch
Show me you're old without telling me you're old.
My car doesn't even have multiple gears, let alone a clutch
Single speed reduction transmission :)
My HEV Corolla does not
What is this, some kind of poll to get the average age of Lemmy?
I remember when it was absurd to pay $10 for a banana.
It’s a good way to get answers to Password Recovery questions that people forgot they used when signing up to some website or email service 15 years ago but are still active on
Right. Most of you are from the US. Argentinian here, everybody drives manual. I even wanted to buy an automatic last time but my mechanic was like " Don't even look at it. There is none in this city who can fix those. It might be a great value, but if it breaks, its done for"
My grandfather had a rule for his kids, and my mom passed it down to me.
You can't have a license until you can:
I learned on a stick. I even did some learning on my uncle's beetle with a broken clutch (they were reasonably optional on the OG Bug). And I have not been behind of the wheel of one since. Still glad I learned all that stuff.
Now, dismantle this car and put it back together, you have one hour!
99% of people in my country.....
Oh, these "let's get people to reveal their password reset question" Facebook campaigns again...
My first car was a 1972 Toyota Corolla! I fondly remember driving my first pet, Max, on good ol' Pine Lane, where I grew up, to go see my mother Joan Hart, who retook her maiden name after divorcing my father!
Hello my friend! I have some great job opportunities for you in Myanmar!
Here in Spain it's estimated that automatic transmission is between 30 and 50% of cars. No official numbers have been released.
So most people have learnt with a clutch. Definitely everyone who has had their license for more than 10 years.
Everyone? How else are you going to change gear?
I think a more interesting question would be:
How many people learned to drive in a car with a manual Choke?
I'm currently learning to drive in a car without a clutch (an EV)
Not me, but I learned to drive a 1967 tractor before driving a car, and you have to manually preheat the glowplug.
Had a dirtbike with one, that counts right?
I had an old Series era Landrover as a paddock basher when I was a kid, that had a manual choke. It also had a backup crank handle for starting the engine which I had to use occasionally as I was using starter batteries which had been retired from usage in the family cars, a gearbox with no synchro on first/second, and the foot brake didn't work. Would recommend, I definitely had fun.
Lawnmowers count? lol
Common password recovery question..
Still do.
Me too, I like having full control of the car. Plus it's fun to go down slopes in neutral. Wheeeeeee
Yeah, don't do that.
What? Why not?
Because you're not in full control of the car, which makes the comment I replied to rather ironic.
You get a bit of engine braking when you keep it in gear, which reduces wear on the brakes. Modern engines use basically zero fuel when they're under compression, whereas an idling engine uses some fuel. On loose or wet surfaces especially, you're also less likely to lock up the brakes and get into a skid. To name a few reasons.
Thanks for the info, I really didn't know that, I used to do it because I intuited I'd save more gas by doing so, especially because I see the RPM hand go down when I'm not in gear. But I now I know that's completely unrelated because as you say, the engine still spins, but it's not using fuel. I just watched a couple of videos explaining in more detail. Thanks!
Happy to help. Driving a manual properly is kind of my thing.
That is still the standard way here. Automatic is something we still leave to those for who a gear is too complicated.
And EVs.
I still drive one WITH a clutch. Manuals are pretty cool.
Amazing shitpost.
People really went directly to the manual vs automatic debate without realizing it has nothing to do with that.
Flying over my head. what does it have to do with?
Evey car has a clutch, including automatic. It is so the engine can keep turning without the wheels spinning.
Basically, if your car has a neutral, you have a clutch.
That's not quite correct, every ice car has a mechanism to disconnect the engine from the wheels.
Manuals typically use a clutch to archive this. For the longest time automatic transmissions haven't though, instead they use a torque converter. Which also is a type of clutch obviously, but not what people usually refer to when they use the term clutch.
There also are automated manuals and dual clutch transmissions, but those are more modern...
Too lazy to find sources rn, but if anyone wants to know more I'll provide some.
An automatic transmission also has many clutches inside to release or grab different parts of the planetary gear assembly.
But yes, not what people think of when they say "clutch."
So many internet arguments come down to this sort of thing.
Cvt?
I guess it's a CV clutch?
Cvts usually use a torque converter (which is a type of clutch but distinct from what you think of as a clutch when talking about a manual transmission).
Fluid dynamics in a turbine or torque multiplier with the stater. Turbines uses the fluid to spin up and they usually have a lockup clutch for cruising. Torque converters are usually smoother but don't deliver the full power right away, which is why some prefer a manual. Double clutch trannies are another beast which I love on my vw. I would assume the cvt takes the place of the clutch in the torque converter?
Lot of people searching "clutch" right now
if we do our test on a manual we're allowed to drive automatics too. But not the other way round. So i learned on a manual. I now drive an electric without any gears to switch, much less a clutch (but still have a classic mini too)
Learned it from the beginning. It was my first car. Wanna say it was a late 80s or very early 90s really basic Ford Mustang that my aunt sold to my parents for me to use for like $200 bucks. I loved it, but not even a year later on my way to high school a van flying down the road rear ended me while I was trying to make a left turn waiting for traffic to clear... I haven't had stick shift since.
Here's a pic of around what it looked like so you can see it was a very basic car back then or this model was super basic haha.
As someone who learned driving using a manual transmission car, automatic transmission is much better for city driving, I hated having to be careful with the clutch in stop and go city traffic, my left leg would get so sore after a while, plus I've stalled the engine more than once by letting the clutch go too fast.
Yeah I finally went over to the dark side because of bostons horrendous stop and go traffic
Of course I’d use transit whenever I could. However I lived to the east and had to drive through Boston to get home from anywhere else. There were times when it took hours to drive just a couple miles: I couldn’t deal with manual transmission for that
1979 Datsun 210. Eventually sold the thing for five cartons of cigarettes.
I owned the B-210 Honey Bee. Great car, zippy.
I don't know if electric vehicles have one but other than them all cars have clutches, whether manual or automatic.
Wet vs dry.. Emmmmm
Learned with and still using stick.
I think it was a Renault Megane. Hopeless car. Left it outside in the cold one night. Every bit of wiring had shorted and if i turned on the wipers, the lights would flicker and the radio turned on.
Sounds like your car was possessed
That's just French cars
I mean the only reason French cars are still made is to make Italian cars look good.
Renault of that era are complet garbage, but still sold a tonne. This badly damaged their reputation and they took a long time to recover.
Learned to drive on this bad boy:
Then my first car was this beauty:
It has hydrologic suspensions, it's cool AF. Got it 10yo and 230000km and drove it until it died into a cloud of smoke 😢 RIP
When I was 15 in the 90s, every adult in the family, and adult friends of the family, said "You're 15? Let's go drive for an hour or two!" I'm pretty sure that, legally, a parent was supposed to be with me, but I guess any random adult was close enough.
I just added up 14 different vehicles I "learned on," including an old pickup with "three on the tree", a Corvette, a 280z turbo, a 68 Chevelle, an International Scout. The rest were boring vehicles. If I remember correctly, 9 were manuals.
1982 SAAB 900. No turbo, no sunroof. No frills. Still a fun car to drive. Drove it till the motor gave out just shy of 1,500,000 miles on the ODO
1.5 million?????
I had a total of 6 SAABs. I was a delivery driver that did long distance deliveries, mostly donated organs. None of them died before 1.2 million miles. The closest I ever got to the 2 million mile club was my 1986 SAAB 900 SPG that I got to a whopping 1,854,35*,*** miles. I don't remember the small digits. There are still SAABs out there that are joining that club, and they haven't made one since 2011
That's awesome. I can't think of any car built in the last 20 years that you could expect anywhere near that kind of longevity. Even 'premium' German brands. I had a BMW that started falling to bits after 100k and my SO had an Audi from brand new that was riddled with problems for the 3 years she had to endure it.
Holy crap! My wife's Solara has 368,000 miles on it and I thought that was a lot.
I had a total of 6 SAABs. I was a delivery driver that did long distance deliveries, mostly donated organs. None of them died before 1.2 million miles. The closest I ever got to the 2 million mile club was my 1986 SAAB 900 SPG that I got to a whopping 1,854,35*,*** miles. I don't remember the small digits. There are still SAABs out there that are joining that club, and they haven't made one since 2011
That's insanity. Too bad I never really cared for the look of the Saab. Looks like a shoe to me. Good cars I guess.
Yep. Still have two stick cars. They’re not dead yet.
Learned on a 2000s era VW Beetle, and then a Mazda B2500 FW/2WD. Last manual I owned was a 2015 Honda Fit. Now both our vehicles are Automatic AWD.
I did get to drive a little 4cyl manual SEAT on holiday in Madeira which was an adventure. 36% grade roads, hairpin turns -- like 150cc mario kart around there
Suzuki Samurai FTW
Learnt in a ford mondeo, some early 2000s model.
Still got a manual as my daily driver.
I only drove manual and then bought an auto. Had trouble going up steep slopes more than once and came back to manual.
I believe the better question here is "clutch pedal" as automatic cars still have a clutch, you just aren't manually booting it.
But yes I did learn to drive stick in a 2002 Mazda Protege.
I learned in both because while automatics were the norm, my parents never wanted me stranded in case a manual was my only option. So I learned in an older cute as hell red paint faded it was almost pink Jeep pick up truck with no tailgate.
Looking at photos online, I think it was maybe a 60s era Willie or a Gladiator from the 70s. It was pretty old, but not a classic, when I drove it.
I've got a 1978 J10. There's just something about jeep trucks. Absolutely love em.
It was a first generation Ford Focus hatchback.
European here, learned in a Toyota Yaris
Since the question is 'vehicle': Massey-Ferguson 165. Or if you insist a car: Opel Kadett C.
Driving stick is still the norm here. Learned it in a Suzuki Swift, which did not do honour to its name.
My first two cars were manuals, and I enjoy manuals (drive an EV now so no choice there) but this post reeks of acting like doing so makes us special. It doesn't. We just learned a different skill, and almost anyone can learn it if they chose to and especially if they enjoy it.
1993 Isuzu rodeo.
Dad had to replace the clutch before I had mastered the subtle art of doing two things at the same time in a car.
Also I'm dyslexic and get my right and left mixed up easily . So you can imagine trying to navigate two feet on 3 pedals didn't go well.
I did eventually learn a manual.
Learned to drive manual on a 1981 BMW 320i. All of my cars are still manual to this day. 1999 Toyota Solara, 1988 Toyota Corolla GTS, 2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder and 2020 Hyundai Veloster N. But mostly I ride my bike, which is also a manual.
My first car was a '73 VW Super Beetle.
I learned on an automatic and didn't know stick. Did that stop me from buying an old manual Mustang? Nope. I figured I had some practice with manual shifting in racing games (console), surely it couldn't be that hard. I stalled plenty of times leaving the lot but once I got it going it was fine. It only really took a couple days of dropping clutch and stalling on hills before I had it down.
Edit- Dang pedants
I told the car salesdude that I'd buy this car if he spent 15 minutes teaching me. Worked out pretty well!
Exact same story for me. Learned on an automatic, but had ridden a dirt bike a few times and understood the concept. First time driving a stick was when I bought my first car and then had to learn fast as I drove it home. Worked out ok.
OG Mini. So, yes, had a manual clutch. Now, 40-something years later I'm driving an automatic for the first time because they don't make the car I wanted at the spec. I wanted in a manual.
I learned to drive in a big ass truck, but I did recently get my first manual transmission car. It's not that hard to learn I don't think.
I have my commercial driver's license. Driving an 18 wheeler is an order of magnitude harder, but even that is not too hard once you know the constraining rules. I think it is harder to stay in a minimum width lane than it is to shift an 8 speed with 3 splitters and no synchromesh. The rev band is only around 2k RPM, and you only have around a 200 RPM window, with a 50 RPM sweet spot, where the gears will engage without grinding or shutting out the gate entirely. Cars are quite easy by comparison. Driving a tractor trailer, then getting into a regular manual car makes the car seem laughable. It really isn't hard at all.
Mazda GLC
I didn’t learn to drive in a vehicle with a clutch, but I did learn to drive vehicles with clutches! I love manual transmission cars. Been fighting the urge to make a poor financial decision and scoop one up before they’re gone.
Still own one. Was looking at going to a Kona EV but sounds like there's a wide spread reduction gear issue with the model I was considering, so maybe not.
VW T3 with a 4 speed manual and a Passat with a 3 speed slush box.
I learned to drive on two cars because my parents were divorced: my Dad's Ford Ranger (manual) and my Mom's silly "talking" Chrysler Laser (it literally talked to you, felt weirdly futuristic see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_alert ). I never really had a problem with using a clutch, it was the lack of power steering on that truck that sucked. I made sure that I never bought a car without power steering after learning on that truck.
An ancient 10 speed dodge dump truck doing sugar beet harvest in nodak.
🤘
Good old Mazda 323.
The UK is becoming more automatic now, and we also have a lot of EVs. I learnt on a manual but didn't get a car until last year, which is electric. It's much better.
Yeah I learned with a clutch, its very useful to have that skill in many countries where automatic is not available or much cheaper to rent.
An old Chevy pickup, with my dad mocking and bitching at me the entire time which really helped my anxiety about being on the road. Wonderful learning experience. First and last time I ever went out with him to learn to driving.
Learned and took my driving test in an 88 Dodge Omni 5 speed.
The fuck is a clutch? Oh, manual gear? I learned at driving school, I think all of them use manual cars in Brazil, since they're way more common than automatics
I dont seem to get the joke no matter how much brainpower i use...
Its Facebook engagement bait.
explain please
Go look at the OP's posting history. The posts on asklemmynsfw are particularly enlightening. Really shitty questions that the OP often replies to with 'stories.' My personal money is that it's a bot account meant to get people talking about stuff, offering clues to who they are and linking accounts that people leave behind with new ones or on other instances.
They are a real person. You should not say stuff like this.
I forget what the cat is even called, but it was an old Subaru hatchback. I wanna say GT? Maybe there's a number... I dunno but it was a tiny lil thing.
Haven't given one since then, though. And I didn't do too well with it either, but I am not a car guy, and I don't drive in crazy road situations that would make it useful.
I'm still glad I learned that way though, as my cars since then made more sense to me. At least until now, since I have a hybrid with a CVT.
I learned in a car with automatic transmission first, but had to drive both and prefer (strongly prefer) a manual transmission.
Worst one ever - The Van. The shifter was about a meter long, the gears were so hard to find, and I had to drive it in tight spaces.
Best one ever, my current Honda from 2014. Absolutely glorious.
I learned on a 1st gen Saturn. That's before GM ruined the brand. It had a good deal of pickup to it, and was a lot of fun in the snow.
I don't miss it though. If I lived somewhere I could joyride with zero hills, traffic or parallel parking, sure. Otherwise? It's not worth it.
Whatever the driving school had, I have no idea what car it was.
Learned in a Golf 7 and now I drive a Golf 4. It was delightful not having to turn off auto start stop after I got my license.
My driving school had 2002 Corollas. Had a lot of problems to get the „feel“ for the clutch and after I mastered that the most challenging thing for me was starting on a hill using the handbrake. Auto-Hold these days is truly a blessing :)
1972 AMC Hornet Station wagon with 3 on the tree. Literally The Green Hornet
started off in a Vauxhall Corsa with no power steering or windows, yes a full manual car. Except choke
I did drive some of my mums auto cars, remembering that they dont have a clutch is the problem.
I did. 1993 Saturn SL2. I bought that car for $1500 in 2001 when I was 16 and quite literally drove it until the wheels fell off (which then ended in me flipping over the car on the highway, but that's a story for another day. That also ended with being the reason I can't listen to "The Red" by Chevelle without a mild panic attack, also a story for another day.)
The idea of buying an 8 year old car (with only 93k miles, at that) for $1500 just seems so foreign now.
All it needed was a muffler, too. I drove it for about a year and a half before I killed the clutch, and that was the most expensive repair it had.
I had a 4 speed Saturn. I loved it. Great car. Was so disappointed when they went out of business
Chevy Chevette. This may have been one of the worst cars built, take minutes to get up to speed and over-rev cruising in the highway, but it was also a tank that lived through 6 people learning to drive a stick and probably close to two decades.
It was also really easy to work on, but
Chevy S-10. I think a 1999? Around that anyway.
Still miss that little truck. The clutch had two positions - on and off. It was a pain to drive but once I learned on it I could drive anything.
I still drive stick today.
1987 Golf, and I still drive a car with a clutch.
Nissan vanette and ford focus. Don't miss either of those and have an automatic now. I still drive a friend's van from time to time which has a clutch, whoch is good so I don't forget how to drive it. Although it still feels completely natural since I drove manual for 2 decades.
Volkswagen Golf type 3.
A big 2001 yellow box jeep, almost tipped that damn thing dozens of times.
International scout 2 3 speed on the column.
Learned when I was 11.
An 88 jeep Comanche with a blown up power steering pump and you had to hold it in reverse.
I just put a new clutch in the vehicle I'm teaching my kid to drive.
Yes, and in the land of automatics no less, and on a '99 Celica GT. It was mom's car, but I drove it like it was mine.
My second car was manual in high school. It was super fun to drive once I got used to it. I’ve had a manual for about 13 years and since switched to an auto for the last 9. Only reason I’d go back would be a fun sporty car but I’d probably be more likely to get a quick EV with one pedal driving at this point.
I learned stick in my 30s after driving an automatic up until then. Humbling to have to learn to drive again at that point in your life.
I learned for motorcycling
I'm learning to manually change gears for my first time in my 30s, but on a bike.
Agreed, it is incredibly humbling. I've been driving for over half my life, and now I'm struggling to operate a vehicle all over again.
Hah, you're not getting my security answers that easily! 🚗