I've been driving for more than 50 years, and have owned 20 automobiles in that time. I have never owned a car with an automatic transmission.

I've driven automatics, of course, but I can't stand them. I never feel like I'm truly driving the car. I understand that some of the modern high-performance dual-clutch automatics are very good, but still...there's just something about shifting that gearbox myself that makes the driving experience complete.

I saw this article recently, and what stood out was the notation that electric car sales surpassed sales of cars with standard transmissions...

Any like-minded folks on here? Or am I just a dinosaur?

Every New Car You Can Still Buy with a Manual Transmission

In the US of A you are probably a dinosaur.

In Europe no.

Both my cars have 3 pedals.





For the time being.

Edit. And then again. I may be a dinosaur too.

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Expect the unexpected

I love standard transmissions. Sadly haven;'t owned a vehicle with one for the last years.

One of my earlier cars had 5 pedals (i.e., foot operated)
Gas , brake, clutch, starter and high beam. My current car has three and it isn't a manual shift... gas, brake and parking brake.

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

Ah! A true dinosaur.

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Expect the unexpected

I vacation in Europe regularly...I know what you mean.

You see rental cars, taxi cabs, tour buses, police cars...all with standard transmissions. My German friends' cars are generally standard transmissions...no big deal there.

On two recent trips, my rental car was a Ford Kuga, which is sold in the US as the Escape...both had 6-speed standard transmissions. And on two occasions, I've had BMW and Audi wagons, both with 4-cylinder turbo-diesel engines and 6-speed transmissions.

Here, sadly, there are auto mechanics who don't know how to drive a standard transmission...

Last manual I owned was in a Chev PU.
When I sold it, the city weekend Cowboys couldn’t shift a 5 speed.
The real Plowboys didn’t like it cause it wasn’t a 350.
Sold it to a guy out in the Mountains who was delighted to get a One owner truck in good shape.
Last Manual I drove was a RAV4 down in Costa Rica.
There a RAV out in the garage.
Auto Tranny.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I drove 2 Chevy S 10's from 1995-2010 with 5 speed manual. Every new development has a stoplight so I'm stopping and starting every 50 ft. And bumper to bumper traffic, too much work. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Both of my vehicles have automatics.
A manual trans wasn't an option in my truck.
I looked at Mustangs for a while and couldn't find the right one with a 6-speed manual so I ended up buying a Lincoln instead.

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Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

I have owned the 5 pedal edition, can't remember how many the 1932 Chevy had. Both vehicles now have an auto transmission, by choice.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

I have been driving since 1960. Have owned many cars and trucks some of which are now lost in the fog of my memory. My first automatic transmission was my 2002 Ford Ranger. Next came the 2004 F150. Now I'm in what I imagine will be my last car, 2017 GMC Terrain.

I always insisted on buying a standard so my wife and daughter wouldn't/Couldn't drive it. I had an '81 1 ton Chevy truck with the "granny" gear in it. My daughter wanted to try to drive it so I let her get behind the wheel. She had to use both feet to push the clutch in. That was a wrap on the stick shift for her.

I feel like I've earned my stripes. I have shifted enough to suit me. If I never push in another clutch pedal that'll be just fine.

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Real men love cats!

Manual transmissions (2 MCs, 1PU) outnumber automatics for us, but the daily drivers are autos.
Had many CVTs in Nissans that were okay, and my new VW's is jerky, but the best auto experience we've ever had was on a leased Citroen C5 Aircross with the big diesel and 8 speed auto. Torque delivery was magically smooth.
The most appreciated difference is in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Hubby's Dodge truck with the manual mated to a 10 cylinder has a clutch that weighs a ton after an hour of stop and go. That Citroen had Adaptive Cruise Control that means you never need to touch the pedals in traffic. Ahhh, sweet relief.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

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Slava Ukraini!

A '79 Ford F-260 4-wd was the last stick I owned. All 4 of my daughters liked driving it.
3 of my daughters still own cars with manual transmissions and they own vehicles with autos too.

I had a 5-pedal Chevy truck a long time ago too. I'm good with the auto in my current Chevy PU.

I think manual transmissions fall into the same category as backing up trailers. Some folks can and some folks cant.

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Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

Driven both, don’t miss manuals. Dual-clutch AT is better than I am, and keeps getting better. The electronic nanny stuff is becoming intrusive. And yes, I qualify for Dino status - leaned to drive on a 50s era Dodge M37.

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50 Years of DSOTM

3 pedals........2010 Toyota FJ with manual 6-speed tranny, and full-time 4wd is my current vehicle (do have a Toyota Camry and Subaru Outback that are automatics), but I've always had at least one manual tranny vehicle since the late 70's. Don

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Laus Deo! <><

Semi trucks are automatic ,didn't like them at first but have improved the past few years . I did my share of millions of miles shifting gears the automatic trans really helps in city driving and traffic jams. The last manual trans I had was 96 Tacoma 4x4

Drove nothing but sticks till 1991, driven nothing but automatics ever since. When I need a reminder of the good,(?), old days, I roll my '67 Vette out, (which I'll be doing later this afternoon). It's got 3 pedals on the floor, a close ratio 4-speed, and is a blast to drive. That said, to go back to a stick every day? No thanks.

I have also always had a manual transmission.
But recently, because of my peripheral motor nerve condition, I've had to get an automatic transmission. It just got too difficult to make my feet cooperate with each other.
Living out here in West Virginia, I really miss shifting gears on these mountain roads.

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Keep on Chooglin'

All our vechicles are now 2 peddle. Even my 15 Vette is, having a bad left leg was the reason for that. This is my 7 Vette and all the rest were sticks. Three were 4 speeds and 3 were 6spds.

Yes at first I missed the rowing the boat a 3 peddle vechicle gives you. My last 6 PU trucks were auto.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

I have one truck with an manual transmission. Only have it because it was a great deal on a diesel 4x4 and I am not going to drive it much, Stick a flat bed on it, a portable welder, set of bottles, a compressor and do small welding jobs. Sold my Ranger with a 5 speed a few months ago.

Shifting is not difficult for me. I can do it all day long and without bothering with the clutch. Makes it hard to hold my coffee cup when I am driving though.

Modern auto transmissions simply beat gear boxes, in every aspect. Much more torque control. Out in the hills I can set there and turn the throttle up till the truck just starts to move. With a clutch once its out the wheels must turn or you'll smoke the clutch. I can drive around with one hand free. I could care less about my left foot.

Even on the drag strip autos smoke manuals. Torque converters are great. You can get ones with different stall speeds, 100% lock up. Auto transmissions can be made to give driver full control. The one in my Powerstroke will stay in first or second until I shift it out of them. Whatever I want.

The old a manual gets better gas mileage than an auto is about dead. First of all it was only true if you drove it and shifted for economy. Now with computer controlled shift points its about mute and with many of the autos having more gears it is mute. The true ticket for fuel economy is a constant velocity auto transmission.

Most new sports cars like theVettes, Hellcat, Mustangs and the Camaros come with 8 speed autos. The base Camaro with auto gets 2 mpg BETTER gas mileage than the same car with a manual.

Take a look at the fastest drag times for the Hellcat and the Mustang 500 and the Camaro ZL1 1LE. All are running autos and are running right in the mid 11 second quarter miles.

I do wish my left foot had one thing to do though. Work the dimmer switch.

One of my daughters has an FJ40 just like yours.

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Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

Had sticks for a couple decades. There’s a magic in coordinating the machine and man to execute the perfect up- and downshifts.

The last 3 vehicles all had the excellent ZF 8-speed auto that’s now ubiquitous in the automotive world, and I don’t miss a manual anymore.

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- Post No Bills -

4.......like a milk cow.

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S&W Accumulator

Way back in my Puppy Dog days I drove a Lumber Company truck.
It was a 2 Ton GMC with a hydraulic bed.
And it had an Auto Transmission.
My Boss was buddies with the local GMC - Buick dealer.
He couldn’t sell this oddball truck so he laid on his Pal.
Buddy system at work.
It had a stick coming up where the regular shifter would be.
That was A high-low shifter.
Instead of a two speed axle that a lot of the trucks had, GMC opted for a two speed gearbox located just behind the Hydamatic.
As Teenage Trucker with an Auto Tranny, I got a lot of flack.
Like do you have a note from your Mother?

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Drove a stick shift for a number
of years and an awful lot of the
miles involved urban traffic.

Wasn't storry when I got another
automatic transmission.

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Ubi Est Mea

Given the choice I'd choose a manual every time. I might feel different if I was driving for a living.

This is funny!

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Death? Smile back...

I've preferred manual transmissions for most of my life. I've road raced, drag raced, and driven medium duty trucks with splitters. Always went with a manual when I had the choice.

Modern autos are a whole different animal than they were even 15 years ago. The 6 speed auto in our diesel dually is far better to drive than the 6 speed manual in our previous diesel dually. The 10 speed auto in our Camaro ZL1 is unbelievably good... on the street and on the racetrack.

We still have two manuals in the fleet, both Miatas... one a dedicated track car. The manual transmission still has a place in my heart for that weekend morning spirited drive... the connection with the machine, and the satisfaction of that perfect interaction.

That said, modern autos are simply better at getting the job done... something that used to be quite the opposite.

Currently, 1 auto, 2- 3 pedal. In my 60 years of driving I have owned a 3 pedal most of the time. I like to drive.

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Super Snooper

The 4 speed big H went away at the same time I had the first hip replacement.
But I do miss driving a 4 speed on the floor.

Last two manual shift that I owned was my 1988 Ford Ranger 5sp. with lock outs
and my 1986 Corvette. They each had 3 pedals!
Don’t think I’d want another manual shift again!

Now the question is "How many of you with 2 pedal cars use both feet to drive?" I was selling a Saturn SC2 with an auto tranny and the guy that finally bought it used both feet on the test drive, One on the gas and the other on the brake. Unfortunately his foot coordination was somewhat lacking. I thought he was going to tear out either the brakes or the tranny. No knowing which would go first.
I kind of felt sorry for the car.......

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I learned to drive on a manual, and generally prefer them. I havent bought too many new vehicles in my life, but every one has had a manual box. I have owned plenty of automatics, and I sure don’t mind them in stop and go traffic. I taught my son and two of my three stepdaughters how to drive manuals.
The school buses I drive all have autos and are pretty easy to drive. The Thomas buses, in particular, drive like a big SUV. I did have one gig where the fleet, mostly ‘90s era Blue Birds, all had autos, except for a pair of really ugly old Internationals with crash boxes, no synchros. Nobody else could drive them. I never should have let on that I could, because they were the crappiest buses in the fleet. They had weather-checked Indonesian(!) tires that were always going flat on the road.

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Not in jail.

The lack of a manual in the Ascent we bought in December was unfortunate, but at least I could find one without the moonroof (hate 'em, that's not negotiable). My wife's Forester was her first with an auto - both are CVTs. My Legacy had a 6 speed, and was not easy to find - but it got way better mileage than expected on the highway. (I did not need to use the clutch with it unless I was in a hurry, either.) These are out first cars with autos - I even taught my wife to drive on a manual.

When I was trucking, I ran into everything from 5-15 speeds (this was before 18s were common). If we do the Super C project, it will likely have an automated manual.

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NHI, 10-8.

I guess I'm in the minority here. I never learned to drive a manual. There've been a few people who offered to teach me several years ago, but they never followed through on that offer. Would be a nice skill to have, but it's way down on my list of priorities.

Ford F150 auto, Ford Taurus auto, old dump truck, 8 speed if not loaded
I take off in 3rd. Hauled hot liquid asphalt back in the 70's and it had 2
sticks with 16 speeds coupled with an 8V71 Detroit 2 stroker. As jbtrucker
said it was a bear in heavy traffic or going up a steep hill. The nice part
was you could shift without the clutch through 4 gears but I had to use
the clutch when both sticks had to be shifted, double clutching and using
the gas pedal to keep the engine coordinated with the tranny.
I still have a MCI bus conversion with a 5 speed and the Detroit 8V71,
I love those old oil dripping Detroits. They are high winders with not
much low end torque. Example, the only thing I passed going up a
mountain in Utah was a truck hauling a D9 Cat.

When I went to driver's Ed in HS, the guys drove the stick shift, the
girls got the auto's.
The instructor had two pedal's, clutch & break.
My turn to drive and can't figure out why I step on the gas and the car won't move! Instructor had the clutch in and was talking.....

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

When I went through Drivers ED I already knew how to drive.
We had 66 or 67 Dodge Darts, one auto and one was three on the tree!
The instructor would get a little perturbed when I would chirp the tires on the 3sp. I would just go OOPs sorry He wasn’t too humored.
The best thing manual I ever learned to drive was a 1955 Diamond T fire truck!
A 5sp. you would have to double clutch up and double clutch down, you miss a shift you broke your wrist!
Greatest thing I ever learned to drive and pump!

I drive a 2002 ¾-ton Dodge diesel pickup with a 6-speed manual transmission. The thing will pull my house off its foundation. Ms. Judy won't drive it because she says she "can't drive a manual transmission."

It works out okay. I don't drive her car because I never learned how to drive an automatic.

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Pack light and cinch tight.

We had a '66 Bronco that had a three on the tree... my wife is probably one of the few women in the country under the age of 50 that can drive one!

The bushings kept falling apart on ours, and I couldn't find new ones, so I eventually installed a floor shifter... it did make life a LOT easier. No more coasting to the side of the road and popping the hood to put the linkage back together...

My last car with a clutch was a 66 Mercury Comet with a 289 and 4 in the floor. I decided I didn't like changing gears. My next car was a 68 Ford 428 with a auto transmission. Cars and trucks since then have had auto transmissions. I have had 2 farm tractors with straight shift transmissions but the tractor I have now is a Kubota with a Glideshift transmission. It has a clutch but is only used in a close place like hooking up or changing more than one gear at a time. The shuttle shift is also clutchless. Just because I can drive a straight shift doesn't mean I have too. Larry

At Drivers ed they had two vehicles, some nameless sedan (automatic tranny)that the rich kids drove and a brand spanking new green volkswagon super beetle (1973). I signed up for the standard tranny cause as I was told, you learn to drive one of these and you can drive anything. And it was a HOOT. When I was in law school I would teach all of my future wife's girl friends how to drive standard. I WAS A GAWD!!!!!!!! Aside from that Super Beetle two other standard vehicles stand out, the first being a white 1972 Chevy C10 with three on the tree and the other was a 1984 red Honda Prelude. I miss them both. Downshifting that Honda for a pass was like setting off afterburners!!! Many years later I bought a kids car for the kids that were at LSU-an old beat up Honda Accord with standard, I think I paid $300 for it and dropped another $5-600 getting the timing chain , seals and belts changed out. Each of the kids learned how to drive it and it lasted through graduation. I think that it finally dies and the kid driving it at the time took off the plate and sold it for scrap-at least that is what I was told I think my wife knows what really happened to it, but she ain't telling and quite frankly I really don't need nor want to know.

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Forum consigliere

My first duty station after completing computer science school in the USMC was Philadelphia. In those days PFC pay wasn't much and as I worked nights at the Marine Corps Supply Depot on 8th and Broad, I got a part time day job in down down Philly. Was in the supply room of an insurance company. Wasn't there long when someone from the front came back and asked if anyone could drive truck with a stick. Of the three in the supply room I was the only one. At first they gave me the other kid when I had to go get stuff with the truck a 12" van body truck. He wasn't much help cause he mostly tried to hide under the seat. Don't know why he was so nervous, it wasn't no different than a hay truck, although traffic was some different than out on the ranch for a small town Montana boy. What with the multiple lanes, all the cars, signs and lights and all. Never had a wreck. But, the principal that others will yield to the biggest vehicle served me pretty well.

Drove a stick all the way to 2005. With one exception, for a short period of time I had a Pontiac Ventura, which was a nice car. Started out in a VW bug in 77, great learner car, then to a Chevy pu with a 3 on the tree, then a Toyota 4x4 in 85 (Back to The Future inspired), an S10 then Dakota with auto trans. I never minded driving the stick. I felt more engaged in driving with a stick, but autos are the thing nowadays and doubt I will ever go back.

I grew up with manual transmission, even semi trucks, tractors and other farming equipment had stick shift. Only upper class passenger vehicles with big engines had automatic transmissions. I like 'em both and both have pros and cons, it just depends on what you want/need 'em for...

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Jorge

The last vehicle we had with a manual transmission was back in the 80's and was a Dodge Dakota pickup truck. My favorite vehicle that had a manual transmission was a '74 Volkswagen Super Beetle.

Nowadays, neither my wife nor I have any desire to own a manual shift vehicle. Heck, even my John Deere utility tractor has a hydrostatic transmission.

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"In God We Trust"

2 have 3, and 3 have 2��

I was a decicated stick driver until I bought a 90 Chev 3/4 ton. I had transmission troubles at 85K and found their stick was nowhere near as strong a transmission as their automatic.
Current drive has three pedals, gas, brake and parking brake. The most I recall driving had parking brake, clutch, brake, gas and starter pedals.

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Front sight and squeeze

Two pedals on all three in the stable. Variously 7, 8, and 9- speed autos.

Coming from England I learned to drive in a stick, naturally. This was in the late 70s. Then came the major explosion of car ownership in the UK through the 80s and the resulting traffic.

In 91 I was given an automatic by an apologetic rental guy. Oh well, I'm sure I'll manage as it's a Mercedes. That was it for manuals. The traffic density in the UK in daylight and the modern automatic (more speeds, early torque converter lockup) convinced me that the stick shift was of little use to me for 98% of my driving. I've had automatics ever since.

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Release the Kraken

From 1965 up until 2016 every vehicle I have owned as mine (not driven by my wife) has been a standard. The Toyota Tundra I bought new in 2016 wasn't available in standard, for the first few days driving it I would catch myself stepping on the non-existent clutch.

When I was stationed i Seattle I bought a VW bug. Seattle has some steep incline streets and the cars behind me would pull up about 1/16 inch off my rear bumper. You quickly become an expert at operating three pedals with two feet. I bought a Jeep CJ-5 and immediately noticed the cars behind me oodles of room.

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U.S. Coast Guard, retired CPO