Who's a Man and Drives a Stick-Shift

[tcdriver]

!995 Mercury Tracer

My 1995 Mercury Tracer (on the left in the picture) is my manual shift ride. The 1993 Mercury Tracer was my wife's car. It had an automatic tranmission. My typical gas milage is between 35 to 42 mpg. My wife would get between 28 to 36 mpg. The stick sure makes the car seem more powerful.

 

[onepixel]

They did make 'em! 4 and 5 speed manuals. :thmbsp:

Those are the vintage models. Which are pretty cool but have small 4 cylinder engines in them. All the US V-8s Ranger Rovers from the mid 80s, I can think of had automatics. Why? I don't know but it works.

 

[onepixel]

Check these guys out.
http://www.okoffroad.com/okrovers/okrovershome.htm

 

[Face]

Only Real Men with too many DUIs.

Now that was funny.

I have a 98 C5 that sees the drag strip regularly. If GM would have put a traditional drivetrain in there, I would have gone 6 speed. I've broken 3 trannys and 6 rear end, if my car was a stick, those numbers would double.

Looking at a WRX or EVO as the next daily driver though.

 

[toxcrusadr]

93 Mazda MX-6

Always had stick shifts: 78 Corolla, 90 Mazda truck, 92 Accord, and the Mazda, which was Dads. This picture is right after the tow truck pulled it out of the weeds and poison ivy next to a craft store. I left it out of gear with no brake, and it rolled between rows of parked cars and into the grass! yikes. It was fairly unscathed.

 

[PioneerGuy85]

My 89 Volvo wagon had a stick shift.

I want another one, but one that can keep itself in one piece.

Both my Chevys had/have automatics.

wish that car wasnt such a POS. when I could actually drive it, before it began to fall apart, I loved it.

 

[Skinley]

I must have driven about 50 or 60 cars, vans and trucks in the 15 or so years that i've been driving and all but 4 of them have had manual transmission, autos are just not that popular in the UK or the rest of Europe, I'd guess about 10 or 15 percent of cars are autos here compared to about 90 percent in the U.S.
Personally I hate driving automatics as I feel less 'in control'.

Probably 99% of people learn to drive a manual from day one here. The very few people who pass the driving test in an automatic are restricted to driving automatics only.

 

[Njord Noatun]

I do - Saab 9-3.

 

[ByteWrangler]

Another Saab! Cool!

2000 Camry V-6 5 spd (mine)
2003 Civic EX 5 spd (wife's)
1986 Saab 900T 5 spd Hatchback (now that the kids are gone, hauling stuff)

More fun than autos. Makes a big difference with a small car like the Civic, too. Auto: ho-hum; stick, much zippier. In stop & go traffic I'll see how long I can go without having to use the clutch by letting 'er idle in first as the gap in front opens and closes; helps pass the time.

Kids (2 girls - so much for "manly") learned on stick shifts and have hardly ever driven automatics. When they were looking for cars for themselves, it took some searching, but they both found cars with 5-spd manuals.

 

[Sandy G]

Hmmmmpf... Until y'all figger out how to conduct a Model A-synchro in 2nd & 3rd only, no power nothin;, w/the "spark" & "gas" mule ears, you really haven't lived...at 45, you feel like you're flyin'....

 

[Mr. Orange]

Manuals are gone - DSG transmissions are the wave of the future!! Dave

Yuk, I drove one of those a couple of weeks ago. :thumbsdn: What a weird experience. I'll keep my 03 Focus SVT 6 speed thank you very much. :thmbsp:

or my 04 Moto Guzzi LeMans and 03 Kawasaki Concours

 

[Yamaha1]

Yuk, I drove one of those a couple of weeks ago. :thumbsdn: What a weird experience. I'll keep my 03 Focus SVT 6 speed thank you very much. :thmbsp:

or my 04 Moto Guzzi LeMans and 03 Kawasaki Concours

I agree, just plain old stick for me, no electronics.

 

[Tom Brennan]

or my 04 Moto Guzzi LeMans and 03 Kawasaki Concours

They still make Guzzis? I had this ElDorado, bought it in 19 and 73.

 

[hakaplan]

I prefer my turntables to be automatic and my cars manual--every one I've owned -- 81 Subaru, 87 Celica, 90 Civic Wagon, 2000 Hyundai Elantra Wagon. For the Hyundai, the car was a demo--the dealer was delighted to get rid of it because it's hard to sell a manual wagon, so I got a great deal.

 

[speakerlust]

Mercury Grand Marquis fully loaded, "Auto" Last vehicle 1 ton diesel cargo van also auto. :thmbsp:

 

[soundmotor]

After totaling my last car filled to the brim with all sorts of automatic & well thought out body swaddling appointments, I've gone 180-reverse to the manually shifted and non-ABS realm once more. It does have power windows however.

 

[hjames]

My daily drive is a 2004 Honda CR-V 5 speed. DC beltway commuter uh-huh!
The weekend car (my honey's daily drive) is my "old" 2000 Honda SI - a 5 speed of course. Our previous 1990 Honda SI was also a 5-speed
And mid-August I sold my vintage 1970 Triumph Tiger 500 - tho it was a lowly 4 speed (but it had a kickstart, no push-button starter on those bikes).
That should be worth a few points, even if I'm not a mayhan ...

(picture from mid-way through restoration, before I had the plates on it)

 

[75Center]

I have an 07 Toyota Corolla - M&M blue in color and it's a 5 speed. I've driven 5 speeds for 25+ years. Shhhhhh - don't tell anyone - I'm female.

Hubby drives a 5 speed, too. We like it for the milage.

 

[mulester7]

.....5-speed Kia Rio and 5-speed Yamaha V-Max....four wheels and 2 wheels....manly, huh?....75Center, what's wrong with ya'?....women can't drive no 5-speed while puttin' on makeup and talkin' on the cell phone.....

 

[75Center]

Add in drinking a soda and changing CD's while shifting and you got the picture! And I ONLY put on lipstick while driving - that doesn't count does it?!?!? :lmao: