Millennial here. I bought my FJ40 sight unseen in a rural part of Alabama. My brother and I flew out from New York with plans to meet the seller at the bank, sign the check, and road trip back home. the only problem? Neither of us had ever driven a car with a stick (well, to be fair one of my buddies in college did let me take his mustang around the block once). Before leaving I watched a few youtube videos, read a bunch of tips on various forums, got the plane and hoped for the best.

As soon as the check was signed the seller takes off and says good luck. So there we are in the middle of nowhere with a mustard yellow glorified tractor. Being 1200 miles away from home with no other way to get back is a strong motivator. Took a few runs around the parking lot and stayed on some country roads to practice for an hour then off we went back to New York. We couldn't take any of the interstates because the truck isn't really fast enough to do more than 55/60. 4 days later we arrived safely back home and by then I was pretty handy with the stick. There's no better way to learn then when you don't have any other choice.

At my first job, while I was still in high school, I drove my 1960 VW to work. A clutch was no big deal. One day the boss tosses me the keys to his Bronco and has me run an errand for him. OK, I am on the clock, so off I go. I put the key in, and look on the floor for the shifter. Not there?

So I look on the column, and had already noticed the clutch pedal. Hmmmm.

So I push in the clutch, Imaging the column on the floor and figure first should be up and close to the steering wheel. That worked. I figured out how to drive it in seconds, and off I went. Successful mission.

Later the boss told me it was partly a test to see if I could drive a 3 on the tree. I told him I had never driven one before, but it was easy to figure out. The kid that had my job before me never could figure it out.

OK, but how many millennials can drive a Model T??

just kidding.

My second oldest earned her temporary permit today. She's 15. I have one manual trans car...a 630hp C6. I dunno...

Lol... She probably won't stall it!

No one except me has driven either my old 996TT or the new to me 997.

Maybe in a few years :)

I once taught a kid to drive stick.... in a viper.... at autocross.



And yes, he did loop it by the end of the day. BIGLY. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

MIL is still rocking a stick shift at 89 years of age.
My wife, who grew up on the farm and was asked if she could drive a different truck, responded "It's got wheels, hasn't it? " When the seventh latest VW we aquired had the automatic she found it hard to transition.
On the other hand, she once had to bring the '69 E home and since the seat was far enough ahead to let her get the clutch to the floor, she couldn't select first. Started off in second, smooth as you please.
I'm getting to the point where I don't care if I have to shift or not.

Best
Les

How about car transport guys that can't drive a stick ? I have seen it several times , they show up with a dually diesel pickup ( automatic ) and a 5th wheel flat car hauling trailer . As they are looking the car over to document any flaws they get to the interior of the car and their face freezes :D They then do the gulp/eye roll/panic facial twitch before summoning up the courage to state they can't drive a stick :confused: Ummmm isn't your job to move/drive cars onto and off of your hauler ? Oh well it is what it is . ;)

I can't tell you how many times I've gotten into a car with automatic trans and slammed my left foot down to the floor for nuthin' before cranking the key!

I have never driven a viper. I would guess with the gazillion pound feet of torque you could just release the clutch at idle and then give it gas to go.

I drove a friends Spridget (part Austin Healey Sprite and part MG Midget) and it had a modified engine with no torque at all down in low RPM. It would rev up and make a little power but it was a challenge to get rolling without clutch slip or killing the engine.

Me as well, especially on the farm. I have no more manual transmission anything, all hydrostatic.

While both my Millennial children are fluent in manual transmission technology, I simply cannot imagine why, sports cars being the exception, anyone would buy a new vehicle today with a manual transmission.

Nothing to do with M’s. The auto trans in my Tundra is a wonder, especially in tow mode. I have probably a million miles driving a manual vehicle...unless it is a sports car, I would prefer not to drive another mile “shifting”.

Car companies are putting zero R&D into manual transmissions for main stream cars and trucks. Why would they?

Driving a stick is the automotive equivalent of a buggy whip; niche market.

Is this a shifter car? I cannot drive a shifter car, alright, so we got a little situation here. I can't drive these kinda cars! What the f*** is goin' on! You think that's funny? Would you like to know, smartass? Would you like to know why I can't drive this kinda car? I'll tell you why, I'm used to *luxury* cars. Have you ever heard of a luxury car? You know what luxury means? Ever heard of Cadillac, Cadillac Eldorado? That's what I drive. I drive cars that *shift* themselves.

http://www.dailypublic.com/sites/def.../buffalo66.jpg

I'll have to agree with oldE & Seahawk here. Driving a stick around town every day in modern traffic is nothing but a PITA. Maybe if you live out in a rural area it might be a different story, but my DDs will always be an auto, especially considering how good the current crop of auto and dual-clutch boxes are. If I feel like driving a stick, I'll pull out one of my old VWs.

Hmm. My DD is a manual transmission. And I live in traffic Hell-A. (Helps that the clutch is light in the DD, unlike that in my 930.) I couldn't imagine driving a slushbox DD. The boredom would kill me. Or at least make me fall asleep and rear-end the car in front of me.

OK, that's a pretty cool story. :cool:

LOL after a weekend driving my Cayman, or other German wondercars.. I get in my Subie to drive to work...press the non existent clutch, jiggle the shifter to make sure its in neutral... and try to insert the key on the left side of the steering wheel..

In the last year or so, I've been to a few restaurants in my Cayman that are Valet only... Only to be told I can park it myself..yea some places have areas for "bling" type cars, but I've been told flat out " I don't know how" regarding the manual trans,,,,

A lil tangent, one of the best Valet experiences I ever had was when I drove my F250 diesel to a catered company holiday party, and the chick in charge of the Valets.. told me hey thats a diesel, "let me leave a note so whoever tries to start it later knows to wait for the glow plugs..."

Dollars to donuts she learned that one the hard way by frying someone's batteries trying to start a diesel the stupid way. It happened to me once a long time ago, long-term airport parking and an old MB diesel that they ran down to nothing on the battery and did not tell me, they somehow got the car started and delivered it to me running and it stalled on the freeway on South Central LA on the way home. Fun times.

I just had to valet my car a couple hours ago at a restaurant downtown. I parked it and the guy asked for the key--before I handed it over, I asked whether he knew how to drive a manual. He replied that his car was a manual. Got to love the Mexicans! :)

When I still had a restricted my only option was borrowing my dad’s stock shift Escort. When I finally got a car it was a manual 200SX. I learned quick due to necessity and have had at least one stick pretty much ever since. I’m going to teach my 15 year old, taught my wife, and will teach the other two. Even today I feel like learning is essential, even if you never use it.

Exactly. What if there was a zombie apocalypse, (or some other rare emergency), and your kid had to drive some random old truck to save their life? And they could not do it? I just imagine all kinds of weird circumstances where someone has to drive someone else's car in an emergency and it's a manual. Essential life skill, IMO. :cool: