i think the average european 18 year old turns into a wannabe Michael Schumacher ( at least they do untill they get aquinted with mr Tree), our cars are small, light(heavely taxed on either weight or engine displacement) , our cops are nowhere near as annoying or organized as they are in the US and our roads are a lot less wide, less lanes and more corners, automatic gearboxes are generally considered to be something for taxidrivers.

so we learn to shift early on, and once we get the hang of it, it's kind of like riding a bicycle, you don't think about it much...

Yep, I count myself fortunate that the first car I ever drove was a stick (right hand drive car in Japan), and all but two of the car's that I've owned have been manuals. I made sure that both kids can drive a stick. It's something that everyone should be able to do.

I learned from riding a 2 stroke dirt bike that I found and reaired. I was 11 and it was scary, but it certainly taught me about power bands and stalling! First car was a Chevette. I was 15, no license, had to get to work, had driven an auto once before, learned to drive a stick on the way, didn't make it to work on time.

dirt bikes rule
to bad there's no dirt anywhere around Rotterdam ( at least no dirt roads where you're allowed to drive) everything is paved for bicycles and motorized wheelchairs for the aging population... quite funny to see though , because everything is paved, and and tarmac doens't allow water to drain... everytime it rains, you see wheel chair tourists going through 5 inches of water, it's a bit like an Urban Camel Trophy for senior citizens...

when i get that old, i'll mount a flat 6 MFI engine on my wheel chair
i'll be the fasted old timer to get around the supermarket !!

:D

Ook-ook..... shouldn't that come with a power-junky warning ? :D

When I cruise on the freeway its around 3200 rpm at 70 mph. Thats 5th gear. My 79 SC is stock and doesn't have big power so I don't "race" people. When necessary I will have it in 4th and pull away from most people or pass cars with ease.
When tooling around the neighborhood I regularly see 2000 rpm. I don't want to attract attention and be seen as a racer through the hood. Lugging it is when you are in 5th gear at 1500 rpm. You can physically feel the motor and trans "shake". If you shift above 3000 rpm you won't have that problem. but I can't see running my car to 6000 every time I jump in it.

On my "S" I shift between the third and fourth movements, before I hear any sour notes from the Orchestra (soft touch Rev limiter).

I'll buy that for vivace and allegro passages, but I'm betting you've heard it at least once when it's presto :D