Taught the GF to drive stick

"cazzyodo" (cazzyodo)
11/25/2013 at 12:11 • Filed to: Save the manual, Focus ST

This week is an absolute waste of a work week so here's a write-up of an adventure yesterday afternoon.

I bought my car in July. My joy and excitement could not be contained...I posted multiple updates during my search as well as a quick overview of my new baby. I jawed at my friends about how happy (and slightly terrified) I was to have bought something as expensive as a car. My girlfriend was happy for me, of course. When I asked if she wanted to learn to drive it she said that I should get comfortable with it myself, break it in and ask later.

Makes sense.

So I started asking after a couple months. She didn't have any interest. I'm the DD when we go out, I have a friend that I would trust to drive my car and she really wouldn't be the one driving my car anyways so why learn?

All valid points. If somebody doesn't want to do something, don't force it...there would be a point where they would never want to do it again. So I stopped suggesting it.

Then it happened. I mentioned it a couple weeks ago and she said, "sure." Timing finally cooperated for us so I brought her to an empty school parking lot and we gave it a shot. She was pretty nervous about something terrible happening to my car.

Quick overview:

had her go through the gears and pedals with the car off

had her start the car and mentally prepare

had her shift into first and slowly (i mean slowly here) let out the clutch

had her freak out that the car was actually moving and brake without clutch in or putting it in neutral, thereby stalling (the most graceful stall the car has experienced)

explained what just happened

restarted the process

had her drive around in first before shifting to neutral and coming to a stop

explained the process of shifting into second, what happens with the engine revs and why

had her start into first, get to speed, shift to second, turn a wide loop, shift to first and stop

had her complain about some guy that just randomly drove into the lot, obscuring the wide turn and just kind of staring at us while leaning against his car (he drove away after 5 minutes...so what the hell was he doing?)

had her complete a half dozen loops of first-second-first shifting

have her proclaim that she really liked making turns with this car

told her she could drive it home (only a mile in a suburban neighborhood)

she stalled once because she used the clutch instead of the brake and when she realized the mistake, let go too quickly at a basic stop (she had just turned)

made it home

The lot wasn't large enough to get into third (safely) so the shifting experience was light. But in a half hour lesson, she stalled twice and drove home. Not bad.

edit: I forgot to mention that she was genuinely interested in learning. I'm really happy about it, too! (clearly)

DISCUSSION (23)

MonkeePuzzle > cazzyodo
11/25/2013 at 12:13

" Taught the GF to drive stick "

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

I bet you did *awkwardest of winks*

MonkeePuzzle > MonkeePuzzle
11/25/2013 at 12:13

penis

cazzyodo > MonkeePuzzle
11/25/2013 at 12:14

Ohhhhhh you so-and-so.

Kinja'd!!!

cazzyodo > MonkeePuzzle
11/25/2013 at 12:15

Ohhhhhh you so-and-so.

Kinja'd!!!

Nibbles > cazzyodo
11/25/2013 at 12:15

Kinja'd!!!

oldirtybootz > cazzyodo
11/25/2013 at 12:17

I just bought my first manual and my girlfriend wasn't exactly thrilled. She's worried that if something happens to me and she has to drive it she won't be able to. So eventually I'm going to have to take her out and teach her.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > cazzyodo
11/25/2013 at 12:17

I did perfect when I first tried, then my dad told me what to do. I became Joseph Stallin.

Then he told me that I didn't have to take my foot all the way off the clutch before giving it gas, much better after that.

cazzyodo > oldirtybootz
11/25/2013 at 12:18

It's a legitimate (though obviously upsetting) concern.

dinobot666 > cazzyodo
11/25/2013 at 12:18

I did this a few years ago and learned how to install a clutch a few weeks later. :)

area man > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/25/2013 at 12:26

My dad took me to a parking lot for an hour and then sent me on a 7 hour trip to collect my older brother from college (my mom recently had knee surgery and couldn't work the clutch). You might say... it was a crash course.

Kinja'd!!!

YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHH

cazzyodo > oldirtybootz
11/25/2013 at 12:27

It's a legitimate (though obviously upsetting) concern.

Chairman Kaga > oldirtybootz
11/25/2013 at 12:29

This.

I taught my then girlfriend, now wife, to drive stick in my old '91 Pathfinder. She could do it in a pinch, but stalled a lot and suffered many panic attacks. Then I got a Fit, and she just threw in the towel. The clutch was on/off, and with a torqueless engine it took some real experience to not stall it with every launch. After a full-fledged emergency trying to get me to the ER during a horrific allergy attack - I was unconscious - while we were out in the Fit which necessitated the calling of 9-1-1, she dictated no more manual cars (except for the Alfa).

cazzyodo > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
11/25/2013 at 12:30

She asked about gas and clutch on her own. It was glorious.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > cazzyodo
11/25/2013 at 12:32

I did it right, then he said let off the clutch. Then he asked me and he figured it out. I was PISSED.

oldirtybootz > cazzyodo
11/25/2013 at 12:32

Yeah, the kind of thing you'd rather not think about, but the possibility is there so I understand her concern. She also wants to learn for an end-of-the-world scenario where the only thing to drive could be a stick.

oldirtybootz > cazzyodo
11/25/2013 at 12:33

Destructive Tester > cazzyodo
11/25/2013 at 12:34

This reminds me of a question, am I the only person who is almost guaranteed to stall a manual at least once the first time I drive an unfamiliar car? It's only once and usually when feeling-out the engagement point.

oldirtybootz > Chairman Kaga
11/25/2013 at 12:37

Something like that is what she worries about and I don't blame her because it could definitely happen.

My dad tried teaching my mom many times but she also threw in the towel and refused to learn. She said she drove one of his stick trucks for two weeks and had basically no idea what she was doing and didn't see the point of a stick shift. That ended up screwing me over since we never had a stick to learn on. I had to teach myself in the occasional 6 speed Wrangler at work.

The Dart is underpowered and when I started driving it I stalled a ton of times whole getting used to it, so that worries me about teaching her.

cazzyodo > Destructive Tester
11/25/2013 at 12:51

It's a legitimate question I've wondered about. I mean, unfamiliar car...a stall is understandable considering how long and carefully (maybe) one takes to get accustomed to their own vehicle.

cazzyodo > oldirtybootz
11/25/2013 at 12:55

I can more than respect the "end of days" piece of this haha.

I figured that she would either get too pissed off to continue or be absolutely determined to succeed. Yesterday seemed like the latter kind of day when I said I would bring her to the parking lot and it turned out to be so.

PelicanHazard > oldirtybootz
11/25/2013 at 13:12

It's not really underpowered. Quirky at low speeds, but I've had some scary moments of the car suddenly thrusting forward after my foot slipped off the clutch.

PelicanHazard > Chairman Kaga
11/25/2013 at 13:14

...well, that about sums up what I'm going through with my girlfriend, except she doesn't even have a license. She sort of wants to learn to drive, but the only car I have is a manual and she's terrified of driving it.

oldirtybootz > PelicanHazard
11/25/2013 at 15:06

Yeah I guess quirky is a better word. It's not exactly a beginner's car. I had trouble getting used to it and I had a better idea of what to do than she does. I'm pretty comfortable in it now, it's just the panic situations that I have to remember it's not an auto (sudden stops, etc.)