Driving Lessons

"lorem ipsum" (nothing123456789) 08/08/2013 at 22:01 • Filed to: Jalopnik

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The first time I drove a stick shift was in Morocco, over a winter break from school. I was with my mom and dad in our rental car, a Toyota so forgettable I’ve forgotten the model. It was in the evening, as the sun was setting, and we were in the mountains surrounding Fez. It was incredibly beautiful, but I was probably busy ruining the moment by saying something disgusting. We pulled over onto a dirt road that ran further into the mountains, and I climbed into the driver’s seat. I managed to not stall shifting into first gear for the first time, but the car lunged forward so quickly and loudly that it scared one of the villagers walking up the road. After that first attempt, I wasn’t so successful, stalling seven times out of ten, until it was time to head in. That memory has stayed with me for a while, though, never diminishing in its clarity.

It was at least two years after that first encounter before I got another chance to drive a stick shift. This time it was in Scotland, a few days before my mother dropped me off for my first year at university. We were in a Nissan Qashqai, driving along a single track road in the heart of a jaw-dropping national park. My mom was a little reticent to let me drive, having done some damage to the clutch earlier (a result of her having not driven a manual regularly for more than a decade), and being afraid that I would do further, possibly fatal damage. When I got in, her fears were confirmed. I didn’t stall that much, but my technique left a little to be desired. I didn’t get too far before we ran into another car coming from the opposite direction, with no passing space. I stalled out, panicked, somehow managed to drive over to the side so that there was room to pass, but Mom was freaking out too much to let me continue driving.

After these two incidents, though, I still didn’t really grasp the concept of a stick shift. I understood that it required a lot more concentration than driving an automatic, and was pretty difficult, but I wasn’t any better than when I first started. My breakthrough moment came through the tutelage of a friend of mine at university. He has a Volkswagen Polo, and he took me out for a couple of lessons on dirt roads near our school. He told me about the biting point on the clutch, which was what made the whole thing click. That driving lesson ended when an angry Scot started shouting at us for trespassing on his property, but I finally feel like I could get somewhere if I kept practicing.

I still haven’t gotten any real exposure to driving stick, but with my baseless arrogance, I feel like I’m a match for Stig Blomqvist. Now tell me two things. When did you first learn to drive stick? And how long did it take before you feel like you were good enough to drive one on a daily basis?

Nerd-Vol > lorem ipsum 08/08/2013 at 22:08

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That's gonna cause some chaffing.

davedave1111 > lorem ipsum 08/08/2013 at 22:09

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I learnt to drive a manual to start with. Must have taken at least twenty hours before I was barely comfortable with it, and many more before it become completely unconscious. It's nowhere near as intuitive as steering, but it needs to become just as automatic.

It's really not hard at all to learn to use the gearbox without jerking, but it takes a lot longer until you're shifting without thinking about when to shift. You have the advantage of not having to learn how to drive at the same time, which should help with being able to concentrate on shifting to start with, but I don't know how that'll work with learning not to think about.

Are you still up in Scotland? I'm sure you can hire a cheap car for the day to get some more practice.

lorem ipsum > Nerd-Vol 08/08/2013 at 22:10

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I don't think he's doing it right

PowderHound > lorem ipsum 08/08/2013 at 22:12

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I learned to drive stick on my dads old civic around 16 when I only had my permit. It took me forever to learn going from a stop but once I got going I was smooth and nearly always keep it in the right rev range (Thanks Forza!) I stalled countless times trying to go from a stop. Eventually I got my own manual car just because I knew they were better and more fun, car was a 99 subaru legacy 2.5gt wagon (mouthful). My mom dropped it off to me at school after it was done with inspection and getting road ready from where we got it from. That car seemed so much easier to drive than my dads civic maybe because I could actually feel the clutch engaging. Since then I haven't looked back. Only on my second car since that one.

lorem ipsum > davedave1111 08/08/2013 at 22:13

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I still go to school there, yes, but I live in the states. I'm living with some people this upcoming year who have cars, so hopefully I'll get some practice in that way. And some roadtrips to the highlands.

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > lorem ipsum 08/08/2013 at 22:21

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First time I drove a stick was the first time I drove a car, I think I was about thirteen.. It took me longer to be comfy enough with autos than with manuals.. 99% of the cars I've owned (35 or so thus far me thinks) has been with a stick (I live in Europe, so no shocker there).

Sparf > lorem ipsum 08/08/2013 at 22:21

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America is a strange place, because in the majority of the world people learn to drive stick when they first learn to drive a car.

lorem ipsum > Sparf 08/08/2013 at 22:24

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That's not the only reason America is a strange place.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > lorem ipsum 08/08/2013 at 22:51

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I'm currently practicing manual here in Canada with my father's old MKIV Jetta TDI, But the first time I drove stick was in Brazil in my Aunt's shitty '96 Ford Fiesta, then I drove some quick driving lessons in a Chevrolet Prisma later on for the feel of it.

AddMustard > lorem ipsum 08/08/2013 at 23:47

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Last time I saw the gearshift gif, this one accompanied it. Good day, everyone.

Eddie > PowderHound 08/09/2013 at 00:11

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I have similar story to yours! I learned at 4 how to shift and how to tell when to shift. I didnt learn how to properly drive until i was 15. I learned how to drive in a VW Jetta VR6 slightly modified. It was 10:30 at night behind my dad's store. Filled with shopping carts, trash bins, semi-trailers and a yellow railing. I stalled it 7 times in 1 hour. I already had the feel for it since i was a kid. I learned how to rev match correctly thanks to forza as well. So after i drove my dad's jetta 2 times, i ruined the clutch and we had to get rid of it because my dad didnt feel like keeping it. Im still looking for the awesome little bastard! The last time i drove stick was in my sisters boyfriend's 2012 GTI. I only stalled it once. The car felt much more different than my jetta. I was used to accelerating much more than in the GTI. Im still Looking for my VR6 or atleast a copy of it!

Chteelers > lorem ipsum 08/09/2013 at 07:51

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Won't somebody think of the synchros!?!

Dunnik > lorem ipsum 08/09/2013 at 08:33

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"Use makes master", goes the saying.

Coincidentally, all the cars I learned stick on were vee-dub's. I first learned stick 20 years ago on a 1987 Mark II GTI. Then, many years later, I practiced some more on my then-girlfriend's Cabrio. Got some more practice time in a few years ago on a friend's Mark IV Golf.

But I've never owned a car with a manual transmission - never drove one day in, day out, and thus it never became second nature. The driving school I went to had a Mazda 323 - in automatic. The first car I owned, a hand-me-down 1986 Buick Century was, I don't have to tell you, a column-mounted automatic. Most of my friend's vehicles and all the rental vehicles I've driven have been automatic as well.

The result is, I can answer "Yes" to the question, "Can you drive stick?" but I'm nowhere near as smooth or comfortable doing it as I would be had I put in more practice time. So the best way to learn stick is: buy a car with a manual transmission, take lessons if need be, and drive it until it clicks.

texasfordfan > lorem ipsum 08/10/2013 at 14:09

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I started to learn how to drive stick when I had my permit. My mom broke her left leg, so I had to drive my mom's mazda around when my brother took the automatic Honda Pilot. Then my dad decided it would be a good idea to make me drive his mini with a manual whenever I was with him, and not drive his automatic truck. Learning on two separate cars wasn't easy because the mini required a lot of gas to start, and the mazda didn't. The cars also had different points of engagement, so I learned to drive by looking for that point. A few years earlier my brother learned only on the mini, so when he had to drive the mazda, he wasn't very smooth. Because I had to learn on two different manuals, I can adapt to a new clutch faster than my brother can.

Christopher Keiner > lorem ipsum 06/30/2015 at 21:30

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Thanks for sharing your experience!

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