The OPPO Teach-You-How-To-Drive-A-Manual Collective

"davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com" (davesaddiction) 07/11/2015 at 09:15 • Filed to: for the common good

1

18

Should this be a thing?

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

KylesPerGallon > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/11/2015 at 09:19

3

I'm driving an M Clown Shoe a week from today. Can't wait.

djmt1 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/11/2015 at 09:43

0

I’ve been on here for a while now but amazingly I still haven’t enquired about why so many people Stateside don’t drive manuals. Being British where only 1.5% of new drivers have Automatic only licences, I struggle to wrap my head around it. I assume it is down to way people are taught to drive since from what I have heard most people learn from somebody they know in their car as opposed to something like this, which is how I learned.

E92M3 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/11/2015 at 09:45

1

Maybe we should open a manual driving school? There’s driving schools for teenagers, but there’s nothing for those wanting to learn stick. Maybe something like the Tire Rack Street Survival, but multiple days where the first day or 2 is learning to operate a manual.

Leadbull > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/11/2015 at 09:47

2

I’ve taught friends how to drive stick in under 30 minutes.

People just get psyched out and don’t realize how simple it is!

Steve in Manhattan > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/11/2015 at 09:51

2

Done this with more than a few GFs - they’re in the passenger seat, hand on yours, feel the gearbox and shiftpoints, then let them do it themselves. Then put them in drivers, let them do the clutch exclusively. Then put it together. Works every time.

Clown Shoe Pilot > KylesPerGallon 07/11/2015 at 10:01

2

Enjoy yo self!

Birddog > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/11/2015 at 10:35

1

I learned “Stick” by riding Mini Bikes, Dirt Bikes and Motorcycles. Hopping into my first manual trans car was a breeze when I turned 15. I’ve always felt that drivers should learn the basics of a Motorcycle before a car.

There are two impediments to that though.

1. The DMV in most states is in no way equipped to handle that. They can barely handle what they have.

2. Most people have the “I don’t need it, why should I know it” mentality when it comes to any sort of advanced learning.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Birddog 07/11/2015 at 11:02

1

Sadly, #2.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Leadbull 07/11/2015 at 11:03

3

Minutes to learn, a lifetime to master.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > E92M3 07/11/2015 at 11:03

0

I love it.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > djmt1 07/11/2015 at 11:05

0

I wish our driver training and licenses were set up like that. Way too easy to get a license in the States...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > KylesPerGallon 07/11/2015 at 11:05

0

I look forward to the write up!

djmt1 > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/11/2015 at 11:27

0

How is it different? The main reason why so many people go manual is because manual lessons are cheaper. Which in reality is a ploy since you have to do more lessons.

Sportwägen, Driver Of The Red Sportwagen > djmt1 07/11/2015 at 11:34

1

The reason so many people in ‘Murica drive automatics is because they feel “its easier to use and why should I have to learn to drive a manual if I can have an automatic?” AKA the laziness argument...

Steve in Manhattan > djmt1 07/11/2015 at 12:10

0

Started driving in the late 70s - my head was into cars, and I had a lot of friends. Of all the cars their parents had (and later in high school when they had cars), exactly one was a stick. Datsun 1200 convertible that a buddy’s dad owned. The next stick I saw was an old Volvo I bought in college, and I learned to drive it because I had to get it home.

Stef Schrader > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 07/11/2015 at 12:18

1

It should totally be a thing! More people driving stick would be awesome.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Stef Schrader 07/11/2015 at 12:26

0

Word.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > djmt1 07/11/2015 at 12:38

1

The difference is that there’s no manual/automatic restrictions on our licenses, and most kids get drivers ed in school, which is just enough to let them pass the written test and get past the fairly simple driving test. Most just go with an automatic because it’s simpler and few parents in the U.S. think it’s important to teach them (or even know how themselves). In 50 years, it’s gone from a skill that almost everyone in a generation knew to one that hardly anyone learns...