Driving a standard vs. an automatic

[windcatcher 0]

Hey guys-
Just wondering how many of you drive an automatic vs. standard.
I am just learning to drive a standard, and find it a little intimidating but I should get the hang of it quickly right?
Afterall, I did drive my beau's motorcycle around the yard a few times with no trouble at all.

edit to add: What's so great about driving standards anyway?

Mother to the cutest little thing in the world...

[masterrig 1]

Quote

Hey guys-
Just wondering how many of you drive an automatic vs. standard.
I am just learning to drive a standard, and find it a little intimidating but I should get the hang of it quickly right?
Afterall, I did drive my beau's motorcycle around the yard a few times with no trouble at all.

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It'll be easier when you can drive a standard without having to use the clutch.


Chuck

[popsjumper 2]

The bad thing about driving a standard shift is that you have to do excercises on your right leg to get it the same size as your left....

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[GTAVercetti 0]

I have only owned standard vehicles.

Why yes, my license number is a palindrome. Thank you for noticing.

[Kid_Icarus 0]

Me too.... automatics are for old people and women...

________________________________________
"What What.....

[waltappel 1]

Driving a standard sucks:

* Too easy to spill your beer or your bong for that matter
* Too hard to twist up a fattie
* Forget talkin' on the cell phone to the 1-800-SexLine chick "one handed" (*if* you know what I mean!)

Walt

[icarusfx99 0]

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edit to add: What's so great about driving standards anyway?

Well, there are many reasons that speak for a standard.
*The driver has more control over what is going on, when to shift during acceleration, passing, etc.
*Typically, a standard transmission has better fuel milage than an automatic.
*But most importantly, they are fun to drive!!!! (explain that to someone stuck in rush hour traffic though)

Now if they just come out with DSG's and SMG's etc. on all cars we would have the best of both worlds

[Lindercles 0]

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Driving a standard sucks:

* Too easy to spill your beer or your bong for that matter
* Too hard to twist up a fattie
* Forget talkin' on the cell phone to the 1-800-SexLine chick "one handed" (*if* you know what I mean!)

Walt

If you can't do all those things, eat a burrito, postwhore on your laptop, and get head at the same time, you haven't been driving a stick long enough.

[waltappel 1]

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If you can't do all those things, eat a burrito, postwhore on your laptop, and get head at the same time, you haven't been driving a stick long enough.

I'll leave that for the highly trained professions.

Gotta go. The 1-800-SexLine chick is uh...

Anyway, gotta go.

Walt

[NlghtJumper 0]

I grew up driving automatic. That is all my parents owned, and I couldn't afford my own car, so I just made due. When my sister got into some trouble, her car was left at my house. Due to a lack of vehicles, it got put to use, and my Mom taught me how to drive it. I havn't looked back since. The only cars I buy now are standard.

Pros:
- It gives you something to do when you get bored just driving around town.
- Once you get good at it, you can get up to speed a lot faster.
- You learn good coordination when you have to take a turn, while downshifting, and balancing a drink.

Cons:
- They are a pain in the arse in a traffic jam!

A man will do anything for the right woman,
and when that woman destroys him,
that man will become a hunk of meat with the common sense of a rodeo clown! ~ Christopher Titus

[Lindercles 0]

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Now if they just come out with DSG's and SMG's etc. on all cars we would have the best of both worlds

Not all cars need a Sub Machine Gun, just mine.

[popsjumper 2]

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....
If you can't do all those things, eat a burrito, postwhore on your laptop, and get head at the same time, you haven't been driving a stick long enough.

Exactly! Learn to steer with your thighs...frees up the hands for important stuff...

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[NlghtJumper 0]

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I am just learning to drive a standard, and find it a little intimidating but I should get the hang of it quickly right?

It took me a day or two to be able to drive on my own with minimal stalls. It took a month to get proficient at it.

A man will do anything for the right woman,
and when that woman destroys him,
that man will become a hunk of meat with the common sense of a rodeo clown! ~ Christopher Titus

[NWFlyer 2]

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Well, there are many reasons that speak for a standard.
*The driver has more control over what is going on, when to shift during acceleration, passing, etc.
*Typically, a standard transmission has better fuel milage than an automatic.
*But most importantly, they are fun to drive!!!! (explain that to someone stuck in rush hour traffic though)

Plus, it's a lot easier (and cheaper) to rent a car in certain parts of the world. You'll have a tougher time finding an automatic in Europe than a standard shift.

My dad made me learn on a standard shift (we didn't have any automatic cars at the time and he wasn't going to trust the couple hours I got in Driver's Ed. Plus, he insisted, and he was right, that knowing how to drive a stick shift is always a good thing. I've been able to bail people out before because I can drive their car home, say, when they're drunk and I'm sober). I hated it at the time, but I have never owned anything other than a standard car since then. Love it!

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[squink 0]

Drive a standard, love it, would never go back to automatic. It is way better on gas mileage (and I feel like a race car driver )

But, it did take me a while to fully get it. I was also intimidated. One day it just clicks.

...the door was open

SKYDIVERGIRLS.COM

[Big_Red 0]

That is what the passanger is for!

* Pull the chamber full before putting the bong up to your mouth (never have to take your hands off the wheel or the shifter)
* Rolling blunts while you weave your way through Traffic!

And as for talking on the Cell Phone...well...most people arn't co-ordinated enough to do that with an Automatic so...
lol

Derec Davies
Big_Red

[GTAVercetti 0]

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Driving a standard sucks:

* Too easy to spill your beer or your bong for that matter
* Too hard to twist up a fattie
* Forget talkin' on the cell phone to the 1-800-SexLine chick "one handed" (*if* you know what I mean!)

Walt

Dude, I can change my PANTS while driving a stick shift. You must just be teh suck.

Why yes, my license number is a palindrome. Thank you for noticing.

[Lindercles 0]

Find a hill somewhere where there's no traffic, like a parking lot or something.

Put the car in first gear and try to hold it on the hill using nothing but the clutch, no gas, without stalling.

Once you can do that, you'll be fine.

[2fat2fly 0]

My wife bought a standard without knowing how to drive one (I tried to teach her in my truck but my nerves couldn't take it). While she was learning, we had a sign in her rear window saying "Stay back! Learning to drive 5-speed" so that people wouldn't crowd her when stopped on inclines. It worked.

I am not the man. But the man knows my name...and he's worried

[squink 0]

Cons:
- They are a pain in the arse in a traffic jam!

[Conundrum 1]

I drive a manual, I don't like driving autos.

[NelKel 0]

edit to add: What's so great about driving standards anyway?<<<<<


One thing that has been left out sofar. When your starter or battary goes out you can push start a standard. When your ignition switch fails you can jumpstart a standard. Atleast you will be able to drive it to the shop.

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Someone dies, someone says how stupid, someone says it was avoidable, someone says how to avoid it, someone calls them an idiot, someone proposes rule chan

[Zenister 0]

i'd have bought one of the new Dodge Chargers when they came out....

except they dont offer a manual and i cant imagine why anyone would want an automatic in a car like that..

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Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[GARYC24 3]

You can always push start a standard (popping the clutch)
and transmissions (repair, etc) is cheaper than automatic transmissions.

However, clutch will wear out in time.

[wmw999 2,167]

You're more connected to your driving with a standard. Yes, it's one more thing to pay attention to, but it's something that requires you to be aware of what's going on around you, and what the road's like.

Plus, it's more fun.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)