# Cars...



## Khyle785 (Nov 5, 2004)

I learned on a stick shift and both parents prefer to drive shift so the car that they're giving me is stick shift but they think I'm not quite ready for it so for now I'm getting road experience in the automatic SUV : P


----------



## bk (May 2, 2004)

I prefer standard


----------



## jdr5084 (Oct 24, 2004)

I also prefer a standard


----------



## grooveOnthis (Nov 11, 2003)

automatic


----------



## clenched_fist (Jan 4, 2004)

_automatic...

I have never driven a standard..._


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Stick shifts are archaic creations that should have been abandoned by now.

People need a remote because they're too lazy too get off their butt to chance the TV station. They need an automatic dishwasher because washing dishes manually is simply unthinkable. They also need power locks & windows because those old manual ones were such a great deal of work, yet for some odd reason these same folks who can't do anything else manually have a great desire to shift manually. It seems to be the only thing that people still want to do themselves.

I learned to drive on a stick shift -- a 1987 Ford pickup. This is a very bad idea, combining a totally inexperienced driver with a vehicle that has the most difficult to use stick shift I've ever encountered. It's all but impossible to smoothy engage the clutch in this truck unless you're really used to driving it.

I now drive an automatic. I drive a Chevy Impala and they don't even offer a stick, so one can't make the insane choice to select one. I would never go back to an automatic. Sticks offer no advantage in fuel economy anymore (they used to when compared to crappy 3 speed automatics), so a stick is just a pain in the *** IMO.


----------



## meggiehamilton (Nov 12, 2003)

Automatic. I dont like standard. :cig


----------



## dax (Nov 19, 2004)

I have an automatic right now but the next car I get, hopefully within a year, I will get a stick. Sticks are better for people like me who like to drive and want something a bit more peppy and want more control. I suppose if I was like 40 or a teenager who doesn't have much experience driving I might prefet the automatic because its not so hard to deal with. Older people tend to get automatics because they just use their cars to get from point a to b, they don't really have a passion for driving.


----------



## WinterDave (Dec 5, 2003)

I have never used a Standard, don't want to try....My goal in driving is to get to my destination....I am anxious enough when driving, don't want to have to shift continuously when I should be concentrating on the road....


----------



## Sophieness (Jul 31, 2004)

automatic .
:afr of stick shifts


----------



## Null (Nov 6, 2003)

Automatic. I'm too lazy to shift gears all the time.


----------



## Paradox (Aug 9, 2004)

My truck is a standard. I'm so used to driving it that automatics feel awkward to me now.


----------



## Amocholes (Nov 5, 2003)

For 12 years I drove nothing but sticks. When I bought my current truck they didn't have any sticks in stock so I ended up with an automatic. it doesn't really bother me but every so often I reach for the clutch.



Ultrashy said:


> I learned to drive on a stick shift -- a 1987 Ford pickup. This is a very bad idea, combining a totally inexperienced driver with a vehicle that has the most difficult to use stick shift I've ever encountered.


My Dad had an 88 Ford Truck with a stick. I always thought it was one of the easiest to shift. I had to drive a 2.5 ton dumptruck once. That was 'fun' to drive. I kept stalling it out and ended up putting it in a ditch becuase the brakes went out.


----------



## Paradox (Aug 9, 2004)

...


----------



## Scrub-Zero (Feb 9, 2004)

I can drive both with ease. I don't drive now though. I use a bike or the public transport.


----------



## Planewalker (Feb 5, 2004)

99% of drivers in Croatia shift gears manually. It's not that the automatic system is expensive (the difference is only about $1000). It's mainly tradition, and the fact that all driving schools teach stick driving. So why not stick with what you've learned (pun intended)?


----------



## Amocholes (Nov 5, 2003)

Paradox said:


> > Older people tend to get automatics because they just use their cars to get from point a to b, they don't really have a passion for driving.
> 
> 
> I wish some one would tell my dad that. He's 63 years old and he still races teenagers at the stoplight with his Mazda RX-8. :lol I don't even want to get started on the crazy crap he does with his motorcycle. I WISH he'd lose his passion for driving, it's gonna end up with him in the hospital one of these days.


Just remember where he was 45-50 years ago, when he was in his early years of driving. The era of the muscle car. Sheer horsepower pushing 2 tons of steel to dangerous speeds. His mother probably had the same wish.


----------



## Drella (Dec 4, 2004)

I have a standard. I use to have an automatic, either is fine with me. I'm pretty good at multi-tasking.


----------



## Lonelyguy (Nov 8, 2003)

I prefer to shift my own gears. Every vehicle I own right now is a standard.


----------



## ghostgurl (Sep 20, 2004)

I drive automatic. I can't picture myself driving with a stick.


----------



## Desi (Nov 18, 2003)

I only know how to drive automatic


----------



## JDWorm (Mar 18, 2004)

I've never used a stick shift and don't want to. I wish I didn't have to drive at all.


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Amocholes said:


> Ultrashy said:
> 
> 
> > I learned to drive on a stick shift -- a 1987 Ford pickup. This is a very bad idea, combining a totally inexperienced driver with a vehicle that has the most difficult to use stick shift I've ever encountered.
> ...


Well, I know Ford has offered a wide variety of transmission/clutch combinations in their pickups over the years and I'm sure some aren't as bad as the one I drove. All sticks I've encountered since are easy compared to that 87 Ford. That Ford would buck & jump like a wild bronco if you didn't let out the clutch just right -- you can't get a Toyota to do that no matter how bad a driver you are. Toyota (I've driven both Tercels & a Carolla) seems to have easy to use sticks (easy by manual standards at least).


----------



## SebFontain (Jan 27, 2004)

I have owned a few stick shifts in my life, but i preffer an automatic. When I did trucking I was mainly driving 9 speed. When I get back to trucking I will be driving a 9 again. It depends on the vehicle if i preffer a stick or auto.


----------



## DJ62 (Feb 8, 2005)

Automatic.


----------



## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

Too nervous to drive a standard confidently. I was always afraid of breaking the clutch or something like that.


----------



## SilentMagician (Jun 8, 2004)

Stick shift. I like the more interactive driving experience. It helps that I have a fun car to drive. I feel like I have better control on the windy roads and hills around here, too.


----------

