Stick?

[miotas]

I was watching an old episode of NCIS recently and everyone seemed shocked when abby said she could drive "stick". Am I correct in assuming that "stick" is american slang for a manual transmission and if I am is it really true that most americans can't drive "stick"?

In australia the opposite would be quite true, if there are people here who can't drive a manual it's usually because they can't drive at all.

If any american would like to comment it would be most apreciated.

I hope no one takes this as being offensive, I'm just curious.

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Most cars here are automatic. Stick can be fun, but automatic is better.

[Lemur]

"Stick," "manual" and "standard" all mean the same thing in the U.S.A. Most cars sold here are automatics of varying quality. I don't know why they're so popular, but they are. I can understand why they are superior for city driving, but out in the sticks it makes no difference.

Maybe the fact that so many Americans live in high-density, stop-and-go cities is the reason? Dunno.

It's not a religious issue for me, but if you buy a car with manual transmission, a lot of people here won't be able to drive it. So both of the used cars we bought were auto. Why fight the tide? The sedan has a very nice German-made automatic transmission that allows you to control your RPMs with paddles on the steering wheel, so if you really, truly need to hold a gear, you can.

[pevergreen]

Only women can't drive sticks in Australia. Real people drive manual.

You can't get decent acceleration off an automatic.

[miotas]

*start rant*
I prefer a manual because I actually have control of the car, if I'm in a dicey situation I wouldn't wan't the auto to go changing gears on me.
Plus auto's are sooooo boring. I have an auto at the moment and buying it was one of the worst decions i've made. i dont have enough money to buy a new car so i have to put up with being bored off my a*** whenever i drive. Were i live there are some truly spectacular driving roads that get about 2 cars a week and i kick myself whenever i drive through for having bought an auto
And even though it isn't much, in my current financial situation the extra fuel an auto uses doesn't help.
*end rant*

sorry, don't like auto's much

*EDIT*
Yeah that's why its called a manual

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Let's say you're about to pull out of a gas station. The road in front of you is two lanes both ways with lots of traffic. You need to turn left (crossing the center line...have no idea what side of the road ya'll drive on) and make a sharp right soon after. Much nicer to have an automatic--no one can steer as well with one hand as they can with two, and the car can shift faster than you can.

Manual can be fun, but it's not particularly entertaining either. I also prefer the bench style seating which you lose if you have the stick in the middle.

[pevergreen]

Let's say you're about to pull out of a gas station. The road in front of you is two lanes both ways with lots of traffic. You need to turn left (crossing the center line...have no idea what side of the road ya'll drive on) and make a sharp right soon after. Much nicer to have an automatic--no one can steer as well with one hand as they can with two, and the car can shift faster than you can.

Manual can be fun, but it's not particularly entertaining either. I also prefer the bench style seating which you lose if you have the stick in the middle.

Yeah, but in that situation, you need a much bigger gap in traffic to be able to do it with an automatic.

I've seen some pretty fast gear changes. My car is pretty damn old, so it takes about 3 seconds to go from 1st to neutral, then another 2-3 to go to second. Also got about 1/4 of an inch on the clutch.

Great car to learn in. >_>

[miotas]

Let's say you're about to pull out of a gas station. The road in front of you is two lanes both ways with lots of traffic. You need to turn left (crossing the center line...have no idea what side of the road ya'll drive on) and make a sharp right soon after. Much nicer to have an automatic--no one can steer as well with one hand as they can with two, and the car can shift faster than you can.

Manual can be fun, but it's not particularly entertaining either. I also prefer the bench style seating which you lose if you have the stick in the middle.

Depends on you're driving skill i suppose, autos tend to respond suggishly, ie they wont change down until you put you foot down, with a manual you can put it in first and take of at full accelleration, plus you can stay in first long after the auto would have changed up to second.
Plus if you have power steering one hand is just as good as two.

I learnt on a '84 toyota corona, the gears on that thing were so terrible you need to get the exact point on the clutch to get it to change, and the clutch didn't have a friction point per say but a friction region. But bloody hell that thing was a rocket when you got it right. If you can drive that you can drive anything(only got my licence 3 years ago btw so quite old by my standards)

[drone]

A lot of people can't drive stick (comes from the phrase "stick shift"). My older sister learned to drive on an automatic 20 years ago, and still can't drive stick. My dad learned his lesson well and taught me on a manual transmission, and I prefer it immensely. Most American cars are automatics, manuals are generally found in small Japanese cars and sporty cars. I have no idea what percentage of Americans are able to drive stick, I imagine most can, but prefer not too.

[Megas Methuselah]

That's what it means? Geez...

... I always thought it referred to a woman who is able to drive at the same time as giving her male passenger sexual pleasure.

[Andres]

Wow. I didn't realise this difference.

Anyway, MANual for the win

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[KukriKhan]

Then there's the crime-prevention aspect:

LINK

Charges were filed Tuesday against a teenager who reportedly couldn’t take a woman’s car after a robbery because he didn’t know how to drive stick shift.

David D. Collins, 17, was charged with two counts of robbery for that and a second incident just minutes later.

Court documents allege Collins and an unidentified minor approached a woman around 11 p.m. Monday as she left Muddy’s Coffee Shop, 318 E. 51st St.

Collins reportedly asked the woman to use her cell phone and after making several calls, he pointed a gun at the victim and demanded money.

The woman got out of her car at the juvenile’s request and Collins got into the driver’s seat.

“Collins attempted to drive away by initially backing out of the parking spot but failed to put into gear because he couldn’t drive a stick shift,” Collins’ charging documents state.

[miotas]

LMAO


+rep for the double-clutching. a manual driven properly leaves a auto for dead,
I once blew off an auto '99 subaru impreza in that old corona I mentioned earlier because I could double clutch, he would have caught me later no doubt, except for the fact that he had a speed limiter , we never let him forget that one. This was all on private land of course, out on the roads i'm a rather sensible driver.

can't beat a good ol' push start hey, almost essential knowledge if you've got an older car.


yeah here in oz you have to pay extra for an auto as well. I prefer older cars, more character more fun and you can fix them yourself.

[KukriKhan]

Column-shifters have gone the way of the manual choke, cigarette lighter, and dinosaur, I guess.

I think Saab still makes one, but US automakers gave up on them in the 80's. When I was a kid, the only "4-on-the-floor" shifters were foreign (VW, Renault), or trucks, or dragsters. Still, we (my friends and I) thought floor-shifters were cooler than column-shifters, and wa-a-a-ay cooler than lazy-man PowerGlides.

On the other hand, being stuck on a California freeway in 102F August heat shifting 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd, stop, 1st, 2nd, stop, 1st, stop... for an hour gets pretty tedious pretty fast.

[drone]

Column-shifters have gone the way of the manual choke, cigarette lighter, and dinosaur, I guess.

My cargo vehicle (GMC Safari) has a column shifter. Fortunately I don't have to drive it day-to-day.

The fact that most American females can't drive stick is a plus. That way the missus will never drive my car.

My dad has been saddled with automatics for ages because of my mom, but I gave him my car (Integra) when I moved to the UK for a couple of years. They live in the Georgia mountains, and he had such a blast that my mom wouldn't get in that car with him after a few trips. A stick shift on windy mountain roads is the best.

[TinCow]

I would estimate that under 10% of Americans know how to drive a manual transmission. The reason for this is that automatic transmissions are standard over here, you usually have to pay MORE for a manual transmission (which I did for my current car). In Europe, manual transmissions are standard, and an automatic is an upgrade you have to pay for. Thus the disparity.

Having learned to drive in the UK and then moved to the US, I've experienced both sides of the issue. Manual transmission is certainly fun and it allows you far more control over your car if it's a cheap car. I currently have a Honda Civic, and if it wasn't a manual the thing would never accelerate. That said, a manual transmission is a massive pain in the butt when driving in traffic. At the same time, automatics will actually give you better performance on high-end vehicles. Good quality vehicles with actual horsepower and acceleration usually shift faster than you could manage on your own and thus there would actually be a loss of performance with a manual transmission on many of these automobiles.

So, my conclusion has always been to buy a manual if it's a cheap car and buy an automatic if it's a nice car. Oh, and don't buy an American car no matter what you do.

[CountArach]

In australia the opposite would be quite true, if there are people here who can't drive a manual it's usually because they can't drive at all.

I can't drive manual...

[Raz]

Please, if you want the true authentic manual driving experience, take a spin in the Karl-n-Bertha-mobile.

[pevergreen]

I can't drive manual...

Ah. Finally. My revenge.

Get out of my country.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Finally got back at you for that.

[CountArach]

Ah. Finally. My revenge.

Get out of my country.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Finally got back at you for that.

Queensland isn't part of my country.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Seriously... what did I say?