Why drive a stick?

Automatic transmission is for people who can't operate vehicles well or simply want to use them as a means to get from point A to point B. Strictly speaking it's mere paddle-pushing. That said, being able to drive a standard doesn't give the driver an edge.

People argue that driving a stick stuck in traffic going uphill is a pain in the you-know-what. While it's true maybe they haven't internalized stick-shift in a way that the act of driving is like controlling the extension of their own limbs.

Driving should be fun. It's helped me more than once to get out of the house and get some much needed sun. Even driving an auto could be fun but the experience is no doubt discounted.

I found it almost disturbing that more models are being manufactured in auto-shift only. And if you take a look at some concept cars these days, lots of them are so automatic it's dangerous. If I drove one of those powered everything with a sat-nav sitting in/on the dashboard I'd certainly just doze off mid-drive. I'm not against technology. Gosh, never me. I'm worried about the driving culture.

edit: Rock added practicalities like saving gasoline and less expensive dealer's MSRP.


In the U.S., it's called a stick-shift;
in Canada, it's called a standard-shift;
in most parts of the world, it's aslo called a manual-shift;

in Europe, however, it's called, simply, a car.
I admire those EU bastards. Over there they have the Nurburgring; in the US, a racing ring is literally a ring, left turns all the way baby!

Of all the sites I've visited on said topic, standardshift.com offers the most complete instructions and step-by-step. Click on the FAQ and videos links for detailed explanation. Also the forums offer further help from other enthusiasts.

reading material:
Caution: Student Driver
Killing the stick-shift dinosaur
Driving a stick shift isn't automatic
wikipedia's page on driving techniques

A few words of advice to younger auto-shift drivers:
At least give it a try before you dismiss it as useless and outdated, although one try is hardly enough. The best thing to do so you can learn how to drive one is to buy a used/new stick. You'll learn when you have no choice! I have seen more than one case where someone I know did exactly that and since has mastered it.

For those who drive a manual shift you should consider to (if not yet):

1. change the behavior of your car with different shifting patterns.
2. red-line without checking at the tachometer, listen to how high your engine revs. Yes you might have to sacrifice music.
3. rev-match.
4. have at least two shifting schemes for each car.
5. find the shifting sweet spot on each gear.
6. always use the correct gear for best performance. (considering turbo lag, otherwise don't bother)
7. never rest your left foot on the clutch. Normally you shouldn't rest your hand on the shift knob either but do so when you're driving an underpowered car, to feel the mechanism and quickly get thru the first three gears.