I remember having a stick shift on a stop light on a sloping hill on a busy Academy Boulevard interchange in Colorado Springs when I was 16 with a car my dad outfitted me with. I never could quite get the rhythm of releasing the clutch and moving forward without choking out the engine. I ended up having both feet on the brake and crying. Someone behind me had to help me move forward.
That happened to my wife in West Lafayette, on 231. She caught the light going up the hill in my civic. A driver with a pick up truck offered to push her up the hill. She cried.
The demise of the manual transmission is a notable event, although from my perspective, not a very lamentable one. I say that primarily due to the fact that in years past, any rental cars or trucks that I encountered equipped with a manual transmission were practically guaranteed to be diabolical to drive, largely due to (previous) renter abuse and poor maintenance. I recall in the late '80s that car/truck rental companies started extolling "Automatic Transmission" as a way of driving bookings...!
My first car was a (very) used 65 Beetle. I taught myself how to drive stick in that car. Then I learned how to replace the clutch:
https://flic.kr/p/7fTLnZ
Let me say, here, that “How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive” is the best car repair book ever written.
I remember having a stick shift on a stop light on a sloping hill on a busy Academy Boulevard interchange in Colorado Springs when I was 16 with a car my dad outfitted me with. I never could quite get the rhythm of releasing the clutch and moving forward without choking out the engine. I ended up having both feet on the brake and crying. Someone behind me had to help me move forward.
Long live automatic transmission.
That happened to my wife in West Lafayette, on 231. She caught the light going up the hill in my civic. A driver with a pick up truck offered to push her up the hill. She cried.
At least motorcycles will keep us shifting manually for awhile.
My neighbor has an old stick-shift Volkswagen that he maintains just so that the neighborhood kids can learn. Bless that man.
bless him! future historians may study that car
The demise of the manual transmission is a notable event, although from my perspective, not a very lamentable one. I say that primarily due to the fact that in years past, any rental cars or trucks that I encountered equipped with a manual transmission were practically guaranteed to be diabolical to drive, largely due to (previous) renter abuse and poor maintenance. I recall in the late '80s that car/truck rental companies started extolling "Automatic Transmission" as a way of driving bookings...!
I once rented an Avis manual car in order to teach my wife to drive stick. Please don't tell Avis.