quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
My sister had a manual 240SX in college and I did spend about 30 minutes messing with it one day back in high school.

I've owned two 240SX's, a '92 and a '96 both coupes. Loved those cars, the '92 got totaled in LA when I got rear-ended by an overloaded pickup. Sold the '96 after I bought my dream car: Subaru WRX hatchback. I'm going to drive it until it falls apart like the Bluesmobile after the big chase to Chicago.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
When I was stationed in Japan, I had a Nissan Cedric (Japanese copy of a Chevy Stovebolt 6) that had four on the tree.

Nobody mentioned that to me when I bought the car off another GI, took me a minute to figure out what the hell was going on.

So, which position is reverse in such a setup?

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
If I lived around a place like that I'd have an automatic.

If I lived in a place like that I’d move. Life is too damned short to waste fighting traffic, whatever kind of transmission one is driving.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo Jones:
If you are going to rent a car in Europe you better know how to drive stick...auto might not be available and if it is you'll pay a premium.

QFT. In my 14 trips to Europe it's been a stick every time and usually a diesel. Best was a Volvo V60 turbo diesel 6-speed that got a calculated (if my conversions were right) 48mpg.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
I'm old. Not only can I drive a stick, I can also "double-clutch" (or some say "double-declutch"), because there was a time before synchromesh transmissions that you had to.

Did someone say Land Rover? A friend in college had an early non-synchro one I learned the double clutch on. Another friend had a Saab 96 with 4 on the tree and the freewheel feature. Synchro only in first.

With apologies to reloader-1...

quote:

Originally posted by Pizza Bob:
I have three cars and they are all 6-spd manual transmissions. Yes, I know that today's automatics are more efficient and faster, but nothing "connects" you to the car and the driving experience like a manual transmission. For those that think driving is something beyond getting from point A to point B, the manual is the transmission of choice.

Adios,

Pizza Bob<-----real cars don't shift themselves

A man after my own heart.

I drive a manual every day and wouldn't have it any other way.

I would love to have a manual transmission again, but I'm afraid I'd never be able to sell it.

I had a beater Grand Am with a manual in college. That sucker could go anywhere.

Front wheel drive + clutch + don't care if I scratch it = lots of fun in ice and snow.

I never had an automatic transmission until 32 years ago, when I married a girl who couldn’t drive a manual. Over the years my assortment of manual transmission vehicles dwindled to the point where I just have one left-a 1980 CJ-7.

I learned to drive a standard with a 3 on the Fly mini-van,loaded to the gills, driving in Busan, South Korea. While I can see instances where a stick may be more fun, rush hour traffic is certainly not one of them. I also think an auto is better for off road driving - sacrilege to Moab Jeepsters no doubt. I've also towed travel trailers and 5th wheels with both transmission types. I'd pick an auto for RVing too.

Now, if I had a Corvette or something similar, I'd probably want at least a paddle shifter.

It wasn't a funny situation but my daughter's carjackers kept demanding she tell them "How do you put it in drive?"

She replied "It don't have drive. Its a manual transmission."

"How do you put it in drive?"

Its a manual transmission. It doesn't have drive."

"So how do you put it in drive..." he said reaching to drag her into the car.

At this point she wrestled free and ran like Hell.

My first car was a 1963 Dodge Dart with three-on-the-tree and my last was the 2004 GTO which was bought new (sold it last July).

The GTO got old when constantly in stop-n-go traffic.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
So, which position is reverse in such a setup?

If I recall correctly it was all the way back towards the wheel and up.

Japan drives on the left so wheel is on the right. From the passenger's seat, the pattern would look like this:

I just took delivery of a 2022 M3. Only reason I bought it is the rear wheel drive and manual transmission. Ordered it in august 2021 and got it from Germany last month. I prefer driving manual even if I’m in traffic.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo Jones:
If you are going to rent a car in Europe you better know how to drive stick...auto might not be available and if it is you'll pay a premium.

In addition to Japan, if you rent it in the UK, you better be able to shift with your left hand.

I’ve driven in the UK. There’s no way in hell I’d drive in Japan

FUN is driving a right hand drive stick in England!

Funny manual story and Europe.
I went to Ireland for the first time with my grandfather and father in 1999. We rented a car at the Shannon Airport- it was a Peugeot I think. Not 5 minutes away from the airport my dad hit the curb on a turnout area along the road with the front left. The hubcap came flying off and the rim was dented. My dad took the rim off the back left, smashed it over the dented rim on the front and said “screw it, Ill just tell em the back one fell off. If youve ever driven in Ireland you know how bad the roads are, so missing hubcaps are probably not an issue. We got to our hotel, and parked facing in a spot. My dad was staring at shifter for a while, with a puzzled look, and said “where the hell is reverse?” He could not find a spot for reverse, and so for the next 2 days he would just put it in neutral and I would have to push us out of a parking spot. On day 3 he figured out it had a splitter. You had to pull up on a tab below the shift knob to get it in reverse. We laughed our asses off about that little Euro shitbox for the rest of the trip.

Driving a stick until I die. Already have a left knee replacement, no issues. Stop & go traffic? Boo Hoo, Slushboxes NEVER!

My ex-wife couldn’t drive a stick. Shoulda been a clue.

My Jeep and my brother’s 1994 Dakota that lives here are both manuals. I certainly understand the ease of an automatic, especially in traffic, but I like being engaged with the vehicle.

re: " Nissan Cedric (Japanese copy of a Chevy Stovebolt 6) that had four on the tree. "

my 1958 MB 220S had 4 on the tree....IIRC reverse was pull back toward your chest & move lever downward.

Last of the old round fenders models. gas 6 OHV 24 mpg, run all day at 90+ with four adults & their gambling money....

I didn't learn to drive (first licensed in 1975) on a stick, but learned them shortly thereafter. For a 15-year period I drove nothing but sticks. Now that automatics are no longer the "slushboxes" of old, I am secure enough in my manhood to allow my gears to be shifted automatically.

Sometimes in the course of my work I still get a stick-shift vehicle to work on. These can range from a little Mazda Miata with a short-throw, "hair-trigger" clutch and a low-torque engine, to a large diesel pickup truck, and everything in between. Until I get used to them, my first few starts are a little awkward until I learn the quirks of their clutches, but I learn quickly.

quote:

Originally posted by Tn226:
In addition to Japan, if you rent it in the UK, you better be able to shift with your left hand.

I’ve driven in the UK. There’s no way in hell I’d drive in Japan

Many years ago, my employer sent me to Germany for week or so. One of the British guys at work asked, "Are you going to get a car?" I said, "Heck no! I don't speak German, I wouldn't be able to read the signs or navigate well." The Brit responded (in his classic British accent), "You'll drive far better in Germany where you don't speak the language but drive on the correct side of the road, than in England where you speak the language and drive on the wrong side."

I got a pretty good laugh out of that, and when I hit Frankfurt I rented a Mitsubishi Carisma. That little 2-liter would just fly down the road! I was in the slowpoke lane most all week, but I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to drive there.