Anyone here first learn how to drive on a stick shift, not an auto?

[lxskllr]

I learned on an auto, but my first car(and most cars) was a stick.

 

[crab]

I learned to drive on my Dad's 1985 Chevy S-10'pickup. I think it was a five speed but it was definently stick. I had previously been riding full manual trans dirt bikes and four wheelers though so I had the basics down.

 

[Anubis]

i learned on stick when i was 15 in my schools parking lot on a saturday. My sister tought me. Giant open area is your best bet for teaching someone less things to run into.

 

[Fritzo]

The first car I ever drove on a regular basis was a Porsche 356 replica. It was based on a 1976 VW Beetle. It belonged to the owner of the company I worked at after school and he was too fat to fit behind the wheel, so he would have me move it around and drive it to swap meets.

I think that was the origin of the phrase "You know what grinds my gears?"

 

[ichy]

Me.
Practiced clutch mechanics in a parking lot including starting on hills. Then got on the road to drive around town: first at night with little traffic, then during rush hour traffic.

That's how I learned. Lots of lurching around a parking lot until I got it down.

 

[FoBoT]

yeah, 3 on the tree, 3 speed manual with the shifter on the drive column
well, technically, i guess i learned to 'drive' on manual tractors before i ever drove a car

1976 or 1974 plymouth duster

 

[Spacehead]

Me.
Back when i was learning to drive all the family had were manuals.
Farm tractors & motorcycles before that.

As some one else said, a large open area with no one else around or a back road, depending on where you live.
Start with the basics, starting & stopping from 1st gear. Then move on to shifting into the other gears.
Don't try to teach her everything in one day, it'll take some time to learn proper shifting.
Then take her to a hill & do it all aver again.

 

[CZroe]

Learned on a stick first and, yes, thought it was a learning-curve overload. Took right to a motorcycle when the time came later.

 

[velillen]

yep i did. A new 2002 ford focus my mom and dad purchased since my brother took the other car for college. Definitely a parking lot is your best friend. I learned in our mall parking lot where i could get up to ~40mph and have to actually shift. Once you can get it going and stopping its really just a matter of getting out and driving. She'll learn quick.

i did tke "drivers ed" in automatics though since that is what they had...so did have a bit of experience before going out on the road in a manual

As for burning out the clutch...granted the car i learned in was more or less brand new...its still the original clutch and i snow 10 years old with ~90k miles on it.

 

[terry107]

I learned in a mid-80's Dodge Colt (I think it was a 4 speed manual) we affectionately called the brown car. It was my dad's daily driver and after working for years at the plants along the Gulf, it was basically just four wheels, an engine, and rust. Damn thing just kept going though.

A few years later I tried to teach my sister in my car and that exercise was very quickly abandoned. She has only driven automatics since.

 

[kmcrowl]

Yep My dad dropped me off at the truck I purchased and said see you at home and took off. I had never driven a stick but made it home with only killing it a few times. It was an S10 so the clutch was not to bad. Good times!

 

[unokitty]

I taught my baby brother how to drive with my Fiat 124 Spider five speed.

On the west side of Chicago, it was relatively easy to find a large empty parking lot... He learned relatively quickly.

I would think that a small lightweight car would make learning stick pretty painless. Something like a Miata or a Civic. Though, I suspect something like a small motorcycle would work as well.


Uno

 

[BoomerD]

The first car I ever drove on a regular basis was a Porsche 356 replica. It was based on a 1976 VW Beetle. It belonged to the owner of the company I worked at after school and he was too fat to fit behind the wheel, so he would have me move it around and drive it to swap meets.

I think that was the origin of the phrase "You know what grinds my gears?"

If ya can't find em, grind em...

 

[lxskllr]

If ya can't find em, grind em...

It smooths out the rough edges.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I'd have her take a driver's ed class first. If she needs additional practice, then I'd help out. Having the driver's ed class will give her a discount on her insurance and pay for itself.

 

[Crusty]

I learned on a stick 10 years ago... still driving the car.

 

[SpunkyJones]

I learned how to drive with a manual, that's all we had for family cars. Don't recall having a issue learning stick and to drive at the same time.

 

[bruceb]

Driver ed was on a automatic, in a Plymouth Grand Fury with the V8 (1969/1970) which at the time, was the same as police cars. But my first purchased car was a 1973 Mazda RX-2 which had a 5 speed manual transmission. It did not take too long to get the clutch and shifter movements timed pretty good.

 

[Linflas]

No, not true...at least not here.

I learned to drive with an automatic, (59 Buick Electra 225) but learned to drive stick shortly afterwards. (my step dad wanted me to learn the basics before he taught me to drive a stick Chevy pick-up with a 4-speed)

Ditto. My first driving was done in a 1964 Ford LTD wagon, my first experience with a clutch was a 3 on the tree Chevy pickup. I really learned how to drive a manual in a 1960 VW Beetle and a 1965 Datsun 1600.

 

[trmiv]

I learned in a stick. Suzuki Samurai! Took my drivers test in it too.

 

[natto fire]

My first car was an auto, but I learned to drive stick on one of these:

Actually, before I had even driven a car, I knew how to operate that tractor, a bobcat, and backhoe. So naturally my first car was an automatic "plush cruiser". ('84 Cressida)

 

[WelshBloke]

< has been driving for nearly 30 years and has never driven an automatic.

 

[Gothgar]

Yeap, learned on a stick.

 

[mvbighead]

First car was an 88 Beretta with a 5 speed. Driving the parents cars were always autos, though we did have a brown beater dodge pickup. It had a very sensitive clutch. Learned how to drive on that kinda, and got the Beretta and never really had an issue.

 

[Imp]

Technically yes... I learned to ride a motorcycle before I learned to drive. In the car, I learned on auto, and then after driving for a year or two, I learned stick for shits and giggles.

Stick is fun and all, but if you're in a city where 90% of what you do is collision avoidance and checking your mirrors watching for an idiot bicyclist trying to pass you on your right, it's a bad idea. When I took the standard Golf out on the road, I completely forgot to do any of my mirror checks because I was so focused on shifting. Good thing I was in the burbs and my driving instructor was co-driving.