What influenced your interest in manual transmissions?

[Shadow]

I'm not sure if this topic has been posted before (haven't seen anything like it so far), so I figured I would just ask:

What influenced your earliest interest in manual transmissions?

For me, it started when I was just a small kid, about 9 years old. My dad had an old V8 Chevy pick-up with a 4-speed manual transmission. I used to sit in the passenger seat and he taught me to move the shift level from gear to gear while he drove the truck. And of course I had to do it with my left hand, since I was sitting in the passenger seat.

BTW, those old trucks started from a stop in 2nd gear. So I'd only shift twice--once from 2nd to 3rd and once from 3rd to 4th. Lucky for me, we were always on the back roads, so I got plenty of practice shifting!

[4onthefloor]

My dad had a few manual cars when I was growing up. When I turned 16 and got my licence I either had to drive his car with the 5spd manual or my mom's car with the automatic. Since I don't really fit in my mom's car and I wanted to learn manual anyway, I just started driving my dad's car and learned from there.

[AHTOXA]

I got a hand-me-down car from a friend of the family. He was moving to a different state and didn't want to bring two of his cars.

It was a manual. Few of my friends drove a manual back then and neither did my parents. He just gave me the car and left. I learned entirely on my own with knowing very little theory.

But I loved it.

[theholycow]

For me, it started when I was just a small kid, about 9 years old. My dad had an old V8 Chevy pick-up with a 4-speed manual transmission. I used to sit in the passenger seat and he taught me to move the shift level from gear to gear while he drove the truck. And of course I had to do it with my left hand, since I was sitting in the passenger seat.

Same exact story, except I was younger.

BTW, those old trucks started from a stop in 2nd gear. So I'd only shift twice--once from 2nd to 3rd and once from 3rd to 4th.

My dad's was labeled L 1 2 3. L was just a crawl gear, not useful for launching on the road unless you're towing a heavy trailer...engines didn't have the power back then that they have now but people still needed to tow stuff so they just accelerated slower.

[FDSpirit]

I had always had a slight interest in cars since my grandfather was a home mechanic. He drove a manual Toyota truck. I don't think that's why I had a growing interest in them though. I began playing a lot of arcade racers and even though they were games, I could see how being able to choose my own gears would help with performance in most cars. None of my friends at the time had standard transmissions, so whatever, maybe in the future. Met a guy who had basically driven manuals since he was able to see over the wheel. My other friend had purchased a WRX wagon, but couldn't drive it very well. After she had time to get comfortable, I asked if I could try it out. Although it was frustrating, I loved driving the car. For me, and I think a lot of people, its that direct connection with your car that we love so much. Would I get a slushy? Maybe. Depends on the car. For now though, I like having 3 pedals. Plus, having a small car, its really like the only way to get power out of this car.

[ElectroGhandi]

My dad has a 5spd Nissan Sentra on which I learned how to drive (both stick and in general).

[RITmusic2k]

My mom.

It was weird; my dad liked nice/cool cars - but always automatics. My mom had basic cheap-ish cars, but always stick shifts. I always had more fun riding in my mom's car. I think that's really all it took for me to be bitten by the bug.

Like Shadow, she would have me work the gearshift from the passenger seat, and then by age 12 or so she'd take me to the cemetery and let me practice driving around there. Loved every minute of it. First fell in love with driving then. Stayed in love with it forever. Active involvement in the driving process is essential; I'll never be without a manual car, ever.

[six]

I can't remember what influenced my interest in manual transmissions, but I was interested for as long as I can remember... most likely a combination of arcade games and riding in manual cars.

[noob5,000,000]

When I started getting into cars in general as a wee young lad, I noticed that most of the cool fast cars came with manual transmissions, so I figured it was something that was in my future. Once I got closer to driving age, I found this forum and the rest is history . My mom is also a secret manual lover, so she kind of encouraged me along the way.

[Rope-Pusher]

. My mom is also a secret man lover,

You, Tony and Watson have the same mom?

[Shadow]

Cool stories... so it seems that most of us were obviously influenced by our parents or relatives.

By the time I was old enough to drive, my dad didn't have that old Chevy truck anymore. His new truck was an automatic. And my mom drove an automatic. So of course I learned to drive on an automatic. When I turned 18, I bought my first manual transmission car--a 5.0L Mustang. I had only a basic idea of how to drive it, but I somehow managed to get it home without any real drama. I remember my dad asking me if I wanted him to drive my car home, and I thought to myself yeah, sure...like I'm going to let him drive my car before I get a chance to drive it. LOL, I think he secretly wanted to drive the car, even though he's always been a Chevy guy.

That car was the first in a long string of manual transmission cars.

[theholycow]

My dad also did not have the old Chevy anymore. For like 12 years or so I only got to drive stick a couple times.

At 17-18 years old I drove a buddy's Mitsubishi Mighty Max a few times, saying I could despite having never done it. I did it perfectly. Never stalled, never a rough launch or a rough shift, never excessive clutch slip.

Then I borrowed a Dodge Dakota for a few days and I was awful at it. Stall, stall, stall.

There might have been a couple others, I don't remember right now...then I got my VW in 2008 and constantly stalled it, so I joined here. Clutch and throttle are quite unpleasant in that car. Transmission gives good feedback as long as you have a light touch and fine-tune your hand for it.

As the VW's lease came to an end I spent last summer converting my 1980 Buick LeSabre Limited 4.1 V6 coupe to manual with a T5 5 speed from a Chevy S10 (which I drove home about 36 miles of backroads with no brakes, in 2nd gear much of the way, using the parking brake two or three times). The Buick is my current manual transmission vehicle. Unfortunately it is parked due to snow...I can't drive it up my icy driveway and every time I finally do enough shoveling it snows again. Also its carburetor is behaving very badly and I'm afraid I could get stuck roadside when it's too cold to sit around waiting for a tow truck. The clutch is (surprisingly) decent, the throttle is great, and shifting provides plenty of feedback.

After driving the Buick for a while with the VW parked I finally got to turn the VW in and drove it one last time...I was pretty bad, having gotten used to the communicative Buick.

[AHTOXA]

I can relate to that. My vehicles since the VW has been sold are and were very communicative in tems of the clutch and overall shift feel.

A few weeks ago I got into my friend's new Jetta and I was horrible at driving it.

[Shadow]

Wow....Buick and manual transmission. There's something that just doesn't seem to go together.

Although I've heard that Buick will have a manual transmission vehicle in their new car line-up.

[Rope-Pusher]

Muscle cars peaked just before my driving days when emission controlss, fuel economy, "Racing" traffic fines and high insurance rates took the fun out of 'em. Owning a used car around here meant owning a crumbling rustbucket, unless the car had been Ziebarted or Tuff-Coated when new, due to the corrosive effect of road salt.

Prior to that, muscle cars with slushboxes were quickest and most consistent for dragracing, since as the 1/4 mile times came down, the time to shift gears became more and more significant.

Econoboxes were dogs with slushboxes and only fun to drive when of the Amish persuasion. They didn't have enough power to where quick shifting was more important than power efficiency and number / spacing of gear ratios that being Amish offered.

All the cars in my family were slushboxes then, but I made a vow that the first one I bought for myself would be Amish. I drove an Amish Ford Pinto once, an Amish 70cc motorcycle once, and an Amish Camaro Z-28 once and then I ordered, waited for and then drove home my 5-speed Chevy Vega GT hatchback. A 4-speed would have been standard, but I had to pay for the 5-speed the same as a slushbox would have cost - $215.