Once again I had to park my own car at a valet station because the valet didn't know how to drive manual; this doesn't bother me and in fact I find it amusing, but it certainly brings home that I really am from a different age of the world now.
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Hmm, it is not only age.
I'm immigrant. Where I first learned to drive only manual cars existed.
And my hubby was so happy about that. I am able to drive any car/truck we have.
But it is sad that valet station could not hire people who know to drive any type of car.
In 1962 I was 15. My dad taught me how to drive on private roads (not his roads, the power station where he worked).
Try doing a hill start on the ramp out of a turbine hall. No rev counter. Noise of turbines drowned the engine. I learned that way — and he was lucky not to be fired. 😘
i learned on a stick shift and then unwillingly had automatic for most of the 2000s... then I bought the last stick shift on the lot a few years ago, marked down b/c no one wanted to buy it!
i figure it's going to be my last stick shift tho :( but i'll drive it till the wheels come off, so...
funnily enough, I just got my first-ever manual car about a week and a half ago! (2025 Civic Si - so it's actually one of the very few cars that you can *only* get in a manual transmission)
It's my first manual car, so there's been a bit of a learning curve, but the more I drive it the more I'm able to enjoy it. (Also it's the first new car I've ever had - before this I was driving a 2004 Accord that I bought from my dad back in 2012 - so the tech upgrades are nice too.)
I crashed my manual Mazda 3 sport last September (elderly gentleman pulled out into a main road thinking he was at an all way stop and I t-boned him). Replaced it with a lovely Subaru but it’s automatic, so what used to be “driving” is not mostly just “steering”. I miss my manual transmission, man.
Took the wife's Mustang convertible to run errands a few years back. Left my phone in the car to charge. Came back phone was missing. I was so upset it was 10 minutes before I realized the top had been slashed. Wife thinks they meant to steal the car - til they found it was a stick shift.
As DC cops told us after somebody tried to steal our 1999 Audi A4, but couldn't figure out how to drive the five-speed stick: Best car-theft protection you can have.
Same, when someone tried to steal my classic VW Bug. That aside, the valet has an inadequate skill set for the job - maybe he can switch with a similarly compensated employee who does know how to drive stick shift.
I thought so, too, until my 2001 Audi A4 5-speed was stolen 3 weeks ago. Found totaled, which tells me the thief had no idea how to drive it, but went for it anyway. And now I have to replace it with an effing automatic. 😭
story time: how perd taught himself to drive a stick. In 94, roommate lent me his 86 Chevy wagon 4-speed in Cleveland to visit my gf (wife) in E Lansing (150+ miles) for weekend. Left keys, promised to give me quick lesson. He never showed so practiced in parking lot where he left it.1/
Drove through Cleveland Friday rush hour traffic trying to time lights and avoid full stops. Managed to get through all the turnpike toll plazas (kids, ezpass didn’t always exist. Nor did any of the direct connections between turnpikes and other interstates). 2/
Fast forward to a dark fall evening near Ann Arbor. Perd’s bladder is understandably requesting a timeout bc it is still 60ish miles from the goal. Perd recalls a meijer just off the primary route. He successfully navigates two cloverleaf interchanges, and the meijer is in sight. 3/
Perd pulls up to the red light next to meijer. Shit, he needs to make a left from a dead stop. It’s late not too much cross traffic. Perd sees a very large opening so starts the turn and stalls. Tries again, no luck. Gets going in 1st but for reasons ends up in 4th so stalls in the worst place 4/
Cross traffic tries to stop; Perd gets the car restarted and back in gear long enough to avoid crash. Perd pulls into meijer parking lot, realizes what just happened and has to check pants. All was good. 5/5
My late father-in-law had a “bucket list” car in the few years before he passed.
Nobody could drive the thing but him. Husband had to sell it.
FWIW I tried learning manual shift when I was young, but learning on a friend’s 78 Firebird wasn’t a great idea. So. Many. Stalls.
Bought a manual transmission car when my kids were nearly driving to make sure they learned. It may not ever be vital but they sure are proud they know.
At the other end of the scale, my septuagenarian better half is very resistant every time I suggest we go to an empty parking lot so she can get familiar with driving our Tesla.
Here in Germany, I think stick is still the default. I had to relearn very quickly years ago when we rented a car for a trip. (Protip: don't do that, take the train like the locals do.)
Guess you are an urban dweller. Everyone around here knows how to saddle a horse. Even some 6 year olds. My sister used to say "come the zombie apocalypse at least we can saddle up and head for higher ground. The zombies will fall apart trying to follow". She loved horror movies.
Being able to drive a stick shift is about as vital as being able to ride a unicycle, but there’s a lot of people here who seem to think it’s the end-all-be-all of life skills.
Seems like there might be a big overlap with people who still write paper checks.
I see you have never driven in Europe, where just about all the cars and trucks are stick. And yes, the Mercedes I was driving the last time I was in Germany was... stick.
If you say so... FYI, I was just there this time last year and didn't see any sign of this in Germany. But, Germany isn't all Europe, so what do I know? 😊
I can drive a stick, both floor and stalk. I've seen the pathetic results when people who have NEVER learned to drive a manual tranny try to ride a motorcycle. Unlike them, I am not helpless when faced with any vehicle. I can also ride a unicycle. I'm really sick of "ignorance is a virtue" people.
This was why I insisted on learning to drive manual, ten billion years ago when I learned how to drive. I lived in Earthquake Country and wanted to be able to drive anything on the road in case of emergency. I got a stick shift in 92 and only just now had to replace it.
My folks didn't give me any choice. And in my 20s, I landed a couple of warehouse jobs that I wasn't actually qualified for simply because I could run the equipment.
Me too -- learned to drive at 14 in a three-on-the-tree Plymouth Suburban -- but once I moved to LA, the gridlock capital of America, I bailed and got a car with an automatic. I don't really miss shifting, but when I do, I just hop on my motorcycle and go for an old-school ride.
I assume you never rent a car in Europe.
Granted, the transportation systems there are light years more functional than those in the US, but you may want a car there someday.
My comment was specifically about the US, which I thought was clear from context, but I’ve learned that every single post on Bluesky requires a host of disclaimers so no one thinks a poster is making a universal statement about every lived experience on the planet.
It’s one of those skills that has a multitude of other benefits it makes driving require all of your senses and attentive to the activity at hand. Not sure how to explain it- but it’s not just about driving a stick. But also, it’s fun as shit & allowed me to drive a Lambo, a Lotus, and others 😘
Well- if you read my second post to my original response, I have not changed my mind that in your case your lack of curiosity is probably why you also haven’t given a unicycle a go (it is super hard! I am in awe of unicyclists- who are kinda smug to us Bicyclists & our 2 wheels)
And diminishing those of us w talents you don’t have just shows a lack of curiosity on your part- perhaps ASKING why we get excited about it is more interesting, but clearly you are not more interesting AND you are advertising it 🤣 and think WE are the problem.
How are the kids stealing Aston Martin Valours or BMW 3.0 BSIs or the Pagani Utopias in Grand Theft Auto if they can’t drive a stick?
Or are they just learning to steal Lamborghinis and Ferraris with automatic transmissions?
Bah. Kids are too soft these days…
It's too bad that you've never enjoyed the sheer fun of driving a stick shift. It's like the difference between eating a tomato out of season or one still warm from the sun after you've picked it from the plant.
People who don’t know how to drive a stick simply don’t know how much more fun driving can be. I explain it this way. You drive a stick. You steer an automatic.
Yeah, adding another thing to do while I pilot a ton or 2 down the highway or on a street where lurking babies may jump in front of me is not my idea of fun.
Eh. 99% of the time I have my bank write checks for me, but I do write paper checks for the cases where the bank is unable, for some mysterious banking reason, to do so.
Never driven a stick shift, though, so consider me as a contrary data point.
Same here on both counts (except I will write my own check if it’s for a small amount and I don’t wanna be bothered to go to the bank. That’s assuming I can find a check, of course.)
Every generation has something that is "going away".
My mother could write in shorthand. It's not useful now.
I was taught how to read roman numerals. Almost nothing uses it now.
This is just another on that list.
Yep. As one of the instructors at my motorcycle class said, "No matter what you do with your motorcycle, it can be stolen by 4 guys with a couple of 2x4s."
1) Driving stick is super fun.
2) It's vital when your job is to drive a series of cars chosen at random. Some percentage of those will probably be manual.
Just wait'll the EMP apocalypse when every modern car has been turned into a tiny house and the only way to get around is in a WW2 surplus jeep or late 60's VW.
Of course, once the gas runs out we'll all be walking anyway ... or more likely, running.
If you cannot drive a stick you are a moron , it’s not about the act of drive the stick but there are a whole host of other things you cannot operate with confidence from snowmobiles to motorcycles to Zamboni’s to name a few
"Learning this gave me so much trauma it actually worsened my relationship with the person who taught me how to do it, so why shouldn't others share the pain" also might play a part.
You responded to my comment and said “you,” which would mean me. Is there a different way to read that sequence? You directly encouraged me specifically to visit other countries. Since the entire post is about driving and writing checks, I went with the most likely scenario of what you were implying
I don’t drive a car. Driving is not a vital skill in my life. I can in the very rare circumstances I absolutely have to, but driving is one of the skills I file away with being able to sew. If it’s come to me needing the skill, something has gone wrong.
I’m from a latent pioneer gene: be prepared to do anything and everything. It’s entertaining, to say the least. I can sew AND fix your flat, diagnose a battery vs alternator problem and tow you with a firehose (w/i 5 miles, cuz nobody got time)
I actively do my best to not spend my time doing anything I don’t want to do. If I can pay someone else to do it, I will. (Still researching how to pay someone to go to work for me.)
There are people who enjoy fixing cars, so if I had a car issue, I’d pay them to deal with it.
I will scratch “driving in the UK” off my bucket list. Couldn’t convince me to drive a manual. On the rare occasion I drive, I need both hands: one on the wheel, one to hold a coffee cup.
Did you miss that your "joke" fell flat on grounds of both ageism, and American exceptionalism?
And don't forget it's a reasonable prerequisite for being a valet that one is able to safely drive a number of vehicles, including both manual and automatic transmission...
Less overlap internationally since Europe seems to think that a simulated-manual-drive electric vehicle is a sensible thing that should exist but checks are much more rare there even than they are in the US.
Let‘s look at today, how many unicycles are there in the world? How many stick shift cars are there in the world? Outside of the US and globally, stick shifts are the majority. Open your mind 😉
It is not ignorance. In many cases, driving is not a vital skill. It is a convenience.
But maybe on a post where an American was talking to an American, the conversation was about… America? Imagine that. I never said I was talking about the entire world. 95% percent of cars here are automatics
It is pretty much ignorance, and so is your reply. Fiercely defending the lack of a „global skill“ because of course America… Any job involving driving and cars as a professional should require those easy skills.
Don’t bother to answer as driving is just a convenience for you 🤡
I live in MA and a group of older ladies were trying to convince my son to take a sailing class because, in their words, “you never know when you’ll need to sail.” That’s a regional quirk more than the generational quirk you’re pointing out but the answer is this the same: almost never.
My most favorite car that I ever owned was a brand-new 1974 Triumph TR6 Roadster. A stick. It was so much fun to drive. On a motorcycle, you work the clutch and accelerator with your hands and the gearshift with your foot.
I don’t write paper checks but I was in the motor trade where it was necessary to be able to drive anything. Valets should definitely know how to drive a manual vehicle if they’re parking cars for a living. It’s an occupational necessity in my opinion 🤷🏻♀️✌️.
People have posted here that automatics don’t for sure use more gas anymore. Due to increased fuel efficiency in general, it comes down to each individual car. So gas isn’t really a factor, apparently.
Where I live most of the cars are manual, as they are cheaper, but I only saw people riding an unicycle as transport device (rather than in a circus) twice in my life, so the comparison is really not valid
Interesting choice to post this in response to an example where someone who couldn't do the skill was unable to execute their job duties. Seems a bit more vital than unicycle skills.
Unicycling is a vital skill for professional unicyclists 🤷🏼♂️ My comment was talking about all the other comments denigrating “young people these days” for not knowing how to drive a stick. People act like they’re in some elite club.
I can twist balloon animals, but don’t make fun of people who can’t
I got into an accident backing out and got blamed (and sued frivolously) and it's a long story, but the insurance company basically told me to back in when possible. It's fucked.
Alberta! For years, every company safety policy insisted that folks back into parking spaces in order to minimize potential safety issues in the event of a quick evacuation. After a while it becomes a habit.
Backing into spaces is safer than pulling in forwards and backing out. And is thus often mandated by company policies for people driving company vehicles.
It’s also significantly easier if you’re in a truck to back in than back out.
The average person probably doesn't need to know how to drive a stick. But if your job is driving and parking cars, you should probably have that tool in your box.
Ran into this three last vacation with hotel valets, and I gotta say, it's ridiculous.
Also techs at oil change places. I once had to wait until the old guy got back from his lunch break before they could pull my car into the bay. Their insurance wouldn’t allow me to do it myself, because I offered.
Thing is, it's not even difficult. I am the least coordinated person I know, and I can drive a manual.
A parking valet or oil change tech wouldn't even have to shift out of first gear.
It does vary a lot from car to car. I drove a Saturn that I could get going from standing start in 3rd if I was careful. Then I bought a Scion xB, and I killed the engine on my rolling toaster *so* many times.
Since @scalzi.com 's post was about valets, I'd say it IS a life (or rather a job) skill for a valet.
(btw, for your statistical research: I have no idea why some people seem to find driving manual difficult, but I haven't written a paper check in all my life. )
In many places, driving isn’t actually a vital skill, simply an expensive convenience.
Some people seem to think I was saying it’s stupid to learn how to drive a stick. No. It’s simply not the super cool exclusive club people seem to think it is.
Look at the comments. It’s a bunch of “haha, stupid millennials are stupid because they can’t drive a stick and they’re all stupid, we’re so much smarter and better skilled overall.”
I wonder which generation is responsible for fewer millennials driving a stick 🤔
Not a be-all skill but certainly a handy one. Who wants to limit their options renting a car in Europe? And seriously, can you really say you know how to drive if can’t drive stick? 😜
Who also wants to PAY more in Europe to rent a car because you can’t drive manual, especially in those countries where petrol is so much more expensive as well
I have been to Europe 5 times and never rented a car. I may want to some time, but given the choice between paying more those hypothetical times and somehow learning a skill (for which I don't have easy access to the equipment) to do something I've never _had_ to do in my life, the answer is: me.
Exactly! I’m in North America where manual car models keep being put out to pasture but my car is manual. Hopefully, there will be a resurgence when I’m looking again.
I don’t believe it’s distracting - after watching my kid learn to drive, and teaching him to drive a manual after that, I noticed that it does take more attention. It is, however, the attention we otherwise put towards non-driving tasks. The shifting places driving higher in our consciousness.
My car got stolen and it was a stick shift 😭 (they spray painted it blue with black racing stripes and then gutted it after driving it for a few weeks)
when I bought my Subaru the dealer manager told me a joke. 2 guys park and start walking to the restaurant, the one says hey you didn't lock your car, the driver says, it's cool, it's a stick. https://youtu.be/jtYLNFBeCr0?si=YonxNDEEnhqmuMHn
Like those people who are soooo proud about not knowing how to use a computer, phone, tablet, ATM, etc, etc. Some are lazy, some are ignorant, and some just plain stupid.
Mentioned elsewhere, we’re talking about Granny Gertie holding up the line writing a check for $8, meticulously filling in every line… even though the cashier runs it as an ACH and hands it back.
My comments wasn’t about the valets. Riding a unicycle is a vital skill for a professional unicyclist. In the grand scheme of things, not a vital skill for the general public. My comment was directed at the people in the comment section acting superior for knowing how to drive a stick.
You replied directly to the top comment about the valet not knowing how to drive a manual, was I supposed to read your mind that you were talking about someone else?
And you’re acting more superior about not knowing how to drive a manual than anyone else is about their ability to do so.
“Being able to drive a stick shift is about as vital as being able to ride a unicycle, but **there’s a lot of people here** who seem to think it’s the end-all-be-all of life skills.”
Emphasized the signifier that I was talking about the people in the comment section.
Claude Shannon was single-handedly responsible for the popularity of unicycling at MIT, where he was a professor. He loved riding his unicycle at Bell Labs, too.
Consider going to a different country, where stick shift is still the norm. You want to be able to drive there? I do. (And I drive a stick shift anyway also at home).
Fair enough. But I for one go to the Argentinean pampas regularly for work (our experiment, the Pierre Auger Observatory is there). If I couldn't drive a stick shift, that would be a heavy limitation ...
If I absolutely had to learn how to drive a stick, I could. But I wouldn’t then make fun of people who can’t and act as if I’m part of some super elite club of super accomplished people.
Try having a bunch of family members who are babies about driving on the wrong side of the road in Europe, so you have to rent a minivan that can fit 8 people and the only one they have is a manual transmission...that you have to shift with your left hand. Then tell me it's not a pretty useful skill
You would not believe my dedication to not driving. When I had a job that let me out after the busses stopped running, I walked 10 miles home every night, through south Tucson.
I walked 9 miles to and from work in knee deep snow in Reno.
every so often I google a list of any cars currently sold in the US that you can buy with a manual transmission. There are VERY few now, most of which are sports cars.
My first car was a stick
I had never driven one
Two blocks later I had it down. It’s not that hard people, just do it.
You will enjoy driving more. Unless you live in SF.
I grew up in SF and it’s where I learned to drive. My first 2 cars were both stick shift. It’s certainly tricky. But the intersection of La Cienega and Sunset is also a lot!
Back in the early years of The Great Race, simply nobody thought to make sure they could (A) drive stick and (B) swim. There were always challenges that required one or the other.
My left foot wants to do SOMETHING and keep reaches for a pedal that isn't there 😢 (went into a Hybrid this January after driving a stick for over 30 years. Feels weird 😒)
Right?! I haven't driven stick since I was in my late teens, which was *abacus noises* too long ago and I still haven't shaken the muscle memory from it.
It's too complicated for them. The left hand on the wheel right hand on the stick. Left foot on the clutch right foot on the gas.. Too much thinking for them to do
Technology has this generation, absolutely clueless, about a lot of things🤣
I mean, think about it. Automatic transmission, it's a form of technology compared to what we were driving a stick😳
Twice someone tried to steal a manual transmission equipped car that I own. One didn’t get it out of the parking spot, the other stalled it at a stoplight & couldn’t get it started after he flooded the engine. They didn’t know how to drive a carbureted car with a choke either.
Every time I took my last car in to the detailer, there would be a frantic flurry of calls around to find someone who could drive manual, and usually I ended up driving it into the bay myself. It always made me laugh.
taught myself to drive a stick. bought an automatic 36(!!!) years ago. i've probably driven a stick once or twice since then, but definitely not in the last 20 years.
Hahahha! When I had my Mini it often had “VIP” parking right in the valet where they park the fancy lambos & shit bc they couldn’t drive the manual. 🤣🫶🏽 (note- this is my FIRST Bronco that isn’t a manual- the other 3 were all manual, 2 full size, 1 Bronco 2)
I always drive a standard shift. Aside from being virtually theft proof, another advantage is that I can buy them (admittedly second hand) cheaper than automatics as dealers are so grateful to find a buyer.
A family member tried to sell me a new car (he works at dealership), and I assured him there’s no possibility of me ever learning another new car. Way too many bells and whistles and vibrations and windshield displays and on and on. 😖
I also have to do this sometimes. It's one of the reasons I love and will always drive a manual. As a woman, it is especially gratifying when this happens to me, given that it seems like nearly every valet in America is a man.
Be happy they admitted their lack of skills. Years ago a parking garage attendant who couldn’t drive stick slammed my Mustang into a concrete pillar & a restaurateur’s brand new Cadillac when he stalled the car & lost the power brakes.
True dat!! I've always owned a manual of some sort & currently own a 5-sp VW. Took it to VW dealer's repair shop for tune-up & the only person who could drive a stick was out sick for the day. Had to re-schedule.
The only thing I miss from my 2002 Jetta is the manual transmission. That car was a pile of junk but so much fun to drive (tho not as fun as my '90 Golf--wish I hadn't driven it into the ground).
Can't tell you how many times I had to do that. Either park it myself or go fetch it. The worst was when I had to move my car around for my *mechanics* because they kept stalling it
My first car was a 1960 Chevy 3 on the tree non synchromesh transmission. I'm grateful to have learned to drive in that beast. The 4 and 5 speed synchromesh gearboxes that I later had were easy. I think it should be a requirement to drive a manual to get a license. Would make for better drivers.
Last year in Chicago a couple of carjackers got caught because the first car they grabbed was a 5-speed manual. By the time they gave up and carjacked a second car, the police had them tagged by a helicopter. They were followed and caught.
I can relate John. My first car was a 1963 Chevy Bel Air with overdrive! My dad brought it home and told me if I could drive it across town to pay the man, it was mine! I made it but I kept praying for green lights the whole way! It was a great car! 😊💞🚗
1. I have never driven anything other than a 5-speed or 6-speed manual.
2. I would never drive anything other than a 5-speed or 6-speed manual.
3. Anyone who can't drive a a 5-speed or 6-speed manual doesn't really know how to drive, and I would NEVER let them attempt to drive any vehicle I own.
I nearly had a heart attack this winter when my landlord got his plow stuck in the yard and I had to sit in the driver's seat and do something. And realized that I don't drive manual. I warned him. No one was injured in the process.
Ha, we haven't had that happen (yet), but both my husband and I prefer manual cars. I'll be incredibly sad when that's no longer an option...they are fun to drive and some level of protection against theft, IMHO.
I can tell you this, if you want and, you like to drive... then manual transmission is the only way you can really "feel" the engine and your car in any moment...
Manual transmission is for Drivers
Automatic transmission is for... Sleepers...
I actually think my sons are better drivers having been taught manuals from the beginning. Kid goes to take driver's exam, and the cop questioned whether kid could actually driver it.
They definitely are, with a manual transmission you put yourself in a condition to do something practical, you learn, and that helps your brain to think. Imagine the same process applied to every other environment in everyone's lives, I suspect Intelligence over stupidity would be predominant.
I remember in San Francisco it was standard practice to pull that parking brake at the top of a hill and hope to gawd the car behind you wasn't sitting on your ass.
How about rolling forward?
I learned to drive my manual about 10 years now and I'm great going uphill from a stop, but good lord was I terrified when I parallel parked facing **downhill** and came back to find some idiot had parked an inch from my front bumper.
My car has to have me briefly release + reapply the clutch **before** I can shift to reverse, so this was deeply, deeply unenjoyable. Terror / endorphins helped. 😂
Spend some time knowing the coupling point and it wont be a problem. Or get a car with hill-holder. Mine has it, and it works well, but Im so used to control the coupling that it took a year before I noticed.
That's one long sentence :) Yes, I bet there are people who would struggle with a rotary phone. Can you still buy carbon paper? I was trying to explain typing a stencil for use on a mimeograph machine. I enjoy being a baby boomer.
Specifically, their process for generating torque at different speeds doesn't have the same limitations that internal-combustion engines do, so they don't need fancy gear shifters.
I’ve owned many cars. All of them manual. A 3 speed, 4 speeds and several 5 speeds. Current car is a Corolla 2002. Since it only has 67,000 miles and I’m 72, maybe it’ll be the last car for me?
It’s nearly impossible to get a manual transmission car these days. I miss mine terribly. But honestly, all the fancy cruise control things are probably better for my back.
I'd love to find a standard work truck, 3 on the tree would be amazing. My first adult car was a manual 82 Accord. Best thing I ever did was learn to drive it. I still had the same clutch I started with 2 years later when it got totaled. I love mechanical vehicles designed so you can do your own
Maintenance. I can set my own points, tune a carburetor, and do most repairs. Even rebuild engines and transmissions. I like being able to do my own work. It makes me feel capable
We just sold our 2012 manual transmission car and I thought it would be a pain to unload, but there were actually a ton of parents of recent HS grads who jumped on it. Some of the kids learned on manuals, some of the parents just wanted to have one again. It sold in 24 hours.
I still miss my 2000 Outback with manual transmission. I got an automatic Forester in 2016 and I still hate it. Knowing when and how much the car is going to accelerate is priceless.
There is hope, John! My daughter learned to drive a manual before she drove an automatic. She ended up choosing the auto, but she's expressed regrets. I might just have a spare manual turbo AWD something or other in my garage with her name on it if she wanted...
WOW! How sad! I loved driving a manual transmission until my left knee decided using the clutch pedal was too much. I'd go back in a heartbeat if I could work around that issue.
Our local Ford dealer started offering to pick your car up from your house and return it, when you had a service. That's neat! Except when it arrived the car STANK of burning clutch. The guy apologized that he wasn't very good at driving stick. YOU WORK FOR A CAR SERVICE CENTER. Holy cow.
Aside from yelling "kids these days know nothing" (which sure but... what was I expecting?) imagine the DK arrogance it takes to get into someone else's car, know that you can't drive it, but instead of finding someone who can, or ringing the owners, you say "eh, I'll figure it out."
In my younger days, I was a valet at a fancy high rise and a fellow who was known to be snooty ask me if I had ever driven a Porsche. I said, "Have you ever driven a 76 Plymouth Fury?" He said he hadn't and I said, "Well then you can never park my car!"
I don't think it's important for random people to need to drive manual cars but... if your job is literally parking cars, it should probably be a skill one has!
Valets can't park a motorcycle either. First because nearly all of them have are manual transmissions, and second because the valet doesn't have a motorcycle license.
Meow saw a "manual stick shift driving instruction" advertisement while driving.
Meow now drives an electric vehicle, with fond memories of an ancient jaguar that only upshifted. In order. To go from 4th to 3rd required 4==>1==>2==>3. Meow did *not* enjoy driving that in San Francisco, no meow!
I traveled to Bonaire and was pleasantly surprised they only rented manual trucks (mostly for divers). I hadn’t driven a stick in probably 25 years but it came right back to me and it was so fun. I miss it. The Audi has a manual setting but it’s just not the same.
A manual transmission is often called a millennial anti theft device. All in good fun. People just aren't exposed to a true clutched manual transmission much these days.
I am a woman. I drove stick for almost 40 years, but had to replace my last car with an automatic. I still find myself wanting to downshift coming to a traffic light. I even drove a stick in a right-hand drive vehicle in the U.K.
Come visit us in the UK, where everyone can drive a manual (stick shift). The only problem is that the only places with valet parking are a few upmarket hotels!
Came here to say this but it'll disappear as we move to more and more electric cars. After 30 years of only driving manuals (and kind of thinking an automatic was cheating) I think I've now lost the knack
I’m old fashioned enough to think driving stick makes me feel more connected to the road. That said, driving through central London (avg speed <10mph) always has me wishing I had an auto, especially as my car has a heavy “sports” clutch #AchingLeftLeg
I made all five of my kids learn that skill. I had to sell it as, “You’re at a party, there’s a car blocking the driveway and the driver is too drunk to move it, and nobody knows how to drive a stick…. Except you!” Sold!
Taught my now 42 year old daughter to drive on a stick. She is pretty much the only person her age that can now. Came in handy for her in Europe and Central America.
Absolutely! And I recently saw that standard shif cars are now more expensive than automatics. I finally gave mine up when I moved to LA and had to sit on the 405 forever. But I miss it!
Bought a PT Cruser with a stick. We waited about 20 minutes for the salesman to bring it around. Turns out he had to get one of the “older mechanics” that knew how to drive a stick. We took delivery and laughed all the way home.
I made a joke using the word “Stereo” to some kids and they looked at me blankly. Then I had to explain the entire history of radio and stereo perception in humans…I felt I’ve gone too far into the future.
My thinking exactly. 1993 5 speed Toyota pickup.... the youngsters at the shop think it is funny that it is just "pickup" because it predates the "Tacoma" branding by a few years.
Only has 88k miles on the odometer so it stands a good chance of outlasting me. My wife prefers more comfort than the bench seat and lack of A/C, so it patiently waits in the garage for my occasional solo trip to the lake or nearby hiking trails.
I laughed. My sons were taught to drive stick 'cause that's all we had. This would have been about 1997 or thereabouts. Eldest sold Hondas; younger kid worked as a porter there briefly. Only porter who could drive stick. Husband is still driving our '14 manual Civic.
I will reply with pride to say the PDX airport valet service makes a point of having people on most shifts who drive stick, including me! (And the personal cars I had from 1997 to 2021 were both manuals.) #Age51
My dad insisted I learn all types of manual. He didn’t want me stuck somewhere because I couldn’t drive the vehicle available. Final Girl training. Lol
I once volunteered with a "we'll drive your drunk ass home in your car" program, where a partner followed to drive you both back to dispatch. My (tall, dude) partner couldn't drive stick, so I (short, woman) always had to do the driving.
One night we had to get two very drunk Ft. Carson...
I bought a standard transmission MINI Cooper when my kids were teens because they couldn't drive it!
And, no, a new MINI isn't the car to start as a new stick shift driver. 😂
It’s funny how that’s reversed since I was a young. Back in the mid 90s, I learned stick because it’d become a pain in the ass to buy/rent the cars I wanted in automatic.
Join the club. I have a Civic SI - which I won't allow any valet to drive in any case because he (Romeo) is lowered and valets can't be trusted. I refuse to have an automatic vehicle, because I enjoy DRIVING, not steering. Also: they can pry my gas guzzling sports car from my cold dead hands. ;)
A few years ago in my area A valet accidentally drove an SUV through the wall of a parking garage onto the street below because he didn't understand the power and controls of the SUV. I say unless you have a basic car, don't allow a valet to park it.
We recently stayed at the Hotel Boulderado in Boulder, CO. Their valets are required to know how to drive a manual… in fact, they were having way too good a time driving my husband’s Cooper.
This happened to me a couple of years ago. I couldn't figure out why they didn't put my car in the garage instead of leaving it under cover in front of the hotel. Turns out they only had one valet who could drive stick, and only valets were allowed in the garage.
What? No! Driving manual is a critical life skill. I have personally trained no less than three zoomers to do it. They treated the whole thing like a relic from a different age of the world. But zoomers love relics! It will all be coming back, you’ll see.
Love it. It’s even less common to find a woman who drives manual.🙁
I learned in a VW Beetle & still drive a manual today. Thirteen yrs ago, I taught my daughter to drive. She didn’t learn how to drive an automatic until she took Driver’s Ed. She is now teaching her fiancé how to drive her car. 😊
Oh my. Well, until my '99 Outback gives up the ghost, I'm going to keep driving it. (I do wonder why most cars don't have the NOAA weather radio on board, though; it's handy.)
Wow! Can you write in cursive? Do math in your head? I never considered my self to be particularly smart, but some of these dumbasses walking around now make me feel like a Rhodes scholar.
I had someone break into my car while it was close enough to my apartment to start without having the keyfob in the vehicle and I can only assume they didn't steal it because it is a manual.
The good thing - you too can rent cars in Europe. I always will get asked you know... yes... yes I do... it is the one bad thing with electric. I don't want self-driving, I want to go back to shifting gears... it's fun.
I traded in a 5 speed when I got my current car. It took the dealer almost an hour to find someone there capable of driving it to check it out. And that was a few years ago…
Comments
I'm immigrant. Where I first learned to drive only manual cars existed.
And my hubby was so happy about that. I am able to drive any car/truck we have.
But it is sad that valet station could not hire people who know to drive any type of car.
Try doing a hill start on the ramp out of a turbine hall. No rev counter. Noise of turbines drowned the engine. I learned that way — and he was lucky not to be fired. 😘
Also, none of his friends ever ask to borrow his car.
i figure it's going to be my last stick shift tho :( but i'll drive it till the wheels come off, so...
How do you like yours?
8 or 9yo. Great memories. Great old truck.
Kids these days.
I can’t imagine 38 more times 🤯
Nobody could drive the thing but him. Husband had to sell it.
FWIW I tried learning manual shift when I was young, but learning on a friend’s 78 Firebird wasn’t a great idea. So. Many. Stalls.
Learn your job!
Which is fabulous, because I don't want to lend it to them
Seems like there might be a big overlap with people who still write paper checks.
Now that I think about it, my license expired in February.
I never thought about using that ability to get a job, and now I think I probably missed out!
I'm with you. I wanna be able to drive ANYTHING.
Granted, the transportation systems there are light years more functional than those in the US, but you may want a car there someday.
Europeans, probably: NOT IN EUROPE IT’S NOT! Typical American!
But being able to drive a stick does not make someone superior to someone who can’t, which is what a lot of the commenters seem to think.
In the UK 70% of cars on the road are manual .
Or are they just learning to steal Lamborghinis and Ferraris with automatic transmissions?
Bah. Kids are too soft these days…
Haven’t written a cheque in a decade.
For me, driving has never been and never will be fun. It is something I dread and avoid with ardent dedication.
Never driven a stick shift, though, so consider me as a contrary data point.
My mother could write in shorthand. It's not useful now.
I was taught how to read roman numerals. Almost nothing uses it now.
This is just another on that list.
2) It's vital when your job is to drive a series of cars chosen at random. Some percentage of those will probably be manual.
Of course, once the gas runs out we'll all be walking anyway ... or more likely, running.
I drive a car maybe twice a year. So that’s a no on motorcycles and snowmobiles.
I can drive a forklift, and that is a stretch of my interest in vehicles.
It’s so wild that an American would reply to an American about Americans. Just wild.
you're the only one focused exclusively on you.
again, you're inserting yourself as the main character here.
There are people who enjoy fixing cars, so if I had a car issue, I’d pay them to deal with it.
Automatics are still pretty rare in the UK: Mum was looking for one last year, and they command a premium price!
(Ps: I also know how to ride a unicycle, and even an ultimate wheel!)
And don't forget it's a reasonable prerequisite for being a valet that one is able to safely drive a number of vehicles, including both manual and automatic transmission...
Useful? Maybe. Vital? No, not really.
But maybe on a post where an American was talking to an American, the conversation was about… America? Imagine that. I never said I was talking about the entire world. 95% percent of cars here are automatics
Don’t bother to answer as driving is just a convenience for you 🤡
My post was not about valets.
Did you read it before you proclaimed your truth?
I mean unicycles ARE wild
But most everyone here drives a stick shift because automatics are much more expensive, and use much more fuel. Just seen as unnecessary.
So no overlap here.
I can twist balloon animals, but don’t make fun of people who can’t
Which is why all these comments trying to tell me what I’m missing are hilarious 😂
They replaced parallel parking with back-in parking on the state driver’s test, confirming all the world’s stupidity.
It’s also significantly easier if you’re in a truck to back in than back out.
I mean, I'm proud I learned and I learned at about 9 years old cuz Texas.
For me, it's just good porch talk.
Ran into this three last vacation with hotel valets, and I gotta say, it's ridiculous.
A parking valet or oil change tech wouldn't even have to shift out of first gear.
(btw, for your statistical research: I have no idea why some people seem to find driving manual difficult, but I haven't written a paper check in all my life. )
Some people seem to think I was saying it’s stupid to learn how to drive a stick. No. It’s simply not the super cool exclusive club people seem to think it is.
you can appreciate skills without thinking people who spent time learning those are an elite club because of that. sock mending say.
also it remains essential skill where manual transmissions dominate
I wonder which generation is responsible for fewer millennials driving a stick 🤔
I HATE driving a vehicle with a manual transmission. It's tedious and distracting.
BUT, my ego enjoys having the demonstrable skill.
https://youtu.be/jtYLNFBeCr0?si=YonxNDEEnhqmuMHn
Mentioned elsewhere, we’re talking about Granny Gertie holding up the line writing a check for $8, meticulously filling in every line… even though the cashier runs it as an ACH and hands it back.
And you’re acting more superior about not knowing how to drive a manual than anyone else is about their ability to do so.
Emphasized the signifier that I was talking about the people in the comment section.
Claude Shannon.
You know who Claude Shannon is. If not, you really should.
Perhaps you can explain to us how useless Shannon Entropy is. After all, it is highly probable that Shannon wrote paper checks.
His book is not very long. You can do it!
Far be it from me to spend a vacation *driving*
Which is what the post was about.
You would not believe my dedication to not driving. When I had a job that let me out after the busses stopped running, I walked 10 miles home every night, through south Tucson.
I walked 9 miles to and from work in knee deep snow in Reno.
Very little reason for me to ever drive.
I had never driven one
Two blocks later I had it down. It’s not that hard people, just do it.
You will enjoy driving more. Unless you live in SF.
It was technical
The highways are a horror
Things were more civil back then. Traffic now is unthinkable to me.
But it was a physical job long hours
I mean, think about it. Automatic transmission, it's a form of technology compared to what we were driving a stick😳
+ car in Europe.....
Instant celebrity with a mix of hero-worship.
But with electric cars shifting will be a thing of the past.
They’re missing out.
It is important to be able to drive manual...
especially if you're a valet!
Shift happens !!
2. I would never drive anything other than a 5-speed or 6-speed manual.
3. Anyone who can't drive a a 5-speed or 6-speed manual doesn't really know how to drive, and I would NEVER let them attempt to drive any vehicle I own.
Manual transmission is for Drivers
Automatic transmission is for... Sleepers...
I learned to drive my manual about 10 years now and I'm great going uphill from a stop, but good lord was I terrified when I parallel parked facing **downhill** and came back to find some idiot had parked an inch from my front bumper.
So are valet stations tbh!
It is something my children will never experience.
I learned on a manual transmission and I can certainly drive one, but I’m old now and tbh, I do prefer an automatic for the simplicity.
But I took it for inspection this year and the new kid at the shop couldn’t drive my car so they had to wait for another mechanic to arrive 😂
Yeah... he got someone else to park his car.
I had a *mechanic* leave my car in neutral without the brake on once, almost rolled away when I got in. 🙃
Meow now drives an electric vehicle, with fond memories of an ancient jaguar that only upshifted. In order. To go from 4th to 3rd required 4==>1==>2==>3. Meow did *not* enjoy driving that in San Francisco, no meow!
Everyone in my family (wife, 2 daughters) all drive stick.
We're eating outside daughter rolls up to valet 'Can y'all drive stick‽', 'Here's $10, I'm leaving it here'
“Baby you can’t drive my car”
I don't have a lengthy list of parenting wins, but I think these are both on the list.
If I drive a manual ICE car now it’s like piloting a steam traction engine.
(Professional driver)
One night we had to get two very drunk Ft. Carson...
When I walked up to do the driving, and not my partner, they were doubtful. I was like "He can't even drive stick!"
They absolutely lost their minds the entire drive home with "Look at this little girl driving my car!!!! OMG she's doing it!!!"
And, no, a new MINI isn't the car to start as a new stick shift driver. 😂
I learned in a 1990 Geo Metro.
It was a new car then.
He needed a double martini afterwards. 😂
I also write in longhand.
With a fountain pen.
Sorry, not sorry...
I learned in a VW Beetle & still drive a manual today. Thirteen yrs ago, I taught my daughter to drive. She didn’t learn how to drive an automatic until she took Driver’s Ed. She is now teaching her fiancé how to drive her car. 😊