Young Drivers Of Canada has dropped teaching manual altogether. No enough people want to learn it.
If you are brave, try valet parking a manual car sometime. Many valets won't be able to drive it and direct you to leave it in front of the place you are visiting. The bravery part comes when the valets "think" they can drive it, and try, either turning your car into a bucking bronco, frying the clutch or worse.
Heck-if I was a valet and some guy asked me to park his Fcar i'd be learning how do drive a stick the very next day to get ready for the next Ferrari to come around--even if it was a terribly unsatisfying to drive 355!
We stay at the Waldorf in NYC regularly. If I bring my car with a manual box its always a longer wait. They have only a limited number of valets who drive a stick.
Can't imagine not knowing the thrill of working though a manual gearbox; that said "no thank you Mr. Valet; how about I just park her right there" - I don't believe in sharing my wife or my F car.
The 355 and 550 Maranello are - in the opinion of many Ferrari enthusiasts here in the UK and Europe - the two most entertaining Ferraris to drive. As a lucky owner of both a '99 550 Maranello an a '98 355 Challenge, I can certainly second that fact. While the road-going 355 is already very good, the Challenge takes driving entertainment to a whole new level and a full-on Formula 1 experience on each lap around a track. Check this as an example (excellent driver lapping SPA consistently in 2:53; for measure, a well driven 430 takes slightly longer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaMFyvtgPus Get a road-legal Challenge if you can. I'm in the process of road-legalizing my car right now - a process that's easier here in the UK compared to the U.S. or Europe.... For sheer road entertainment, also look into a manual 550 Maranello... you will not be disappointed, though given the low speed limits (and silly cops) in the U.S., combined with not-so-good-roads, your pleasure may be somewhat limited... -- Atul Saini
