i know what you mean, living in the philiadelphia area and going to school woth alot of kids from south jersey ive come to realize that they just dont teach real driving very well, its just the minimum. but i guess the whole descion to drive stick or not is based on the person. like my friend he is not even gonna bother to learn stick b/c he thinks they wont even have them anymore in a couple of years (BLASPHEMY!) w/e thats just my two cents
Being 18yrs old. I can tell you that I would have rather learned on a stick. I had my license for about a year and change before I really got a chance to learn how to drive stick (thanks to cousin billy in his integra). Then my Dad let me drive the 355 around the block a few times with him in the car, but the best way to learn is by yourself. See I was very lucky that about 6 months ago I got a job working at a car dealership (plug Armen of Ardmore PA) and there I was FORCED to teach myself how to drive a stick. If your boss tells you to get gas in 5 cars and 3 are sticks you have to learn how. So through trial and error I taught myself and I wish I would have learned on stick first it would have been so much easier. But by yourself you don't have to worry about anyone yelling or flipping out. Now, I am very good at driving stick and my Dad noticed the improvement big time last weekend when I drove the 355 to the gas station and around town with him. Erik
Whoever said people should learn on a manual is, in my opinon, an idiot. Shifting and clutch operation are two more things that a young novice driver will have to deal with. They already have enough to deal with as it is, so why present them any additional challenges? Clearly, learning how to drive stick is useless unless in this country at this day in age since most cars are automatic. Someone should only learn stick if they have a real reason to drive stick. Please remember that most people on the road today dont care about performance or "driver involvement" so dont bring that into the equation.
It wasn't a problem for me and I learned on a stick. Practice with the clutch, throttle and shifting on empty/deserted roads/parking lots untill it has become second nature and then go try driving in a populated area. Then go visit the local race track.
I learned on a stick some 20+ years ago and went fine, but only had automatics in the family. Less important what she learns on, more important that she learns to drive a stick at some point. Way safer to let her be a bit more independent - who knows when driving a stick will be helpful in her life, but I bet it'll happen sometime. Also vote for some visibility of performance driving - racetrack or parking lot slaloms, something. Good brakes don't get you out of everything. My kids are a few years away from driving but would also want to introduce them to a real clutch - not just a Honda version. left leg muscles should always be stronger!
Being able to operate a manual transmission in a deserted lot with nothng else to focus on is good for practice, but in my opinion it will not adequately prepare someone for driving on streets. When you have alot of other things to worry about, its easy to get overloaded. i consider myself a good driver, however when i was learning how to drive in traffic i would not have wanted a stick. I think that after enough driving you can sometimes predict mistakes other drivers might make. Im sure some of you have noticed this too. Its better to get the basics down and then add another factor. you have to run before you can walk, but before you can walk you have to learn how to crawl first. Also, to reiterate my first post, theres not really a point in learning how to drive stick in this country since a vast majority of cars are automatic.
