Parents Not Letting Their Kids Learn Manual

[TenEightyOne]

I would like to know how to drive a manual but nobody I know has one. I imagine it would be distracting for most people. Having to worry about shifting all the time instead of focusing on the road.

???

I learnt to drive stick off-road at about 11 like I suspect a lot of children do with at least one of their parents...it's not at all difficult.

Automatics are perfectly pleasant to drive sitting at 85 on the motorway, apart from that I find them mostly hateful. When I drive more powerful automatics I really hate being under load on the exit of a curve and then the car changes gear without asking. I had a Merc that was particularly fond of doing that...that's why it went away.

 

[XPOWER180]

The only good manual car out there is probably the FRS/GT86/BRZ. Unless you're rich or something.

EVERY manual car is infinatley better than an auto. I can't imagine anything worse than being so lazy that you need to have the vehicle change gears for you. Absolutely no comparison. In Britain and Europe you would be laughed at if you considered a slush box unless of course you have a disability that meant manual changes were a no go.

 

[Grayfox]

EVERY manual car is infinatley better than an auto. I can't imagine anything worse than being so lazy that you need to have the vehicle change gears for you. Absolutely no comparison. In Britain and Europe you would be laughed at if you considered a slush box unless of course you have a disability that meant manual changes were a no go.

Sadly australia a country that was founded by the UK is now becoming like the USA when it comes to driving.
People want "Autos" rather than manuals.

Honda Australia do not offer manual on their cars unless you go for the base model.

This is a review for the 1.6 diesel civic hatchback.
http://www.themotorreport.com.au/56866/2013-honda-civic-dti-s-australian-road-test-review
What’s Not
No auto, average rear seat comfort.

What is the point of getting an economical car, if you want to ruin the fuel economy with automatics

 

[XPOWER180]

Sadly australia a country that was founded by the UK is now becoming like the USA when it comes to driving.
People want "Autos" rather than manuals.

Honda Australia do not offer manual on their cars unless you go for the base model.

Shocking behavior Honda! I don't see the reasoning behind that, removing a customers choice. Do you get the Civic Type R out there? If so please tell me they have kept that manual!

 

[jimipitbull]

Sadly australia a country that was founded by the UK is now becoming like the USA when it comes to driving.

It was actually an invasion.

 

[Grayfox]

Shocking behavior Honda! I don't see the reasoning behind that, removing a customers choice. Do you get the Civic Type R out there? If so please tell me they have kept that manual!

We got the FN2 and it was a manual, I would be surprised if the new type R that would be sold here in 2016/2017 is manual, honda ausralia may think the type R is a midlife crisis car and you want to use an auto cause you just drive it in the city.
I blast around the country in my FK2 which is manual and it is fun.

 

[05XR8]

There are too many gadgets in cars these days. Why should people bother to shift gears when they are busy texting, navigating, watching videos. Top echelon race drivers dont even use gated shifters anymore.
I remember the biggest excuse by some family memebers who didint want to learn manual was, too many pedals. Another was, traffic congestion. Plus, like my earlier point, I wanted to do like the race car drivers when I was growing up. Shifting 4 speeds up and down. When 5 speeds were the norm, it was like what can you do with all those gears? Then 6 speeds. Now its like a real race car. 8, 9, 10 speeds now- plain silly never mind the advancements in technology.

I bet we come full circle and go back to 2 speed power-glides, since the CVT is an acceptable (forced) alternative to a normal auto. It worked for Pole Position.

 

[Slash]

EVERY manual car is infinatley better than an auto.

Not true. Depends on what you want to do with it. Autos are better for drag racing. They shift faster than any human ever will. Hence the popularity.

As I said before. If you drive a manual in anything other than a performance car, you look like you have no money.

 

[Grayfox]

People should learn to drive on cars with no power steering, non power assisted breaks, manual, no ABS.
let them learn proper car control before letting them use a modern car.

Moderns cars weaknesses are the power assisted things like steering or brakes.
If the car stalls, you lose everything that can control the car.

 

[Slash]

Fully agree. Though power steering and power brakes aren't really new. Most cars have had them at least optioned from the 60s. That was all you had basically.

 

[NixxxoN]

Power Steering and ABS are actually very useful things that can't compare with auto/manual, they're a must. Like... airbags to say something... security improvements.

But auto-manual? I drove once an automatic and even though it was a BMW 330 I thought it was hella boring to drive. Once you learn manual i bet you wont go back to boring automatic, thats my opinion.

 

[Grayfox]

Not all small cars had them in the late 80's here.
Plus you can disable power assisted stuff on most cars.

 

[jimipitbull]

Not all small cars had them in the late 80's here.
Plus you can disable power assisted stuff on most cars.

Power assisted steering and/or brakes. Have you tried turning those off? Did the vehicle perform better?

 

[Grayfox]

Never done it but i think one should learn to drive without them, so if something fails on a new car you know how to control it rather than just being thrown into an unknown situation.

 

[eiriksmil]

Meh.. New autos are good, I don't see what the problem is. If you're such a manual purist you'll laugh at someone getting an auto, you've got an issue. My toy cars are manual.. My daily is a manual, but meh, I don't really care..

Also, to the ones that think manuals are saving the world in terms of driver involvement or a constant distraction; at 50 mph what's the difference? Only in town there's a difference, and operating a manual around town comes as natural as having sex.. Neither is exactly rocket science.

Just for fun;

1. You have more control over your gas mileage.

2. Engine braking decreases wear on the brakes letting them last longer. (Going downhill or slowly slowing down coming into town.)

3. You don't have to worry about a computer going out or ATF.

4. You keep all feet active and don't get cramps from sitting still for hours.

1. New auto boxes are better than manuals at fuel efficiency and performance.
2. New auto boxes engine brake.
3. Modern cars still have a hell of a lot of electronics, with a manual you only have one thing less. You should worry about MTF (although many forget).
4. Sitting still four hours usually mean interstate driving. Same loss of feet activity.

20-30 years ago when auto boxes were 3speed unintelligent devices manuals easily won. The world has moved on. I do like left foot braking an RWD, non-ABS car going sideways after dumping the clutch, down a snowy road. I know how to rev match and have to in my oldest car. However, I don't and don't want to, daily a stripped out drift monster or an air cooled VW.

 

[Grayfox]

many people use there phones when in the city as they think the slower speeds and traffic lights make it safe to do so.

 

[Doog]

EVERY manual car is infinatley better than an auto.

lol elitist.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

Don't we have a thread for discussing manual vs automatic?

 

[NixxxoN]

good avatar

 

[Ibonibo]

It's very easy in Europe.

Do your permit in an automatic, and you can only drive automatics.

Do your permit in a manual, and you can drive both.

To my understanding, EU driving licenses are harder than in the US (correct me if wrong) A girl I know did her permit in the US while there for a school year. Came back, did notice she is only allowed to drive automatic. Redid her test here, she was overwhelmed.

I get people with DSG and the likes. It's an awesome tech. With my current car, a DSG would make it quicker, easier to make launches, and easier to resell... But I will always love my third pedal.

And one thing no automatic will ever be able to do : longitude weight transfer! This can be a life saver or at least can save you from cold metal deformations

 

[Beeblebrox237]

So here's a question: I have a US driver's license but live in the UK, does that mean that I can only (legally) drive automatics? I learned on a manual, so it would be a bit disappointing, not that I do much driving.

 

[Zenith]

All this talk about learning on cars without power steering, ABS, power brakes, what have you.

It should be mandatory for all driver's license tests to be administered with a crash box gear box. The driver must learn this skill in case their gearbox fails catastrophically. Furthermore, it is the only way to be considered a man. I do unnecessary work due to my short sightedness and unwillingness to be honest with myself. I am a man. Raaaaaa MANual.

 

[Aquarelle]

I'm currently fighting tooth and nail against my friends parents who are insisting she needs to drive an automatic Toyota Vitz because she "Only needs to get from A to B"

Now, this girl has been dying to drive for 9 years now ever since she was told at 15 that she couldn't because of her eyesight which has since improved - she enjoys driving for the sake of driving and is partial to blasting through back roads - I know for a fact she's going to hate being in an automatic FWD econo car and so does she - her parents however are fun hating monsters as far as I can make out.

They said the AE111 Trueno/Levin is a "High maintenance vehicle" as an excuse to not look at it and call the Nissan March "Sporty"

I'm also apparently a "Boy racer idiot who buys crap" because I disagree with them

 

[Grandea GTR]

They said the AE111 Trueno/Levin is a "High maintenance vehicle" <<<What? it's a Toyota, how could it be high maintenance? as an excuse to not look at it and call the Nissan March "Sporty"<<<So what if it looks sporty, still an econobox(?), it nets good MPG figures and is safe to drive

 

[Aquarelle]

What? it's a Toyota, how could it be high maintenance?

As soon as they said that, I stopped taking anything they said seriously. At first I was respecting their desire to have her in a smaller car (Civic hatch, Starlet etc) but it has slowly become a case of "Shut the **** up you clearly know nothing". When she began asking about Toyota Celicas they shot her down "Because a 2 litre engine is far more powerful than the 1.6's you've been looking at"

Because displacement is the only measure of power.. yup... we'll ignore the fact the Celica is 300KG heavier so the P/W is about the same....

So what if it looks sporty, still an econobox(?), it nets good MPG figures and is safe to drive

I'd argue it doesn't even /look/ sporty, I find the march to be an ugly bubble personally.
Not to mention the handling feels downright dangerous if you tickle it the wrong way, much like a novice driver could end up doing because she's spent way too much time in my passenger seat but doesn't understand the intricacies of driving as fast as I do. (In a safe and controlled manner and environment)

At least they're accepting the fact she's firm on wanting a manual so that's something. (It helps that I took her for a drive in an automatic FWD car and then immediately afterwards took her out in my manual Skyline so she could appreciate the difference the gearbox makes)

 

[FordMKIVJ5]

So here's a question: I have a US driver's license but live in the UK, does that mean that I can only (legally) drive automatics? I learned on a manual, so it would be a bit disappointing, not that I do much driving.

I don't think there is a restriction on what you can drive, it's just that you can only use that licence for 12 months.

 

[homeforsummer]

4. You keep all feet active and don't get cramps from sitting still for hours.

All other points aside, I'm not sure this one is really the case.

I've driven a hell of a lot of both manual and automatic cars, and if I had to pick one that was more comfortable after several hours, I'd probably say the automatics. Far from getting cramps from sitting in the same position for hours, I find missing that extra pedal gives you a bit more freedom with how you sit since you don't need to position yourself to operate a clutch.

Certainly driven a few cars available with both manual and auto options that are quite uncomfortable with a manual and comfy with the auto, simply because the pedal box is less compromised in the auto.

-----

Still, as has already been mentioned, we probably shouldn't turn this into another manual vs auto thread.

On the subject of the OP, it does seem a bit harsh deciding that you're not capable of using a manual. The whole point of learning is to... well, learn.

 

[Exorcet]

People should learn to drive on cars with no power steering, non power assisted breaks, manual, no ABS.
let them learn proper car control before letting them use a modern car.

Moderns cars weaknesses are the power assisted things like steering or brakes.
If the car stalls, you lose everything that can control the car.

There is no point to learning something you'll never use.

As far as the topic title goes, I wouldn't expect parents to go out of their way to teach manual. I don't understand actively getting in the way of learning though.

 

[t3kc0h]

Meh.. New autos are good, I don't see what the problem is. If you're such a manual purist you'll laugh at someone getting an auto, you've got an issue. My toy cars are manual.. My daily is a manual, but meh, I don't really care..

Also, to the ones that think manuals are saving the world in terms of driver involvement or a constant distraction; at 50 mph what's the difference? Only in town there's a difference, and operating a manual around town comes as natural as having sex.. Neither is exactly rocket science.

Just for fun;


1. New auto boxes are better than manuals at fuel efficiency and performance.
2. New auto boxes engine brake.
3. Modern cars still have a hell of a lot of electronics, with a manual you only have one thing less. You should worry about MTF (although many forget).
4. Sitting still four hours usually mean interstate driving. Same loss of feet activity.

20-30 years ago when auto boxes were 3speed unintelligent devices manuals easily won. The world has moved on. I do like left foot braking an RWD, non-ABS car going sideways after dumping the clutch, down a snowy road. I know how to rev match and have to in my oldest car. However, I don't and don't want to, daily a stripped out drift monster or an air cooled VW.

I'm not a manual purist, and I know you didn't directly state that I was. But I just prefer manual because it's just my preference. And you're talking about modern cars, yes they have 8 gears and do everything for you. But where's the fun in a car that drives itself? And I think your math is a little off. 28 years ago, the truck I have had an option for a 4 speed auto. (3 speed with overdrive) I do those things on a snowy road as well, seeing as my RWD truck has the hydraulic clutch it does, I'm just stating in my opinion, a manual is more fun to drive. I am not trying to present an argument, I am simply stating my opinion. I do believe that people should learn on a manual to get a connection to the car you can't really get in an auto. And I am saying why I believe that.

 

[sumbrownkid]

My rebuttal: If you can teach me to wipe my own ass, you can teach me to drive a manual*

*Only works if parents actually know how to drive a manual.