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Xantar
01-17-2002, 09:55 PM
Since I personally got my driver's license just a week ago, I'm rather interested in knowing how many of my fellow forumites have known the pleasure of sitting behind a wheel, pushing pedals and constantly looking around in fear of SUVs.

And while I'm at it, if you can't drive stick shift, you can't drive.

That's just my opinion, of course.

Joeiss
01-17-2002, 10:01 PM
I took my dad's car out for a drive a week ago. It was fun! It is a 1996 Maxima... It is sweet.

However, I just went around the block, but it was still a drive. :)

Shadow Fox
01-17-2002, 10:58 PM
US Military vehiches...think they're automatic? Think they have cruise control???

Anyway, in real life I drive two automatics; they're good enough, I suppose....I need a new car....

-Official Ninja of GameTavern (and NDose)

Xantar
01-18-2002, 12:41 PM
Actually, my uncle has a car that's manual and also has cruise control. I didn't know they had that on such cars. One would think that they ability to arbitrarily raise or lower your speed would require some automatic gear shifting.

Or maybe not.

BigJustinW
01-18-2002, 12:45 PM
I CAN Drive a Stick Shift (cause My Pops has one), but I don't LIKE to drive it

I don't like taking extra steps when I don't have to

marionette
01-18-2002, 12:55 PM
i take your car...j/k i'm not old enough..:(

Kitana85
01-18-2002, 01:18 PM
I've got my permit... know how to drive a stick... but I don't have one.. I mean, my parents both have automatics... one of the priests at my church made me learn how to drive a stick on that car... Damn, you don't know how scary that was.

Revival
01-18-2002, 01:34 PM
I can drive, but I can't drive a stick shift, and when I do drive, I drive my car.

Wow, that's a lot of boldness :D

gekko
01-18-2002, 02:20 PM
I have my learners permit. Getting quite dusty, i've almost had it for 2 years :) Ahh, I love laziness.

I know how to drive a stick, ain't good at it cause I don't own one. Hate automatics, boring as hell. Don't have a car because I want a stick, my mom doesn't want to buy me a car with a stick. So I may never get a car... for a while at least.

Can't settle for a junker. Must have 2002 Mustang Cobra!

EDIT: Ford canceled the 2002 Cobra. Those bastards! Now I must wait until 2003 :( Oh well, no car is better than a Camaro :D

Ridley
01-18-2002, 02:51 PM
Originally posted by Xantar
And while I'm at it, if you can't drive stick shift, you can't drive.

Well you can't drive a standard anyways ;). What makes you say that? I mean I know how to drive stick (in fact my parents made it a point for me to know how to drive stick). Is it because you aren't able to drive every type of car? If it is, I can understand your reasoning towards that. My mom drives a 2001 Toyota Echo. They look small, but believe me they have a lot more room than you would think ;) and it's just like driving a go-kart. Perfect for me because I can take corners as good as a shrimpy guy in prison :D. Except my driving is limited only to daytime. Reason? I have a rare disease (I guess it could be classified as one :unsure: ) referred to as "night-blindness". Meaning I have below average night vision which is a hereditary thing. Because of this, I'm restricted from driving at night, which really sucks because that's the best time to go driving I find :(. Oh well, because of this though I've learned to use my other senses like touch, smell, sound, and just a knack for knowing where everything is so I don't bump into it :p.

Xantar
01-18-2002, 06:10 PM
Using the sense of touch to drive?!?

What do you do, stick your hand out the window to see if there's a tree there?

Ridley
01-18-2002, 06:15 PM
Originally posted by Xantar
Using the sense of touch to drive?!?

What do you do, stick your hand out the window to see if there's a tree there?

*slaps Xantar with a kipper*

:rolleyes:

No, I meant while doing things in the dark like walking, getting up for a drink, etc. And you didn't even answer my question :p.

Xantar
01-18-2002, 09:57 PM
Well, in my opinion, people who know how to drive stick shift are better drivers (more careful, more alert etc.).

PureEvil
01-18-2002, 11:48 PM
Originally posted by Xantar
Well, in my opinion, people who know how to drive stick shift are better drivers (more careful, more alert etc.).

Well, I think I agree to disagree. I mean, I agree, but to be just in what I'm saying, I'll also disagree.

I can see where you're going in saying that. Maybe people who drive stick would be more aware of what's going on(You always have to be checking the tach, after all), but I don't think the transmission of your vehicle really changes the driver.

Maybe people who drive standards are less likely to hit someone(something, or whatever), because you can't just floor it and gain massive speed, but as far as being careful and aware... Honestly, I don't think it makes a difference.

Personally, I feel that how careful the driver is, how responsible the driver is, and so on and so forth, all depend on the driver in themself. It all comes down to skill, in my opinion.

Some people are just naturally more alert and aware of their surroundings. Same aspect of humans makes some people good at parking, or holding their speed, and some not. You have to drive with intelligence(Knowing where your vehicle is helps, too). If you're an idiot with ADD, there are going to be problems, and the problems are going to exist whether you drive stick, or automatic.

On the other hand, if you're just naturally aware of what's happening around you, you'll never have any problems; regardless of the transmission you're using.

A standard just means it will be more tedious for you to accelerate away from the light while racing the person beside you(And I suppose it lets you control your RPM, which in turn deals with gas consumption and the oil temp. or whatever).

As for people who drive standard being overall better drivers... Nah. That's just a transmission. Good drivers are made only by themselves, and the intelligent habits they form.

(And me... Well, I drive. We were gonna buy a Jeep(The default tranny is standard), but didn't, so I get to play around with an automatic for the time being).

quiet mike
01-19-2002, 12:13 AM
I have a driver's lincese and have been driving with stick since age 12. I don't have a stick shift car here in US, but in Romania I have a Passat.

Stick shift is the best any way you cut it. Yeah people are lazy saying they have to use the clutch all the time and all, but if you drove for a day it becomes second hand, you even forget you are shifting gears or anything.

Fez
01-19-2002, 12:43 AM
Where's the "I have only ever driven once and that was for five seconds when I was five and I almost crashed into a tree" option?

I'm deadly serious.

Cyrax9
01-19-2002, 01:05 AM
I have a learners permit, but the driving school keeps it until I complete my 3rd lesson, I need to finish the Damn lesson soon, or I'll have to get another permit. As soon as I finish the third leson, I can take the permit, and go for a spin in my dads car, assuming he's the one supervising me, because if his car gets damaged with me driving, I won't be alive to tell about it. I actually have a 1989 Buick waiting for me as soon as I get my Lisence, which my grandmother gave to me, my dad's payinmg insurance, so all I have to pay for is a tank of gas. Speaking of that 1989 Buick, it's currently sitting in a Midas repair shoop, bnecause of an exaust system problem. When I was supposed to get it there were no porblems what so ever. My uncle drove it down here, and it managed to have a flat tire, and an exaust problem. The car has hardly been driven, so it's in good condition, the tire that was flat was an orignal tire from 1989! My dad couldn't take it off, and had to buy an air-pump to blow it up, and drive it to a tire place, to have it removed with a Pneumatic drill.

As for having to dodge SUV's, they aren't the problem around here. The problems are the @$$holes in the Tractor-trailers, who either drive like old farts with bone problems, or the ones that drive like they're in the indy 500, and their nams are Mario Andretti. I try to avoid tractor trailers as much as possible, especially any that are labled "Wide Load", or "Oversized Load", those sayings are asking for trouble.

Finally a word of advice from my grandfather "Keep it below 80 Mph !"

Mechadragon
01-19-2002, 01:05 AM
I errm...hit a picnic table with a golfcart before..:unsure:

Shadow_Link
01-19-2002, 07:28 AM
Yeh, got a licence. Passed the test on a manual...
I drive the BMW 325ci (coupe). It's an automatic, BUT has steptronic... So I can shift through the gears myself with a little push either fowards or backwards, but without the hassle of a clutch :D.

Bube
01-19-2002, 09:36 AM
Originally posted by Shadow Fox
Anyway, in real life I drive two automatics
Both of them at the same time? How do you do that? :p
Well, I don't have a license (I'm 16) but when I do start driving, I will have to use stick shift (automatics are very expensive over here).

Xantar
01-19-2002, 10:00 AM
PureEvil:

If you are an idiot with ADD, I'm not sure you'd even be capable of learning how to drive stick shift. That's what I mean when I say a stick shift driver is a better driver. Stick shift just tends to attract people who are more careful drivers.

Revival
01-19-2002, 10:06 AM
Hey! When did this topic turn to people with ADD? :mad:

Ok, anyways, I have ADHD, which is close enough, and I'm learning to drive now, and I can drive a stick shift (somewhat), but I just perfer to drive a manual. I don't think it makes you more aware of anything - it becomes second nature when you're shifting and you don't even have to pay attention to doing it.

But getting back to my point - I've driven both a manual and an automatic and I have no no problems, even for a kid with ADHD.

Xantar
01-19-2002, 10:15 AM
But you're not an idiot with ADD. You're just a person with ADD. See the difference? :D

Of course it becomes second nature after a while, but don't tell me that learning how to drive stick shift is just as easy as learning how to drive automatic. That's why I still say stick shift drivers are better drivers. They are willing to put in enough time to learn how to drive that way.

KillerGremlin
12-06-2004, 11:36 PM
Well.......stick shift is fine, but if you live in a city, you do not want manual, TRUST ME.

I've been driving for about 11 months......and yeah.......driving is easy. Lol. But I dunno, I see a lot of bad drivers.

Ginkasa
12-06-2004, 11:42 PM
This thread is nearly three years old...


*shrugs and walks away*

Seth
12-06-2004, 11:42 PM
Well.......stick shift is fine, but if you live in a city, you do not want manual, TRUST ME.

I've been driving for about 11 months......and yeah.......driving is easy. Lol. But I dunno, I see a lot of bad drivers.

Why's that?

A bit of clutch work in the city isn't a problem.






Way to revive a thread. There was a stick/auto driving discussion just a while back but oh well.

Typhoid
12-06-2004, 11:55 PM
This is possibly the oldes thread I have seen revived....ever.. :confused:

GameMaster
12-07-2004, 12:03 AM
This is possibly the oldes thread I have seen revived....ever.. :confused:

This thread is way before your time, young Jedi, now go back to sleep.

Now back to topic at hand...

I've never used a stick shift. The Toyota Prius has a new shift. Neither stick or automatic. It's called an electric/gas shift. And it automatically shifts into electric power or gas power depending on the terrian you're driving upon.

Blackmane
12-07-2004, 12:49 AM
Going back in time to what Xantar said:

Yes, stick shift drivers are better. People that think just pushing a gas or brake pedal and turning a wheel makes them a driver are silly people indeed. Just try that in NASCAR. Not only are manual people more aware of conditions in their own car their driving at the time (manual or auto), they know sounds and feelings better than auto-only drivers.

The real difference, however, is that they have to divert a lot of their learning from learning to drive in itself to also learn about shifting. In this way, they are forced to become more adept at simply driving to become skilled with the manual transmission. Also, when you are driving with manual, you have to pay attention to what you are doing. I'm afraid that most people that drive automatics get highly complacent while driving sometimes and it is very scary. Manual transmission drivers have to have much more of their attention on driving more often.

jeepnut
12-07-2004, 01:17 AM
Update: Since responding to the poll in this thread, I have learned how to drive a stick shift.

Typhoid
12-07-2004, 01:18 AM
For a poll that asks if you have a License, its leaving the "No" option out.

Joeiss
12-07-2004, 09:50 AM
Wow, I think my post in here was a complete lie. Stupid young Joeiss, always lying and trying to act cool. tsk tsk.

Canyarion
12-07-2004, 12:16 PM
Muwahaha, old thread, I love those. :D

I don't have my license yet. No time, no money. When I get it, I go for a manual. 99% of the cars here are manual...

Blackmane
12-07-2004, 12:54 PM
We Americans have to do everything different, even cars. There are so many automatics for all those lazy people in my country that it's sad.

Anybody watch the Amazing Race a couple weeks ago? Anyways, the chick team had 2 people that didn't know how to drive stick, and all the vehicles in the countries were manual. It was hilarious watching her struggle and cry and be like "oh, why can't i get it to work?!?!" Anyways, they lost that leg of the race because it took so long for them to get moving.

That alone should be reason enough to learn how to wield the stick.

Canyarion
12-07-2004, 07:19 PM
Yeah, you never know when you're gonna star in a TV show. :sneaky:

Blackmane
12-08-2004, 04:11 PM
Well, that, or driving around in another country.... ;)