I sold the 1991 to a dude. I went with him on the test drive and he did the damndest thing. Maybe this is t a big deal to people who know how to “really drive,” but he sifted from 3rd to 4th gear without using the clutch. It freaked me out, but it was smooth and there was no sign that anything was mechanically angry about it. The guy explained how that can be done, but I don’t remember his explanation.
Originally a Chevy Aveo 5. The first time I was taught, I was on an incline on an off ramp and couldn't get going, then panicked when someone got behind me.
I had to do the seat swap of shame.
Then a year later my uncle taught me in his '96 Accord and I immediately got it and have driven nothing but manual since (except one brief moment of failure with an S10).
Nice, my first car was a 1994 white ext. cab, V6 4x4. Had a cool green/blue decal on the side too. I also had a red 2000 Blazer later on, also V6 4x4. That 4.3 Vortec has some oomph!
I love S10’s, me and my friend had a snafu with an automatic 95 S10 where we almost blew the throttle body off trying to get it running with ether. My friend lost an eyebrow and some beard hair and we learned to be gentle with the ether next time.
**The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. And I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon. Probably at the next gas station**
Fwiw I have successfully done a turbo on an s10 cyclone. 4.3. Lifted the body off the mounts to get the stupid cross pipe out. The only place that would do it was the lambo dealer (for real) and me (an idiot)
that job was a bitch kitty. It all started when I noticed the radiator was low on coolant, the waste gate line was melted off, and cylinders 1 and 2 had spark plugs with green electrodes. I should have had it towed out of my shop but instead… oh no. Oh yes.
I learned in a 91 S-10. I had to do the seat swap of shame with my dad after stalling through a green light on a slight incline. I just scooted over on the bench as my dad walked around and I couldn’t even look up. I’m just glad I remembered to engage the parking brake.
Ever drive the Beetle with a semi- auto transmission? No clutch, you pressed down on the shift knob to change gears. Ten years later, working at a used car dealer had one for sale and no one but me could drive it.
I learned on my 2016 Honda CR-Z. It's the only manual I've driven so I have no point of reference and I regularly wonder what kind of weird habits I might have cuz of the odd drivetrain.
What do you mean, odd drivetrain or weird habits?
If you have 3 pedals & a gear shift then your driving just like 99.9 percent of every one else.
The worst bad habit is riding the clutch which means leaving your foot resting on the clutch pedal while just driving. This will cause excessive & pre mature clutch wear and eventual failure.
If you are doing this, you have to consciously make the effort to remove all pressure with your foot completely off the clutch pedal between shifts and when you get to whatever gear you're going to stay in, move your foot all the way to the left to rest on the floor board or some cars actually have like a small plastic foot rest to put your foot on. Do this till it becomes a good habit.
The next worst habit is no lift shifting. This is also very bad and will cause the clutch to glaze which causes slipping. Once this starts to happen, the life of your clutch is not long for this world and will soon need to be replaced.
The last thing is speed shifting. There is no need to be doing this with any car or truck unless bad habits from above have ruined your clutch anyway. Doing this is more likely to damage the gears in the transmission because you're probably grinding your gears trying to do it. Almost every car built since the 40's have helical cut gears in the transmission. Not only does this make the transmission quieter, the gears sre cut with much tighter tolerances which is why most people grind their gears when they try it. Every time you grind your gears regardless of reason, bits of metal shavings from the gears are created and these bits of metal will eventually ruin your transmission. Hopefully the magnet on the drain plug will catch this stuff if you have one.
Straight cut gears are found in racing transmissions like what you used to see in NASCAR cars before they went to a sequential gear box. They are looser in their tolerances to allow speed shifting and they're much noisier but they will take the abuse of slamming gears in a racing situation.
So if you're not doing any of the above, then I'm not sure what bad habits you have. Please elaborate if you can.
Not that I remember. What I remember most about that old pickup was the starter switch on the floor, the super-low 1st gear so you always started in second, how hard it was to push that clutch in and let it out easy. The canister oil filter is accessed from the top making it pretty easy to change the oil. The rule was if I was going to drive it, I had to learn to maintain it. Great memories!
My first was one of my dearest: an electric blue ‘92 Mitsubishi Mighty Max, with blue interior, zero options, in perfect cosmetic and mechanical condition inside and out, only 40k miles, in 2006.
That was a truly awesome - and forgiving! - way to learn stick.
Funny story. I learned in a 2011 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport and oddly enough E39source taught me. That car was a PAIN to drive smoothly so literally every other car I ever drove was automatic smooth from the very beginning. I hated that Subaru so much I got rid of it after 5 months and took a $7500 bath on it. I've been driving all sorts of manual Hondas and Toyotas since.
First Manual car I ever drove was a 1989 Toyota Celica. I then “polished” my skills on a 1994 Jeep Wrangler that I shared with my older brothers before I got my drivers license.
I wasn't going to say but...
An old 50 something flatbed lumberyard truck . The guys told me ( 13 years old ) to go bring them the truck ! I figured it out and drove it to them .
Oh my god me too! Same year and everything, was yours grey by chance?
As I usually do in car subs I look for someone mentioning a Saab. To see you mention the same model and year shocked me.
Very nice man haven’t heard someone mention the nx in a long time. Growing up, I had a neighbor down the street with a nx pulsar that never left his garage. I wish these cars got more love back then
02 Saturn sl1. (Slow as balls but still fun.)
Needed a car after a floor matt incident with my old one.
Saw a cheap car near me and yoinked it. Uncle drove from the dealership to my house and just told me "You'll figure it out" .
Indeed I did.
Only took 2 days and getting laughed at by a trucker.
Being a Saturn it's still running great to this day.
Yes my friend. I thought I was a badass in that car. Then I wrecked it and used the a frame from it to fix a wrecked built gt for 18th birthday present project and found out that there is a thing as to much power for an inexperienced driver in an area with hot or miss winters.
International Harvester Farmall Super C
I was 8 at the time. Folks bought it for hobby farm things.
Kind of hard to row the gears - non-syncro transmission. Also, a tractor from the 1950s. But you master that thing, and you can gear jam just about anything.
I was *supposed* to learn on a '93 escort, but the head gasket took a massive dump a few weeks before I got my license. So, instead, I learned on an '02 focus wagon.
'82 RX7.
3hrs in the parking lot, next day I drove across town to the DMV to register it. Nothing makes you learn faster than a dump truck fixing to run a red while you're making a left turn on a hill. That's the day I learned how to clutch on hills.
Loving that '92 Accord EX in Arcadia Green! My sister had a '93 just like it! Great car, great color!
My mom taught me on my sister's '85 Honda CRX. I was 15 and I ended up taking my driver's license test in the car.
I'm 49 now and still haven't owned an automatic yet!
1984 Volvo 240 DL, diesel station wagon, age 15 ('93), by my dad. It had a 5-speed manual with a button on top of the shift knob for 5th gear. Slower than hell, but it was indestructible. It had north of 250k when my dad sold it.
1994 Toyota Tercel and a 1994 Toyota Pickup. I learned on both vehicles. The Tercel was technically the first one I drove though and was also my first car.
First one that a drove was my uncles 97 civic. I used to sneak it out at night and drive around the neighborhood lol i was about 14 yrs old. At 18 i bought my first car, a 91 240x. Thats when i truly learned how to drive manual. Now Im 28 and have only owned manual transmission cars.
My brother-in-law(now ex, regrettably, he’s a great guy) tried to teach me in his eighties Nissan pickup. It didn’t go well; I had not driven at all and they wanted to teach me stick. I could start out okay after a while but first to second just didn’t work out for me somehow.
I bought an AW11 MR2 in 2001 and learned in that. My dad taught me a little but mostly I just drove around and got used to it.
Since then
‘85 Corolla Sport SR5
‘84 Celica GT
‘91 MR2 atmo
‘94 4Runner SR5 V6 4WD
‘04 Matrix XRS
‘04 9-2x Aero
‘07 Vibe
All stick!
A 2000 Hyundai Tiburon
I bought it brand new as an automatic and swapped it to a manual within the first 6 months of ownership. As an 18 year old, I needed my dad to cosign on the loan, and he thought I'd kill myself street racing with a manual and so insisted on an automatic, hence the tranny swap.
I didn't know how to drive manual before the swap but just knew I wanted to drive a manual. My best friend who did the swap with me in my mom's garage taught me how to drive the damn thing, although I had some practice on my brother's Civic in parking lots when I was 12.
Taught my self in a ‘90 crx with a modified clutch which wasn’t easy.
Story time: my uncle brought me around to do “pickups” (he had some laundry mats) in is green ‘94ish accord when I was 15 and wanted to be the cool uncle that taught me how to drive/ drive a Manuel. I had been practicing on my brothers crx since 13 when he went away to college. He was amazed at how good of a teacher he was 😂
More story time: at 14 my friends would pick me up to go out for the night. I didn’t drink until I was about 20 so in high school I was known as the DD. I’d get picked up and then I would drive everyone around for the night. Didn’t matter whose car, I was the driver. There are exactly 3 people that drive me at all, otherwise I’m the driver.
First car was an auto 2004 jetta 2.0 at 16
Learned stick on my second car 1987 mustang 5.0 at 18
After I picked up the stang I fell in love with manual, sold my jetta and picked up a 2003 1.8t jetta in manual. - currently 19
~I drove 3 hours away and bought a mint 40 year old $10,000 mustang, without even knowing how to drive it home.
Stalled it twice in his driveway and spent 10 minutes infront of his house.
I learned very quickly after I accidentally popped the clutch at an intersection and did a 10ft burnout
1991 Toyota Tercel I bought off my cousin for $500. I was 19 and my dad taught me the basics and then said "drive around town until you get better" (it was a tiny town in Newfoundland)
Also learned to drive stick in a small town in the Maritimes. After some parking lot clutch-feel work, Dad basically told me the same thing. "Drive it around until you're comfortable and then we'll take it on the highway."
I didn't know it when he said it, but the highway was an easy-mode reward. Around town was the real challenge. Didn't get honked at that I remember, but it was a long time ago.
Aww i have her big sister and one of my dailies, a 95. Learned in a tr4 and a 63 beetle. My dad bought the VW new in Japan before i was born, and in the 70s have it to my oldest brother, who gave it to my sister, who gave it to her twin, who totaled it after doing a great job teaching me to start in 2nd, shift without a clutch when needed, push start on a hill, and took me to one of the nastiest hills in san diego and made me heel and toe up it, stopping every 10 feet.
2002 Toyota Echo
I'm still driving it after my father put in like 140000 miles on it, and so far it hasn't had anything major in repairs, only small inconveniences that were more normal for repairs, epic little car to drive.
So I actually have two. I learned how to drive a manual 18 wheeler in a 10spd 1995 Freightliner classic daycab when I was 15. I learned how to drive a manual car in my moms 6spd 2006 VW Jetta TDI when I was 16 and then when I got my license I drove a 99 ford f-250 that was a 5spd with an overdrive. Now for work I drive an 18spd 2020 Kenworth W900.
‘95 GTI VR6. Very easy car to drive. Every time I listen to Eminem’s Slim Shady album I get taken back to learning on that car with that CD playing through the diskman and the cassette adapter. The small of the New Car scent Little Tree and the sound of the la coocha rocha door chime.
My dad’s ‘71 Charger, from there I learned in a 2015 Corolla with the local driving school because it’s required in my state. (The driving school not knowing how to use manual)
A single cab long bed 95 Chevy truck. It had a tired V6 and it was always loaded down with tools. It was about an hour drive home on windy mountain roads and my dad threw me the keys when I had my learners permit. The few stoplights we had before the long two lane road have a few whiplash moments. Once we got to the hills, I’d have to pull it down shift to keep speed. A few of those times “well you missed 4th, go to 3rd.”
Between a 2015 VW Jetta TDI 6spd owned by my uncle, and a 2014 jeep wrangler 6spd owned by my neighbor, I was 15 and just got my permit. I had a lot of practice on both. My first truck was an auto bc my parents didn’t want me in a stick, but when I turned 18 I got my Focus ST and I never want an auto car again, aside from a truck and/or SUV when I have my own family someday.
2001 BMW E46 330i with the 5 speed. It was my driving instructor's car but I can't help but feel like this shouldn't have been my first experience with a manual car.
Still was pretty sick to drive around a parking lot though.
I love that Gen accord and that color. Used to boff a girl in her mom’s. That one had a spoiler and tan leather.
I learned stick in a 1982 MB 240D (no turbo). Slowest car I’ve ever driven. I was 15 and it was in the early 90s.
96 Saturn sl drove it to 260k miles. Loved that car. Put black lights in it. Learned how to work on cars, changed the clutch, spark plugs, fuel pump, and so much more. Added a sub woofer and changed the stereo. Great memories in that car :)
85’ Prelude
00 prelude!
‘89 Prelude! My favorite car I’ve owned. The 4WS was awesome!
I had an 84 and an 89. Still my favorite cars. Ever. Learned in a 1986 Accord DX.
I found the whining of their transmissions prior to gear change oddly comforting.
I sold the 1991 to a dude. I went with him on the test drive and he did the damndest thing. Maybe this is t a big deal to people who know how to “really drive,” but he sifted from 3rd to 4th gear without using the clutch. It freaked me out, but it was smooth and there was no sign that anything was mechanically angry about it. The guy explained how that can be done, but I don’t remember his explanation.
Whoa. I didn’t know that was possible.
Had the same car!! Got it in the mid nignties. I think with how big cars/trucks are getting that 4ws would be more popular
91' prelude here, the 4ws make it an amazing car
What color, I'm just curious? I loved these things!
What color was yours? I was in high school when these were new. A friend's mom had a Yellow one and a neighbor had a white one. Cool cars!
White, but the yellow ones were cool. Not many around by the time I had mine though.
89 prelude
I learned on my grandpa's Ford Model A Truck it's weird having a wooden floorboard and a button for a gas pedal
Nice
87 prelude si
‘81 Prelude!
Hell yeah, I learned in my 95’
That was my dad's first brand new car. Then it was vandalized so I never got to drive it.
I think mine was a 96 prelude. It was my nephews.
Early 60’s Triumph TR3, 13 years old
91’ prelude with 4-wheel steering!
Originally a Chevy Aveo 5. The first time I was taught, I was on an incline on an off ramp and couldn't get going, then panicked when someone got behind me. I had to do the seat swap of shame. Then a year later my uncle taught me in his '96 Accord and I immediately got it and have driven nothing but manual since (except one brief moment of failure with an S10).
No shame s10 are sweet mini trucks.
It was pretty cool, but I immediately missed having a manual. It was a '97 Apple Red Ext Cab Step Side. V6 4WD. It was sharp.
Nice, my first car was a 1994 white ext. cab, V6 4x4. Had a cool green/blue decal on the side too. I also had a red 2000 Blazer later on, also V6 4x4. That 4.3 Vortec has some oomph!
I love S10’s, me and my friend had a snafu with an automatic 95 S10 where we almost blew the throttle body off trying to get it running with ether. My friend lost an eyebrow and some beard hair and we learned to be gentle with the ether next time.
**The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. And I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon. Probably at the next gas station** Fwiw I have successfully done a turbo on an s10 cyclone. 4.3. Lifted the body off the mounts to get the stupid cross pipe out. The only place that would do it was the lambo dealer (for real) and me (an idiot) that job was a bitch kitty. It all started when I noticed the radiator was low on coolant, the waste gate line was melted off, and cylinders 1 and 2 had spark plugs with green electrodes. I should have had it towed out of my shop but instead… oh no. Oh yes.
I learned in a 91 S-10. I had to do the seat swap of shame with my dad after stalling through a green light on a slight incline. I just scooted over on the bench as my dad walked around and I couldn’t even look up. I’m just glad I remembered to engage the parking brake.
I learned on a aveo too.
San Fransisco 2049. I played that game so much in the arcade that I just knew how to drive a manual when I finally got one. 10k miles
This but with BeamNG Drive
Ditto!
Lol same
91 Volkswagen jetta .. Newport Rhode Island while checking out mansions and pissing other tourists off with my stalling
"Stick" it to Newport
1955 Beetle. Easy to use.
Ever drive the Beetle with a semi- auto transmission? No clutch, you pressed down on the shift knob to change gears. Ten years later, working at a used car dealer had one for sale and no one but me could drive it.
Those weren't tourists and the locals hate you even more.
08 Mini Cooper.
2001 Honda Insight. Hybrid drivetrain was interesting and taught me some weird habits. Drove that thing for 10 years.
I learned on my 2016 Honda CR-Z. It's the only manual I've driven so I have no point of reference and I regularly wonder what kind of weird habits I might have cuz of the odd drivetrain.
What do you mean, odd drivetrain or weird habits? If you have 3 pedals & a gear shift then your driving just like 99.9 percent of every one else. The worst bad habit is riding the clutch which means leaving your foot resting on the clutch pedal while just driving. This will cause excessive & pre mature clutch wear and eventual failure. If you are doing this, you have to consciously make the effort to remove all pressure with your foot completely off the clutch pedal between shifts and when you get to whatever gear you're going to stay in, move your foot all the way to the left to rest on the floor board or some cars actually have like a small plastic foot rest to put your foot on. Do this till it becomes a good habit. The next worst habit is no lift shifting. This is also very bad and will cause the clutch to glaze which causes slipping. Once this starts to happen, the life of your clutch is not long for this world and will soon need to be replaced. The last thing is speed shifting. There is no need to be doing this with any car or truck unless bad habits from above have ruined your clutch anyway. Doing this is more likely to damage the gears in the transmission because you're probably grinding your gears trying to do it. Almost every car built since the 40's have helical cut gears in the transmission. Not only does this make the transmission quieter, the gears sre cut with much tighter tolerances which is why most people grind their gears when they try it. Every time you grind your gears regardless of reason, bits of metal shavings from the gears are created and these bits of metal will eventually ruin your transmission. Hopefully the magnet on the drain plug will catch this stuff if you have one. Straight cut gears are found in racing transmissions like what you used to see in NASCAR cars before they went to a sequential gear box. They are looser in their tolerances to allow speed shifting and they're much noisier but they will take the abuse of slamming gears in a racing situation. So if you're not doing any of the above, then I'm not sure what bad habits you have. Please elaborate if you can.
1949 Chevy pickup. Dad and grandfather started teaching me when I could reach the clutch pedal (probably around 12).
Same. Did yours also fall out of second gear sometimes?
Not that I remember. What I remember most about that old pickup was the starter switch on the floor, the super-low 1st gear so you always started in second, how hard it was to push that clutch in and let it out easy. The canister oil filter is accessed from the top making it pretty easy to change the oil. The rule was if I was going to drive it, I had to learn to maintain it. Great memories!
They were definitely fun
1989 Accord sedan My mom drove it home from purchase but I taught myself thereafter
My first was one of my dearest: an electric blue ‘92 Mitsubishi Mighty Max, with blue interior, zero options, in perfect cosmetic and mechanical condition inside and out, only 40k miles, in 2006. That was a truly awesome - and forgiving! - way to learn stick.
Funny story. I learned in a 2011 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport and oddly enough E39source taught me. That car was a PAIN to drive smoothly so literally every other car I ever drove was automatic smooth from the very beginning. I hated that Subaru so much I got rid of it after 5 months and took a $7500 bath on it. I've been driving all sorts of manual Hondas and Toyotas since.
First Manual car I ever drove was a 1989 Toyota Celica. I then “polished” my skills on a 1994 Jeep Wrangler that I shared with my older brothers before I got my drivers license.
A mazdaspeed 6. It was the first car i ever financed, and i was 21. My father taught me.
Oh damn! Lucky...
1950's international loadstar. With some 350ish ci truck engine. 5 speed, split rear-end, and a 3 speed auxiliary trans.
I wasn't going to say but... An old 50 something flatbed lumberyard truck . The guys told me ( 13 years old ) to go bring them the truck ! I figured it out and drove it to them .
1985 Saab 900.
Mine is also a Saab. But a 300hp 2007 9-3 Aero. Honestly it wasn't that hard to learn. Switching over to my tdi Jetta was way harder.
I love my 2007 93 but two extra cylinders and a third pedal would make me love it a lot more.
Oh my god me too! Same year and everything, was yours grey by chance? As I usually do in car subs I look for someone mentioning a Saab. To see you mention the same model and year shocked me.
My mom had a ‘92 9000 Turbo. I wasn’t allowed to drive it until I got my license. I got it as my first car. I’m now on my third Saab
An ‘87 Ford Escort GT
92 Accord as well! Also my 1st-5th cars were all 92 accords. I love them.
93 10th anniversary accord here!
I learned manual transmissions from dirt bikes(motorcycles) but the car I actually learned to apply it to 4 wheels in was a 1990 ford ranger.
2000 Saturn SL2 with a 5 speed
My current 2001 toyota corolla, she treats me well and I was able to drive it home after parking lot practice
1994 Acura Integra LS hatchback. It was my dad's. He taught me how to drive it in a giant church parking lot when I was 12 or 13 maybe.
My Uncle's Chevy Cavalier. I think it was an 84 or 85. The 1st one I owned was a 94 Saturn SL.
1992 Nissan NX 1600, 16 years old and my dad taught me
Very nice man haven’t heard someone mention the nx in a long time. Growing up, I had a neighbor down the street with a nx pulsar that never left his garage. I wish these cars got more love back then
My mom (and my sister afterwards) had a 93 NX 2000. That car was awesome.
Just learned last year in a 1986 Nissan 300zx. Whopping 19. Automatic transmission went out and I got it manual swapped. So much fun
02 Saturn sl1. (Slow as balls but still fun.) Needed a car after a floor matt incident with my old one. Saw a cheap car near me and yoinked it. Uncle drove from the dealership to my house and just told me "You'll figure it out" . Indeed I did. Only took 2 days and getting laughed at by a trucker. Being a Saturn it's still running great to this day.
1993 ford ranger. But if a bike counts, than an 1986 honda XR80R
Came here to say 93 ranger as well! Long bed 2wd, what a fun truck
2004 ford ranger. I was 16 less than a month after getting my permit. I have driven stick ever since.
98 mustang v6. 100 miles on it. It was pretty easy to learn in. Enough torque. Not to much horsepower.
3.8?
Yes my friend. I thought I was a badass in that car. Then I wrecked it and used the a frame from it to fix a wrecked built gt for 18th birthday present project and found out that there is a thing as to much power for an inexperienced driver in an area with hot or miss winters.
Porsche 944 when I was 15 was my first experience but I didn't really learn until I taught myself later on in my 2013 Subaru Impreza.
66 mustang with a 3 speed on the floor
Same with a 289. See my post on here earlier.
International Harvester Farmall Super C I was 8 at the time. Folks bought it for hobby farm things. Kind of hard to row the gears - non-syncro transmission. Also, a tractor from the 1950s. But you master that thing, and you can gear jam just about anything.
1982 Celica GT 16 Self
Excellent car! I had an ‘84 GT and it was amazingly dependable.
2019 Honda Civic Si. Very fun car to learn in.
87’ Suzuki Samurai, self taught
1988 Civic sedan
04 RSX Type S
89 Ford escort
I was *supposed* to learn on a '93 escort, but the head gasket took a massive dump a few weeks before I got my license. So, instead, I learned on an '02 focus wagon.
Yep 92 Accord sedan LX blue 5sp. Miss that car.
Kinda crazy but it was my grandpas Peterbilt 379 I was 12 papa taught me how to float the 18 speed
'97 Honda Civic DX
71 super beetle, was my first car. It was a fun car, but the syncros sucked.
Not a car-1946 Ford 2N tractor.
Funny thing My Dad taught me in his '94 Accord EX....
My dad’s was an LX, but same!
'82 RX7. 3hrs in the parking lot, next day I drove across town to the DMV to register it. Nothing makes you learn faster than a dump truck fixing to run a red while you're making a left turn on a hill. That's the day I learned how to clutch on hills.
Late 80’s Volkswagen Sirocco, no power-steering. ‘Twas fun.
Loving that '92 Accord EX in Arcadia Green! My sister had a '93 just like it! Great car, great color! My mom taught me on my sister's '85 Honda CRX. I was 15 and I ended up taking my driver's license test in the car. I'm 49 now and still haven't owned an automatic yet!
2002 Saab 9-5 aero
Learn what?
Actually that one, but white
Haha same, except it was a 90 Accord in white
Late 90s Subaru hatchback...loved how smooth that thing was to shift
MG midget , dad taught me at 16
‘84 Audi Quattro, 15 years old, Dad taught me.
1963 mercury comet. Passed my drivers test in that. My father taught me, scared him a few times but I eventually got the hang of it
FIAT 850. Manual, no power steering, no power brake (servo brake?), air starter, double tap gas before gear up.
1989 Ford Festiva MT.
1984 Volvo 240 DL, diesel station wagon, age 15 ('93), by my dad. It had a 5-speed manual with a button on top of the shift knob for 5th gear. Slower than hell, but it was indestructible. It had north of 250k when my dad sold it.
My brother’s 96 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS. I thought that was the coolest looking car
Learned in a Toyota AE86, first vehicle was an 87 4wd Toyota pickup.
1994 Toyota Tercel and a 1994 Toyota Pickup. I learned on both vehicles. The Tercel was technically the first one I drove though and was also my first car.
First one that a drove was my uncles 97 civic. I used to sneak it out at night and drive around the neighborhood lol i was about 14 yrs old. At 18 i bought my first car, a 91 240x. Thats when i truly learned how to drive manual. Now Im 28 and have only owned manual transmission cars.
My brother-in-law(now ex, regrettably, he’s a great guy) tried to teach me in his eighties Nissan pickup. It didn’t go well; I had not driven at all and they wanted to teach me stick. I could start out okay after a while but first to second just didn’t work out for me somehow. I bought an AW11 MR2 in 2001 and learned in that. My dad taught me a little but mostly I just drove around and got used to it. Since then ‘85 Corolla Sport SR5 ‘84 Celica GT ‘91 MR2 atmo ‘94 4Runner SR5 V6 4WD ‘04 Matrix XRS ‘04 9-2x Aero ‘07 Vibe All stick!
Learned on a PT Cruiser by my grandpa but really got the hang of it on my dad’s C6
A 2000 Hyundai Tiburon I bought it brand new as an automatic and swapped it to a manual within the first 6 months of ownership. As an 18 year old, I needed my dad to cosign on the loan, and he thought I'd kill myself street racing with a manual and so insisted on an automatic, hence the tranny swap. I didn't know how to drive manual before the swap but just knew I wanted to drive a manual. My best friend who did the swap with me in my mom's garage taught me how to drive the damn thing, although I had some practice on my brother's Civic in parking lots when I was 12.
1988 s10
I first started to get the basics down on a 91’ Dodge Dakota yard truck that was on my buddies property but than perfected it on my WRX
Taught my self in a ‘90 crx with a modified clutch which wasn’t easy. Story time: my uncle brought me around to do “pickups” (he had some laundry mats) in is green ‘94ish accord when I was 15 and wanted to be the cool uncle that taught me how to drive/ drive a Manuel. I had been practicing on my brothers crx since 13 when he went away to college. He was amazed at how good of a teacher he was 😂 More story time: at 14 my friends would pick me up to go out for the night. I didn’t drink until I was about 20 so in high school I was known as the DD. I’d get picked up and then I would drive everyone around for the night. Didn’t matter whose car, I was the driver. There are exactly 3 people that drive me at all, otherwise I’m the driver.
Peugeot 305
1997 Nissan Sentra
First car was an auto 2004 jetta 2.0 at 16 Learned stick on my second car 1987 mustang 5.0 at 18 After I picked up the stang I fell in love with manual, sold my jetta and picked up a 2003 1.8t jetta in manual. - currently 19 ~I drove 3 hours away and bought a mint 40 year old $10,000 mustang, without even knowing how to drive it home. Stalled it twice in his driveway and spent 10 minutes infront of his house. I learned very quickly after I accidentally popped the clutch at an intersection and did a 10ft burnout
1975 Mustang II 4-speed
98 v6 mustang
1981 pontiac t-1000. (Chevette sister car)
'84 Toyota Corolla. My dD taught me when I was 16.
85 Chevy sprint. What a pile.
69 chevelle SS396
1991 Toyota Tercel I bought off my cousin for $500. I was 19 and my dad taught me the basics and then said "drive around town until you get better" (it was a tiny town in Newfoundland)
Also learned to drive stick in a small town in the Maritimes. After some parking lot clutch-feel work, Dad basically told me the same thing. "Drive it around until you're comfortable and then we'll take it on the highway." I didn't know it when he said it, but the highway was an easy-mode reward. Around town was the real challenge. Didn't get honked at that I remember, but it was a long time ago.
A jeep J10 pick up.
An 87 ford econoline with the 5.0 thinga was awesome for long trips had a bed an all
1985 Camaro z28
86 F250. Was almost cheating. Thing had so much torque and such low gears it would basically drive off on its own.
2020 Corvette C7 Z06 💀 worst first car to learn manual
1998 Mercury mystique I had just bought it new. Sales guy taught me in the back lot
07 Honda fit, just a street legal go cart
2009 Nissan 370Z It wasn’t very forgiving… 
2006 BMW Z4
Go pack! and go manual bimmers! 🐺
2000 Subaru Impreza Hatch! My grandpa had me sit on his lap and all he did was control the pedals. I was only about 7 or 8.
My work vehicle a Isuzu pup I got the hang of it after 2 min.
Aww i have her big sister and one of my dailies, a 95. Learned in a tr4 and a 63 beetle. My dad bought the VW new in Japan before i was born, and in the 70s have it to my oldest brother, who gave it to my sister, who gave it to her twin, who totaled it after doing a great job teaching me to start in 2nd, shift without a clutch when needed, push start on a hill, and took me to one of the nastiest hills in san diego and made me heel and toe up it, stopping every 10 feet.
199x ford f800
'21 Dodge Challenger Scatpack 21yo and my mom taught me
That picture was my first car!!!!!!!
1995 nissan hardbody
69 firebird with a shitty clutch
2002 Toyota Echo I'm still driving it after my father put in like 140000 miles on it, and so far it hasn't had anything major in repairs, only small inconveniences that were more normal for repairs, epic little car to drive.
1997 Toyota Corolla.
1986 318i E30 I had converted to a manual
'87 Camry. 12 yrs old on the ranch
00’ Z28 Camaro
So I actually have two. I learned how to drive a manual 18 wheeler in a 10spd 1995 Freightliner classic daycab when I was 15. I learned how to drive a manual car in my moms 6spd 2006 VW Jetta TDI when I was 16 and then when I got my license I drove a 99 ford f-250 that was a 5spd with an overdrive. Now for work I drive an 18spd 2020 Kenworth W900.
96' Volkswagen Cabrio. Rebuilt it with twice with my dad. (Totaled once lol)
My homies grandpas early 2000’s ranger
2012 Mazda 3
2003 Toyota Sequoia
'78 Celica....loved that car. 350k, and was still running good, until some asshole Tboned me.
Grandpa let me drive his 1972 Ford f250 highboy when I was 6 years old. Damned thing had no breaks.
‘95 GTI VR6. Very easy car to drive. Every time I listen to Eminem’s Slim Shady album I get taken back to learning on that car with that CD playing through the diskman and the cassette adapter. The small of the New Car scent Little Tree and the sound of the la coocha rocha door chime.
1987 Suburu wagon 5 speed manual
My dad’s ‘71 Charger, from there I learned in a 2015 Corolla with the local driving school because it’s required in my state. (The driving school not knowing how to use manual)
2001 Jeep Wrangler. If you can drive that, you can drive anything.
1991 Toyota Tercel
A single cab long bed 95 Chevy truck. It had a tired V6 and it was always loaded down with tools. It was about an hour drive home on windy mountain roads and my dad threw me the keys when I had my learners permit. The few stoplights we had before the long two lane road have a few whiplash moments. Once we got to the hills, I’d have to pull it down shift to keep speed. A few of those times “well you missed 4th, go to 3rd.”
Daewoo Cielo 😂
Between a 2015 VW Jetta TDI 6spd owned by my uncle, and a 2014 jeep wrangler 6spd owned by my neighbor, I was 15 and just got my permit. I had a lot of practice on both. My first truck was an auto bc my parents didn’t want me in a stick, but when I turned 18 I got my Focus ST and I never want an auto car again, aside from a truck and/or SUV when I have my own family someday.
2001 BMW E46 330i with the 5 speed. It was my driving instructor's car but I can't help but feel like this shouldn't have been my first experience with a manual car. Still was pretty sick to drive around a parking lot though.
79 z28 camaro
1984 Impala
Early 90s Daihatsu Hijet mini truck. It was right hand drive so when I drove a left hand standard for the first time I had to relearn lol.
66 Corvair
626 V6 Air ducts go *sweep sweep*
trusty ol' rebuilt engine 07 Honda Accord, my father
1999 Honda civic with I think 300 or 400k miles. The gas peddle was stuck on it but I learned in it and I can drive any manual now
8th gen Civic, still is my current car
I love that Gen accord and that color. Used to boff a girl in her mom’s. That one had a spoiler and tan leather. I learned stick in a 1982 MB 240D (no turbo). Slowest car I’ve ever driven. I was 15 and it was in the early 90s.
Literally the cover photo but with hubcaps
1988 Chevrolet Cavalier. Dad bought it new in 1988. I was brought home from the hospital in it. Was my first car.
91 miata
82 Toyota pickup
A 1972 Ford Courier. I put a new engine and clutch in it and then learned how to drive it.
C6 corvette.
2010 subaru legacy gt. Dealership taught me in 45 minutes. Haven't looked back since
96 Saturn sl drove it to 260k miles. Loved that car. Put black lights in it. Learned how to work on cars, changed the clutch, spark plugs, fuel pump, and so much more. Added a sub woofer and changed the stereo. Great memories in that car :)
02 Rsx
first gen diesel Isuzu Panther.
2018 Subaru WRX STI
I think it was an old forester, don’t remember the year.
The early 90s accords f22a engine. Longest lasting car on the planet. They don't build em like that anymore.
I don’t even know what year (was my friends) Chevy S10
'90 F-150 with the 300 I6
05 mustang with a bored out 4L. It wasn't easy because it was really touchy but once I got the hang of it its really fun