OT: Last time you drove a stick shift car?

[rab]

We have been driving manual for 20+ years.
Last car we bought for her we couldn’t find manual in the options we wanted so went with the CVT automatic. CVT seems like it has improved but…asked her today if she would do that again and got a firm no.

Taught myself to drive manual when I was 17 using a Renault alliance. Car seemed flimsy and shifting wasn’t exactly smooth, but it took a solid beating from both me and then my sister and aside from a couple snapped clutch cables was solid despite our best new driver efforts.

I’ll stick w manual as long as I can/until converting to alt power source.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by Nessism

His plan is a BRZ by the end of the year. I've already volunteered to drive it home from the dealership for him!

A serious question for anyone out there who might know the answer:

To your knowledge, do any Subaru dealers allow existing customers to test drive BRZs or Impreza WRXs? (I bought my 2014 Impreza from a dealer in Kansas because I couldn't find one with a manual transmission in St Louis, but I've been taking it to the same St Louis Subaru dealership for maintenance ever since.)

I don't have immediate plans to get either of those cars, but at some point in the future could potentially be convinced to get one.

Also, I'm a middle-aged guy, not a boy-racer like Nessism's son, which might well make a difference as far as the dealership's concerned.

Not me vvvvvvvvv

[scoobydrew]

Originally Posted by Louis

A serious question for anyone out there who might know the answer:

To your knowledge, do any Subaru dealers allow existing customers to test drive BRZs or Impreza WRXs? (I bought my 2014 Impreza from a dealer in Kansas because I couldn't find one with a manual transmission in St Louis, but I've been taking it to the same St Louis Subaru dealership for maintenance ever since.)

I don't have immediate plans to get either of those cars, but at some point in the future could potentially be convinced to get one.

Also, I'm a middle-aged guy, not a boy-racer like Nessism's son, which might well make a difference as far as the dealership's concerned.

BRZs and WRXs are fine especially in your case (WRX STis can go either way in my experience). Note it'd be hard to test drive a new BRZ with the outgoing model ceasing production as of a few months ago and the new model due to arrive in the near future.

On that note and back on topic, I drove my 6 speed BRZ earlier today around some cones in an empty lot (autocross). Hoping to take it to the track by the end of the year.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by scoobydrew

On that note and back on topic, I drove my 6 speed BRZ earlier today around some cones in an empty lot (autocross). Hoping to take it to the track by the end of the year.

That's about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. I autocrossed actively for a quite a while, with a great venue (an old airfield) about 45 minutes away... Now that we've moved, and the venue is 3 hours away...

Lime Rock is my favorite track...compact, easy to navigate, yet so much to learn each time out. I've spent a couple of days at Watkins Glen...a much bigger track, with lots of history...another place where you could spend years working to improve your time and finding improvements every day!

[benb]

Originally Posted by Seramount

I love rowing the 6-spd manual in my '06 RSX Type-S.

That was probably the last great Manual Transmission available on a Honda/Acura and one of the last cars before they started hitting everything with the ugly stick. The 06 RSX Type-S was the last car they sold that had a normal cable operated throttle hooked up to a standard manual transmission with no traction control or stability control and hydraulic steering. (That car 100% did not need either traction or stability control.) Most of the cars afterwards have had accusations of the computer DBW monkeying with the throttle during shifts for emissions.

I had a 2005, I've driven cars at least 3-4x as expensive as the RSX Type-S and I've never driven anything that had a nicer feeling transmission that car.

I had test driven a 330is and an A3 right before the RSX Type S and "feel" in the RSX immediately sold me over those other cars. The BMW & Audi transmissions were so soft & vague in comparison. I had owned a Mustang and I've driven the Corvette, neither of those were anywhere in the ballpark as nice as that Honda/Acura transmission. Corvette had a hint of vagueness and both the Corvette & Mustang transmissions felt heavy and stiff. The German ones feel light and don't feel stiff like the Mustang/Vette but pretty vague to me, at least one of the BMWs I drove had a vague clutch, but the VW/Audi ones did not. The Honda one felt like a perfectly tuned bolt action on a rifle... absolutely zero vagueness, no doubt at all about where it was going, solid, but not fighting you either.

Of course there's nothing, nothing that can touch the feel & speed of a sportbike transmission. Maybe a race car with a sequential transmission but I've never driven one.

[NHAero]

'08 Fit Sport and '01 base model Ranger pick-up, both 5 speed, and kinda need to be manual because not much engine power . Went to Boston 2 weeks ago and left downtown at 5:20 pm, was happy to be driving the Bolt EV in the traffic though...in the stop and go, and go slow, I got 8 miles/kWh from leaving MGH to the RT 3 exit - the Bolt is more efficient going slow (usually gets around 5 miles/kWh in our daily driving, on the Island were max speed limit is 45 mph)

[benb]

Yah Boston traffic in a sporty car with a MT is like 100 shifts per mile.

It gets old.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by scoobydrew

BRZs and WRXs are fine especially in your case (WRX STis can go either way in my experience). Note it'd be hard to test drive a new BRZ with the outgoing model ceasing production as of a few months ago and the new model due to arrive in the near future.

Thanks - the next time I'm in there I'll talk to one of the sales people and see what they say.

[JedB]

I'm 51 and in 2018 bought a WRX sedan.
They let me test drive with no issue.

I also left my vape-pen, low slung jeans, Monster Energy drink and flat bill ear tucking 23 year old self at home that day.

Originally Posted by Louis

A serious question for anyone out there who might know the answer:

To your knowledge, do any Subaru dealers allow existing customers to test drive BRZs or Impreza WRXs? (I bought my 2014 Impreza from a dealer in Kansas because I couldn't find one with a manual transmission in St Louis, but I've been taking it to the same St Louis Subaru dealership for maintenance ever since.)

I don't have immediate plans to get either of those cars, but at some point in the future could potentially be convinced to get one.

Also, I'm a middle-aged guy, not a boy-racer like Nessism's son, which might well make a difference as far as the dealership's concerned.

Not me vvvvvvvvv

[caneye]

My current Mk7 Golf GTI is a stick shift.
I'm surprise I don't hear many espousing the beauty of the Golf manual transmission. It's actually really smooth and slick. Love the whole experience.

My previous cars were all manual too - Integra DC2R, WRX MY12, Golf VR6. Somewhere in between, there was a manual Subaru Liberty/Legacy and a manual Honda Jazz.

I'm sure I'll eventually drive an Auto.
But that day isn't here yet..

[Nick209]

Today. Rim brakes and 5 speeds tells your age.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Mike V]

Took it out for a spin today.

[kbone]

Last year I bought a 2016 Honda Civic coupe 6 speed to teach my son how to drive. It is full body driving, so I hope it helps keep him engaged and off the phone while he is driving.

He kept telling me that the manual transmission is an obsolete technology and that it was terrible of me to make him learn on it. But now that he knows how to drive it, he really likes it. And, of course, now he wants to start modding the car.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by kbone

And, of course, now he wants to start modding the car.

Lots of perfectly sensible ideas out there:

[scoobydrew]

Originally Posted by Mike V

Took it out for a spin today.

Love this. Is yours swapped? I regret selling my 2001 some days.