I'm curious how many of you guys would buy a manual transmission car despite the fact that your partner/girlfriend/wife can't drive it.

I'm of the mindset that everyone should learn to drive manual, so they should suck it up and learn if you're going to be the one primarily driving the car.

What do you guys think?

 

Depends on the car I was buying, but with auto's getting better and better, DSG, SMG, F1, E-gear, et al manual's have less of a case in their favor.

 

Adrienne can't drive stick. Although last weekend was the first time she tried She'll pick it up quick though, not in a rush to teach her though.

 

I strongly encouraged my gf to learn to drive stick and while it was a slow process, she's picked it up and now owns a MT car.

 

I drove an MT my entire life up until I got married. My 03 G and my current 07 G are both ATs. I really do miss the fun of an MT, there is certainly no denying that. For me personally, my wife wasn't all that keen on learning an MT and I think it would of been more headache than it would of been worth. At least I've got paddle shifters.

 

I love MT, but of course it's impractical in stop and go traffic which I'm in right now. So, I had to get the AT.

 

She would learn or have her own car.

 

Pansy...

 

As I have written many times on this site, I would never even consider any car purchase for my own personal driving machine that didn't offer a manual transmission. Period.

 

Some guy in a new Civic stalled 6 times at a stop sign today. All I did was laugh.


Some people get it, some people don't. If I were to make a decision, it would depend on where I live an what type of car it is.

 

Everyone should learn to drive manual. I think some people take the transmission way to seriously though.

As for buying one if the g/f couldn't drive one - never been in that situation. My g/f would have made fun of me if I didn't get the 6spd

 

happy with my 5AT, next car will have paddle shift for hell of it. don't have garage space for my 2nd (E46 m3 or s2000) car.

mad woman = no sex (rule to live by)

 

I deferred to the wife and got an auto. Of course, I was predisposed to the 6M TSX, but had to give in ... and move up to the 5AT TL since she preferred an auto and I needed a little more oomph than the slushbox TSX. I miss driving a stickshift a little, but am not overly bothered with having to get an AT car for some reason...
I tried to teach the wife to drive on my manual Integra, but she didn't pick it up and doesn't see the fun of coordinating hand and foot movements.

 

the only reason i would buy a MT is because the AT on the 2nd gen is crap....but other than that if i had the option i would buy an AT....MT are no fun in traffic.....i live in miami theres traffic everday of the week....and i rather have an AT on a date anyway just so that i don't have to deal with the shifting....

 

I rarely let other people drive my car anyways... so

(as I have mentioned so many times before, before buying my FX, I was considering a Volvo S60R and Subaru Legacy GT, both were MT's)

 

 

x 1891891981
I will only buy a car with a good ole manual tranny.

 

and

 

Manual FTW, all of my parents (and grand parents) love manual, and if they had the choice when buying their cars they'd get manual... but then again, I live in Houston and it depending on what time of day it is it can take 2hours to travel 15miles... (an hour is spent on the last 3 miles on the way home, one of these days i'm gonna be like " it" and park my car on the side of the road and walk home). Even though on the weekends I wish i had a MT, but then again the weekend is only 2 days, while weekdays are 5 .

 

spoken like a true sage.

 

I currently can't drive manual, and I miss it terribly. So much more fun to drive. Looking more and more like my next car will have to be an auto. At least I still have a manual in the family to play with. My mom always said that every woman needs to know how to drive stick, because if she has a homicidal serial rapist chasing her, she needs to be able to get into the first car that has keys, and get away, and not be searching for an auto.

 

Bought the TL 6MT w/out even considering my wife couldn't drive it....so shallow, I know.

She has her Auto car that she drives.

The 996 is the Tiptronic but she KNOWS better than to drive that.

 

Screw 'em... if they can't drive a stick, they can drive the mini-van...

I've seen a couple of people get an auto because of the wife, and later regret it since the wife never drives the car anyways...

If you're a one car family, then ok, but if you both have your own cars, then it's insanity IMHO

 

All my rides were a manual except for the sc'd CL. And after the famous tranny issues in the CL, my mind was set to buy stick only.. The G35 i bought, is stick, and the next ride I get will be stick as well. My wife has learned, and is comfortable driving it. As a new driver it takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it its all fun.

 

I think depends on the situation and the people who will actually drive the car. Being single, the only vehicles I purchase have manual transmissions. Only one of the heavy trucks and the GN have automatics. There is a great satisfaction driving a manual transmission correctly and I thinks it adds to the driving experience. I learned on a manual, and would always choose a MT over an automatic. If I were in the situation where someone I cared about preferred to drive an automatic then I suppose a compromise would have to be made.

Terry

 

I will always drive a manual. Whether or not my future wife can drive stick or not won't affect my choice for transmission. I probably won't teach her so I can have the car all to myself. Yeah, I'm greedy.

 

Hey there Terry.

Compromise is not in the picture.. let them (our ladies) have their own toy and we'lll have ours. My wife has her automatic '05 TL (Nav) and I have my '04 manual Nav. We are both happy with our own cars. Incidently, she drives a manual better than most.

 

<--- is in stop and go everyday. grow a pair

 

^ Does it take you an hour to travel 3 miles?

< Wishes he had a MT when his starter died

V Will be CLPower

 

on many occasions

 

A MT in that hell wow

Isn't it the most fanfntastic expierience you've ever had in your life? I'm not the fastest of runners you'll meet but I can do 3 miles in under an hour.

 

i hope you can do it in under an hour, when I was 14 I did 3.5 in 30

 

well I'm 6'2 290 long distance isn't my thing, and when I was 14 I was 6'2 280.

 

I think the MT will be in the next car. As a driving 'enthusiast', I am embarrassed to say that I can 'get by' in a manual (ie if I'm the DD ... we can make it home) ... nothing close to heel-toeing.

But with the signficant other in the picture, there will be instances where people can't afford to have a toy for him & toy for her. Luckily, the wife is cool with learning manual so the next car can be guinea pig. Seriously, with all the engineering that cars have, little harm can be done to the tranny so as long as the clutch is pressed all the way and no gears are missed (ie 5th -> 2nd at 70mph ... ouch).

 

"Seriously, with all the engineering that cars have, little harm can be done to the tranny so as long as the clutch is pressed all the way and no gears are missed "

Still, the basics do apply and probably always will (we hope so, anyway). Know how a manual transmission and a clutch assembly works and how they interact and you're half way there. The rest is applying that knowledge and logic to its operation. You'd be amazed at how many people really do not know how to properly operate a manual transmission.

 

There's no reason that a manual transmission shouldn't last the life of the car.

Although, if I was teaching someone it would either be on a car I'd sell in a few years or a beater.

 

Hey there Southernboy. How goes it? Been shooting lately? Just renewed my membership after a year long hiatus, so I have to brush up a little bit.

Yeah, sometimes the best compromise is for each to have their individual autos. Speaking of manual's, if you get the chance, visit a local Ford store and see it they have a manual Shelby GT on the lot. Not the GT500, but the one modified at Shelby's shop. It only has a five speed, but it's modified with a classic Hurst shifter and linkage. One of the best I've felt in a VERY long time.

Take care

Terry

 

YoungTL:

Speaking of manuals, how do find the clutch in your Accord? I love the gearbox in mine, but I still find the clutch a little too light. I'm used to a heavy clutch, and whenever I drive the Accord I find myself having to get used to the clutch more than any other car.

Terry

 

I drive 23 miles and it sometimes takes me an hour...

Back in 2004, I drove my MT with crutches in the back seat... (severe strain and ligament damage in clutch ankle)...

 

After driving an automatic for 3 years with my last car, I swore not to get one ever again! It was just so boring! Now with the 6MT TL, the fun factor is back and I'm all smiles . . . even in Atlanta traffic during rush hour.