the Days of Thunder days are done.

 

 

Best security device for years to come..

 

Great point!

 

Just make sure if you have a daughter(s), and they are open to it, 'show'em how to row'. A woman who can rev match from fourth into third taking a serious corner is a 'keeper'. Now that's impressive.

 

PREACH..

 

I taught my wife how to drive a MT within the first few months of us dating. Hoping I will still have a MT to teach my daughter in another 12'ish years.

 

 

Wasn't your first TL an auto?

 

 

I am pleased with my 6mt and happy i purchased it over a auto. much more fun to drive.. you have to see it most times im driving my car around or in a car wash people tell me nice car and how they never see them manual.

 

when you show people the car can be started even with no starter lol.

 

I taught my son to stir his own when he was 16; the deal was, "you get to use that car as your own." The catch was, the car had a manual transmission.

The good news regarding my son is he has now bought 8 and sold 5 cars since he was 17 leaving a balance of three; all eight cars had at least five forward gears and three pedals under the dash.

Now my daughter is a different matter; she had a stroke when she was born, and while she has overcome much of the paralysis, the left side of her body is still somewhat impacted, and clutching just isn't in the cards, hence the fact our 2001 Accord has an autotragic transmission.

 

As a child of the 90's my parents drove stick their whole lives and hence my first car was a BMW 3 series hand-me-down with a stick. Similar situation, they let me drive it which meant I had to learn stick. It does have it's pros and cons and I'll be the first to admit its more fun than paddles or letting the car do the work for you.

However when searching for a 3G the thought of a man trans never crossed my mind. My main goal was finding a clean one within a relatively short time frame.

 

My first car was a 62 Chevy Belair handed down to me ten years later. 3 on the tree but with a straight six not so much fun except making donuts in the snow. I tried the 6MT when bought my 04 TL but was not as smooth as I had hoped. The journey continues.

 

What wasn't smooth; the car/drive train (the 6MT models do have a stiffer suspension) or the shifting experience? If it was the shifting experience, most folks here will tell you the 3G 6MT models take some time to get used to before you get smooth at it. The good news is the patience pays off into a very rewarding driving experience.

 

I had no choice but to learn how to drive MT, I save money and bought my first car without knowing its MT (I can't even drive back then). I started to mess around with the car and gradually learn about the clutch pedal work after that its was a blast to drive. BTW the first car was a 91 Legend LS that loaded with goodies which some what resemble my TL-S. AT 125k miles the throw out bearing poop out and that when I learn the clutch was big ticket item.

 

 

 

 

That interior is pure sexy.

 

My first car was a 74 Vega 4 on the floor. It was a clunker but fun to drive. Met my wife while I had that car and taught her to drive with it.
My youngest son bought an S2000 and a friend of his helped him to learn to drive it. So at least a few of us in the family can drive manual.
BTW I always keep my "manual" in the glove box.

 

Thanks! It was a lot of work, but well worth it!

 

Manuals are fun to drive but I preferred auto for DD in NJ.

 

My first car was a 02 Civic. The vehicle was purchased by my father as his DD, unfortunately for him the purchase was also around the age of when I was "experimenting". So much so that I would sneak the car out and go do teenager things. I had no idea how to drive manual, let alone drive a car. I had somewhat of a concept by watching my dad drive the car, but never had actually tried myself. Long story short, there was countless times where I stalled making lefts in busy intersections, stalled and got stuck in parking lots because I couldn't get a feel for the clutch and gas ratio. I basically killed the clutch on that car, but being Honda it took the beating and still produced . Eventually, I got the hang of it and learnt to drive on the 5pd. Since then, I've only purchased vehicles with manual transmissions, with my base being the only exception. I hope to keep the type-s now, and teach my kid(s) (if it holds out that long).

 

Really sucks they are doing away with Manuals.
The thing is the big advantages of manual are gone in the modern car like better fuel economy and faster.
I know Honda and BMW will always have a manual option.

 

Totally agree, people these days can barely be bothered to put down their phones and actually drive. I sold my fun car last summer and miss driving a manual a lot. Having a manual these days means slower times, but that doesn't matter to me because the fun factor > times.

 

I just had this same conversation with a master tech from my local dealer and we said the problem is that 3g TL can be acquired dirt cheap now so no one giving much attention to it. He even agree that the 3TL Type S in particular and 04-08 Acuras in general that they was the pinnacle of the brand. He work for Acura since 2001, I really wish I can find more owner like you and I.

 

Agree whole-heartedly with manuals >>>>>>> any automatic transmission (conventional, dual clutch, cvt, etc.).

Unfortunately, time sputters on. For example, I like analog control like buttons and knobs which is one of the reasons I like the 4G TL because there are no touchscreens. But touchscreens for nav, radio and even climate control is becoming the norm. Will there be any manual/analog controls in 10 years? Or 20? Possibly not. In the case of manuals however, there will hopefully be a niche market of individuals that will insist on a standard transmission for the foreseeable future. It will likely only be for higher performance vehicles like roadsters, exotics and sport coupes - not luxury sedans (unless it's a high performance sedan like a BMW M or Audi S).

 

I'd definitely want a 6-speed manual....for a weekend toy. It would have to be a car I seldom use; I don't think I could do a manual on a daily basis. Otherwise, an 8-speed auto is the way to go for me...

Also, like BULLSEYE said, the benefits of manual are gone these days. The only thing left is pride that you are fully engaged making a car drive fast or smoothly...

 

 

I used to be obsessed with manuals and told myself I would never own a automatic. Fast forward 10 years and I'm not sure I see myself in a manual anytime soon. No car on my short-list that I want is even offered in a manual except for maybe an M3/M4.

Bike is still manual though and more fun to ride than any car I've ever driven.

 

Depends what I'm driving, but both have their place (and I own both). That said, everyone should know how to at least drive a manual.

 

I like my S2k more than the ISF because it's about the fun factor even though the ISF is the "faster" car.

 

+1, same here I convinced my wife to buy a Acura Integra 5MT when we were dating and taught her how to drive a manual in my dad's old Toyota.

 

 

Funny because, I had to do this for the very first time a few weeks ago.

I finally got the motor back into my car after not starting it for 5 weeks. A jump & 1 hour of driving, I figured the battery would be fine ... oh was I wrong.

6PM rolls around, car was completely dead. Interior lights are on, but the starter was clicking. To my surprise, not even a jump could get my car going (even after about 10 minutes of sitting there with the jumper cables connected) .

After she left, there was only a few cars in the parking lot ... What did I do?

I performed a 300 point turn to get the car out of my spot in a completely flat parking lot. Now mind you, it was roughly 150ft long, or less .. not a lot of room to get it moving, let alone a 3600lb+ sedan.

After about 15 minutes, I pushed the car all the way to the back, made sure the steering wheel was straight and went for it. As I'm pushing my car with all of my might, a gentleman who was walking to his car asked if I needed help and asked what exactly I was trying to accomplish ... all while I am gradually picking up speed and completely out of breath.

As I got it to a reasonable speed, I ran around to the driverside and hopped in, engaged 1st gear, and popped the clutch ...

Mercifully, I got it going and looked like a total lunatic

 

 

I know people who buy manuals without knowing how to drive them. I had a friend who lived in San Francisco and learned how to drive manual there.

I would love to get a manual, but, it would have to be a 3rd vehicle as my wife doesn't want to learn how to drive manual.