Shoutout to manual transmission drivers - can we talk about how long it actually takes to learn?

I hear people say learning stick shift takes like an afternoon. Bull. I bought a 2005 Civic last month and it took me 4 full weekends before I stopped stalling at green lights. My grandpa learned in the 60s and said they just threw him in a field truck for a day. Is the skill itself fading or just the patience to teach it properly?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_linda1mo ago

Wait, did your grandpa really learn in a single day on a field truck though? Those old farm trucks usually had unsynchronized transmissions where you had to double-clutch, so that's actually way harder than learning on a modern Honda. Your Civic has syncros that match the gear speeds for you, so you're not fighting the same battle he was. My buddy learned on a 1964 Ford pickup and it took him months to get smooth, while I picked up my Miata in a weekend. The skill isn't fading, but people forget how much modern cars actually help you out now.

the_jana1mo ago

People saying they picked up a Miata in a weekend are probably just not telling you about the three-times-they-killed-it-in-the-driveway part. I don't think driving stick is some sacred lost art, more just a skill people oversell the difficulty of either way.

elliot_gibson271mo ago

Is your buddy sure he wasn't just learning to drive stick AND fight the transmission at the same time?