Aaah!

[asterroc]

Vet time, and I'm parked in by T$ and my upstairs neighbor. I don't want to bother her, but his car's a stick... I think I can move it w/o stalling too many times. Stalling's more likely than grinding gears at least, so at least I won't damage his car. :-P Clothes first, that's important. Yay, I get to try stick again. Um, that's a good thing right?

Comments

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

Yes, driving a stick shift is a very good thing. In addition to the fact that it is more fun, the manual transmission offers two major benefits to drivers: first better fuel economy (or at least the option of driving for better economy by choosing shift points better than an automatic can, continuously variable transmissions will beat this one day), second shifting makes driving a car more interactive, thereby helping the driver remain more aware of their surroundings. And it's more fun, but that is based purely on personal opinion. I also believe everyone should know how to drive stick in case of emergency. And because it is fun.
I'm actually teaching Shell how to drive stick tomorrow.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Firstly, I couldn't get the key to turn, so I ended up getting my upstairs neighbor to move her car instad. Turns out you have to yank REALLY hard on the steering wheel while pushing in hard on the key. Stupid old cars with ignition locks.

Better fuel economy is already not always the case even w/ non CVTs - I forget if it was my car (2006 Honda Civic) or my Dad's (2005? Honda Element), but one of those the stick model has worse fuel efficiency. Keep in mind that computers can make decisions faster and more accurately than humans; it's only a matter of time before computers in cars catch up to this. My dad also argues that sticks are oftne engineered with more engine noise so they sound peppier, and this reduces fuel efficiency, but I haven't heard much about that.

And shifting does not necessarily keep a driver awake when drowsy - neither do things like turning on the radio or opening a window [ref] - though I don't have any evidence for it keeping a non-drowsy driver alert or not. What I *do* know is that if driving is not automatic, then responding to a panic situation will not go well. For me, stick is not automatic, so at this point in time it's safer for me to go on driving automatic. This is also related to why I wanted anti-lock breaks - even though in my old car not having them and having to back off when they locked up was automatic, that extra step of having to back off takes time, and may only happen once the car is already out of control. I'd rather have less to worry about and think about in a panic situation.

But yes, I definitely wanted to know how to drive stick in case of emergency. My dad drives stick and my Mom can't, and we've had issues in the past because of that. Plus, I used to hang out w/ people who didn't think much of driving after a few drinks, so I wanted to be able to offer to drive if they were drunk. At this point I'm not comfortable enough with stick to be convince that me sober is better than a drunk person who knows stick, but I'm *slightly* in favor of me driving. I'd probably call a cab instead though.

I wish I'd figured out T$'s horrible steering column locking mechanism. I want the practice.

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

Any difference in highway mileage has to do with a different gearbox ratio (ie the engine needs to rev higher to attain the same speed), but I've yet to see a manual fair worse in local mileage ratings.
The computers can make decisions faster, but lack the ability to evaluate all of the variables of a situation. My old ford and every automatic of my mom's I've driven would downshift to accelerate (thereby wasting fuel) when it wasn't necessary (like going from 55-65 on a highway, or downwhifting to near the redline of 2nd gear to accelerate). Also, shift times for modern automatics still lag behind a manual for economy cars (yes high end sport program automatic transmissions have very fast shift times, but those are in cars costing 40-50k+) meaning power is wasted during those times more in the auto. The different engine noise would be a different exhaust system, meaning the comparison is no longer apples to apples. Same equipment and ear ratios, the manual can always have better mileage.

I agree shifting won't keep a driver more awake, but the fact that a driver must interact with their car on a much more regular basis helps them remain focused on driving. I know personally driving an auto makes me feel much less involved, and more prone to "road hypnosis," and I know a number of other people feel the same way.
And from what you said, you're familiar with why knowing how to drive a manual is important. It really becomes 2nd nature to shift with a little practice. Whne I got in an accident in an auto I actually moved my hand to shift.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I do want to become more comfortable w/ a stick. Like I said, I can drive it in an emergency but wouldn't be comfortable. I've put in at least 10 hours on sticks now, both city and highway, and with a couple more I could probably pass a road test on a stick - but that only shows how crappy driver's tests are at testing whether someone really is a safe driver. :-P What I really need to do is just *drive* a stick for a month or two. T$'s reluctant to let me steal his though as he knows I'll grind gears, and he's right. I was considering buying a "junker" stick after my old car died, but by then I was too sick of having a junker to be willing to get another used vehicle.

Maybe when I get a hybrid years and years in the future it'll be a stick.

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

Road tests really are no indication of how well someone can drive. I had to drive around a course at 20mph with no other cars, because that shows how well someone can say, merge onto a busy highway. Or handle any difficult situation.
Grinding gears usually means that you are either not depressing the clutch enough before shifting, or not letting it up before hitting the gas. I know a lot of people who have bought a junker and sold it a month later to learn to drive a manual.
I still favor diesels to hybrids. Similar fuel economy (compare the VW new beetle TDi to the civic hybrid or the prius), and technology that has been proven for over a century, and is far cheaper to fix. Sadly only VW sells a diesel in the states. I wish we got some of the cool european diesels. They've been getting 50mpg for a long time. They need to share the love. One of my coworkers was an earlier adopter of the prius, and we're all waiting to see how much he is going to have to pay to get his battery system fixed.