The 'Death Of The Stick Shift' Is Almost Here For Americans

Heat84 · 2026-07-25T00:54:59+00:00

https://m.slashdot.org/story/456332 I’ve never driven stick myself. I’ve never needed one. I’m neither a race car driver nor a trucker and I live in South Florida. The only hills here are overpasses. Does a stick get better MPG’s? My sister is one of the weirdo Americans who prefers a stick. Although she hasn’t driven one in 10 or 15 years. I didn’t realize Mustangs were only stick. I don’t understand how there are automatic semi tractors. In some of the situations I’ve seen them in, I don’t know how you can use an automatic transmission. Maybe it’s only for local hauling? Are truckers ashamed to drive a tractor with an automatic transmission? Is it like a male biker riding in the bitch seat? Here’s a comment from the article. Is that how the automatic transmission in a tractor works that enables it to work as good as a stick?: It’s more than that. Modern automatics are equivalent. You can use the controls to switch into manual mode and then push the knob up and down to manually shift. All that we lost is having to use a clutch. I’m been driving manuals for 40 years. I’ve tried the modern automatic’s manual mode. I find it to be functionally equivalent, it solves the same problem, it allows me to fine tune things. This personal appraisal was immediately apparent from the first couple rentals or loaners that had automatics with a manual mode. Do you Canadians say manual transmission instead of stick?

dave

Sparkchaser a VW Beatle

Ah, the Liverpool version!

Somewhat-Reticent

david3 synchromesh transmission, and I could shift without using the clutch

Sometimes it takes a moment for downshift or double-clutch.
Synchro shifting is MUCH easier - far less mis-matched gearspeeds grinding.

Dks01

While I learned to drive on a 3 on the tree Rambler Classic, this Ferguson T-20 was the first real manual transmission vehicle I spent time on. The shift pattern was 1 upper left, 2 lower left, 3 upper centre, 4 lower centre, Reverse lower right and Starter upper right. Ignition switch and manual choke. And a hand throttle to the right of the steering column. It had torque to die for.

OzarkEdge

I’ve always had manual transmissions. I taught my kids on them, and I feel it helped them to better understand the nature of driving a vehicle. They bought their first cars with manual transmissions. One of them began her career doing field work on western lands and was the only one on her teams able to drive the trucks… I got a thank you, dad, for that.

egeezer

takeahike To be able to take off on a hill without rolling back you have to be very good at feeding the clutch slightly without having it stall.

It was a little easier with a VW beetle. You could use the Johnson bar to hold the car until you let the clutch out slowly.

I once had a ’58 beetle with no synchronizer for first gear. When the clutch cable broke, I could drive it without clutch by upshifting by gas pedal. To stop, throw into neutral and turn off the ignition. Shift to first gear when stopped, then use the starter to get going again.

Dks01 Ferguson T-20 was the first real manual transmission vehicle

I remember working on Ford/Ferguson tractors, splitting the tractor to replace clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing.

My folks’ Model A had manual choke, hand throttle and spark advance. You had to jockey all three at some point just to start it.

I enjoyed driving with a manual transmission, but the automatics we have today are a pleasure to drive, unlike the Chevy Powerglide. The ones in 1950s era Chevys had a nasty habit of losing power to the drivetrain during hard cornering because they had no sump for the fluid.

takeahike

dave

Many would use the parking brake manually to prevent rollbacks starting on a hill (I had forgotten about that). It’s a good thing most of us have four limbs because you need all four for that maneuver.

dave

takeahike

Yes, except the British understand it’s a “handbrake” and for general use, not just for parking.

If you wanted to pass your test, when stopped at a red light (even on the flat) you’d better have the handbrake on, gear in neutral, foot off the clutch.

takeahike

dave

The handbrake on at every red light? What’s wrong with just the regular foot brake and in neutral like you normally would? I’ve also seen the handbrake called an emergency brake.

takeahike

egeezer I once had a ’58 Beetle with no synchronizer for first gear.

My ’61 Rambler Classic also had no synchromesh for the first gear, so the easiest thing was to first throw it into second and then back to first, and it then would not grind but go in smooth.

’58 Beetle

Like Ted Bundy’s? Ouch . . . Maybe he liked them because it was the idea of one of his likely idols.

GadgetsRme

You haven’t had fun double clutchin’ until you drive something like a ’65 Ford gasser with a 40ft trailer behind it. I drove one of those back when I was in the Air Force. It had 3 shift levers …5 gears on a tall shift lever next to the steering wheel…2 gears down low on a short lever next to that…3 gears to the right of that on a tall bent lever. You best not miss a double clutch shift with that piece of crap, especially downhill with a load on. “Syncro” what was that?

JanJ

Ford Focus has computer controlled manual transmission. Works quite well, If only their clutches would hold up! (We’re on our 3rd clutch! thank goodness for extended warranties!)

grand_total

takeahike What’s wrong with just the regular foot brake and in neutral like you normally would?

I passed a driving test like that. In fact I’d go as far as to say using that using the handbrake at traffic lights is a bad idea, footbrake and neutral is the way to go, as you said.

real_aurgathor

grand_total

Handbrake can be very useful on steep uphills. San Francisco is probably a better known hilly city, but Seattle has some very steep streets, too.

urbanriot

dave urbanriot I’m always trying to juggle a lot of things (phone, drink, food, bad drivers, etc.)

Surely satirical?

Nope! I eat a lot on the road (breakfast almost always), sometimes use an electric shaver if I had to run out too quick, phone’s always ringing in the morning, etc.. I tried using AI to manage the phone but it’s really not-great with Android.

Somewhat-Reticent

urbanriot That’s what voicemail is for.
Also pull over & park SAFELY.

Half‑duplex ( AKA push‑to‑talk OR walkie‑talkie ) mode is SAFE‑R,
if you “must”. Best Practice is “Drive, Driver!”

Some are able to juggle some of the time, doing nothing well.
A few can even juggle most of the time.

urbanriot

Somewhat-Reticent Also pull over & park SAFELY

I’ve made it this far without any issues, aside from spilling taco sauce on my shirt.

egeezer

urbanriot Nope! I eat a lot on the road (breakfast almost always), sometimes use an electric shaver if I had to run out too quick, phone’s always ringing in the morning, etc.

I see people like you on the highway, drifting from lane to lane, slowing down then speeding up, swerving into an exit ramp they almost missed or merging right into other vehicles that have right of way, in short being oblivious to everything around them.

In our state the Highway Patrol is cracking down on that kind of driving, even using plain cars to patrol. Not only fines but points on your license for that stuff.

real_aurgathor

urbanriot I’ve made it this far without any issues, aside from spilling taco sauce on my shirt.

You can consider yourself lucky. You may be able to do bunch of extracurricular activities on rural, low traffic roads (ie. most of SR-26 in WA) or during wee hours, but driving in urban areas requires full time attention most of the time.

Someone’s insurance company paid over $3000 for my totaled Chevy Corsica a few years ago. Given the circumstances, (I was stopped at a red light), the teenage driver must’ve been on his phone.

urbanriot

egeezer I see people like you on the highway, drifting from lane to lane

No you don’t; I don’t do the things you wrote.

egeezer In our state the Highway Patrol is cracking down on that kind of driving

Yea, they pull people over for that here too.

urbanriot

real_aurgathor You can consider yourself lucky. You may be able to do bunch of extracurricular activities on rural, low traffic roads (ie. most of SR-26 in WA) or during wee hours, but driving in urban areas requires full time attention most of the time.

It’s not luck, I’m just a good driver with a clean record, no accidents, only tickets for speeding but none in the past many decades and plenty of experience driving in those urban areas, areas that are far more punishing than what you’d experience in North America. There are countries where you’ll get bumped and pushed by other cars if you’re not paying attention.

Mind you the biggest risk to driving in places like Toronto are the pedestrians who walk when it says not to walk, straight into traffic with advance greens. I suppose that’s another reason I’m not a fan of stick in this country, in urban areas like Toronto, there’s too much stop and go.

« Previous Page Next Page »