Well said, agreed. Too many limitations on the Auto tranny. That's why I'm focusing on looks for my Fit. Doesn't make sense making it fast, it's better for handling/looks. If I had a manual though, my spending ratio would be allocated towards speed/power upgrades.

 

nor was i ever referring to you, hence the quote or those who prefer sticks but to those who have auto transmissions...but i guess that was way too obvious huh.

 

No, I got your point, and i wasn't meaning it to come off as an attack on you in response. If it did then , whoops, my bad. I only mean that car companies are doing thier damnedest to convince folks that the manual tranny should die, and sometimes they succeed in doing the opposite.

 

The Fit is my third automotic Honda in a row. I can't take it anymore. My next car WILL be a manual. I know how to drive manual but don't have THAT MUCH experience. I used to drive my Mom's 98 Accord and it felt awesome.

But in my situation, how would one test drive a manual with limited experience? I wouldn't want to look like I can't drive standard. I don't have the money to get another car to to practice on either. Do most people just buy the manual from the lot and get used to it?

 

Fitguy - I'll suggest visiting a dealer looking for a new MT Fit. Don't be shy, be up-front, tell the sales person you're not experienced in driving a manual but would like to see how hard the Fit MT is to drive. You never know, might get a free lesson in a large parking lot. It is their business to sell you a car.

Learning to shift with a clutch is really not that difficult, especially for an experienced driver. If you can walk and chew gum you can shift a car lol

Also, if you have any friends/family with a manual car a few hours in a mall parking lot will certainly get it together for you. If not, it's all you'll need to hone in on your new MT Fit. My daughter got it together real quick driving my car up and down the isles and into and out of parking spaces, like in an afternoon. Then went out and bought a second hand MT Saturn [with her own cash]. With in a week she never looked back. Now drives a cute 5-speed 3-door Yaris, but really wants my FIT, though I did pick up her payments/insurance once she started grad school. What a Dad!

 

Oh crap im screwed, I can barly walk some times, lol.

I have very limited manual driving my self. Only time I have actualy drivin a manual was my brothers 99 Civic EX. In a hour or so I had the basics down and if I had to could drive a manual. My original plain was to get a 5spd Fit but after waiting 3 months for a Fit to even come in and another 2 months before a MT with the options I wanted I just went for the AT.

Soon im going to have to really learn how to drive MT though when my swap is done

 

Why don't you guys go rent a manual trans car for a day and rack up some miles. Might take quite a bit of calling around to find one but I bet Rent a Wreck or Ugly Duckling type rental place will have one. The big rental guys probably won't have any though. Cost you maybe $40 for the day to learn at your own leisure. Make sure you practice hills and backing up also. This way your new car is saved all the wear and tear from your initial learning.

_

 

I'd go with a manual tranny. Without it, the car wouldn't be fun to drive. It's a small economy car. It wouldn't feel right with an auto tranny.

 

What he said! Worth it, IMHO.

 

In '85 I advertised my '82 Celica for sale. It had a manual transmission. A young girl came to see it and was interested but very reluctant because she had never driven a manual before. We went out for a ride and in 20 minutes she was confident enough in her ability that she bought the car. Sure, it might take a bit of time to become what you might consider expert but there's nothing magical about learning to drive a manual.

 

I drive a hill, in stop and go traffic that is sign-posted at 25 mph. The grade varies between 20 and 40% over the course of a mile (it climbs from sea level to around 450 feet).

I see people rolling back every morning. Even people who drive stick shifts often don't know how to drive stick shifts. If you've been doing it more than, oh, a month, and can't start on a hill without rolling back more than a negligible amount (say, an inch or two), you are steamin' in the fail train!

Seriously though, it doesn't take long to learn, and it's one of those skills you don't forget.

 

there is no con to knowing how to drive a car with a manual transmission or owning a manual transmission car

 

I agree with half of that.

Knowing how is great.

But if you're like me, I'm the only one of my friends that can drive my car, since none know how to drive stick (one actually knows a little bit). Which means, if I'm out with my friends, all in my car, and I get sick, we'll have to get a taxi.

 

I hear you guys and thanks for the advice. I think the rental option actually may work the best. When I said limited experience I didn't mean barely any. I practiced one summer for a couple hours in a parking lot then took it to the main roads and picked it up pretty easy. My only thing is the ONE time I mess up in the beginning and roll into someone. I guess I can use the e-brake to start if anything. I guess I'm just really being lazy at this point. I need to "JUST DO IT", like Nike.

 

You mean "If I get falling down in a puddle of my own vomit drunk" right? Its OK to admit that you don't trust your reprobate friends enough to drive your pride and joy either you know...JFWY

 

Ya know... I've never managed to get that drunk. Sure, I got drunk enough to hurl a little bit. But that was about it. I could never drink past that.

 

I'm hardly worried about "wear & tear" on my car from relearning/ getting the hang of driving a manual. Deffintly not to the point I'm going to waist money and rent a car for practice. If I really wanted practice I'd just take out my brothers 07 civic Si, his car would be best anyways because we will both have the same trans.

 

I had to practice on my Fit, since it was the first MT I'd have driven in 5/10/15 years (5 since a 1 day trip, 10 since an on/off usage, 15 since a constant year after getting license).

But I didn't mind. In fact, if my friends want me to teach them how to drive stick, I'd gladly offer my Fit. What good would it be, if I couldn't make use of it?

 

It's largely something that is passed on from parents to their children. The fewer people who own sticks, the fewer kids who learn how to drive one.

A modern manual transmission is easy. They're hard to break, even learning (I learned on my first car, which had been Mom's car. then taught my GF. Who later bought it, then sold it to her step-dad. Last I heard it had 173,000 miles, still on the original gearbox and clutch. ('92 Accord - I last heard about it somewhere around '05 or so)

People act like it's a mysterious lever of doom in the middle of the car, with this strange third pedal with powers unknown. These are fully syncromesh'ed transmissions. I'd propose that anyone can learn to drive it within an hour or two. Not smoothly. Not with the grace of a slushbox, but functionally.

If you're like me and have spent most of your driving life with three-pedals across the floorboard, you'll find an automatic sorely lacking. It will feel awkward, uncontrolled, and clumsy. You can always tell what vehicle someone spent their formidable years driving - when you hear things like "I'd hate to have to drive a manual if I was stuck in traffic a lot."

Right... I'd much rather have a car that strains against the brakes while I'm stopped, lurches and shifts at will when moving, and doesn't let me apply the power through the clutch as I deem necessary, all while surrounded by other vehicles.

 

There is also something to be said for the right application of the manual trans making a big difference in ones perception of the breed. My big ass Chevy K10 is an auto and I wouldn't even think of driving that beast with the old NV465 manual trans. Those damn things have non-hydraulic clutches, requiring both legs to get to the floor! But I weep every time i see an M3 or Corvette with an auto, such a waste! And the owners will likely never know just how much additional involvement in the driving experience they are missing.