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Congrats on teaching your son to drive a manual! He's one of the lucky few...
I'm curious- do you find the Mazda easier to drive than the Honda, in terms of how the clutch and shifter operate? I have a 2006 Mazda3 s 5-door with the 2.3L and 5MT and the clutch is very tricky, even after 5.5yrs, 83k miles and a clutch replacement at 76k miles. I owned seven different Hondas in 15yrs before getting the Mazda in December 2005 and all of them were manuals, or what we simply called a "5-speed" back in the day!
I was taught to drive starting at age 14 by my mom, back in 1989. She has been a school bus driver since 1985 and the buses here in Georgia still had 4-speed manual shifters well into the early 90s. She could drive anything with a steering wheel and a clutch, so she was a good (difficult) teacher!
Looking back, the interior of the Z was a horrible place for a new driver to try learning anything. Between the blood red velour-like seats and video-game digital dashboard, it was all very distracting. But I got pretty good at driving it, although it was impossible to up-shift without some jerkiness. I kept it on the backroads most of the time, so I rarely encountered other cars during my lessons.
When I turned 15 in 1990, I went ahead and got my first car- a 1985 Honda CRX Si. That was the car I learned to drive on the road with other traffic. Even without power steering, it was still a breeze to drive and I mastered it quickly. There are a lot of hills in this area of North Georgia and the hardest thing for me was starting off at a red light or STOP sign on a steep hill. For a while, she let me use the handbrake and slowly let it down as I simultaneously released the clutch. But eventually she made me stop using the handbrake and learn to release the brake pedal, give it enough gas and let out on the clutch without letting the car roll back more than a few inches.
The ultimate test, and one I had to master before she would let me take my license test, was to start off on the two worst hills in our are without letting the car roll back at all! She accomplished this by making me sit at both of those stop signs until another car pulled up behind me, often right on my rear bumper. It upped the anxiety-quotient quite a bit, but it was also a realistic scenario that I would deal with daily. And I managed to pass her test without trading any paint with the cars behind me!
I'm 36 now and every vehicle I've owned over the past 21 years has had a manual transmission! I'm the only person that I know who still drives a manual and most of my friends and colleagues don't even know how to drive one. It's something that I know how to do and most people don't, which is one reason I continue to own one. I like being different and it makes me feel just a little bit superior!
ruking1: you are so right--the 0 to 5 mph start in first is kinda the hardest part of it. He's still stalling or starting off a bit too fast sometimes. But sometimes he's as smooooooth as butter already. He said it was fun! And I didn't cuss or sound upset even once. I was mellow and had fun myself.
I'm ashamed to say I'm not sure I know the best thing to do if a big rig is behind me and I stall. Start the car fast! Put on the emergency blinkers? Both? Don't stall it to start with...? If you have good suggestions I'd honestly like to hear them. I am a little worried about that scenario.
Having driven manuals my whole life (I was taught on a 69 VW Bus in 1979 at the age of 14), I'm also ashamed to say I'm not exactly sure what burning a clutch is....I don't think I do it, because with one exception that I think was a factory defect my clutches have lasted a long time, but....
igozoomzoom: Your driving lessons sound intense! Thanks for sharing those great stories. Your mom was hardcore. Not sure I'm up to that for quite a while.
Our Mazda5 feels smooth and easy to use. But that having been said, I have to admit that the 08 Accord is significantly smoother and more precise and almost....I don't know how to describe it....jewel like? My 02 Accord was very nice, but about the same as the Mazda5....maybe just a tiny shade better. All of them are nice compared to that rather tricky 69 VW.
It could well be that Mazda has changed the manuals and the clutch between 2006 and 2010 and made them better. I also drove a 1986 Mazda B2000 LX 5 MT for many years, however, and it was pretty nice. And my sister's 1989 323 5 MT also seemed fairly easy. Could be you got a bad year or a bad example since obviously you know very well about driving manuals.
Speaking of Mazda, I'm really looking forward to the combo of the SkyActiv 2.0 direct injection engine and the new 6 speed manual trans. Sounds sweet!
I'm not at all in the market for a car, but I have to admit I'm interested in the new Civic sedan si. It has the same friggin engine as that TSX I drove! It's a 2.4 iVtec making 200 hp. But the Civic is smaller and lighter, and so that thing would be pretty fast and sporty. And the price is a cool 10k less than the TSX. Kinda the poor man's Acura? I don't know....But I might like to try it at some point. It gets a lot of special stuff (seats, etc.) for the price, it seems like...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BaECAbapRg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4JhruinbWc&feature=related
Skip to the 2 minute mark to get past the intro stuff. And then in the middle as the announcer drones on you can skip ahead a minute or so.
Of course the rest of you know this stuff already. I only kind of did, and kind of didn't. Next I need to learn how it works on a front drive car...
I agree to a point; I like how many European countries do it. If you can drive cars only equipped with an automatic transmission; you qualify for a "Limited License"; however, if you can drive a stick, you get an "Unrestricted License". I've also been led to believe that insurance costs are lower for new drivers who've come out of the gate with said Unrestricted License.
Miscellaneous thoughts:
As I was enjoying the cool weather this morning during a nice six mile run I was reflecting on things I've been told by both my son as well as a number of parents I know whom have children within a year or two of sixteen. A distillation of the comments in dialog form would sound something like this:
"In this multi-tasking video game/multi-function personal communication device era which we live in, I want my kid to single-task on the job at hand; namely driving the freakin' car. I've decided that unless my kid learns to drive a stick, he/she isn't getting a license. Furthermore, once he/she does get that coveted license, his/her first car will be a stick as well."
The discussion normally gets more detailed from there, usually along the lines of how manual transmissions require the young driver to pay more attention to what he/she is doing, thus preventing (to a large degree) them from trying to do makeup, drink a big-gulp, and texting all while sitting in the front left seat. To all of this; I couldn't be in greater agreement.
I find myself wondering if parental fear of what I'll term "Communication Distraction" will actually generate an uptick in the percentage of young drivers proficient in operating a vehicle with a manual transmission. In one extreme case, the guy across the street from me bought himself a beater car with a 5-Speed to drive to and from work, even though he himself couldn't drive a stick when he bought the car; I gave him a few lessons and away he went. His fourteen year old son will reach the "driving with a parent" age of fifteen and a half (here in New Hampshire) during the spring of 2012, right about the same time as my daughter. This ought to be fun.
That said, one of the worst drivers I know is my sister. Something like 20 fender benders before she even went off to college. In her early 20s she learned to drive stick - couldn't live without an MGB. And she's had a couple of MT cars over the years. When she goes to England to see the gardens every year or two, she rents the cheapest thing she can, which is usually a stick.
I feel for the person who winds up buying a used rental if my sister ever got her hands on it.
Some older manual transmissions are miserable and might discourage a new driver. They might still discourage ME!
Most modern cars have quite passable manual transmissions, but sometimes they can be rubbery and vague, or the gearing is so "wrong" that the driver ends up shifting more often than necessary.
Well done! Your Mom is my kinda person.
I well remember my first few times driving an Autocar pulling a 40-ft trailer in North Vancouver, BC, when I had to start on an uphill grade. The truck had a 5 & 4 Spicer transmission, so getting it started was just the first piece of what had to happen.
Either way, it sounds like your family and mine, plus several others here, will continue to carry the cudgel forward.
Ever see one explode?
Or perhaps a 2012 Mazda 2.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
DUH!
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
also: what ruking said about parking lot. i found one with a small hill entering another parking lot and we didn't venture onto public roads until he mastered that hill/start/stop especially. (learners permit at 15.5 here).
regarding big-rigs/whoever tailgating behind you if you stall, do not worry about them: I understand that the statutes/codes are such that it is that drivers responsibility to maintain safe distance at all times behind you whether they are driving a bigrig or a smartcar.
Actually, I go back and forth a bit between their first drives being in my '69 Econoline (automatic, but does not have a brake booster or power steering, so it is a real beast to drive), then moving to the C20, or just using the C20 alone. My rationale is that if they are proficient at driving the more challenging vehicle, the next-easier in line will allow them to focus on the next challenge (such as the clutch, situational awareness on the roads, etc...) One thing that is not in question is that neither will be using my old vehicles after they get their licenses! :P
I grenaded one pulling away from a stoplight in an energetic but not abusive fashion, luckily only a couple of miles from a Saab dealer. I was able to limp into the dealer (I learned clutchless driving on a '65 Beetle). and they told me that the clutch disc had fractured into several pieces and that it'd be a $900 repair. I asked them if they could see scoring, burn marks or any evidence of abuse on what was left of the clutch disks, they said no and I replied that the part must have been defective since the car had less than 20K on it.
A couple of days later they told me the factory rep had been by to see it and agreed that there had to be a defect. Saab ate the repair cost ('92 Saab 9000 Turbo/5speed).
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
My last two auto tranny cars, I have ponied up for extended warranties. The time will be up on my Volvo in June 2012... Not sure how closely I'll be looking at my options then, but I'm thinking it'd be nice NOT to own an out-of-warranty automatic ANYthing with 200+ hp.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Marginally too large to sport three pedals under the dash? Not even close.
I like gearshifts that are like buddah...my BMW-designed MINI gearbox totally sucks but being small, it's fun to drive a 6- speed.
Nope, both were more than happy to sell me whatever I wanted with zero pressure. In fact, the only recommendation either sales person made was to suggest that in manual transmission trim I didn't actually need the extra power of the 328i and that the 325i would serve me just as well. I politely told him I wanted the extra power and that was the end of it.
5 series with a manual are sweet:
http://www.google.com/ig#m_1_%22bmw%205%20series%20star%22
I don't even like new Ferraris or Corvettes with manual gearboxes, due to their size.
I guess the 1 took the old spot the 3 occupied, and the 3 slots more or less where the 5 used to be.
Besides these new autoboxes are so good, that you're not giving all that much away by mating your stately sedan to an automatic.
You haven't lived until you've driven a V8 with stick. Now, I know all of us old guys here have, but there are a few younger people likely to be reading this. Few things are more enjoyable than a large highway cruiser with a manual gearbox. It's exactly the same feeling that you get when you are say, riding a big Harley. Tons of bling, massive amounts of power, and full and immediate control of it all (and the knowledge that it takes actual skill to make it move properly)
Yeah there's a certain "power thing' about moving a big car through the gears, and I like that, but 1/2 hour and I'm done. I need a car that can really dance, for me to truly enjoy driving.
Oh, I DID drive a newer BMW 5 series automatic, and it did indeed feel very heavy---and it didn't get lighter the faster I drove, either--which some cars do, oddly enough.
Now, today I got a service cupon for a rotation and alignment because of all the pot holes.The state is broke and you have to drive hugging the center line.
I drove a Porsche that came close. But I bet the equivalent stick shift model is even better.