General Talk (primarily non-naturist) > The Hobby Hut
Cars: Manual or Automatic transmission?
Fitz1980:
--- Quote from: brandon on August 24, 2010, 03:00:24 am ---The editor of Car and Driver magazine bemoans the disappearance of the manual transmission (i.e. a stick shift with a clutch pedal) and cites this as one of the reasons only 30% of U.S. 16 year-olds bother to get a driver's license. (2008 data)
--- End quote ---
I would love to see a cite for that one. Where I'm from everybody was lining up to get their DL on the day they turned 16, even if they didn't have anything but their parents' cars to drive.
Personally I learned to drive on an automatic because that was all my folks had & for years couldn't drive a stick (manual). My old roommate Maria was a car enthusiast who always drove stick-shifts taught me how to drive a stick. After totaling my car in a 4 car pileup on I-95 (not my fault) I rode around in hers for a few weeks before getting a new one. Her's was a stick and I was really getting used to it, but I was short on cash an automatic was the best deal I could find. It was rather difficult for the first week getting used to not shifting gears after I'd been doing it for almost a month in her car.
Dan:
--- Quote from: Fitz1980 on August 24, 2010, 05:56:56 am ---It was rather difficult for the first week getting used to not shifting gears after I'd been doing it for almost a month in her car.
--- End quote ---
I drove for years with a manual and the old reflexes are hard to break.
Fitz1980:
--- Quote from: Dan on August 24, 2010, 06:06:03 am ---
--- Quote from: Fitz1980 on August 24, 2010, 05:56:56 am ---It was rather difficult for the first week getting used to not shifting gears after I'd been doing it for almost a month in her car.
--- End quote ---
I drove for years with a manual and the old reflexes are hard to break.
--- End quote ---
For sure. Me and GF both know how to drive sticks & are currently sharing an automatic as our only car. We both agree that when we get another car it's going to be a stick.
brandon:
--- Quote from: Fitz1980 on August 24, 2010, 05:56:56 am ---
--- Quote from: brandon on August 24, 2010, 03:00:24 am ---The editor of Car and Driver magazine bemoans the disappearance of the manual transmission (i.e. a stick shift with a clutch pedal) and cites this as one of the reasons only 30% of U.S. 16 year-olds bother to get a driver's license. (2008 data)
--- End quote ---
I would love to see a cite for that one.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: WRAL Raleigh,January 25 2010 ---The decline is part of a nationwide trend. Data released Friday by the Federal Highway Administration shows 30 percent of 16-year-olds got their licenses in 2008, compared with 44 percent in 1988.
--- End quote ---
full story: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/6882164/
Bobbert:
South Carolina changed their laws so you have to be 17 before you can get your full license. You can only get a learner's permit at 16. SC isn't a big state, but changes like that will effect the statistics.
SC drivers can take their driving test in any vehicle they choose, and everyone picked an automatic because it was just plain easier. Not having to worry about a clutch should make more teens drive. You don't reach the "fun" stage until you're comfortable driving at all.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version