funny- after driving nothing but the turismo for a year or more my mom needed help. she asked me to take her car to the mechanic. some chrysler k car with an automatic. like a plymouth reliant i think. i spent like 5 mins or so trying to figure out how to start it. i was totally confused by the lack of clutch pedal and no floor shifter. then i actually did a face palm when it clicked in my head.

granted i was hungover but i was still really embarrassed

 

ive got you all beat. 1995 geo metro 3 cylinder. haha. my first car. crammed 6 people in it once and had to ride the **** out of the clutch to get moving. 38 whp doesnt go very far with 6 people in it. lol. it wasnt that hard to learn on. the clutch was super light, but because it was a cable operated, there was plenty of feel to it. the lack of power made things interesting, but still fun. eventually, the car made its way out to my GFs (at the time) place for "storage" where it eventually became a feild car. went offroading on her porpety in a friends 4X4 and though hey, why not take the geo out? had more fun in that than the 4x4. went into tall grass that ended up being taller than the car, almost hit a deer and her dog in there. lol. then i used it to teach her to drive standard and then through a dealer plate on it and took it to the wreckers when scarp was high. origianlly paid 1 dollar for the car and its twin (they were delivery cars at my dads work and the manager couldnt be bothered to have them scrapped). one had a dead tranny, the other had a burned valve. so i put the tranny in the one with a good engine and away i went. i think when i scrapped it i got like 200 bucks for it so i actually made money on the car in the long run i guess. haha.

Greg

 

Butt ugly mustard yellow, 4-door, 1972 Toyota Corolla.

 

Awesome memory. Dad was a firm believer in learning to drive in a manual. (And if I have kids, that lesson will be passed along)
1976 Chevette. A couple months after I had "mastered the art of a manual" 3rd gear kept kicking out at any real rpms. It was fun testing its limits and when I wasn't in the mood, just 1-2-4.

Am glad I learned that way. I took a 15 year break where I ended up being the drone in an auto Accord. Was nervous to get back in a manual at first, but just like riding a bike...

 

the first car i actually drove was a 77 porsche 924 rally championship edition, 4spd car. it was white with red and blue striping. i was 16 with no license. guy had the car sitting out at a boatyard and i stopped by to check it out and he took me for a ride. afterwards, he extendd me an offer i could not refuese. clean the car in and out and i can drive it around teh boat yard. i did just that. i was in heaven. i had the idea of how to drive it down and stalling was very minimal.

then when i got my temporary permit, it was a powder blue 84 Ford Ranger with a 5spd. nothing too exciting there.

 

94 corolla.

But my Dad taught me by bringing me to the steep hill down to the local lake, which had 6 speed bumps. Had me start at the bottom, stopping at each one, and then getting it going, over and over. You learn REAL fast.

 

'85 Golf diesel. It had this problem where you didn't have to push the stick down to go into reverse, and reverse was on the left...making for some interesting times when trying to take off in first.

I don't know what happened to the tranny, I'm sure it didn't have anything to do with teenage stupidity and flat shifting...

 

1988 Mazda RX-7....Had to drive it from the dudes house where I bought it from.

 

was the summer of 1992 in a 1981 Toyota Starlet KP (rwd) whch was my first rotary car i ever driven. my cousin threw in a 13b.

 

Have driven in numerous rental cars in Ireland when I was younger, didn't truly learn until I got my permit, when I learned to drive stick in a 1998 Boxster, then in the RX-8.

 

I learned on a 1977 Ford Ecoline van with three on the tree and also a Chevy Vega station wagon with a four speed. Both were parent's cars.

My first car was a Plymouth Champ with a twin stick. (It was the sister car to the Dodge Colt, I think).

 

My SR20 powered 240 with ACT 6 puck unsprung race disc and xtreme pp. Yea, that was fun...Its hard driving cars with soft pedals now....

 

I learned in a Dune Buggie out in the desert. I was about 12 years old when dad threw me the keys and said "go learn". My brother and I put on our helmets and took off in to the dirt. It is so easy to learn when you can just go full throttle and dump the clutch.

 

First Time - 1994 Jeep Wrangler

REALLY LEARNED - 1968 Mustang GT with 3 speed on the floor - and a bad pressure plate - popping the clutch out with my right foot and catching the pedal with my left while applying gas FTW! That will make you real good - real fast.

 

Same here... I learned in a 1980 Chevette... It was black on gold. I felt like an idiot.

 

2002 AP1 s2000... I got kinda spoiled from that car's nearly flawless transmission.

 

I learned in my first car - a 2000 Nissan Sentra. I was always taught that driving stick was a balance between clutch and throttle...so I kept trying to release the clutch at the same rate I applied the throttle. Those were some fun starts. Needless to say, I was quite the headache for my poor dad who was tasked with riding shotgun through all that, hah.

Now I get it and I'm a strong advocate of the "use only the clutch until you figure out what it does" method. I'm so glad I stuck it out and learned though - now I can't stand driving automatics.

 

rx-8

 

First manual I ever drove was a 76 triump tr6, but that didn't go so hot. I really learned on my 88 Jetta.

 

a 1986 toyota pickup truck (most realiable truck ever made)
the second one was a 1950 studebaker commander (3 speed on the tree)

 

like this?

 

VW Golf GTi MKII -88 or -89 I think.

 

95 celica
and then relearned on rx8 because i completly forgot in 1 yr

 

Deuce and a half. I wonder if anyone here even knows what that is?

 

In 1957 I purchased my first true stick shift car a 1950 Ford. That car cost me $100.00. A hundred dollars in '57 was a lot of money. I owned a Dodge before that but it had a stick shift with no clutch (can't remember what they called that combination). I have disliked sticks ever since.