Every vehicle I have ever owned has had a stick shift, with the embarrassing exception of a piece of crap Pontiac Phoenix I bought used from Budget Rent A Car in the early 1980s and sold a year later.
No one here has mentioned the best reason to own a standard shift car. If you ever have a dead battery or a bad starter, all you have to do is get the car rolling and then pop the clutch in first or second gear. Voila! You're good to go. For years, when I owned cars of marginal reliability, I was in the habit of parking at the top of a hill, just in case.
For PSM who thinks it's easier for lefties to drive a stick, you could always take the family on a vacation to Ireland or Australia and let the girls drive a rental car while you're there. I've done that a few times and found it to be easier than I feared. Driving on the left is more of an adjustment than shifting with your left hand.
$3.79
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marrymeflyfree
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- Location: the couch
"No one here has mentioned the best reason to own a standard shift car. If you ever have a dead battery or a bad starter, all you have to do is get the car rolling and then pop the clutch in first or second gear. Voila! You're good to go."
Great skill to have if you're a teenager and your boyfriend has snuck over to see you in the middle of the night, and needs to quietly start his car when leaving, too.
Or so I'd heard.
Great skill to have if you're a teenager and your boyfriend has snuck over to see you in the middle of the night, and needs to quietly start his car when leaving, too.
Or so I'd heard.
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PlacentiaSoccerMom
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When Maddie starts driving, I am going to buy up ads in the local papers and warn everyone. She is incredibly uncoordinated, I hate even riding behind her on the Autopia at Disneyland. If I were having a heart attack and needed somebody to drive my car in an emergency, I would trust Emma over Maddie.TheConfessor wrote:
For PSM who thinks it's easier for lefties to drive a stick, you could always take the family on a vacation to Ireland or Australia and let the girls drive a rental car while you're there. I've done that a few times and found it to be easier than I feared. Driving on the left is more of an adjustment than shifting with your left hand.
I don't even want to add having to learn to shift into the mix.
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PlacentiaSoccerMom
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Yeah, I have heard that as well.marrymeflyfree wrote:"No one here has mentioned the best reason to own a standard shift car. If you ever have a dead battery or a bad starter, all you have to do is get the car rolling and then pop the clutch in first or second gear. Voila! You're good to go."
Great skill to have if you're a teenager and your boyfriend has snuck over to see you in the middle of the night, and needs to quietly start his car when leaving, too.
Or so I'd heard.
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themanintheseersuckersuit
- Posts: 7631
- Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 6:37 pm
- Location: South Carolina
Second best reason, at least with my 63 Beetle we could make it backfire. No not the smartest thing to do, but when you're 15 its pretty cool.marrymeflyfree wrote:"No one here has mentioned the best reason to own a standard shift car. If you ever have a dead battery or a bad starter, all you have to do is get the car rolling and then pop the clutch in first or second gear. Voila! You're good to go."
Great skill to have if you're a teenager and your boyfriend has snuck over to see you in the middle of the night, and needs to quietly start his car when leaving, too.
Or so I'd heard.
Suitguy is not bitter.
feels he represents the many educated and rational onlookers who believe that the hysterical denouncement of lay scepticism is both unwarranted and counter-productive
The problem, then, is that such calls do not address an opposition audience so much as they signal virtue. They talk past those who need convincing. They ignore actual facts and counterargument. And they are irreparably smug.
feels he represents the many educated and rational onlookers who believe that the hysterical denouncement of lay scepticism is both unwarranted and counter-productive
The problem, then, is that such calls do not address an opposition audience so much as they signal virtue. They talk past those who need convincing. They ignore actual facts and counterargument. And they are irreparably smug.
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dodgersteve182
- Posts: 543
- Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:41 pm
"Question for all:
If you drive a gas-heavy car, at what point would you consider getting a more fuel-efficient vehicle to offset the costs"
Safety First since you will have kids. If you don't drive more than 12K miles per year, anything above 20 MPH is good IMHO. I get 22.5 MPH in my "Preowned" BMW which I scrimped and saved to buy over several Years and I drive around 15K per year and use Premium Fuel. I cut back on other expenses to balance my own budget. I am very happy with the car, I feel very safe in it too especially with the phenominal 360 visability. The XM Radio makes the 3-4 hour drives during tax season almost bearable, I least I feel a little less stressed out after performing a few sets of Classic Rock along with the Radio and not having to listen to annoying commercials. (I do feel sorry for the other drivers who have to hear a tone deaf MAWG singing Mississippi Queen while they are stuck in traffic. I actually caught myself singing in my car last week with the windows rolled completely down! Eeekk!!).
If you drive a gas-heavy car, at what point would you consider getting a more fuel-efficient vehicle to offset the costs"
Safety First since you will have kids. If you don't drive more than 12K miles per year, anything above 20 MPH is good IMHO. I get 22.5 MPH in my "Preowned" BMW which I scrimped and saved to buy over several Years and I drive around 15K per year and use Premium Fuel. I cut back on other expenses to balance my own budget. I am very happy with the car, I feel very safe in it too especially with the phenominal 360 visability. The XM Radio makes the 3-4 hour drives during tax season almost bearable, I least I feel a little less stressed out after performing a few sets of Classic Rock along with the Radio and not having to listen to annoying commercials. (I do feel sorry for the other drivers who have to hear a tone deaf MAWG singing Mississippi Queen while they are stuck in traffic. I actually caught myself singing in my car last week with the windows rolled completely down! Eeekk!!).