SirWompus

Seems like every other post contains someone interjecting their 'learned to drive stick the hard way' experence. Of all the stick cars I've owned this one has been the easiest to negotiate. Any reason so many people are struggling? I don't think the $1000 extra for AT is why so many have the MT... right?

sportmaned

im sure alot of people in here are under 25 and for most people must be their first manual car, im 16 and this is my first MT car let alone my first car, previously i only had an hour of previous practice, i found it much harder than the 94 altima i learned on because the clutch was so new and grippy, its been a month, i think it has worn off and i love my car to death, i had some regrets about it at first because i was thinking i was abusing my tranny, but its almost 1000 miles and it runs silky smooth no the $1000 did not scare me away from the AT, my dad was actually mad that i got the MT, 1. he cant drive it now, 2. he said i had enouhg to worry about cause i didnt even have my license yet at the time of purchase

donKy

the reason i got it was cuz i always wanted to learn, and it was also the first car i would be buying on my own so why not? After hearing how most of my friends learned, just like me took them a few days to get the hang of it, i decided i could do it. it was the best decision i made too, the 5spd tc is sooo fun =)

ScummyMcOwnage

I am a first time buyer and this is my first car with a MT. I had about 2 hours of practice(although one hour was on the freeway, so it wasn't much practice) in my dad's S-10. I got tired of bugging him to take me out to practice, and when I moved away and decided to purchase the tc, I chose to finish teaching myself. It was very hard living in a city with hills, but after a week, I was shifting smooth and not stalling at all.

I love to learn, no matter what it is, and I was tired of not knowing. I couldn't be happier.

Souljah347

i think alot of kids are getting MT cause they think it's cool. but it's def more fun to drive. i'v been driving stick now for like 3 years. i learned on a nissan 240sx. was alot of fun . but anyway like i was saying, i think too many kids have seen "the fast and the furious"

sportmaned

im willing to say that yes i got the manny cause i wanted to be "cool" with some of the guys that live around here with a Civic Si and a Rsx MT but i have grown to love it!

Bakaduin

Heh I got it for speed. I'm 19, throught HS I had a 2001 Hooked up Dodge Dakota AT, my good friend had a super quick modded Eagle Talon MT, and my other a quick older Eclipse MT. About 6 months ago they both got new cars, and SRT-4 and an Evo. I decided I was tired of being the only AT and traded my truck in to get MT tC. Sure I can't keep up with them but I didnt have the cash to spend and love the tC.

scionbrice

Well, I learned stick out of necessity, my first truck was stick. Then I got a 97 Jetta VR6 stick, now that was fun. But, the Tc shifting is sooooo much smoother, like butter baby, I love it. Fun fun car!

BRice

Otocan

*double post, see next post*

Otocan

first off, it's my first owned car, first owned stick, I drove my dad's VW Jetta GT a few years ago for a while that was a MT, drove an automatic honda odyssee for a while and I wanted a MT because... (descending order)

*it's more fun to drive
*you have full control over the power band (granted the auto tC's have smarter trannies than some)
*the gearing is much tighter
*it's 5-speed instead of 4
*it costs $1000 less
*the Honda Odyssee I was driving was my mother-in-laws and it's starting to have major tranny problems, and that was her second odyssee (2003), first one (2002) had major tranny problems too, pushed me away from auto's. clutches can be replaced, not a $4000 tranny.
*EPA numbers show the manual gets 1gal less city or highway, one of em, but I think real-world MT would get more than auto on our tC's, even with the different gearing
*I want to pump the engine to the max riding the edge of the warranty, so MT for that

that's about it, I'm 21 first car I've owned, chose to get a stick (my mother-in-law-to-be even said she'd pay the difference to get an auto because my fiance' doesn't know how to drive stick [yet :twisted: ]) and I love it, smooth shifting, cept it's a tad rough into second, sometimes, but that's about it - learned how to drive it well the first day I got it, only stalled it three times since I owned it, twice the first day and at over 1050 miles so far

I vouch that it's probably the first new car people've owned and they had a choice, and it's a sporty car, so why hurt it with an auto? learning stick isn't as hard as it used to be these days (not speaking from experience)

wOoOzZy

Otocan pretty much said it.

-quicker
-less expensive
-uses less gas
-more control
-fun

It's my first car as well. Though I couldn't say that it's hard to learn stick. I learned in, literally, 5 minutes. Granted that I wasn't smooth in 5min. But I didn't even stall except once at a light because I paniced. Now I only stall if I'm not thinking and I leave the parking break up. But I can usualy catch that before it stalls.

Plus, I'm sure a lot of people want to mod their tC. No one in their right mind would get an AT if they were gonna mod their car.

purpled_out_tC

the tC's my first car ever
i got to MT for a couple of different reasons also, but never "to be cool"-that would be stupid. Anyway reasons for my MT:
- wanted a stick since i was about 15, my mom had a 93 maxima and it looked like so much fun, especially getting on the freeway. :o
- power and speed-i don't want to wait for the kick
- maintenance :oops:
- last but not least that extra $800 sealed the deal (E-4 in the military-if you don't know that's 4 steps up on the pay scale)

Actually I've seen some on this site that have.

mancide

I've wanted a MT car for a while. I learned to drive in an old beater farm truck stick shift, and I've driven sticks here and there since then. The two times I test drove the MT tC at the dealer I loved it, it shifts smooth and the shifts are much shorter than anything I've driven before (not saying much since they have mostly been trucks).

A big selling point for me was the $850 for the AT. I wanted to keep the cost as low as possible, and I wasn't going to purchase a car without SAB, so the $850 + $650 for an AT with SAB was a bit more than I wanted to spend. Plus, you can eek out a few extra MPG if you drive a MT right, in an AT you have no control over the shift pattern.

All in all I think it will be more fun, and also will keep my mom and dad out of the car, since dad drives a truck all day for work, he claims he doesn't want to get in a car that he has to shift after that, and mom can't drive one yet, this will just be my baby. :twisted:

jasonbegin

I also want a Stick, For me its because its 800 bucks cheaper, and i plan to get the lip kit,spoiler, and upgraded CD player, im also on my own, no family help, im 22, work a fulltime job, and go to school fulltime, so the 800 bucks saved, is my lip kit, lol i do not know how to drive a stick, im gonna learn when i pick it up in april : )

wish me luck, lol

skinny

this will be my first 5 speed and i tell you that i have only drove the tC with a 5 speed and i hopped in and drove like a every day five speed driver, never stalled, only jumped once to see what it felt like in between shifting gears and i will have to say that this is one of the most effortless five speeds i have driven

nethack4ever

I got an MT tC because my previous car that had an I4 was a 5th gen Prelude with automatic. High-revving engine with dubious low-end torque + auto == not a good pairing. Sluggish off the line and not as free-revving up top due to the taller gears, plus the torque converter sucking power at all rpms. Man what a mistake. The auto should do considerably better with the tC's engine, but no more 4-bangers with autos for me.

lak512

yea i just got my 5 spd Flint mica tC on the 11th..i like it......also my first MT owned....it was pretty easy to learn ...I stalled acouple of times , it's easy...i like it.....O and the reason why i wanted to buy the MT was because AT was boring ,i'm 17(yes i know I'm young and i should have payed for my own car...I'm SORRY !) and i drove an AT for about 7 months and it has already gotten boring so yep.

GT4Dreams

I firt learned how to navigate the road in a huge Dodge conversion van. After that, I learned stick in my mom's 2000 v6 camry (1% ever made!). Then I bought my 92 celica stickshift. Then taught my g/f to drive stick in my celica, then I 'revived' my mr2 stick. Then my g/f bought an all-trac. Then I replaced the clutch on my celica...hmm wonder why!

Now my g/f is getting a manual tC!

Woodyear

Jasonbegin, you dont even have a car yet? What a pud. Dude you're not gonna learn to drive the car properly, simply put because you're an idiot. Dude you're capacity for intelligence is simply sub-par. Heres my prediction on what'll happen. You go to the dealership, sign all the papers. Get into the car and after stalling 6 times manage to lurch forward and onto the driveway of the dealership to get out on the road. You stop at the stopsign and wait for a chance to turn. You get your chance, accelerate to little and take out the clutch too fast, you stall right in the middle of the busy intersection. With any luck, a huge semi will plow into you, ruining your brand new, uninsured car (dummy). So now you're a pedestrian and all of us guys who actually own a tC are all the more cool because of it. Good luck walking man, hope I don't catch you j walking or I might have a nice little dent in my front fender from running your _____ass over at 45 mph.