What were the guards cussing about?

 

Because I did a minor burn out and almost crashed.

 

Congratulations on taking on the 6 speed challenge! Please let me offer some advice. I taught my wife, and my two sons how to drive manuals. I NEVER had ANY of them take to the street until they felt completely comfortable with the process after several days of practice in large, mostly empty parking lots. I " threw them to the wolves " ONLY when they told
me that they felt confident to do so. Introduction to the roads was done during low traffic periods (this is particularly helpful with hills).
Hang in there. The MINI has a great, fun 6 sp. manual. Before you know it,
it will become " automatic".

 

I'm with MINImal lag on this one: take her to a large, mostly empty parking lot and have her get used to shifting and maneuvering around where there's no real pressure.

My story: we had 2 manual transmission cars when I was growing up. I spent a lot of time watching Mom & Dad drive them, how they used the clutch, Dad taught me to listen to the engine and tell him when to shift, that kind of thing. My first try at driving one of the cars was a bit disastrous: Mom took me out and didn't have the nerves for the lesson. She was horrified, I was nervous and reacted to her horror.
It took me a few weeks to get over the experience.

A few months later, I asked Dad if I could take that car out for a drive. I had somewhere to go, it was a low-traffic situation, and I was going to be in the car on my own - no nervous and terrified passenger. "Are you SURE you want to take the VW?" "Yes." No problems on that journey at all, it was maybe a 50 mile trek.

So, from one woman who learned to drive a manual by watching and finally just taking the car out on the road on her own - get your girl into a situation where she can practice without pressure. We'll all still stall a car from time to time, but she can learn how to deal with that from a low-pressure situation, as well.

 

My troubles with my MINI's "clutch" were due to the electronic throttle delay as well as when I got it, we were having one of the hottest July's ever, which meant I was running my A/C frequently...which is a HUGE power drain. I never stalled it but I had quite a few rough starts at approximately 1k RPM. The car clearly did not like taking off that low in the rev range.

 

My 27 year old daughter called me one day during lunch. She asked me how to drive a stick. I told her I will show her when she comes home for a weekend (she lives in New York City). She said NO! I need to drive now. Her boss double parked and was not back so she had to move the car. I had to teach her on the phone so she could get around Times Square. She bucked a few times but managed somehow. I'm not sure if she will ever drive a stick again after that.

 

I guarantee that I have everybody beat.

My MA taught me how to drive manual in about an hour the day I bought my MINI. After signing the papers and handing over $34k cash, I hesitantly started my new car in the dealership parking lot to head home. It stalled twice before I got it going. The dealership was about 2hr from home in LA, luckily it was almost all freeway. I left at 6pm, perfect rush hour traffic and had to take the 5 all the way home.

I had no issues until the Los Feliz exit ramp off the 5 into Glendale. There I stalled for 6, yes six, light cycles. Now, it is rush hour so the green light stays green for quite a while to let the many, many people exit the freeway.

I ended up sitting there for just over 20 minutes trying to get my car going. It was mostly nerves at this point messing me up. I was listening to 104.3 on the radio and maybe 15 minutes into this whole ordeal, the traffic report comes on the radio. Among the many backups and accidents reported, I s*** you not, they started talking about a stalled vehicle blocking the Los Feliz exit and the backup went two exits back.

After sitting at that off ramp for, what seemed like hours, I got through the next light but the second light I sat at for 3 light cycles.

So yeah, my inexperience driving a stick made the radio.


Even in LA people typically don't get roadrage over stalling your vehicle. I found that if I stall I just give the people a quick wave through the back window or smile as they pass and they usually smile back. It always helps to laugh at yourself and will totally calm your nerves making it that much easier to actually get moving.

I very, very, very slowly improved my driving. I think it took around 5 months to get good at driving and making the shifts smooth. Like others have said, sport mode definitely helps get going, even more so if you are on a hill. I often went out at night when there weren't many people out driving so I could practice without being worried about blocking traffic or getting T-boned by a semi.

 

Your confession has been heard, and you sins are forgiven. Go, and stall no more.

:-D

 

If you can't drive with a manual trans you should not have a license, just like if you can't parallel park, or if you text and drive. Too many peole just don't get HOW to drive.

 

You're right in the sense that I should have learned how to drive a manual a long time ago. I don't know about the whole not having a liscence part though. I agree that driving a manual should be the first thing people should learn about driving, but it should also be their decision. Most people I've talked too (women mostly), aren't able to get the hang of it. They said and I quote, "I like things to be easy." I guess it just depends on the person. I however, am excited to learn. I just get frustrated when I stall, or something goes wrong. All in all though, it's been a fun experience so far.

 

Unfortunately us Americans seem to think driving is a right and not a privilege! Baloney. I agree, knowing how to drive a manual should be mandatory! It forces concentration.
I goofed taking her out on the road too early. We need moar large lot time. And we'll get that tomorrow night.

 

<soapbox> I drive a manual by choice, and I suspect that using a manual transmission MIGHT make one a more attentive driver. But I have to disagree about one "needing to drive a manual to get a license." I prefer manuals, took my driver's license test in a 1949 Morris Minor convertible (made parallel parking A LOT easier than my mom's Ford Country Squire), taught my daughters how to drive in a manual-equipped car, and buy manuals for my use.

But manuals are a rarity today, and I don't see any need to stigmatize drivers who don't know how to use a clutch. There are far more important things for a driver to know than how to shift a manual transmission.

If there is a manual in your family circle, then by all means learn how to use it. Otherwise, motor on, guiltlessly. </soapbox>

 

My MINI is my fun car and it is a stick shift. My E34 BMW Touring is my daily driver and it is an automatic. I am a stick shift snob with the best of them but, while in stop and go traffic I would rather not have a stick, automatic is the way to go. Why ruin the fun of the car by getting beat to death while in traffic?

 

Really? Require learning how to drive a manual transmission? In the US, less than 7% of cars sold are stick shift. If the trend continues, which is very likely, before too long all cars sold in the US will have automatic transmissions.

What is a rip-off is the $1,250.00 MINI charges.

Like it or not, the stick shift is going the way of the abbicus.

 

Whether the majority are automatic or not, the manual should ALWAYS be an option, because there are people out there like me that love the "raw" driving experience. Hell, the first thing I do when I get into my MCS is turn off the traction/stability control...

 

You make a good point. I tend to forget that enthusiasts are in the minority. I drive a 2008 Subaru Forester XT Sports (moderately modded), and it's a rare 5 MT. In 2009 Subaru dropped the XT 5MT in USDM cars because the 2008 manual sales were something like 10 cars/month.

 

While maybe it "should" be an option, but I suspect that the day will come when MINI will be one of the only car companies to offer the M/T and they may even begin to charge a premium for it.

Face it, even the 2013 JCW is now available with an A/T. The end of the driving world as you know it is on the horizon.

 

Well the reason that manufacturers charge a premium for automatic transmissions is they cost the company more to develop/manufacture etc.

If I live to see the day where the manual transmission is fazed out, I will cry. And I've only cried one time since I was a baby.

 

I think I heard that people expect true manual transmissions to be gone by the end of the decade. Too few are sold. There are becoming less and less cars that offer them, even performance cars are mostly paddle shifters these days because they shot faster/better than a person.

 

Interesting discussion. Cost may have been the case in the past, but if all you make are automatics, it is no longer a factor. And as for R&D, once you've developed the part there is a certain economy of scale in putting them in all your cars. Case in point, power windows and locks. Once an option, now standard. CD will go the way of the stick shift and be replaced by satellite, USB and iPod link. Remember hub caps? Almost unheard of. Look for Bluetooth to become standard especially if cell phone use becomes illegal.

Time marches on and yesterday's options become today's standard equipment. And the future of the stick shift? I'm not willing to bet money one way or the other.

 

I honestly don't care if a machine can shift more quickly or with more precision than my left foot and right hand. If I want to pretend I'm in full control of a car, I'll play a video game. Driving is all about the experience for me. That's why I bought a MINI Cooper S as a daily driver...

 

I would bet that manuals will become more and more scarce, but I doubt they will fully disappear in any of our lifetimes, because there are diehard enthusiasts, such as me, that would, if it comes down to it, pay a premium for a manual transmission.

Edit: I apparently like using commas LOL

 

Don't get me wrong, I know how to drive a stick. But because of some orthopedic issues (mostly my wife's) I just don't see me ever buying a stick again. Against my better judgement I have to let her drive my car once in a while. (She just better not get too fond of it. )

And I think everyone should know how to drive a stick, which is why I taught all three of my kids. I just have doubts about any of the "Main Line" automakers producing them much longer.

 

I too, am afraid that the days of the "old school" enthusiast's machines are numbered. How sad. Involvement is being exchanged for distraction and ease. Cup holders, blue tooth, nav, texting behind the wheel, automatic everything in huge gas guzzlers with absurdly high centers of gravity. Everybody's on the freekin' phone . 3 pedals may be the cure for isolation and destraction behind the wheel. Well..... sort of. Let the video gamers have the flappy paddles.
(Sorry for the rant. I just slapped myself and said " Thanks. I needed that")