Just curious, because the vast majority of cars in America have automatic transmissions and that's what most Americans seem to be used to. I've seen movies where people ask "can you drive a stick-shift?" as if it's like asking someone if they can fly a plane. And I when I say "know" you actually have to be able to use one well and be comfortable with it. Like, I've sat on horses and been given rides before but I can't "ride" a horse.

Only born and bred Americans need answer here.

I can. My second car has a manual. So can my parents. Over half our cars have manual's, and both my car and my dad's primary car are manual's. A lot of people in my family can drive manual's because they have to learn. Most of my friends though, can't.

I’ve always known how to drive a stick-shift, though I haven’t driven one in about 3 years. I don’t even go near Dad’s Corvette (not that I don’t like it, I just don’t care to drive it)

Why not? I'd love to drive a Corvette, any Corvette, proper muscle car.

Well, it’s out of respect for my father. I don’t go near it, I don’t drive it, I don’t even ask to borrow it. He’s getting up in age, and always wanted a Corvette, so it’s more of "pet" than a car to him.

My Jeep and my Civic were 5-speed manuals. Now that I drive an automatic, I find it a little boring. It is kind of like you are just sitting there with an auto, whereas with a manual you are more involved.

It is a shame, but many models do not even offer the option of a manual transmission.

Agreed. I've been driving the truck (Cheyenne) around a lot lately. Today I went took the Silverado (which has an automatic) to church and it was really boring and down right awkward after spending a week or two driving the Cheyenne only.

I hate the fact that a lot of cars don't offer manuals. Even back in the days of my Tempo and Cheyenne, their standard transmission was a manual. I believe that is even the case with my dad's Ford F-150 (1999MY). You'd have had to pay a few thousand dollars extra for the automatic. Now, most cars have automatics standard and no manual option. The 2008 Pontiac G8 (based on the Australian Holden Commodore) won't even have a manual option! Not even the performance-oriented GT model.

I can't say, because I haven't driven stick yet.

So the answer for you is "No".

I can drive a stick, but not well. I learned on an old Trooper. I recently drove a friends 911 with a manual and did okay, not great. I have a feeling manual transmissions will become more and more rare everywhere as transmission technology advances.

In America, but from what I know, manual's still are the most popular transmission in other countries.

I've often wished I could hold a poll at my high school asking how many of the students can drive manual's. Its mainly the younger crowd that I find don't know how to drive a manual. I probably never would have learned to drive a stick-shift if not for fishing and the Cheyenne.

Its funny how things change. I remember when automatics were a special option that cost a lot of money - and they didn't last very well.

I guess so...

I get the impression that since few American cars in recent years are manuals, many Americans nowadays don't know how to drive them. Apparentely most learners today at American driving schools don't learn on manuals. Is that true? Whereas in Britain and possibly the rest of Europe, nearly everyone learns to drive on a manual car, those people who only learn on automatics seem to be in a minority.

Yes it is. What's also strange is that since driving schools teach automatic, I have not heard of a school that taught how to drive Manuals. I have looked for one but found nothing.

You can teach someone how to drive a manaul in just a few minutes. However, it generally takes them a couple of weeks of practice to do it smoothly. Clutch and accelerator coordination when starting out is usually the largest difficulty. My kids damn near broke my neck with all the lungeing

I can drive stick but not well I seem to grind the gears but only have driven a few hours on one.

You were more worried about your neck than your poor car?

In theory it may not seem too complicated, but there's definetely a technique you have to master (it's all co-ordination), most teenagers don't pick it up instantly at it when they first start, they stall and bunnyhop quite a lot. I was one of those people, me and my dad spent an afternoon in a car park on an industrial estate in his Fiat Punto trying to get it down, although him shouting at me didn't make it easier. Piece of advice to all teenagers: don't let your parents teach you how to drive, the only thing I really learnt with my dad was how to drive while having a heated arguement (quite a useful skill actually), I don't think he was much easier on my sister. Setting off is the tricky part, once you are moving at speed it's easier to change between gears. And moving off up a steep slope can be tricky for some people. Once you've learnt properly you are fine, although I don't know what it would be like to drive a powerful sports car or a classic car.

What a huge truth that you say is G-MANN, my dad is exactly the same, and it was not that bad when in an industrial state he taught me few years ago but now, i dont own a car so i drvie his, and it is the most annoying thing ever, ive even got angry at some points and stop driving that day because off him, not to mention when i stall the car what a drama, that you mention about slopes is still terrible for me, form some reason at the driving school they tought me how to start in a slope not using the hand brake, ven in a very clined one, but my car is heavy and has not a lot of horse power so doing it without hand brake would stall it, i yet have not came across with a high noe with my car but i know onw of these days i will, and i have not even tried it yet so perhaps the day it happens to me ill stall it once over and over again.

PS: That's one of the reasons i want an automatic.

In Britain at least, you really have to go with a proper driver instructor, because they will teach you exactly how to pass the test, someone else won't teach you the right things required by the test. You can't make any real mistakes in a DVLA test.

But it's still very helpful to practice on a car outside of lessons (paying for lots of lessons can get expensive), and with teenagers that usually ends up being their parent's car (as long as it is something small and not very powerful, unlike America British learners just can't get insured on big cars). But the things parents just won't treat their kids as impartially as someone else would, like an uncle for example, I don't care how easygoing the parents are, there will always be that little bit of tension (with most parents anyway). My dad can be a bit of an ogre when he's in a bad mood.