# How old were you when you learned to drive manual?



## TCR (Jul 10, 2009)

Just a fun little poll...how old was everybody when they first learned to drive stick? What did you learn in?


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## SeanC (May 12, 2007)

15


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## TCR (Jul 10, 2009)

14 for me...in my sister's purple chevy S10


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## theredtribe (Mar 30, 2009)

29 yrs old...never driven manual  or should it be


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## nattyderek (Sep 11, 2008)

14. Legally. Back then you could get a learners permit in Alaska when you were 14, which is where I spent my summers as a kid...


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## Coconutpete (Feb 7, 2008)

15 in my dads GTI although I SUCKED.

I didn't get good until I was 16 and drove my moms Civic a lot.


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## 200325i (Jun 6, 2009)

14 in a VW Rabbit


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## MalibuMafiaV (Jul 7, 2005)

13


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## Solidjake (May 10, 2007)

17


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## JJ3699 (Jan 14, 2008)

16 in my dad's Ford Festiva :rofl:


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## Billd104 (Aug 30, 2006)

16 - Subu Brat


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## elhombre (Dec 28, 2007)

14, 1963 ford falcon


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## B/\/\W (Mar 18, 2007)

I never had to learn because it was so stupendously simple, so I can't really answer this question. I learned how to _drive_ at 17 though, that's minimum legal driving age here. Didn't see much point learning how to drive before that, seeing as I couldn't have legally driven anywhere.


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## Nick77 (Apr 26, 2007)

16 - 1989 Chevy Cavalier Z24....Fo shizzle my nizzle!! I loved that car.


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## MicahO (Apr 19, 2004)

12 - diesel John Deere. While the ridiculous torque from a tractor's engine made it relatively easy to learn, it was great experience for later....


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## djfitter (Sep 12, 2007)

15, although it was a drivers education, 3 on the tree, simulator/trainer in a class room. The driving cars had autos. At 16 (no license yet) I sneaked my dads MT 1960 Sunbeam Alpine out of the garage and drove it around the neighborhood. I got caught when I came back and all he told me was to stay in the neighborhood and off the main streets. It was a fun car to learn on. :thumbup:

dj


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## 968RACER (Nov 20, 2006)

18 on a 2 speed forklift which is a lot different from relearning on the DeLorean I bought when I was 19.


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## spazmataz (Aug 6, 2006)

16, my dad said if I couldnt drive a stick, then I didnt know how to drive so couldnt drive his car... 3 days in a row, 4-5 hrs each day behind the wheel of a 5 spd rental car, I was good enough to go out on my own in his car. Considering this was back in Uganda with the quality of roads and stuff, pretty quick by my standards...


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## smolck (Jul 2, 2007)

15 for me, learned in my first car, a 1982 S-10 long bed. Had a 4 on the floor and dad and I pulled the engine to replace the rear main seal and redo the bottom end. Probably my most reliable car looking back......


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## jhowe1 (Dec 18, 2006)

15 in a Honda Civic.


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## KrisL (Dec 22, 2001)

Moved to the general automotive forum.


As I've posted before, I never really "learned" - My Dad taught me the mechanics, and I've always been obsessed with driving and would always watch his motions. Once I got in a stick shift car (92 Saturn SL2), I think I stalled it once.... I basically just got in and had it figured out.


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## k1200rsvt (Mar 30, 2009)

15 Dodge Ram Charger


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## AB (Jan 11, 2002)

I learned how to drive via a manual transmission car. Datsun B210 wagon. I was 15 years old.


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## Plaz (Dec 19, 2001)

16 in a chevette


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## Fast Bob (Jun 4, 2004)

I was lucky....when I was 13, I had two friends (brothers) whose father owned a coal yard (coal-heat in homes & businesses was still pretty common in the early `60s), so we got to practice on all the "yard vehicles", then we began collecting worn-out cars that neighbors would have otherwise sent to the junkyard, and they became our toys for sliding around in the gravel of the large back lot. The back lot adjoined some woods, and on the other side of the woods was a large cemetary, with *paved roads*  .So, as the days got longer, and after the cemetary closed it`s gates at 5 pm, we would drive our junkers through the woods, into the cemetary, and wail around the roads inside it....great fun ! We learned the intricacies of downshifting & double-clutching, there was no such thing as synchros on first gear back then....


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## Justin T (Oct 10, 2006)

15 - In a Ferrari F40...

Actually it was my buddies 78 Mustang II V8 four speed with no exhaust (fire visibile at night from under the car).


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## BmW745On19's (Aug 12, 2005)

I was 7 in a 1982 Ford F-350 Dually with a 4 Speed Diesel engine.

If you can drive that you can drive _anything._


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## OBS3SSION (Oct 1, 2002)

16 in my parents' 1984 Jetta diesel. less than 80 HP, I think, and TONS of torque! I purchased the car off my parents for $2000 when I got my license at 16 1/2.

I took my first driving school drive on my 16th birthday. Of course all they had was ****box automatics. My dad brought me out in the Jetta and I learned the stick in about 30 minutes.


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## 6 Brit (Jan 19, 2009)

my dad sat me on a motorcycle when I was but a wee lass

prolly 8 or 9 i was tall enough to drive his work truck around the airport where he kept his plane...which was a manual...

I never understood why people have such an issue learning how to use a clutch...

I learned how to really drive one at the limit in my mini but mostly putted around in older standard transmissions before that


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## Matthew330Ci (Sep 9, 2002)

KrisL said:


> Moved to the general automotive forum.
> 
> As I've posted before, I never really "learned" - My Dad taught me the mechanics, and I've always been obsessed with driving and would always watch his motions. Once I got in a stick shift car (92 Saturn SL2), I think I stalled it once.... I basically just got in and had it figured out.


it was kinda similar for me, i knew the mechanics from reading about it. i went to test drive a 2000 civic si, stalled it once or maybe twice, then got it and drove home that night without stalling once. i was 19.


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## brkf (May 26, 2003)

10 years old. Learned in a 1983 Nissan Pulsar NX.


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## vexed (Dec 22, 2001)

15 1964 Volvo 122S


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## Missmodena310 (Oct 9, 2008)

14 at my sisters house in aspen she had a ranger to get stuff around her property and she insisted to drive i needed to learn stick  thanks sis best thing ever!


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## E36 Phantom (Apr 3, 2007)

15, grandpa's 1990 Chevy S-10. 

First car was a manual 1991 Toyota Supra Turbo. Miss her.


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## Andrew*Debbie (Jul 2, 2004)

16. 1971 Capri.



elhombre said:


> 14, 1963 ford falcon


:thumbup:

2nd stick shift car I drove was a '63 Mercury Comet. 144 cu in I-6. 3 speed. Synchros for 2nd and 3rd only.


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## minty_freshness (Jan 22, 2009)

15 in my dad's work truck


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## Kamdog (Apr 15, 2007)

17. On my brothers 1961 Studebaker Lark, with 3 on the post, and throws so long you would not believe it today.


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## spydrz (Oct 1, 2004)

17, 1988 VW Passat Variant TD, no PS or anything else. Manual choke was fun on cold mornings.


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## SailinSand (Aug 24, 2007)

First time I ever drove a stick....14 and test driving Jeeps...'98 wrangler. I cried because I didn't like it.

...now we don't even own an automatic :lmao:

Before we got the M Roady a girlfriend gave me a 'refresher' course in her Mazda Tribute (5spd). ...we traded her for a day or so (the 01 3er for her mazda) so I could get used to it...b/c when we got Zippy I drove her from Miami.


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## guppyflyer (Oct 26, 2006)

@ 15 Chevy LUV pickup


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