Asklemmy

37m, USA

I can. The first new car I bought was a manual, because it was less expensive. I embarrassed myself for a bit, but that's when I learned.

Old guy in the USA. My first car was a sport motorcycle so six speed with clutch and shifter. I have a sedan with an auto trans, but also a 4WD truck with manual. When I learned to drive in my teens automatic transmissions were not as nice as they are now, just three speeds and not very smooth. Now they're typically six speed and much nicer. I really dislike a manual trans in heavy traffic, quite a chore.

Southeastern US, and yep. I sort of just figured it out during a test drive. The woman showing me the car was attractive and I didn't want to look bad in front of her.

My wife's car is a manual, and we find that it takes a while sometimes to get our car back from the valet because they have to find someone who can drive stick.

My friend taught me for the most part in college when I was 22, and then when I bought my first manual it was 5 hours from my house. If I didn't figure it out I wouldn't have gotten home 🫣

Only killed it a couple times, and only when I was getting on/off the freeway. And once in stop and go traffic, but I don't think anyone noticed

Yes. Mid thirties UK. I've actually never driven an automatic.

35, American, can only drive automatic but have been trying to learn manual. My barrier is never having a car available to me to practice on. 🙃

Yes, early 20s USA. Learned at 18 and drove manual every day until I sold my last car in November

I had to put in extra effort to find a manual (USA), but I was successful. I'm going to hold onto this thing in perpetuity until the wheels fall off or (reliable) fully autonomous vehicles are "standard".

I can drive manual, but I hate it. I don't want to worry about releasing the clutch just right to avoid jerk, so I bought an electric car. Certainly was expensive, but it's infinitely more smooth than a manual transmission could ever be. 23 year old, living in Germany.

Mid 60's in the US. I've always driven manual transmission cars. Fairly common for folks my age to know how to drive manual transmissions, since most of us had economy cars in the 70's and 80's. At that time, automatic transmissions were an expensive option and had a negative impact on acceleration and mileage.

My daughter is 29 and doesn't know how to drive a manual transmission and I don't think most of her peers can, either.

EDIT: Accidentally a manual.

i dont even know what manual transmission means if that tells you anything about me.

Mid-30s. Yes. I used to daily drive a manual when I was in college, but I haven't touched one in like 10 years so I'd probably be pretty rusty.

US - 30s Yeah, but only once and I was like 16 Could I still today? The phrase grind it til you find it comes to mind

I'm from Mexico I'm 22 years old and I have been driving since 14 or so (rural Mexico). My family has not own a manual since I started driving and I gues we will not buy one soon lol

No. I'm 25 and from Florida.

I'm 40 and have never used a manual transmission, and have no desire at all to ever use one.

Yes, early 40s from the UK so most people here learn in a manual car. I drive electric now so it only has forwards and backwards to choose from. Can't say I miss the old manual much, it's just so much more chill driving an auto.

Yes. Mid 40s UK. I have never owned an automatic vehicle, and it looks like there's not much in the way options when it comes to electric cars with manual transmissions.

German, just 18, and I drive a manual.

Not learning manual would mean extra courses in order to be allowed to even make the license to drive larger trailers or trucks.

Also, manuals are cheaper, or actually, automatics are probably newer and therefore more expensive.

Yes. If I hadn't learned to drive manual while getting a license, I wouldn't have been able to drive them legally, which I figured would have been unnecessarily restrictive.

That being said, I prefer driving automatic, since you don't really gain anything from driving manual anyway these days. Also I don't own a car and drive maybe 4 times a year, so it's really whatever.

When I was 15 my grandfather took me out into the woods to teach me to drive stick in a 30,000 lb dump truck. I had never driven anything bigger than a golf cart before. My space to work with was a clearing maybe three times the size of the truck. I did not learn to drive stick that day.

Yes, Europe.

US, 36, and I've only ever owned manual vehicles. I think I've drove automatic maybe 5 times in the past 20 years I've had my license.

42 Aus and this is a great way to get age and location details on accounts

I'm in my late 40's and have been driving manual transmission since I got my license at 16. But I'm also one of those freaks that always loved driving manual cars in any situation, I used to drive one daily in downtown Chicago rush hour traffic.

Cars were always a passion of mine, my family had two cars when I was a teenager, one auto and one stick. I begged to be taught the stick as soon as I got my license. I definitely fall into the "enthusiast" category of car owners. In the last 25 years I've had 6 cars, all of them manual transmission, and all of them I take to the race track for HPDE events whenever I can.

Yes, 24, army taught me on deployment. It was fun! I'm tempted to get a manual on my next car, but I'd like my wife to be able to use it :P

Yes. Houston TX. Mid 30s. I learned around age 15-16 on a 1940's Willys jeep my grandpa owned. Steering wheel had about 90° of play in it. Also drove a manual is Mexico. If I win the lottery, I'll buy and build a Caterham kit car.

I’m 25 in the US and I can

My daily is an automatic but my old Magirus-Deutz is a special kind of manual. I’m 37 from Germany.

Yes, US, late 30's.

Yep, I actually learned how to drive on a manual. Before I got married all my cars were manual transmission as well. In my late 30s from Midwest USA.

I'm SE Asian, early 30s, and I was taught to drive using a manual transmission van with a column shift. 3rd gear would just randomly disappear too.

I miss driving manuals, but my knees thank me every day whenever there's traffic.