Just passing along that I have 16 yr. old twin daughters. I am in the process of teaching them how to drive a manual transmission in the Crossfire. Both learned on automatics, and this car is new. Quotes to this point:

Me: Change gears;
Her: What's a gear?

Me: Second, second, second. [at 5500 rpms]
Her: Don't yell at me.

Her: Where's park?

Me: You want your tach between 2500 and 3500.
Her: What's a tach.
Me (pointing): That thing.
Her: Ok, what goes between 2500 and 3500, and where does it say 2500 or 3500?

Her: They should put first and second where third and forth are. It would be easier to shift into them to start.


Me: Anything that comes out of my mouth.
Her: Don't yell at me.


Her: Can I drive it to school Monday?
Me: Can you reach the end of the street and learn what a tach is before you ask that question?

Her: According to this thing, when I'm shifting into second it should be reverse.

Me: You don't have to slam it into gears. (Showing) See, it goes in easy.
Her: Dad, you know I do everything with gusto.

Me: You have to put in the clutch before you break.
Her: Why.
Me: Beca......
Her: Dad, the engine stopped.

Her: I like cars that do this for you and aren't stuck in the 1920's.
Me: When you get good at this, you'll be able to get more out of the car because of the shifting.
Her: I'm 16. All I need out of the car is to get to the mall. The Focus and the Lincoln get to the mall fine.

Her: I can't pat my head and rub my tummy at the same time. What in God's name makes you thing I can do this.

I cannot get either of them to conceptualize the mechanics of a transmission. When (if) they do learn to become comfortable with this, it will not be because they understand what's going on with the car.

 

16 year old twin girls..... life couldnt be worse...cars, boys, shopping, boys...... I feel so sorry for you. But keep the stories coming...they are good!

 

Lol, maybe you should rent a beater car to teach them on?

I learned to drive a manual from a friend on his Dodge Colt. He gave me the quick run through of how it worked then got into the backseat with his girlfriend. I think he was trying to add some excitement to their makeout sessions or something. Funnier then hell throwing them around the car when I missed a gear or stalled it.

 

Are they blondes? LOL!

Great story. Keep them coming.

 

There actually is really someone who can't do that? I heard a long time ago that it was difficult, but I've never known anyone who couldn't do it.

 

Did you get the lifetime powertrain warranty, you're going to need it. LOL

 

My wife hates my crossfire and I think it is because she never drove it because she can't drive a stick. She has been pressuring me to let her drive it so she can learn to drive a stick but I won't teach her on my car. I am considering teaching her on my dad's old bronco because I don't want her to burn my clutch up.

 

after logging 2 million miles and teaching countless kids to drive stick heres a cuouple tips.
start in a parking lot engine off. go thru the motions of shifting and get them used to it
and dont use a tach. teach them to shift by the sound of the cars engine not a gage.

 

Vegas,

What a Hoot! Reminds me when my Dad was teaching me how to drive. Please keep us all informed on how the lessons are going. And just think, you have to do this twice!

Hope you still have a head of hair when your done

 

When I was 15 I bought my first beater. A 1981? Plymouth tc3 for $300 kinda like an omni. It was a stick.
My grandfather explained to me how the rotating mass and clutch worked.
I turned 16 and it took me 2 hr to get it out of the driveway and down the street by myself.
After that I was good. It all came down to necessity. They will get it its just going to cost you a clutch or two.

 

I am still laughing. I was actually seeing the conversation happening as I was reading it. What a difference between boys and girls. My boys knew all about the mechanics of shifting before they sat in the car for their first lesson. That's not to say they did not stall it a few times or that I didn't get a little whiplash.

 

You are a braver man than I. My daughter is almost 21 & can't drive a manual. A freind even gave her an old Suzuki, but she has never even tried to drive it. I don't think I have the patience to teach her.

 

This was a good way to start my day.

I learned myself to drive stick on the crossfire, but I taught myself too. First manual car I ever had and it was brand spankin' new.

Now, after 2 years and 24,000 miles, I am a pro at it.

Goes to show you how most guys will put a little more effort into learning what they are actually doing when they put that shifter into "1".

Don't worry, they'll get it some day. Just make sure you put in for a new clutch.... maybe a new trans and an engine too...

 

I taught myself to drive a stick in my parents backyard with one of these.
Close Up View= (looks like it had an "altered" wheelbase)lol.

 

Well , I haven't taught 2 million people to drive stick - just my two kids. But yes - also started in a parking lot - and went through the basic procedures. etc. But imagine NOT knowing anything about a manual - and go from there - I know it is a bizzarre concept to those of us who have been doing it for years - but IT IS strange compared to an automatic

EM4ce

 

My son was 11 when he drove his first standard - his sisters boyfriends F150. He had always watched from the back seat as I drove my mustang and he would shift along with me. My wife later told me she let him shift gears for her - he wasnt allowed in the front seat with me (airbags) till he was 12. He drove the F150 down the block and back 1st time without stalling - I am sure he would have had a problem if I would have been home and caught him doing it!

 

My dad,, .. taught me to drive stick when I was only 12 years old.
I begged him to let me drive on the dead end road we lived on in a rural area away from the main roads.
I was always fascinated by cars and how they worked and one day he said OK get in and give it a go......
I learned in a 66 Chevy Nova.
I stalled it only twice but he let me go up and down that dead end road until I got it figured out.
My first car was a stick and I have had many since then.

 

i prefer manual. it's just that my wife likes automatics (what? the srt6 only comes in automatic? of course you can have two! ) being a gearhead as long as i can remember, i relished the opportunity to drive a manual (my first car was an old pos powerglide '65 impala ss, but it was my pos that i bought working my a** off one summer). my friend had a 5-speed mazda rx4 and after stalling the first time, i never looked back. most of the time, i wish that we had manual srts...until traffic on the bay bridge or (insert your own favorite rush hour exerciser). gotta have one stick in the posse and that's my tacoma pickup.

 

Doesn't cover clutches, or 'abuse' LOL

 

I live just south of the "boonies" and mow our yard with a small farm tractor. (It takes 6 hours to completely mow the yard!). My daughter has been mowing since she was 11. She is 20 now. Letting her drive the tractor made it so much easier to teach her to drive a manual in a car. She prefers an automatic though, but she can drive a stick with little problems.