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Is learning to drive a stick-shift vehicle still an essential life skill, or has the prevalence of automatic transmission made it no longer necessary?

Due to falling demand, Young Drivers of Canada announced they will no longer offer manual transmission training for drivers in Greater Toronto Area.

Young Drivers of Canada general manager Angelo DiCicco appeared on CBC Radio's Metro Morning Tuesday, and said in recent years the number of students requesting stick-shift training has fallen to two per cent.

"Very few people know what the word clutch means anymore," he told host Matt Galloway. "We're into generations who have never actually operated a standard shift vehicle."

Those who are advocates of driving manual transmission vehicles are often adamant about its benefits, namely:

Better fuel consumption.
More control over the vehicle.
The ability to slow the car by gearing down instead of pumping the brakes, which can cause skidding in winter.
The ability to drive any car, particularly in parts of the world (such as Europe) where automatic transmission remains an expensive upgrade and often not available.

The arguments against learning to drive standard run something like this:

It can be difficult for some new drivers to learn.
It's unnecessary, as most new cars feature automatic transmission.
It's tiresome to shift gears in stop-and-go city traffic and difficult to do on hills.
Today's more fuel efficient vehicles, including hybrids, mean the fuel savings of manual transmission are now negligible.

John Gamal is the sales manager at Downtown Honda in Toronto and says while some customers demand stick shift, they are increasingly in the minority.

"There's still the hardcore standard drivers who like the control that they have, but they're further and farther between," he said.

Standard transmission remains an option on smaller Honda models such as the Civic, Fit, Accord and CRZ but not on larger SUVs and minivans.

"Bigger cars they don't offer manual where once upon the time they did," he said.

So do we lose anything by ditching the stick? DiCicco thinks so.

"If you're slipping, you can feel it on the clutch," said DiCicco. "You can change your driving behaviour as the road conditions change. With an automatic transmission, you don't always get that feedback."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/d ... -1.2158806

I'm torn on this. I drive a manual, and it is a little more fun sometimes - it doesn't change your life or anything but at least it's a little more fun. OTOH, it's a huge pain in the ass during stop-and-go.

I'm also not sure standard is really that more fuel efficient - maybe if you have the shifting discipline of a robot or a racecar driver, but my observation is that most people aren't that accurate or attentive. And aren't many (or most?) automatics today programmed to shift at the most fuel effiecent RPM, or allow the driver to select between "economy" and "performance" settings?

A manual is about $1400 or $1500 cheaper than an automatic, but then again if you are hard on the clutch and/or

I have both manual and automatics in the family. The latter due mostly to a lack of choice by the manufacturer. But lets address the points

Manuals have better fuel economy. Not anymore. Check the fuel ratings of most cars and you will find automatics are more fuel efficient. The advent of more gears and CVT means the automatic will provide better economy than the manual. In normal driving it is always in the right gear.

Autos are easier to learn. Without question. The student can concentrate on the road instead of how to get the car in motion without stalling.

It is tiresome to shift gears in stop and go traffic. The only people who say this are either driving an awkward vehicle or really are not very good with a manual.

More control with a manual. Yes in slippery conditions during braking, but it is the opposite when starting from a dead stop. A manual can be left in a lower gear in anticipation of a need for acceleration/power while an automatic will upshift and then have a delay in down shifting.

Ability to drive any car. Sort of true. If it is the first time you have climbed into a right hand drive it will feel awkward.

What was missing is FUN factor. A manual beats an automatic. Some of the higher end vehicles have paddle shifters for an automatic like formula 1 race cars. I said like NOT THE SAME. Some of the vehicles have an aggressive sport mode option that will allow the vehicle to use more of the RPM range and benefit from engine braking. Not in your average Chevy.

Most scooters use a CVT as it matches the demands of the consumers who buy them. There have been the odd motorcycle company try to market an automatic option in a bigger bike, but the sales have been poor causing some of them to disappear.

Manuals are way more fun! Though I can understand not learning to drive on one specially in big cities. Too many dough brains yaking on cel to watch for with out worrying about staling

Hubby made me give up our Manual Caravan We could have rebuilt it faster stronger... I loved that van even if it was only a 5 on the floor 4 banger.


As to the people saying it's a pain there was only one time I found driving a manual a pain. I was in a VW Fox, third trimester, Vancouver Island, stop and go traffic. Baby kicked every time I used the clutch!! That was pain!

Driving my pickup in the country i frequently find myself wishing I had a stick shift. But then I get to the city and am thankful for my auto. At least I can still manually downshift when I need too.

That being said, learning stick shift on a pickup truck is a heck of a lot easier than learning in a car. More play in the stick and it's more forgiving if you don't use the clutch properly (when empty, with a load is another matter).

I first learned how to drive on a stick, the Blazer I drove in the early 90's had a stick and my Nova SS has a stick..........but other than that I don't drive one anymore unless you count my motorcycle. Kids these days would probably go years without needing to drive one, so maybe it is pointless to teach it. Although if you go to Europe the vast majority of rentals are stick. Took a while to get use to shifting with my left hand in Britain.........takes some time and grinding.

This topic does not interest me. Please delete it.







P.S. I am not a crackpot.

Oh I miss that old 3 on the tree so much......NOT
I do miss my right hand drive shift with the left Minitruck... and I'd never claim to "get better mileage" than with my computer controlled 6 spd automatic and cruise control.

I'd say it's akin to learning how to write in cursive handwriting. It's not necessary, you can largely get by without knowing how, but it's nice to be able to do anyway.

Like Martin corrected, it's only in NA that automatic is prevalent. So knowing how to drive manual is handy to know. And a lot of cars can still come standard. You wanna buy the cheapest of a new line of cars? Bet you most will be a 6-speed manual and if you want auto, there's another $1500 at least.

And who says learning manual is hard? You can learn it in an hour. Getting good at it is another matter, but then so is everything else in life worth doing.

I think one of the biggest problems in our society is that there are too many bad drivers on the road. I think that learning to drive a stick adds to one's skill behind the wheel. I think we should REQUIRE drivers to show competency with a manual transmission before earning a license. I actually think we should go one step further with drivers: require automobile drivers to learn to ride a motorcycle and demonstrate competency on a two-wheeled vehicle, say for two years, before they're even allowed to operate a car. Every mile you ride on a motorcycle makes you a better driver. When you ride a bike, you're forced to be aware of vehicles around you. You learn to avoid tailgating and driving in others' blind spots. You learn to anticipate. You learn to watch for vehicles approaching intersections. You look down side roads, through corn fields, etc.

Making driving (and getting drivers' licenses) easier makes the roadways more dangerous.

Regina Regina:

Although if you go to the rest of the world the vast majority of cars are stick.

Fixed that for you.

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