Manual Transmission II: the Saga Continues...

Years had passed since my first traumatic experience with the Honda Prelude. I had avoided the stick shift car for quite some time, driving it occaissionally with Dad teaching me tid-bits here and there. The time I learned the most was from a lesson Dad gave me while driving my uncle's truck ( we were moving Q's furniture in Davis). Since then, I developed a fascination with the manual transmission.

I had often asked other people why they wanted manual transmission cars and I always thought the answer was pure baloney: because I have more control over the car with a manual transmission. Well, if driving a stick shift was anything like the Prelude, how in the world could anyone have MORE control over that? It was a wildly bucking and lurching 2 ton catastrophe waiting to happen. But that same answer was consistent across the board, regardless of who I asked. My fascination with it grew.

So when I chose my first car, which was a 1996 Honda Civic, I wanted to make sure it was a stick shift. However, I was far from mastering the art of using a manual transmission. In fact, at the dealer while I was test driving one I was quite scared I was going to trash the transmission. Thank God I didn't.

Anyway, I was actually able to get the Civic all the way home from the dealer's in one piece without killing anyone else, practically coasting all the way home riding the clutch (big no-no). After a week or so of coasting around in the car, riding the clutch most of the time, Q took me aside and told me he was going to teach me how to master the art of the stick. A rather brave and daring deed, especially if he was going to be in the car with me.

Living in San Francisco with all the hills, it was easy to find a street with a 40 degree incline. Q drove the car up the hill and stopped midway, put the car in neutral, put the parking brake on, and told me to get in the driver's seat. My task was to put the car in gear and get the car moving, again without stalling. There's no way I'll be able to do this, I thought to myself. But Q taught me how to balance the throttle and the clutch so well that I was able to do a decent job in just a few tries (I think I only stalled once).

After driving the Civic for 10 years, I'd say I'm pretty good at driving the stick and I found that all those other people were right; driving a stick DOES give you more control over the car. Actually, it's more control over the acceleration of the car. But in any case, they were right.