The Argyle Sweater by Scott Hilburn for November 04, 2023

Clearly he’s shiftless. He’s not a clutch player.

Yeah, he’s a dip stick, not a stick shift.

and yet you are still shifty!

My first job, I learned to drive a manual tranny in about a half hour!!!

Definitely a sticking point.

My dad used to say that if you have an automatic transmission, you’re not driving the car; it’s driving you. I was well into my 30s before buying my first automatic.

The salesperson who sells cars to crash test dummies must be really successful, considering how much repeat business there is.

Go figure …

Those of us that drive sticks don’t have to worry about car theft.

A few years ago I rented a fairly expensive car in France that was a straight shift. I later told a dealer of the same car in the US about it and he was amazed that it existed.

They used to call them “standard transmissions”, because that’s what came as the base or least expensive option. With the improvements over the years, “automatics” are now, at least, as efficient and reliable as “sticks”. Unfortunately, as some have suggested here, their use has just helped promulgate the dumbing down of the average driver. Two of our three vehicles are sticks, but we live in the “sticks”, so once we are into top gear we can stay there for a while. City dwellers and high traffic commuters really happier with “slushboxes”. And, yes, PLEASE stay off the phone, no matter what you drive.

I learned to drive in the family car (automatic for Mom). In the Army they put me in a standard shift ton and a half flat bed to learn and get my military driver’s license. I had told them I had driven automatics, but I guess they didn’t trust me in a deuce and a half.

I can’t even draw a stick!

If he gets stuck in wet dirt, is he a stick in the mud?

I taught my nine kids and their friends to drive a stick, some of them learned very easy , some of them took months to grasp it.

Well that figures.

I can drive a stick, but have trouble drawing stick figures…

This guy would really stick out in a lineup.

Better check his credit. He looks shifty to me.

Now THAT is ironic!

Tis no big deal, and for goodness sake, put on some clothes.

whenever he’s asked, that’s his standard response…

The only “stick” available nowadays is Broomhilda’s broomstick…

Getting so hard to find a new vehicle with manual transmission.