Just go down to the local CARMAX and try one out.

 

I thought carmax was a mythical place that only existed on the internet. They would contact actual car dealers... Oh well, you learn something new everyday.

 

Why can you get a licence to drive all cars in the US (or put those disgusting bra things on perfectly nice cars, it's like putting a gimp mask on your girlfriend)

In the UK, if you learn & pass your test in an Auto, that's all you can drive.

Go learn in a heap, in a car park until you can get it sorted, otherwise expect other road users to get pissed off with you as you bunny hop or stall everywhere.

Or.... rev to 9,000 and drop the clutch. You won't drive the car for much longer but you'll be out of harms way.... in heaven.

 

Um how is that different from here. If you want to drive a motorcycle you need a motorcycle licence. If you want to drive a commercial truck you need that licence etc etc..

 

He's not saying "auto" as in Automobile, he's saying "auto" as in automatic transmission.

Here in the states, if we take a test in an automatic and pass, we can go out and buy a manual transmission. He's saying depending on what you pass in, that determines what transmission type you can drive.

It's an interesting concept.

 

don't let people discourage you...only takes a couple of weeks to learn how to drive stick well enough as to not stall and get around..........though it's going to be a jerky ride and your clutch will not like you
i do agree it would take a couple of months to get to driving around smoothly, matching revs, etc.

 

and I'd imagine you'd have a hard time finding a driver's ed course with a manual car in their garages. Highly doubt the DMV most places would have a manual to test you on, either.

 

That's mostly due to the fact that our systems aren't fully refined here.

The DMV doesn't provide the car you use to take your driver's test in... although now that you mention it, it sounds like a neat idea - you could have 1 manual and 1 auto... anyway, when people go to take their test at the DMV, they must provide the car they will be testing in. Often, this is the car that the individual learned in. It seems reasonable, then, to assume that this is the kind of car they will be driving afterwards.

Don't get me wrong, I learned to drive in an auto and bought a Tacoma Truck with manual transmission after I passed my test. It worked, and I learned, and now I'll be happy driving manuals for the rest of my life.

However, the point is, over in England, their testing is more stringent. If you learn to drive with an auto, that's what you are cleared to drive. It seems reasonable. It shouldn't be the DMV's job to provide potential new drivers with a vehicle/transmission they would like.

PS. They do this with all their licensing, in some way or another: They have motorcycle gradation too, so that you are only allowed to drive a certain cc engine and must "step up" to each stronger/more powerful egine.

 

I lived in a podunk town of 30k and they have manual transmission Mustangs for people to learn stick at the local driving school.

I learned to drive stick in 3 phases.

1. spent years watching people drive stick when I was a kid

Why I didn't bug people to teach me? I dunno. But after watching people for awhile it became obvious what was going on.

2. borrowed a car with a stick and found myself an empty parking lot

An empty parking lot lets me dick around and figure out how the clutch feels without getting in anyone else's way. I spent hours using only the clutch to get the little Civic moving so I'd know exactly where the clutch started to pick up and what it felt like. Once I felt confident that I could get the car moving without thinking too much I hit the roads.

3. drove around on roads with other cars

An empty lot just isn't the same as a populated road. But after all the practice on the clutch in the lot, driving around with traffic was easy. Well. Until I got to stop and go on a hill. I wasn't practiced enough for that, haha.

 

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/transmission.htm

http://www.ehow.com/how_3234_drive-car-with.html

Read these two links.

In the beginning, try letting the clutch out relatively slowly. Give it gas, hold it at a constant 2000-3000 rpms, then release the clutch pedal slooowly -- take two seconds. At some point you will feel the transmission hook up and the car will start moving forward. At that point, give it more gas and let up on the clutch pedal. Don't do this on a hill, since the car will begin rolling if you depress the clutch pedal.

After some practice it will become instinct, and you will learn to shift faster.