I taught my daughter and wife how to drive a stick. I taught my daughter in the middle of Ramadan in Casablanca. Not a sole around, drove through the city, out the coast road and back to the apartment.

 

I learned to drive in a stick car that had right hand drive, so I was shifting with my left! This was in the Netherlands were keeping to the right was the rule. Passing another car was a challenge because you could not see around the car you were passing. Since you had to be 18 to get your license I did not get it there, I got my first license in NY in a Chrysler with a fluid drive two speed transmission at 18. That was the only driving test I ever took.

I did learn to drive a truck with a non synchromesh transmission when I was working for the gas company.

 

Both my kids and Sue learned how to drive a stick shift.

I learned in San Francisco and got great practice, especially when my driving instructors made me stop in the middle of a steep hill. I rolled back on a hill once into a milk truck and tapped the bumper. Since then, no problems, but early on, a lot of burnt clutches were the result of my early experiences with stick shifts.

It is a shame that many young kids today won't have the experience with stick shifts, since most cars have automatic transmissions and the driving schools don't normally teach it.

I do worry when I drop off either of my manual transmission cars when there is valet parking. After Cape May, we will visit Philadelphia, but I plan to stay in the suburbs because if we stay in the city, we would probably have to use valet parking for the hotels.

 

I began driving when I was 14 on a '49 Chevrolet truck in a hay field.

 

I remember reading that when Daniel Craig was chosen as James Bond (and a damn good one at that), he had to learn to drive a stick so he could drive the Aston.

 

I learned to drive a stick in HS Driver's Ed. First car was a '48 Dodge fluid drive; bought for $75 to be my learner. Drove sticks in the family '56 Merc and '60 Olds. The first car I owned was a stick '56 Chevy, which I replaced with a stick '64 Corvair Monza. Except for a few automatics, it's been mostly sticks since - including 3 Porsche's.
I taught both wives, my 3 kids, and one grandaughter to drive sticks. My 3 kids all learned on stick Volvo stationwagons, still my favorite stick teaching tool.

 

I learned to drive a stick when I bought my first car when I was in the Navy. I was so excited about having my first car that I didn't notce until I got in to drive it home that it had 3 pedals! Oh, crap! somehow I made it home (I lived off-base) and just got better as I drove it more.

I recently tried to teach my wife to drive the S, and she was doing very well when all of a sudden she stopped the car, threw her hands up and said "I don't want to do this any more!"

My son has shown no interest in learning to drive a stick so far. Oh well.

 

When I am 92, I hope I can still walk.

I taught all three of my children to drive. They got their license first using an automatic, then I taught them to drive stick and they just fell in love with shifting. Now they all drive stick-shift cars -- much better than me.

 

Also taught our daughters how to drive a stick. They could not drive the automatic until they learned the fine art of shifting. It also saved them some $'s on their first cars as they did not need the automatic at extra cost.
When we were fist married my wife had a 1969 MG Midget and I had a 1969 Saab. The Saab was the only 4 speed on the column that I have ever driven.

My Vette is a 6 speed so my daughters love to take it for a spin. The son-in-laws only know how to drive an automatic. I can see it does not sit well with them when the daughters "drop the top" and take them for a drive.

 

My first car was a 1959 Simca Aronde. It had the four speed column shift. During the summers, I worked for a landscaper that had two Borgward Isabella station wagons. Both had the four speed column shift.

Finally got an automatic about five years later - if you can call a Dodge Hy-Drive automatic.