Its just like Rick says about "Gone in 60 Seconds", when it shows the pedals and he slams on both the clutch and the brake at the same time and comes to a screeching stop, and the engine is still running just in case you need to get out of the way to avoid being hit by someone else who can't stop in time. Driving a standard really is not difficult, and to almost everyone I know and meet who drives a standard drives it because they love it. My dad owned a used car lot when I was a kid, when i was about 15 years old (didnt know how to drive at all) he put me into an eagle talon 5-speed, he told me a few things and rode with me for a few laps around the lot stopping and going... then he told me to keep going and he left me alone to learn as I go, i must have driven around that lot for a good hour and I had the hang of it, and even parked the car right back where i got it from. A little while later, he told me why he taught me to drive in a 5-speed, because he handed me the keys to the Viper (the Dodge Viper is only available in a 6-speed transmission)... I almost refused, but it was a rare opportunity, I drove it a few blocks, stopping at stop signs with traffic in the intersection, and fortunately did not stall (not easy to stall a 450hp beast). Ever since then, I took every chance I got to drive a nice car that he had (several Corvettes, Talon turbo, 3000GT, etc...) until I got my first car, a rare one of 574 built 1995 Ford Thunderbird SC (Supercharged 5-speed 3.8L V6). I drove it for about 2 weeks and I was completely comfortable driving it anywhere. I have also worked at a full service car wash, so I have driven virtually every kind of car you can imagine from 6 speed sports cars (Corvette, Viper, BMW), to an F-350 diesel dually (I was probably the only person that worked at that car wash that could drive it). It's a great skill to learn, you never know when you might need it, and I would recommend getting a 5 speed insight. In general, the rumor is that 5-speed cars cost less, get better gas mileage, can accelerate faster, and are cheaper on parts and less labor in repairs.
|
