STICK SHIFT!!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_transmission

It's not really that tough. Once you find the friction point it's dead simple.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by a_cat_is_fine_too

Last I knew you could still drive fast with an automatic.

So uh, what else is fun about driving that I'm missing here.

It's rather difficult to explain without experiencing it. The key point is that when driving a manual you don't NEED to drive fast to have fun.

Oh, and when someone's riding your ass you can use compression braking to slow down real fast without ever hitting your brakes and scare them. And you'll be in the right gear so that when they slam on their breaks you can floor it and go like a bat out of hell. THAT'S fun.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Downshifting and letting the Engine slow the car down for you. Same principle as leaving the car in a lower gear as you go down a mountain to control speed without overheating your brakes.

As a general thing, I don't do it because it wears the clutch down instead of the brakes, and a clutch job is about $1000 but brakes are much cheaper.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Learning to drive Manual by reading about it is like learning to perform open-heart surgery by reading about it.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Is learning manual complex or hard? No. But it's something that you absolutely HAVE to do by doing, not reading. Noone EVER read a book and then got in a Manual and drove away flawlessly. EVERYONE stalls a few times, peels out a few times, and grinds gears a few times before they get the hang of it.

I was speaking idiomatically.