Asklemmy

In Germany nearly everyone can drive manual. Used to be that if you didn't learn how to drive manual in driving school, you weren't allowed to drive manual with your license.

I'm from Europe, I was taught on manual transmission and drove with it for 10 years. But I switched to automatic (actually not on purpose, I didn't notice the car I was buying had it), and now vastly prefer it.

31,Sweden

Yes, and I prefer a manual car to an automatic. It keeps me a lot more dialed in while driving.

I can, not well, but I can. damn hill starts.

23, US. Yes, but I find them pointless for daily driver cars. Modern automatics are more fuel efficient and just make more sense because they're much easier to operate and less annoying in stop and go traffic.

They're great for off-roading and racing, but outside of those use cases automatics are just better.

My car has a manual transmission. I learned to drive on a manual transmission. I prefer it. When I drive a car with automatic transmission, I step on its nonexistent clutch.

Yes.

In Europe you basically have to be handicapped to not learn to drive manual. Most people get the manual driving license because it allows you to drive both, whereas the automatic one doesn't.

Manual transmission was and often still is cheaper, often cheaper to repair, often more reliable, often uses less fuel, and in cheap and less powerful cars the combination is often better. Because there are so many manual cars here, including at rental places, it's a no brainer to learn to drive manual.

This being said, that's changing. Also, less and less young people are getting a driving license due to affordability and cars no longer being the status symbol they once were.

31, Germany, I can't drive at all. City kid.

Yes. Europe. We pretty much all do. Automatics are becoming a bit more common in recent years, but 90% of cars here are still manual. Especially the old beat-up cars we learn to drive on are all manual. And if by chance you learned on an automatic, and pass your driver's test on automatic, it says so on your driver's licence and I think you're not actually allowed to drive/rent manual cars.

Of course, 28, French. 99,99% of people here drive manual (or at least know how to).

I'm pretty sure North America is the only part of the world where automatic is the default.

I'm American and learned on a manual, which I drove for a decade and a half. But I'm one of the few people I know my age who can drive a stick.

Plenty of Boomers can drive stick though.

Yes, but only on motorcycles. That's because there's no such thing as an automatic motorcycle[^1][^2][^3][^4][^5], so you have to learn manual if you want to ride one. Unfortunately this skill doesn't transfer well to manual driving because on bikes you operate the clutch with your hand and the shift with your foot. I'm not terribly worried about that, though... I've literally never even been on the inside of a manual drive car before!

For context: I'm mid-20s from the American south.

[^1]: No, electrics don't count. [^2]: No, semi-autos don't count. [^3]: No, three-wheelers don't count. [^4]: No, the 2006 Yamaha bikes don't count because that line was a sales failure. [^5]: Ok, fine. Honda's DCT bikes do count, but holy shit are they expensive!

Germany, 25, yup

Mid 30s Aussie living the the US. Yes I can drive a manual, yes I do drive a manual and yes I think it should be mandatory for 100% of learning drivers regardless of whether they plan to daily drive an automatic or manual when licensed.

The quality of driving here is considerably worse here than what I've experienced in Australia or Europe and I'm convinced requiring people to drive in a machine that forces them to consider the next ~100m leads to higher quality, more mindful drivers.

Majority of people do in Europe.

Because it is better to also know how to drive manual, than to only know how to drive automatic.

Yes, unless you want to still have an engine, then no.

24, always driven manual, EU.
From my experience most people in the EU can or at least could: This is because many (if not all, not sure) countries make a distinction between manual and automatic licenses (see e.g. https://www.learn-automatic.com/qualified/automatic-driving-licence/).
I.e. if you want to drive manual, you have to take the test manual, but if you take the test on manual transmission, you are allowed to drive automatics as well.

India, been driving manual since 20 yr old , been a while and planning to get an auto

Yep. 27, Finland. I learned on a manual (in the EU, if you learn on an automatic, you're restricted to automatics only until you pass the driving exam in a manual) and drove manuals until a few years ago when my late grandma's health started declining and her car got passed down to us because she could no longer drive.

Female, 34, from Indiana, USA. Currently driving a 2020 Honda Civic SI and I love it. My bro taught me to drive stick at 16 so that I'd never be in a situation where I needed to leave but couldn't because I didn't know how to drive manual. I've had both automatic and manual transmissions, manual being my favorite.

Early 40s from Australia. I can drive a manual, but my present car is automatic. My motorcycle is manual though. :p

I can’t. Lots of people my age can. My teenage years there was only one car in the household and it’s an auto. I couldn’t afford to pay for extra lessons to learn manual with their car.

I was into cars and really wanted to get a manual car later on. But just never needed it. Auto cars are just more available so 10+ years later I still can’t drive manual and hasn’t affected my life at all

My parents forced me to learn in case I ever needed it.

I'd buy one again in a heartbeat if I could. Love the fact that it was easy AF to rock myself out of snow banks

28, Germany. Yes I can and I dont know anybody with a drivers license who cant.

I can from Texas. Just turned 40. I was taught on a manual transmission and have owned several vehicles with one. I prefer it, except for in traffic!

Italy. 21, We only drive manual here

UK, always driven manual. I just enjoy it more.

German, late 30s. Automatic cars are rather uncommon in Germany, we sure like our manuals. Not being able to push my car into high RPMs when needed to overtake or accelerate quickly takes the fun out of driving. I'd never switch to automatic as long as I still have both arms and legs. And yes I know kickdowns are a thing, but it really doesn't compare.

29, Poland/Germany. Yes, like almost everyone in Europe. Although, it is getting more popular to be automatic-only. I like driving manual, however prefer automatic due to convenience of it. I don't have a car at the moment (public transport serves me well), but if I had, I'd go for automatic.

No, on account of I cannot drive at all. I'm 25 and live in Vermont. The particular part I live in, everything's accessible by bus, so I've just never felt the urgency to learn.