wallyo...curious to know why your daughter prefers the manual over the automatic
I think most manual ml’s made went to Africa or Middle East.. It seems even the UK, still the manual capital of the world, got a full dose of automatics. I recall only ever reading about one ml manual on this forum.
The 1990 Mazda 626 she has is a family car, “Black Beauty”. It was my brother in laws, then went through high school for his three kids, then we got it and it was my eldest daughter’s, then shared with my youngest and now hers. It only has 142,000 on it.
So it was the car all five of them learned to drive on. As to why, she just says it is a lot more fun to drive stick. I for one think driving stick or at least learning to drive on one makes you a better driver, you have to anticipate what the traffic around you is going to do. Like when on a hill and not rolling back into the car behind you ( yes newer models now have hill lock).
She does not like to stand out, or cause confrontation, but a stick is one of the small things that makes her different from everyone else and she enjoys it. All of her cousins still drive stick, all Subarus
If one or 2 of us head out for an errand with her and 4 cars are there to choose from including 2 mls, she will say “I am driving let’s take my car”!
I think in back of her mind she sees her self being with a group of friends at a remote lake house. The zombie apocalypse happens, the zombie destroyed the Volvo they arrived in. Someone says “let’s head for the barn, the cans of gas we used for the boat are there, and there is a car under the canvas trap”
They avoid the zombies at the front door, make it out the back to the barn, the guys in the group rip the tarp off one sticks his head in and says “Oh no” “what’s wrong “ says the rest of the guys? Pulling his head out he mutters those immortal words “It’s A Stick”.
One guy says “last time I drove a stick I destroyed the clutch on my grandpa’s tractor”.
Daughter says “ No Problem, Get In I Got this”
Kids!
