re: How many of you baws know how to drive stick?

When I was a kid my dad taught me how and would let me do the shifting for him in his truck. Its really not a hard concept to figure out.

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You are "one with your truck" when you can change gears without using the clutch or grinding the gears.

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Or your clutch is out, and you cranked the truck in gear to get it rolling. Had a Ford Ranger back in the day that chewed through clutches, and I'd sometimes drive it a week or more with zero clutch. Rolling stops only, parking limited to pull-through. Fun times.

Back in the day, I could have my right arm around the GF, the left hand steering, and hold the wheel with my left knee while shifting through the pattern without a clutch (because that leg was occupied with holding the steering wheel).

I've been teaching my kids how to drive a manual, and one of my boys caught me changing gears without a clutch--he wanted to learn the secret.

Driving a standard right now

Learned three on the column in a pickup many decades ago. Every new personal vehicle I bought and drove from 1980 to 2000 (four cars) was a five speed manual transmission.

a day laborer once told me i was an idiot for not knowing how to drive stick because "what if your friend overdoses at a party and the only car there is manual?"

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When I was a kid my dad taught me how and would let me do the shifting for him in his truck. Its really not a hard concept to figure out.

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Moving the shifter isn't what trips up most people dummy.

I learned how to drive stick in high school in the ‘80s on my 300ZX Turbo. Stalled it twice the first day I took it to school, including at a red light when a friend tried to race me on his motorcycle. My current Mach 1 is a stick, as all of my cars have been (had a couple automatic trucks and family car).

Only time I seriously considered auto was when I was trading in my 911 on a C7 Vette when they came out. The auto with the paddle shifters was faster than the manual, and I had worked out a deal on an auto in Texas and a manual in Atlanta. Agonized over that decision for a couple days. When I had to make a decision I hopped in my manual 911 and ran it down the service road by my house. I stuck with the manual. The joy of shifting outweighs a couple tenths of a second in technology.

And a stick shift is a great antitheft device nowadays.

Drove an International Scout in high school with 4 on the floor.

My first vehicle was a 1987 Jeep Comanche with a 4 speed stick.