by Patrick Sills

Created on: May 30, 2009

Cars equipped with manual transmissions are fast becoming extinct. This is truly a shame, for these types of vehicles can be quite fun to drive. Rather than having automatic transmissions that change forward gears themselves, cars with manual or standard transmissions include a clutch pedal adjacent to the brake pedal. A shifter located in the center console determines which gear is selected. These are quite commonly referred to as stick-shifts. Several decades ago and up until the late 1970's, some vehicles with standard transmissions had the gear selector located on the steering column. These were popularly called Three on the Tree shifters; due to them having three forward gears.

To this day, many automotive enthusiasts and/or purists prefer shifting gears manually. By controlling the speed at which to change to a higher gear or downshifting to a lower gear to aid in slowing , the drivers of such vehicles become performers of sorts; for they are in control of just how much to rev the engine before the RPM's settle back to a soft purr in a higher forward gear. In addition, a manual transmission will give drivers of cars with rather lackluster performance the illusion of having greater torque. Another advantage to driving a vehicle with a standard gearbox is that it can be downshifted to a lower gear for passing and/or climbing steep inclines. They also work better if you should happen to get stuck in snow or mud. Automatic transmissions also have lower gear selectors, but these can only be used at specific speeds. Braking components will also last longer in cars that have manual transmissions because the driver can slow the vehicle by downshifting to a lower gear before stopping. Manual transmissions are less expensive initially and are easier to repair as well. In the past, they also provided better fuel economy. This is no longer the norm as automatic transmissions have added more gears and are much more efficient than they once were.

As previously mentioned, cars with standard transmissions are becoming quite rare, but can still be found. Learning to drive such a vehicle is quite simple, although it can be a bit challenging if you've been driving nothing but automatics. Unlike cars with automatic gearboxes, you must shift gears as you accelerate.

To do this in a vehicle with a stick shift, you must depress the clutch pedal with your left foot while letting off the gas pedal with your right foot at the same time. The next step is to shift

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