The art of driving manual still survives. In 2023, only about 1.7% of manuals accounted for total car sales in the US, according to J.D. Power, a statistic that rose from 0.9% in 2021. Colin Kipp, a motocross and manual driving enthusiast describes driving manual as “foreseeing, calm, and harmonizing.” Although convenient, driving automatic takes away from the driver to car relationship, a disconnect that leaves the driver on autopilot.
If you were to ask a European, they would probably say driving manual is the right way to go (although they drive on the left). Europe’s topography differs from America’s flatter roads, so fuel efficiency is a must. Driving manual to switch between gears while driving on a steep slope, whether up or down, means saving money on gas. Not only that, if you are ever in the position where your car battery is dead, and you don’t have the required tools for a jumpstart, you are able to use a manual car technique called the ‘bump’ start, which has proved useful to Kipp in one situation.
By now, you might wonder how to drive a manual. Learning how to drive manual requires finesse and patience. The process follows: Far left pedal. Shifter in neutral. Start the car. Release clutch if transmission is in neutral. Pull up on e-brake. Press the button to release, push the clutch pedal in and put the car into gear. Slowly release the clutch while giving the car a bit of gas; the car should accelerate smoothly. Once the clutch is fully released, drive away. Repeat this process for each gear.
“Remain calm and small” when it comes to foot movements, Kipp says. He suggests that “Releasing the clutch slow is better than releasing the clutch fast,” as you will find yourself ‘stalling’ as known to the manual community if you release it too fast. While stuck, you’ll have to restart the process by putting your car in neutral and pushing the clutch back in,
Driving manual will not come easy at first, but once you find the groove, you will be glad you didn’t ‘stall’ for any longer. If you commute in an area with many changes in elevation —or even for the thrill of it— it would be worth learning the way of the stick.