patentcad

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I learned to drive stick c. 1974 on VW Beetles. The C7 man trans/clutch is smoother, the only thing that would make it harder to learn on the C7 is the over-abundance of power. The tiny 4 cylinder in VW Beetles of 45 years ago literally had about 1/10 the power.

By the way I have zero point zero zero nostalgia for those cars. I saw one for sale on the street recently in very nice shape. I stopped to peer inside and marveled at the fact that my late Dad drove us cross-country and back in one of those mini sleds.

raylo

I learned on a '67 VW... man I ragged that thing out and it took whatever I did to it! Had many sticks since and the C7 to me is the most difficult to get consistently smooth shifts. Something about the ergonomics and my long legs. It is very sensitive to the release point and even small fore-aft seat adjustments require re-learning. Good luck and be careful!

Corgidog1

In 1984 I bought an automatic (I had never driven a stick) 300ZX turbo and everyone said that car needs a stick. I got the bug and traded it in 6 months later for a stick. The dealer thought there was a problem with my car and that is why I was trading it in so I kept telling him all the advantages of a stick (purely theoretical as I had never driven stick) and how much I wanted a stick. So we made the deal and I brought a friend of mine with me to drive the car home. I will never forget the expression on the salesman's face when I gave the keys to my friend to drive and told him I don't know how to drive a stick.

To the OP--consider yourself lucky that the C7 has hill assist as one of the biggest fears of a new stick driver is being stopped at a red light on a hill and rolling back into the car behind you.

PS-it took me 1 day to be functional with driving the stick. Hills took awhile longer. I have not owned an automatic since in either my DDs or toys.

2K14C7

Back when I was in high school (a small rural school) we had Drivers Education. We had to learn how to drive a manual transmission in a 1963 Chevy Impala before we could graduate to the automatic version.


That plus years of driving a snow plow with manual shift and a 2 speed axle. The C7 was a piece of cake. LOL

dvilin

I learned on an Army jeep.

plmmd

Grew up in NYC my family never owned a tractor much less a manual transmission. I decided it was time when I picked up a used boxster 2 years ago. One 3200$ clutch and flywheel later I think I have it down

UsernameProtected

I learned when I bought a 1972 Honda CB175 for $80. The throttle had a tendency to stick open...which sometimes led to crashes as I rode laps around my parents' house.

Then a couple years later I bought what was the absolutely worst car I've ever owned, for $175...a 1972 Toyota Corona. It was this sickly green color, 4-dr sedan with one window in the back broken out, a bald right front tire, and an engine that would only start after you sprayed ether into the carburetor. The only marginally redeeming feature of that car was that it had a 4-speed manual.

From there it was nothing but automatics for the next 16 years, as how cheaply I could buy a car was the primary factor driving my purchasing decisions as I struggled to pay my way through school, get established in my career, and also build a side business. My first "nice/fun" car was a 2004 Infiniti G35 coupe I bought in 2007, but it was also an automatic, because I thought my wife would drive it. She didn't, and in 2014 when she told me I didn't always have to drive a car until its last trip was to a salvage yard, I decided my next car wasn't going to be a compromise. That's when I became a Corvette owner, with the purchase of a Lemans Blue Z06...which of course had the manual transmission I'd been missing for so long.

Fcal

I learned to drive a stick on a 1967 Plymouth GTX 440. Been driving a stick ever since except for my PU Trucks. IMHO The C7 hydraulic clutch sucks. I takes too long to engage and when it does, it engages quickly. Don't be disheartened if you stall out a few times. When you master the C7, you'll be able to drive any stick.

proeagles

Back in the 60's our driver's ed cars were old military 57 Chevy's with 3 on the tree and 6 cylinder engines. It was fun. Now days all you can find are automatics which is no way to learn how to drive in the first place. Congrats on your courage and new car. Do the Spring Mountain school and really learn about it.

LIStingray

If you are 49 now, you would have learned to drive 33 years ago, in 1985. In 1985, the overwhelming majority of cars were automatics, and by 1994 (making the person 41 when they learned), manuals were at best rare. Hell, in 1982 all Corvettes sold were automatics.
Growing up and learning to drive in the 1980's, all of my family's cars were automatics - I learned on a friend's 1982 VW Golf. My first car that was a manual transmission was a 1973 Corvette Coupe that I bought used in 1985.

Maxpowers

The C7 would be a relatively easy car to learn on given all the torque.

My first car '78 Civic and a lot of the others in this thread had no torque. Which meant slip the crap out of the clutch or stall until you found the right balance.

billh1963

You must have been in a "wealthy" family.

All our cars were manuals...1985 Mercury Topaz diesel...5 speed, 1992 Saturn...5 speed, 1982 Plymouth Champ...4 speed with twin stick, 1982 Ford F-150...three speed column, shift, 1971 Pinto...4 speed. You get the idea

Thunder22

You didn't get to the South Shore of LI very much back in the day did ya? (it's ok, the only time I went south of the SSP was to go Jones Beach ) Hell, we rarely went east of the Wantagh and south of the Northern State lol

Strake

I learned in '65 on my Dad's TR-4 Triumph. We lived in Okinawa and he took me to an abandoned air strip..... I was 12 or 13 then. Legs were too short to properly reach the clutch ( and see over the steering wheel) so I would hold the wheel and slide down in the seat so I could depress the clutch when shifting. Thankfully, there was nothing around to hit

DOD....... (Dear old Dad ), really miss him. It's ALL his fault I'm hooked on wheels. They brought me home from Bethesda Naval Hospital ( 1953) in a new Jag MK VII Salon they had bought and took delivery of at the factory in the UK the year before.

I then went on to a couple of VW's for myself, and at 17, Dad and I went in halves on a 6 month old, '69 TR-6

Glad my wife already knew how to drive a stick too. She had a 280Z in her earlier days, before me......

After having about 5 or so Vettes that were manual, we wanted to try an automatic so our '16 Stingray was an A8, and the current '17 GS is also an A8.

Guitarking1

While I miss driving a manual, the constant heavy traffic in my neck of the woods ruins the experience.

I learned shortly out of high school in 1972. I bought a bright yellow 1967 Chevelle and learned on the spot when I went to look at it at the used car dealership. I remember driving it home after buying it and freaking out at a red light at the top of a hill. Every time I pushed the clutch in, I kept rolling backwards and killing the car as I tried to engage the gears. I still can't figure out how I managed to finally master that hill and not slamming into cars behind me.

Silver C7

Learned on the tree in a ‘65 Plymouth station wagon. First stick I owned was a ‘81 Honda Accord. Great cars, sturdy as hell. Next was a ‘84 BMW 318I. I taught my daughter on that one, which turned out to be her first car. I also had a 6 volt VW in the ‘80’s.

When I bought the C7, I gave a lot of thought to an M7, but if my wife ever had to drive it there would be a problem. I spent the extra dough on the A8, almost two years later, my wife hasn’t driven it yet. So much for being considerate.

Had some flashbacks at a recent church car wash. Of a hundred or so cars, just two sticks, a new Hyundai and a red three series BMW. Almost like old times.

cor28vettes

I bought a brand new C6 w/auto. Reason: so wife could drive it.

So how many times did she drive it? Once!

kupitz

Same here, parents made me learn manual to get my license and bought a baby blue 72 pinto for $50, drove 6 months and sold it for $250 with a leaking radiator. Biggest POS I ever owned!

Thunder22

Ouch.

cor28vettes

But the price was right. That was my one & only brand new Vette ever.