Well back in 1988 when I was 17, my dad bought me a used 1986 Toyota GTS. We saw an add in the paper (yes newspaper) and drove 35 miles to look at the car. To make a long story short we bought the car and my dad handed me the keys...I didnt know how to drive stick. He gave me a few pointers, got in his car and drove off.

Sink or swim!

I made it home (all side streets) and didnt burn out the clutch either...
That's how I learned.

 

I was 17 and had to bring a bunch if equipment into san Francisco and couldn't fit it into my car. I had a friend show me what to do and the next day I took my moms Nissan 4x4 into the city. Killed it a few times taking off on the hills on fell but fairly smooth overall.

 

I went out and bought a new car Toyota Corolla SR5 Coupe on the weekend, 1981, and a friend gave me a few tips on shifting - then it was trial by fire getting to work on Monday.

But I got it sorted pretty quickly - and what a great little car - the clutch was still good when I sold it in '85 - and I never looked back...until just recently.

 

When I was 15 years old, I would take my dad's 1972 (gen 3) VW bus (van) late at night for a drive around the block in my native country. 4-speed manual. Trial and error. Great memories.

 

Learned years ago courtesy of the instructions provided by the BMW sales rep who had just sold me a 5-speed 318is.

 

Started at about 12 sitting in my brother's MGA pretending to drive, pushing in the clutch and shifting. When I was finally old enough to drive we had a Hillman Super Minx (anyone ever heard of one of those), a little British convertible with a 4 speed. The clutch master cylinder leaked so you could push in the clutch but not hold it in, it started engaging on its own within about 10 seconds. So I learned to shift very quickly, you had to push in the clutch put it in gear and start going without hesitation. And when you had to stop, push in the clutch and take it out of gear. Got good really quickly and learned to never ride the clutch.

 

About 12 or so I would shift for my mum while she drove the '72 Corona on the farm roads where my sister kept her horses, that progressed to sitting on her lap and steering and shifting (not yet reaching pedals) ...finally, was doing the driving from the gate and back ...good times!

 

My Dad travelled a lot and believed the boys should take care of the house if there was an emergency or Mum was ill. Thought all boys to drive stick by age 14... Mostly Renaults and Peugeots and Merc diesel. Also had to go fix and drive them home if they broke down somewhere! Those were fun days!

 

Grandma had a cabin up north in Michigan that the family used... I'd often go up with my uncle. He taught me how to drive a stick when I was 14 in his old Jeep CJ5, I'd just drive in circles around the cabin on the property.... mind you this was a small lot, I don't thing grandma liked me turning her yard into a dirt track

 

In 1972, I visited my brother who had moved to San Diego from Wisconsin following his tour in Vietnam. He had bought a beautiful '69 Jaguar E-type roadster. I had the opportunity to spend all of August with the car at my disposal. We put a lot of miles on in that month. It was a fantastically memorable summer for a 17 year old and ignited a passion for sports cars ever since.

 

My dad bought a 3 speed vw and we lived on a small mountain. He said you want to drive it get in and learn. Had read loads of car magazines so I knew the basics but no one told me how to get the handbrake off, Had to learn by myself. Wouldn't have ever done that to my kids.

 

present and I learned on that in the car lot parking lot. 91 miata. Damn I loved that car. Also learned to power slide by accident while learning to drive stick.

 

I was 14 when we built a weekend cottage on a private lake that was surrounded by miles of roads -- also on private land. My Dad, who had the warm temperament of a German Cammandant, started to teach me to drive the family's VW bug (he had a Cadillac & a 356 -- the bug was for the kids).

While not poor, he made it clear that he never wanted to buy another friction disk, throwout bearing--or, especially, sychronizers. So I had better learn how to do it right. I started spending my weekends for the next two years driving around the back roads by the lake with regular visits from my dad to make sure my technique was "perfect" in his eyes. I had almost 2 solid years of driving before I took my driving test.

We seem to get away with a lot of sloppy technique with new transmissions that have sychronizers that won't wear out so easily or good throwout bearings. My first car had a "throwout bearing" that was just a chunk of carbon. You ride the clutch pedal...you spend a lot of money in replacements.

 

When I was 16 I learned on a 1980's 4spd Ford Ranger pick up....it was light blue and terrible. I then finished my learning with my Aunt in her old 996 C2......I passed with flying colors

 

my first car was a neon, after 4yrs i wanted something sportier and better. i bought a dodge stealth TT. my dad taught me in an empty parking lot a couple times. after a couple times it was all me from there. i've gotten much better and now teach my friends all the time. only one kid i know drives stick better than me