NewToThis

I took my wife out yesterday and did my "best" to show her how to drive a stick shift.

After about 20 minutes - I figured out that marriage counseling would be cheaper than a new clutch.

Barn996

I feel your pain. My wife learned to drive a 4 speed when we were in college together. I had a 1960 Bug-eye sprite. I was unable to drive back to campus due to an over indulgence in alcohol. She ground a few gears at first, but picked it up quickly.That was in 1969/70 first time she ever drove the car.

alpine003

Buy a $1k Honduh and sell it back after you're done with it. That's what I did.

Wayne Smith

This. A lot cheaper than counseling and you can avoid the abyss. It will be worth the effort.

scott240

My wife won't even give it a try, which I suppose is a good thing.

ezdriver

Every guy who has ever taught the women in their lives to drive a MT can relate ... but stick with it and she will love you for teaching her. I taught both my wife and daughter to drive a MT ... my wife in a VW GTI and my daughter in a VW Beetle. They are both very proud today to boast how they can handle an MT ... but my wife still won't drive my MT 911 4S.

JayG

My wife has been driving MT for a long time, so no issue there.
I rented a Toyata Versa with a stick to teach my kids how to drive a MT. Cosy $40 for the day, a lot less than a Porsche clutch

Also much easier to learn on, lighter clutch and a lot less power

Chuck W.

I have four kids (all grown and gone). I told each one that if they did the best they could do in school, stayed away from drugs and alcohol I would buy them a car for their 16th birthday. All four kids got cars and each one was a manual transmission. Teaching a 16 year old to drive and to drive a stick was a challenge. But, I have some great memories from the experience. One of the daughters got stopped by a police officer when she stalled out at a red light. The officer approached and immediately figured out what we were doing. I told him we all went thought this while learning to drive a stick. He stated, "not me, I never learned to drive one". It is a dying art with the new generation.

NewToThis

My wife told me 2 or 3 times to "stop yelling at me..." I said I was not YELLING I was just using a loud voice...

What would you have done, if you saw your car being shifted from 1st - to 2nd then to 5th gear...

Also, I can't tell you how many times she asked "which one is the clutch and which one is the brake..."

Oil_Slickrick

My Dad was teaching my Mum to drive a Lambretta scooter back in the 50's. Pushed her off so she got up to speed then they found out stopping and braking had not been discussed - guess who needed marriage guidance then. O_Sr

Chiamac

My SO is scared she is going to wreck the car, so she has no interest in learning. Problem solved

JayG

I waited until my kid had been driving for about a year before driving a MT.
I figured a new driver has enough to deal with without adding in shifting

fpena944

First car was an autostick VW Bug. So I learned the motion and process of shifting but didn't have a clutch to worry about.

Then I got an '83 GTi and learned how to deal with a real clutch in that one. It was still a process but eventually got the hang of it. Now I don't even think about it when driving.

Hope my daughter will let me teach her, my wife thinks I won't have patience with her so she hasn't even taken me up on my offer of a lesson.

But when the time comes I'll probably just buy or rent a beater and teach on that.

5CHN3LL

Instead of buying a $1K manual beater, spend the $1,000 on a vacation to Cozumel and rent a crapbox car for a week. Your wife can practice the manual transmission, and you'll have a designated driver to haul you between restaurants, snorkleing spots, and your hotel. Win/win.

DTMiller

Man, I tried this once.