Clutch and Accelerator
Posted by still_learning101@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 29 comments
So I'm 52, and been driving an automatic since the late 2010s. Before that, it was always manual, Stick shift.
But once on a while, it's like a muscle on the left foot wakes up, especially in a traffic jam, and jabs the floor of the car...
Also, I sometimes feel a little bad, it's like my left foot went from high alert to resident sloth...
Is it just me?
RandyBeaman@reddit
All my previous cars were manuals, and I took pride in my ability to use all three pedals at the same time to rev-match my down shifts. Now I have an EV and barely even use the brake pedal anymore.
GTFOakaFOD@reddit
I drove a stick from 16-30. I'm 51 now, and I still slam my left foot down on the floor from time to time.
Turkn8r@reddit
If you’re up for a challenge, rent a car with manual transmission in UK or Australia. Shifting with left hand but pedals are the same. Gears are also same, so first gear is still top left.
LayerNo3634@reddit
I once had a diesel VW bug that was a stick and got 48 mpg. It was a great little car and could park anywhere. It was fun to drive EXCEPT in 5:00 heavy traffic when you couldn't get out of 1st gear. My left foot worked overtime. I don't miss that 80 min
ziggurat29@reddit
nope; I stomp the non-existent clutch when being surprised and having to hit the brakes
No-Praline-9388@reddit
Yep! Def this!
ONROSREPUS@reddit
When I do drive an automatic car I still drive with both feet. Left on brake right on gas.
TheNeonCrow@reddit
I drive a 2020 Subaru Crosstrek 6-speed. If I have to drive an automatic, I end up coming to a screeching halt because I slam the brake with my left foot if I’m slowing down to stop. 😬
dyoll26@reddit
Not just you. I still try to reach for the non existent gear shift, especially if I want to downshift. Miss driving stick..
Known-Party-1552@reddit
I drove stick for years, but only automatic after 1998. I still reach for the clutch sometimes when stopping
still_learning101@reddit (OP)
So it's not just me! It's like phantom muscle memory, isn't it?
archedhighbrow@reddit
I don't feel comfortable driving a manual because I forget how while driving, and that's too stressful and dangerous.
DoomLordofReddit@reddit
At first when I saw Clutch I thought you were talking about the band.
Extension-Elk-1274@reddit
Ha! Me too, also, who is this band accelerator?
Expert_Habit9520@reddit
I drove a stick until 2003. I only had stick because it was cheaper to buy it that way, not because I enjoyed it. Where I really disliked having stick shift was in rush hour traffic. Maybe if I lived in a more rural setting it wouldn’t have annoyed me as much, but driving a stick in heavy stop and go traffic was not my idea of fun.
Ok-Juggernaut-4698@reddit
2nd gear all the way. I sit in Chicago traffic daily with a manual, this is the way to go.
Ok-Juggernaut-4698@reddit
Just go back to driving a stick. I hate driving automatics.
2_Bagel_Dog@reddit
I have both now. But in the 1980s I only had manuals.
Summer between high school and college I flew across the country to drive a car back for a coworker. It became more involved than it should have and I had to drive a bunch of cars all over to get ready for the drive back (I could write a book about the adventure...).
One of the first cars I had to drive was this huge Caddy. I end up driving through rush-hour big-city traffic and proceeded to "push in the clutch" - which meant coming to a screeching halt in LA/Palm Springs traffic. I may have made a few enemies. The rest of my Caddy driving was done sitting on my left foot.
SnooEpiphanies157@reddit
I still drive a stick 😃
azmechanic@reddit
From my cold, dead, right hand....
RedditIsAGranfaloon@reddit
From my cold, dead, left foot
Sufficient_Stop8381@reddit
I finally got rid of my last stick about 4 years ago, an old blazer. I don’t really do the foot thing anymore, but used to a lot when I had a stick and had to switch back and forth in work trucks between a mix of manual and automatics. Before cup holders were everywhere, it was a pain to shift while holding a cup of coffee.
Mo_Steins_Ghost@reddit
I learned to drive on manual. But living and driving in the Dallas area, it’s impractical and even dangerous because of the traffic congestion and unpredictability of other drivers.
thefudd@reddit
I still drive stick on the weekends :)
lscraig1968@reddit
Same as OP. I drove a manual from my second car, in 1987 until 2013. Been driving an automatic since 2013. My current daily commute car is an Equinox with the selector in the center floor console.
Every now and then I still find myself trying to shift into "first".
Upstairs_Fudge_9982@reddit
I'm in the UK 95% of cars are manual. Although I prefer an automatic because I'm lazy!
ttkciar@reddit
I still drive stick, though they're getting harder to find.
I can drive automatics, but don't much like them. It feels like there's a barrier of really stupid automation between me and the car, almost like I'm trying to drive from the back seat.
KellyzKillaz@reddit
I've myself have never owned a manual. But in '87 I got a job with a company that drives big brown trucks...lol. I lied and said I could drive a stick. Things were very different back then, no road test, nada. Keys, map, go! I drove off the lot in a big truck grinding the gears the whole way out. Taught myself stick that day. Pushed that clutch in and out thousands of times a day for 20 or so years. Then one day, they drop an automatic on me. Repeatedly jammed my foot into the floorboard. Took quite a while to break that habit!
Goddamitdonut@reddit
My car before this was stick :/ really hard to get these days