Some kid was wearing this at my daughters graduation

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Sutcliffe@reddit

I do not get the obsession with stick. It is an old tech that is great if you are a hobbiest. But it is as practical as knowing how to shoe horses.

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1radgirl@reddit

How old do they think millennials are? A lot more of us know how to drive manuals than gen z. We're far from being the most clueless when it comes to that.

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OneHumanBill@reddit

I think that's the point.

But to be honest I was younger Gen X and I was one of the few people in my class who had to drive stick.

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VenomousVenting@reddit

That is the point. The shirt is for Millennials who drive stick that causes younger car thieves to not be able to steal the car.

I think OP got confused because a kid is wearing the shirt though. My student was wearing a Fraggle Rock t-shirt a few weeks ago, and I was so thrilled! Kid had no idea who the Fraggles were.

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LoetherS@reddit

My daughter's wear Nirvana and AC DC and led zep shirts. 'I just like the logos dad' 🤦‍♂️

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ObiWanKnieval@reddit

Damn, that would hurt my feelings. My god babies are into groups from the 80s that even I'm not super well-versed in. Like, the older one is all about with The Minute Men.

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Appropriate-Food1757@reddit

My son likes all the bands (12)

There is hope

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VenomousVenting@reddit

It’s their generation. No idea what a symbol or the words on a shirt mean? That’s the shirt they want! Whatever makes them happy, right?

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brainvheart143@reddit

I think it’s on prime or something now

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baybridge501@reddit

Actually this shirt was created for Boomer/Gen X who thought millennials can’t drive stick. Back when every silly new thing was blamed on millennials. For Gen Z to wear it is super weird lol

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DeterioratedEra@reddit

I was on a pool team last year with a boomer who made this same joke. I think "Millennial" is just a catch-all term for anyone not in adult diapers.

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VenomousVenting@reddit

Oh, okay, that makes sense. He probably stole his dad’s shirt.

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Drslappybags@reddit

People wear Nirvana shirts and don't know who they are.

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I am early Xennial; every person in my small class, and almost every person in my small high school, learned to drive a stick from me, after my truck driver father taught me. It was already an unusual thing by 1990. My older sister never did learn.

But I drive a 6 speed now, and both my kids want to learn. My almost-13 daughter is insistent that she gets my car when she’s old enough to drive.

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bagofpork@reddit

I'm an older millennial, and my parents drove stick almost exclusively up until the 2010s. I had no choice but to learn that way - in one of the hill-iest regions of the state.

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Dissasociaties@reddit

Builds character, impresses the opposite sex. Did your dad do all the family car maintenance?

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brainvheart143@reddit

Can confirm. My husband knows how to drive a stick and also can change a tire when I can’t even get the lug nuts off. I know how to do it in theory (the tire) but when I had to I couldn’t lol.

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brainvheart143@reddit

My husband is great at it (also 1980) but I have had many lessons and I just don’t understand.

Maybe that’s the answer. If it was the only option for driving I’m sure I would have picked up that shit quick. But they didn’t teach it in our drivers ed. Maybe it was a different class who knows.

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Moxie_Stardust@reddit

The people we bought my partner's 5 speed car from made this joke, she's a millennial.

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dbzmah@reddit

I've always owned at least one manual vehicle. That shirt makes no sense

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bootsand@reddit

Been driving only manuals for close to two decades now myself, wouldn't have it any other way

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FTblaze@reddit

Ive driven both. People making it their personality need to touch grass.

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braxtel@reddit

I have owned a lot of manual cars because in the past they were cheaper than standards on the used car market.

It wasn't a preference. It was me being poor.

I would still do this but you can't find a cheap beaters with a stick shift like you could in the past.

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FTblaze@reddit

Same for me, ive driven manuals up to my prius. Which is the most underrated car ever imho. Ofc people think its hideous be that damn car drove further than my others combined lmao.

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bootsand@reddit

I must have worded my comment poorly if that's the impression it gave off. It's just a long standing preference for me, nothing wrong with automatics.

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FTblaze@reddit

Haha fair, i think the "any other way" did a bit. I drove stick the first 10 years and got so much hate when the next care i got was an auto. I still have no idea why people care that much.

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bootsand@reddit

Probably a combination of elitist car culture shit with a sprinkling of people that just hope enough interest survives that manuals will still be produced and available to buy.

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AbominablePloughman@reddit

The entirety of Europe drive mostly manuals but that's starting to change with EVs.

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Steel1000@reddit

It’s the standard human reaction to mock people who do things differently.

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Ancient-Eye3022@reddit

In 20 years when all base model cars come with autonomous driving there will still be some old millennials and gen zers that will remember the good ole days of using a steering wheel! "It's the only way to drive!!!!"

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SonOfSparda1984@reddit

I used to drive stick until I got a neck injury. Now I get shooting pain and numbness in my right arm/hand, and constantly shifting gears exacerbates it, and when it's real bad I can't grip the shifter enough so I won't drop it mid shift...

I miss driving properly...

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RadioCaroline721@reddit

Xennials I think is mid 20-30?

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1radgirl@reddit

I think that's zillennials, which is the tail end of millennials/beginning of gen z. Xennials are more on the gen x side.

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TorchThisAccount@reddit

My drivers ed was in a manual. Dealers still had manuals on their lots instead of special order, well after I bought my first car. My first three cars were manual...

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1radgirl@reddit

Same.

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Alarmed_Drop7162@reddit

They think we’re boomers.

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Mr_A_Rye@reddit

it's just the latest iteration of the tired meme that following generations can't do a thing that no longer exists. it's like saying "want to hide something from a Boomer? Put it in a browser's address bar."

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Constant_Cultural@reddit

I really don't know how to ride an automatic car tbh

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Dan_the_moto_man@reddit

I'm all for manual transmission supremacy, but that's just fucking stupid.

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weltvonalex@reddit

Same, never had any experience. It was always stick.

But to be fair, our car is a old Twingo, that thing will be driven until it falls apart.

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Constant_Cultural@reddit

The problem is that I probably need a nee car in the next 5 years, very probably earlier and here in Germany they switch to automatic cars in the recent years, the manuals are getting less and less or are just way more expensive. I don't want to drive automatic, the next problem is that I am 6'1 (woman) and want a smaller car as my next car as I don't have family, but most smaller cars are not made for me.

Ps: if someone has an idea, dm me. I am a millennial so money is tight, would love to stay under 25k

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weltvonalex@reddit

Hahaha hallo du deutsche Amazone! I am a dwarf next to you, with my 178cm

Yeah, if we ever buy a new car (we live in a city with good public transport) it's gonna be electric and they are all automatic which makes sense in regards how they work. I have mixed feelings in regards of gasoline and automatic , yes they shift way better than any human but still I just kinda don't like it. I guess I am old.

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Constant_Cultural@reddit

Electric isn't working, I have no way in loading it and automatic is just boring

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Haunting-Public-23@reddit

With how bad traffic is... I rather do CVT than manual.

Only people who drive for leisure drive manual.

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mander00@reddit

I have a hybrid Highlander, the most boring mom car ever, but I love the MPG. The CVT in it is rock steady.

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Nwcray@reddit

When I was in high school (graduated ‘96), by first car was a little shitbox with 4 on the floor.

I went to a small, rural, Midwestern high school. I just left my keys in the car most days. The only people who *could’ve’ stolen it were my friends or the fanboys. And both of them had the good sense to just leave it alone.

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toomanyusesforaname@reddit

I'm among the oldest Xennials (born in 1979) and learmed to drive on my father's manual truck. It wasn't a very common skill even back in the 90s and definitely wasn't required for driver's ed or my exam. I'm sure even fewer Gen Zs know how to drive stick, but I would wager that about 10% - maybe less - of Amercans my age can confidently drive a manual.

It's funny because it really is like riding a bike. I haven't driven a stick in almost 20 years but I'm certain I could still do it easily.

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fer_sure@reddit

I haven't driven a stick in almost 20 years but I'm certain I could still do it easily.

I'm similar, but I'm also confident I'd stall out at least once. And probably in the most embarrassing series of bunnyhops imaginable.

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n10w4@reddit

Very few tbh, that I’ve seen.

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Terrible_Salt7906@reddit

Many Millennials drove beaters or cheap base model cars that were manuals for our first cars

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NemeanMiniLion@reddit

Built. Me and my friends built cars at 14-20 years of age.

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Rhiannon29@reddit

I did. I was driving it in a hilly city.

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Glass_Covict@reddit

I literally bought my first auto transmission car last month...

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Normal_Increase3691@reddit

Hell I'm 42 and just bought my first automatic in 2024. My wife still drives her manual and won't let me trade cars with her.

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stareweigh2@reddit

as an auto technician, I've only seen maybe one or two failed manual transmissions in a little over 20 yrs. pretty cool how the part that takes the brunt of the abuse (clutch) is somewhat easily replaceable when compared to automatic transmissions

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flatulating_ninja@reddit

First two cars I bought myself were autos where the transmission went out when everything else was fine. Fortunately I only spent $5000 on the two of them. The manuals I borrowed between those two lasted much longer.

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mhoke63@reddit

Is it because manuals are more robust or is it because the people that drive manuals take care of their car.

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stareweigh2@reddit

for one thing there is only one clutch and it's replaceable. autos gave many many clutches inside that are sensitive to heat, fluid condition, etc.

also they're just super complicated compared to a manual transmission. planetary gear sets, valve bodies. etc etc. manuals just have a common shaft that all the gears are on and you use the shift forks to match the drive shaft gear with the gear that you want. there are brass "gears" that help this transition that can get banged up making shifting harder but this is pretty rare too and again, the only failure is usually just the clutch itself which is replaceable

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AotKT@reddit

As long as Mazda keeps offering Miatas in manual, I will always have one. My partner uses the automatic mommymobile.

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markuspeloquin@reddit

I got the final manual Audi, 2018. BMW still makes some for their M series.

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Blue_Eyed_Devi@reddit

My first BMW was a Manual. 2003 325i with the sport package. Got a killer lease deal on it. Oh to be 24 again.

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flatulating_ninja@reddit

'87 Corolla and '91 S-10 were what I learned stick on in highschool and college.

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protossaccount@reddit

That’s me.

Like beetle that’s driven a manual, I miss that car, it was so much fun to drive.

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bluecar92@reddit

Me and my wife bought a manual Corolla in 2007 shortly after we got married. I'm still driving it to work everyday. My son will probably learn to drive on that car.

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catsoncrack420@reddit

83 Corolla baby. Between me and my brother, from NYC to Miami and back 3 X's.

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LandOfLizardz@reddit

Yup, First ride was manual. Still have one to this day.

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lordcommanderminis@reddit

Such a stupid take: I know many millennials who drove manuals. Myself having had 4.

Oh silly millennials can’t shift gears hurr durr; the reason we don’t have manuals is because of the auto industry not millennial incompetence.

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Shadrach77@reddit

It’s a boomer/x-er “kids these days” elitism-disguised-as-wit meme implying kids these days can’t even drive a manual transmission car.

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FidgitForgotHisL-P@reddit

Yes, except “millennials” are in their 40’s now…

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ViceroyFizzlebottom@reddit

idealistic kids! Once they grow up and have a job, family, and a house, they'll change their tune!

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YourGuyK@reddit

Some are. Most aren't.

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OnceARunner1@reddit

Why is this being downvoted? The most common definition of millennial is 1981-1996. Only those born in 81-86 are 40.

So 5 years worth are in their 40s and 10 years worth are not. This comment is correct, most millennials are not in their 40s.

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ViceroyFizzlebottom@reddit

I hate this shit so much. who cares!?

hurr durr! they can't dial a rotary phone! huur durr! they can't fill out a check!. hurr durr! I bet they don't know how to use a card catalog!

I know jack shit about horse husbandry because horses are not a primary mode of transportation in the USA. I guess I'm a know-nothing xennial!

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baybridge501@reddit

Boomers don’t have much left and for some reason they need this dopamine from feeling superior to others.

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TexturedTeflon@reddit

“Hey everybody, this person doesn’t horse!” *points and mocks*

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msheehan418@reddit (OP)

Bahahahahahaha!!!

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bigdirkmalone@reddit

More and more of this boomer shit is showing up on this sub

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PositiveMaster8236@reddit

I'm a late Gen X , Xennial, I definitely share the frustration with older folk in 2026 STILL saying "Millennial" as shorthand for "pesky young liberal kids!"...TBF until c 2012 they were still using "Gen X" the same way, mind you the people who own the TV networks and newspapers , 30-20 years ago, are still the exact same people too

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BasvanS@reddit

We’ll just keep OK boomer-ing them

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ospfpacket@reddit

I took my driver’s license examination with a stick shift….?

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ES_Legman@reddit

Bro never heard of Europe

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Crash217@reddit

^^ manuals are hard to find on US car lots. It’s still the norm in Europe.

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WinterLanternFly@reddit

I do, in fact, know how to drive stick. But its not our fault that automatic became the industry norm.

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Obsidianrunner@reddit

I miss driving a stick shift….EXCEPT in bumper to bumper traffic.

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DadBreath12@reddit

46 and I know how to pop start a manual rolling down a hill. That’s what me and friends had to do when we would “borrow” our parents car in the middle of the night 🤣🤣

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HORSEthedude619@reddit

I think he's got his generations wrong.

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TZath@reddit

I will never understand the “ha, these guys don’t know this thing that is mostly obsolete and which we were supposed to teach them.” Flex

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nhranger@reddit

I’ve heard a lot of Gen Z are afraid to drive. Is that true? I feel it is. 😂

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RadioCaroline721@reddit

It’s true a few years ago my husband tried to teach our daughter. Never made it out of 2nd.

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LucasBlueCat@reddit

What if we're reading it wrong. And it's saying that millennials drive stick shifts as an anti-theft device for other generations, specifically the younger ones.

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StrangeCrunchy1@reddit

I find it funny, because we grew up with manual transmissions, too...

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TJBurkeSalad@reddit

I’m going to go drive a manual car and motorcycle today just to spite some boomers.

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Solid-Hedgehog9623@reddit

Learned on a stick and drove one for years.

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Great68@reddit

My first car was stick car, which I specifically bought to learn stick. Since then, at least one of my cars has always been stick. Now it's just my weekend fun sports car. So much better driving enjoyment.

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TerribleRecord666@reddit

I’ve always found this to be a stupid joke. Regardless, I do intend to make sure my son knows how to drive stick when we have the option. I think it’s a valuable skill to have in the toolbox.

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n10w4@reddit

Especially if you wanna go to europe and do a rental or live

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YourGuyK@reddit

You can rent and buy automatic cars in Europe.

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n10w4@reddit

Definitely. Though Cheaper for a manual

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YourGuyK@reddit

If you own a stick, there's no reason not to teach him. I don't know anyone who owns one, and it's not going to keep me up at night if my kid can't drive stick.

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ScottClam42@reddit

I was volunteering last weekend and met a 19yo that had a manual. It was a new model Jetta. I had no idea they even made em anymore - pretty cool

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Gluten_maximus@reddit

lol, so sick of this joke. Millennials aren’t stupid and plenty of them can drive stick. Quit gatekeeping manual drive vehicles.

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Shortbus_Playboy@reddit

Do you buy this shirt at the apothecary, the haberdashery, or the VCR repair shop?

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AFWolverine@reddit

'83er here. The first car I bought with my own money was an '87 Honda CRX 5 speed. I had never driven stick before I picked it up, I only knew the basics in my head. Drove it home and taught myself along the 1.5 hour drive. Been a manual fan since.

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brainfreeze77@reddit

I drove a manual until I was 25 but I never leaned how to ride a horse. Shit changes, move on.

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Plumeria9798@reddit

Is no one else confused as to why a “kid” is wearing it? If he’s as young as he looks, he’d be a young millennial or Z, so isn’t he talking about himself?

Also, I didn’t learn on a stick but plenty of people our age did. My husband did. I eventually kind of learned how to drive stick but I’m sure I haven’t really retained it.

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Remytron83@reddit

Umm… Gen Z

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jeophys152@reddit

I think the whole manual transmission thing is the stupidest flex. It’s not that hard to learn

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Elandycamino@reddit

Grew up with many manual vehicles, I remember my dad teaching me how the 3 on the tree works when I was very little and couldn't reach the pedals. I've always kept a few MT cars in my fleet just for reliability. When I drive auto I have to put my foot behind my leg so I don't try to find the clutch in case of emergency.

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Secure-Pain-9735@reddit

Last manual I had was a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT.

Fun car to drive until I went into bumper-to-bumper traffic in Seattle and had to stop on one the crazy as hills with someone on my ass.

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can-i-be-real@reddit

I remember leaving NYC on July 4 in the mid 00s driving my friend’s Jetta manual transmission and it took us 3.5 hours to drive like 10 miles and that was a horrible start to a 14 hour road trip 😂

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I_AM_DEATH-INCARNATE@reddit

My buddy had a decal like this on his stupid yellow Subaru (SVX I think?) back in the early 2010's. It didn't say millennial, just "Anti Theft Device inside" like an "Intel inside" logo from the 00's with a picture of a shifting knob.

Anyway, it got stolen and I quite enjoyed the irony

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fraghead5@reddit

This kid is wearing the shirt ironically, it’s a boomer shirt.

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motorboat_mcgee@reddit

Shirt seems a bit confusing on messaging, but driving a manual is absolutely a great theft deterrent in the US

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stavago@reddit

It may have been because I grew up in a rural community, but I learned how to drive a stick shift when I was in grade school

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perkypant@reddit

I learned how to drive on a 1990 Acura Integra five speed. Since then, every single one of my cars have been stick shift. Only now have I got a truck that’s automatic but still have my motorcycle

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A_Bad_Man@reddit

The joke is that by the early 2000s manual transmission vehicles had become rare enough that almost no new drivers were capable of operating them.

I'm technically a millennial and my first 3 card were manual, but that was a choice I made and took extra effort.

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TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit

And it's not like manuals disappeared because they were too confusing. Automatics just got good and cheap enough that manuals became unnecessary.

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rubbish_heap@reddit

yep, used to be that manuals were less expensive, faster acceleration, better gas mileage, and cheaper to maintain.
Automatics were 'slushboxes' or 'autotragics' that performed like crap.
I guess we still have CVTs to hate on.

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TheOsirisOfThisShit_@reddit

The old 3 speed automatics were complete shit and the 4 speeds weren't a ton better.

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TexturedTeflon@reddit

It was strange when after years of buying manual cars and enjoying the cheaper pricing compared to automatic, to see the manuals being more expensive than the automatic versions when shopping for certain models.

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KeySatisfaction197@reddit

A lot of us learned to drive stick first, usually with the dad on dirt roads.

I remember being distinctly bored the first time I drove an automatic. Anyone share that experience?

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Zestyclose-Beyond780@reddit

They weren’t cause you are reposting this

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msheehan418@reddit (OP)

I reposted my own post

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WakeyWakeeWakie@reddit

Boomers will be on their deathbed and referring to anyone under 30 as a “hipster Millenial.”

We have an old manual and sometimes leave the keys in it at a parking lot. Even if people could drive manual, the clutch is a bitch on it.

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Evan_802Vines@reddit

Somehow this lightly peppered gentleman does not think he's a millennial.

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SunshineInDetroit@reddit

The most boomer of car jokes.

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Old-Tea1980@reddit

Boomer and Gen X anti theft device is just a computer

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AggressiveDeer2753@reddit

I have only owned one vehicle in my entire life that was an automatic.

That being said driving stick in rush hour in a city…. I’m getting sick of that.

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YourGuyK@reddit

OK, but of all of the people I knew in high school, I'd say a quarter could drive stick. It was already a mostly dead skill 30 years ago.

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Sinistas@reddit

Maybe it's just where I'm from, but I just didn't know people who drove manuals. My family never had one, and I had maybe one friend who did (and he was a "real men drive stick" type).

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lovins22@reddit

The shirt says “my life peaked in the 80’s”.

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tomahawk66mtb@reddit

Yeah, in my country it would be an "American anti theft device". It's very rare to meet someone who can't drive stick. Even though now most new cars are automatics. I think new tests are split about 80/20 in favour of stick whereas it used to be high 90s.

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h0uz3_@reddit

That's a very American thing.

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weltvonalex@reddit

My Twingo is stick shift, it's not Rocket science.

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MommaOfManyCats@reddit

Born in 80 and never learned. My boyfriend was born in 78, claimed he'd teach me, got in a manual, and realized it had been so long that he forgot. We ended up with an automatic lol

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toeverycreature@reddit

It feels like the actual generational designations have morphed into Boomer = old entitled person, Millennial = young entitled person.

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iolmao@reddit

I remember this being a joke in Europe "American anti-theft device" because 90% of ars are Manual here (Italy), at least until 10 years ago.

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Evocatorum@reddit

Apparently, I have four of those in my drive way....

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catsoncrack420@reddit

Accurate. What percentage of Millennials can steal a Porsche? Real Porsche I mean. Not your Cayenne SUV.

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Averagestiff@reddit

Unlikely the government has the figures on something so specific.

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catsoncrack420@reddit

83 Corolla baby. Between me and my brother, from NYC to Miami and back 3 X's.

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C1sko@reddit

That’s a Gen Z lifestyle.

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Organic_Popcorn@reddit

Born in 83, but where I grew up, driving stick shift was a choice because they wanted to drive sports cars. I unfortunately had to learn stick shift later in life, but I certainly won't use it unless I'm renting a car in Europe.

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The_best_is_yet@reddit

i went to pick up my manual corolla a few years ago at the Toyota dealer (for some minor recall thing) and no one could figure out how to drive it up from the back for me.

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johnvalley86@reddit

Had to drive my VW Golf onto the lift for a tire change for the same reason. Shaking my fucking head the whole time.

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LandOfLizardz@reddit

I would not let those ppl near my car.

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PositiveMaster8236@reddit

This must me a design throught up by an American in their 80s!, Millennials (all now mostly in their 40s now!) definitely did and do drive manual cars, manual transmission is in fact still the preferred option outside of the USA

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Insomniac_80@reddit

Hmm, then 2008 happened, and Millennials need lower cost cars....

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Zoso03@reddit

By time I was old enough to drive manuals were already on their way out. It was me or other millenials/xenenials who cause this.

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Cooper_Sharpy@reddit

Dumb shirt.. every dude I knew either drove stick, knew how to or wanted to know how. It’s like whoever made this shirt forgot the entire Fast and the Furious franchise even existed and was HUGE! The tuner scene was next level in the late 90’s to late 00’s.

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n10w4@reddit

Now I wonder what the percentage is

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EricRShelton@reddit

In fairness, the only thing wrong with this is specifying a generation. Back when Jalopnik was good they would occasionally run articles talking about manual transmissions not being stolen because the thieves couldn’t drive them.

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OrbitalRunner@reddit

It’s also a great way to discourage most people from asking to drive your car. Served me well for decades now.

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Background-Action-19@reddit

Depends on how you define a millennial i guess. Some of us learned to drive out in the coentry in open fields before we were of legal age, and even then most old cars we could afford in high school were manual.

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matolandio@reddit

r/boomershumour

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DarksunDaFirst@reddit

Well, proof that there are stupid ass people out there and you can’t save them.

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Spare-Good-5372@reddit

Boomer shit

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JamesMattDillon@reddit

Now that's funny

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bisploosh@reddit

I blame my Dad for that one. He insisted that we didn't need to learn Manual and only ever needed Automatics, so he wouldn't teach us (he was a used car dealer in the '90s, so he had the means to teach us).

Honestly, it hasn't really mattered much. I'm not terribly interested int the kind of cars that need manual these days. I've been driving EV's for a while now to, so "Manual" vs "Automatic" is kind of meaningless for me now.

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