History Main / DrivingStick

Also tends to show up in any situation involving commercial vehicles above 25 tons, as heavy trucks are typically running unsynchronized manuals with nine to eighteen gears, sometimes involving double-clutches. As of this writing, however, new heavy-duty automatics are standard in transit buses and even starting to appear in full-size semis. Surprisingly ''not'' shown very often when a character has to drive a motorcycle. Far more motorcycles have manual transmission than automatic, however motorcycle gears are typically linear in nature making it difficult to, for instance, shift from first to fourth and send the vehicle leaping forward into something painful. It ''is'' still possible to forget the clutch, forget what gear you're currently in or accidentally hit neutral (which is often an awkward 'half shift' between first and second).

Far more common in US comedies, as automatic transmissions are very widespread in the North American continent, but aren't as popular in Europe [[note]]Manual transmission is more fuel-efficient, and gas is ''way'' more expensive in Europe than the Americas[[/note]]. Also uncommon in UK shows, because you need a different class of license to drive a manual - if you take your test on an automatic, that's all you'll be driving (legally). Also rare in Japanese media, as even though automatic transmissions are even ''more'' widespread in Japan, to get a driver's license you're required to demonstrate that you ''can'' drive stick.

-->--''Holy Matrimony''

* ''SlyCooper 2''. Bentley has ... difficulties driving the team van, a manual transmission.

* Funnily enough, in Columbia's 1998 ''Film/{{Godzilla|1998}}'' film, DGSE agent (France's equivalent to the US Secret Service) Philippe Roche tries to get an Army Humvee moving in order to sneak into the subway system, but fails. It's American Nick Tatopoulos who points out that it's not in gear. Nevermind the fact that in RealLife, the Humvee is an ''automatic'' specifically to avert this trope.

** An inversion in the episode ''Real Me'' as Giles had just purchased a new MidlifeCrisisCar and has trouble with the automatic transmission, being used to a stick. He puts it into neutral while driving apparently several times as he instinctively tries to shift.

* The first time DannyPhantom tries to drive the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle; "Oh, great. It's a stick." He pulls it off, though.

** In Season 6, the manual transmission challenge was to balance a car on a teeter-totter. While some did good, even some contestants who ''already owned cars with sticks'' had issues. Even worse, ''every single car'' they had brought out for this challenge got its transmission damaged by a contestant, meaning that the final contestant wasn't even able to have a turn!

* Used on ''{{Voyagers}}'', with Jeffrey knowing more about how to use a clutch than Bogg.

** One participant in Season 2 was utterly incapable of driving stick, to the point that during the stick shift challenge, after being taught by the head instructor of the country's top driving school, her MTBF[[labelnote:*]]Mean Time Between Failures[[/labelnote]] on the challenge vehicle was 45 seconds. Possibly less.

** They also made similar jokes in the ''WarOfTheColossalBeast'', ''ItConqueredTheWorld'', ''FireMaidensFromOuterSpace''[[note]] with a spaceship[[/note]] and ''[[GeminiMan Riding With Death]]'' episodes.

* According to the 2nd edition rulebook for ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', driving stick requires 2 dots in driving as opposed to 1 for automatic. CreatorProvincialism may be to blame.

* According to the rulebook for the ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'', driving stick requires 2 dots in driving as opposed to 1 for automatic. CreatorProvincialism may be to blame.

* According to the rulebook for the old ''Tabletopgames/VampireTheMasquerade'', driving stick requires 2 dots in driving as opposed to 1 for automatic. CreatorProvincialism may be to blame.

** One participant in Season 2 was utterly incapable of driving stick, to the point that during the stick shift challenge, after being taught by the head instructor of the country's top driving school, her MTBF[[labelnote:*[]Mean Time Between Failures[[/labelnote] on the challenge vehicle was 45 seconds. Possibly less.

** One participant in Season 2 was utterly incapable of driving stick, to the point that during the stick shift challenge, after being taught by the head instructor of the country's top driving school, her MTBF on the challenge vehicle was 45 seconds. Possibly less.

* A recurring problem in ''TimeTrax'' is that the main character is totally incapable of driving a stick shift. This is due to his being from 200 years in the future, when all cars are automatics.

* Funnily enough, in Columbia's 1998 ''Film/{{Godzilla}}'' film, DGSE agent (France's equivalent to the US Secret Service) Philippe Roche tries to get an Army Humvee moving in order to sneak into the subway system, but fails. It's American Nick Tatopoulos who points out that it's not in gear. Nevermind the fact that in RealLife, the Humvee is an ''automatic'' specifically to avert this trope.

Also tends to show up in any situation involving commercial vehicles above 25 tons, as heavy trucks are typically running unsynchronized manuals with nine to eighteen gears, sometimes involving double-clutches. As of this writing, however, new heavy-duty automatics are standard in transit buses and even starting to appear in full-size semis. Surprisingly ''not'' shown very often when a character has to drive a motorcycle. Far more motorcycles have manual transmission than automatic, however motorcycle it is true gears are typically linear in nature making it difficult to, for instance, shift from first to fourth and send the vehicle leaping forward into something painful. It ''is'' still possible to forget the clutch, forget what gear you're currently in or accidentally hit neutral (which is often an awkward 'half shift' between first and second).

* Brock Samson (and Hank during one episode) of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' drives a 69 Charger with a stick shift. Brock, who has driven it for years, has no issues, and even Hank did reasonably well when driving. Especially since it was his first time driving. The only person with the driving stick issue? H.E.L.P.eR. As Brock discovers when strapped to the hood of his car by [[spoiler: Doc's escaped parasitic twin brother]]

** British example, Christopher Eccleston was only going to go round the track in an automatic, as he only passed his test a few weeks previous, in an automatic. Whether this was because of Eccleston's demand, to keep the insurance company happy or to keep the right side of the law is not clear.
*** Either of the first two options; the lap is not done on a public road so what class of driving licence (if any) the participants carry is irrelevant.
*** They did make the same automatic allowance for Creator/JeffGoldblum when he did his lap, so personal preference looks likely at this point.
*** When they did Eccleston's lap they revealed that there was exactly one automatic car of the proper model in all of England - which TopGear borrowed. Clarkson highlighted this by showing the blooper real of Eccleston skidding out and getting bogged in the grass, saying, "If that's ''your'' car - sorry!"

** However, also played straight in a running joke about Edie's bad driving - half the time she blames "this stupid stick thing", and the other half "it's because [[BunglingInventor your father]] keeps moving the pedals around!"

* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' - J.D. accidentally destroys a parked car with a monster truck - he puts this down to the fact that "it's been a while since I drove shift!". Ironically, this is a case of poor research, as monster trucks are usually custom automatics; try double-clutching while airborne and see how well you do.
** Might that have been a parody of the trope? It seems a little obscure, true, but it could have been intentionally funny.
** Or it could have been automatic and JD just screwed up driving and lied so he looked less idiotic.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'', Mordecai and Rigby barrow Pops' car. Pops asks if Mordecai knows how to drive stick, which he does. Mordecai does ask what the ''second stick shift'' was for. Pop's reply was a clear example of GettingCrapPastTheRadar.