History Main / DrivingStick

* ''VideoGame/{{Forza}} Motorsport'' starting with the third game includes the option of fully manual transmission with clutch; the problem is that most UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} steering wheel peripherals generally don't have a clutch pedal, including Microsoft's official wheel. Unfortunately, ''Forza'' doesn't simulate full-out engine stalls (it'll take over the clutch before the engine dies), as there is no button to start the engine, though if you don't use the clutch when taking off, the engine will repeatedly nearly seize-up as you start idling forward. Also, with Simulation damage enabled, failing to depress the clutch while shifting causes [[SubsystemDamage transmission damage]], while downshifting too fast will wreak havoc on your engine.

* The early Creator/{{Activision}} video game ''Dragster'' for the UsefulNotes/Atari2600 had this as its main game mechanic: getting the best times in the drag race requires knowing when to pop the clutch and shift gears.

** [[http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/winnipeg/2009/11/27/11948496-sun.html Another example]]. According to some accounts, the thieves [[CanadaEh apologized]] as they tossed the keys back to the owner.

''May'' become a DeadHorseTrope if Electric and Hybrid vehicles really take off, as automatic transmissions are strongly favoured in the powertrains for vehicles of that type - Electric motors can deliver more torque than petrol or diesel, significantly reducing the need for a high-torque, low-speed first gear to get the car moving, and hybrids use the automatic transmission as a part of softening the transition from electric to fuelled drive. On the other hand, [[https://www.evo.co.uk/lexus/205509/toyota-in-development-of-a-manual-transmission-for-electric-cars some]] [[https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/toyota/357350/toyota-patents-simulated-manual-gearbox-electric-cars manufacturers]] are developing EV manual transmissions, or "simulated" manual transmissions for [=EVs=], so only time will tell.

* In VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor this is the reason why Luigi crashed his kart during a go-kart race. He wasn't used to stuckshifts and accidentally HadTheSillyThingInReverse, crashing into a wall.

For the most part this is a [[{{Eagleland}} US-only]] trope, as automatic transmissions are very widespread in the US and Canada, but aren't as popular elsewhere. Manual transmissions tend to be more fuel-efficient, cars are generally smaller where a manual transmission is better suited to extract power from less powerful engines, and gasoline is ''way'' more expensive in other countries than in North America. [[note]] Although this trend is being downplayed in recent years in Europe. This is partly due to improvements in automatic transmission, partly due to worsening congestions across urban areas and on major highways (which amplifies the inconvenience of operating stick), and partly due to declining availability of manual transmission cars provided by manufacturers - particularly American and Japanese cars. In the latter case, the increased platform-sharing between different car manufacturers do not help.[[/note]] Another reason for it being uncommon in European shows is that most countries require a different class of license to drive a manual - if you take your test on an automatic, that's all you'll be legally driving. This system is also used in Japan, even though automatics are even more dominant there than in North America. In many other countries around the globe, the law even states that driver's education ''must'' be given on a manual transmission car. [[note]]In Latin America in particular, even though automatic transmissions are more widespread than in the rest of the world, manual transmission is still considered the "good" transmission, and it is socially unacceptable to not be able to drive a manual transmission car.[[/note]] It should be also noted that people accustomed to a manual transmission can [[DamnYouMuscleMemory still have a hard time getting used to a car with a different gear layout]], especially with the reverse that may or may not require pushing the lever down or rising a retainer ring up before shifting.

* The gearing systems of large trucks are very different from those of cars. Where cars rarely have more than 5 speeds, trucks have 8, 10, 12 or even more. The stick often has a range switch or, on very old trucks, a second gear shift. It is possible to float gears on a truck, but only with a lot of practice. Finally most large trucks have a clutch brake that engages when the clutch is released and the gearbox is in neutral in order to slow down the spinning of the gears. The recommended shifting pattern is to press the clutch, put the transmission in neutural, release the clutch, then press again to put the transmission into the next gear - a process known as "double clutching". All this adds up to a situation where it is actually more difficult to learn how to drive a semi-truck manual if you have experience with a car's manual since you must unlearn what you have learned.

* Arianna of ''LightNovel/{{Campione}}'' made her first introduction driving a car with manual transmission. She didn't actually understand why the car had an extra pedal and compensated for not shifting gears by flooring the accelerator. She managed 80 kilometers per hour on a congested road in ''first gear''. This part was mostly ignored in the anime version, however.[[note]]She ''does'' shift from reverse to first gear, but that seems to be [[ArtisticLicenseCars more the fault of the animators]] than anything.[[/note]]

* Used for comedic effect in ''Film/FloraAndUlysses'', where the protagonist's father has to flee law enforcement driving stick with a numb arm from a tranquilizer gun. He laments that he only bought a car with manual transmission because he wanted to look cool.

* ''Film/{{RV}}'' has our main character trying to turn around a huge RV on his street. He manages to break the parking prawl during the gear grinding ordeal. Remember, this RV is a column shift ''automatic''. The RV rolling away on perfectly level roads becomes a RunningGag.

* Unlike the [[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious film series]] it's based on, ''WesternAnimation/FastAndFuriousSpyRacers'' tones down the use of standard transmission vehicles; with only Leyla's car being shown overtly as a stick. Some minor vehicles like the buggies in the ''Sahara'' season are also standard shifters, and a minor plot point in the third episode of that season is that the resident TeenGenius Frostee has to be taught ''how to drive'' using one of the buggies by Cisco during a chase with a gang. Also unlike the films, the shifting is, for the most part, portrayed with more realism[[labelnote:*]]Which is likely due to the show's animation being outsourced to India, as stick shift cars are prevalent over there[[/labelnote]].

* Several characters from the ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' series like to give entire lectures about shifting technique. Also, the movies make a point of using ''[[MundaneMadeAwesome badass shifting]]''. At least one of the lectures is either horribly wrong or possibly [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation an effort to sabotage another character's driving techniques.]] They also have an instance in the fifth movie where their cars apparently have ''two'' reverse gears, so they can dramatically shift from "go backwards fast" to "go backwards even faster". This is mechanically ''possible'', but extremely unlikely given that cars are designed to be primarily driven, you know, ''forwards''.

* Several characters from the ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' series like to give entire lectures about shifting technique. Also, the movies make a point of using ''[[MundaneMadeAwesome badass shifting]]''. At least one of the lectures is either horribly wrong or possibly [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation an effort to sabotage another character's driving techniques.]]

* Arianna of ''LightNovel/{{Campione}}'' made her first introduction driving a car with manual transmission. She didn't actually understand why the car had an extra pedal and compensated for not shifting gears by flooring the accelerator. She managed 80 kilometers per hour on a congested road in ''first gear''. This part was mostly ignored in the anime version, however.[[note]]She ''does'' shift from reverse to first gear, but that seems to be [[OffModel more the fault of the animators]] than anything.[[/note]]