It's interesting taking driving lessons

I feel like I'm 16 all over again!
Luckily, my instructor says I know how to drive (good to know!) , its just doing those fun things like backing around a corner, etc, that I need help with! 

I did realize that I have gotten into the seriously bad habit of "coasting" though!  I never even realized I did it before... hmmm 

I do actual prefer shifting with my left hand (yeah for being left handed!)

I did realize that I have gotten into the seriously bad habit of "coasting" though!  I never even realized I did it before... hmmm 

I had that habit as well and didn't realise how dangerous it was.  You'll get rid of it soon enough!

Yeah, 8 years of driving a manual car and I had absolutely no idea that it was dangerous

Do you all like driving a manual (standard) shift car?
I think 99% of cars in the US are automatic. If you bought a car with manual tranny in the states you may have trouble when you want to sell it.
I know I'm probably over generalizing when I say its a cultural thing when I say in the US people prefer auto transmissions and in the UK (maybe EU too) they prefer manual (stick, standard) transmission?
So I was wondering for those of you who are from the US which do you prefer?
I was given a rental at Heathrow with a stick shift and I had such a rough go of it that I had to "trade" for an automatic when I got to Bristol. I have to mention something interesting is that I learned to drive in the UK in a neighbors taxi that had a stick. Years of driving in the states changes things(habits) I guess.

I had a manual transmission in the states for 8 years. Now, personally, I like it better!  My parents are trying to sell my car now, but its a sports car, so the manual transmission is an asset. (Oh how I wish I could find an equivalent car in the UK that I could afford! Haha, right!)  However, I know it will turn down many potential buyers.  I have so many people in the states that can't even begin to drive a manual transmission.  Actually, come to think of it, when I was car shopping in 2002 for my car that I'm trying to sell, it was really difficult to find a manual transmission and dealers looked at like you had 5 heads.  The only time a dealer didn't laugh was went I went to this dealership and this Russian guy got all excited that he could actually take us out and show us a manual car- he had so fun much driving around in this little sports car, that he didn't want to let us try it out. Haha.
So yeah, my friends in the states would want to try my car and drive it around until they realized it was manual, because I just don't think anyone has them anymore or knows how to drive them!

i find that shocking, that so many people in the US dont know how to drive a manual gearbox.   
I know it was AEONS ago, and times change, but my dad wouldnt let me get my California licence until i could prove i could drive a manual.

The car i am leasing now is automatic, but that's only because after 30-something years of driving a manual, i fancied a bit of luxury, and not because i 'cant' drive a manual.   The automatic is so much nicer for stop & go city traffic!

I can't. 

It isn't an issue at home.  Only one person I know in the states has a manual and he is such a jerk about it. 

I think it has to do with all the stop signs.  If you had a manual in my home town you'd be shifting every street. 

i find that shocking, that so many people in the US dont know how to drive a manual gearbox.

I never even had the opportunity to learn on a manual, to be honest.  All the driving schools around town had only automatic cars, and my parents drove automatics as well.  The question of learning manual never even came up simply because where I lived I was so unlikely to ever need to drive one.  Obviously that's no longer the case and I wish I knew manual now that I'm in the UK!  But if I had stayed in the US I would have never needed to learn it.

In the US, I learned & started driving on an automatic.  Then, when I was about 21-22 - I decided I wanted to learn how to drive a manual just for the adventure of it -- so I bought one!  Not knowing how to drive it.   I took a few lessons from a reluctant friend, who then departed for his Christmas holidays -- and then, by myself, I learned to drive a manual really quickly!!

I think manuals can be a lot more fun to drive actually - you feel like you're actually driving something, rather than being a mostly passive driver.  However, I do agree it gets to be a pain in city start/stop traffic, so automatics are really good for that.

Just in case anyone reading this thread is not aware of the legalities, if you take your U.K. test in an automatic then you will be restricted to driving automatics.  If you want to be licensed for manual transmission, then you need to take the test in a manual.

I think manuals can be a lot more fun to drive actually - you feel like you're actually driving something, rather than being a mostly passive driver.  However, I do agree it gets to be a pain in city start/stop traffic, so automatics are really good for that.

I think manuals are more fun to drive as well.

I always drove automatic in the states and here Ive been learning to drive DHs manual car and it was extremely difficult for me to learn to drive in the begining.  I felt like I was starting all over again.....But now that Ive learned, I shift automatically without even thinking about it. 

Do I think its better than automatic? Ehhhhh, im indifferent.  But when I buy a car it will be nice to be able to choose from both standards and automatics, especially when i move back to the states... and it is a useful and valueable thing to learn. 

(Oh how I wish I could find an equivalent car in the UK that I could afford! Haha, right!) 

go down the classic car route - interesting, different, can be cheap to buy, cheap to run pre 1973 and no road tax - i run a 1980 scimitar and a 1973 jag xjc (automatic) and my insurance for both is less than £200 a year fully comp.

ideas here - www.carandclassic.co.uk

ebay is also very good for classics

My first car was a manual shift Ford pickup.  Thanks to my dad I am ace at starting on a hill!   What's harder for me is shifting with the left hand.  Being a righty, I feel off balance.

I always drove automatics in the US. But since my husband only had a manual car, I had to learn how to drive one. Oh!!! The trauma!!! I used to come home from my driving lessons in tears because I had so much trouble.  I've been here over 7 years now and truthfully, I've only just gotten used to it!    I still have momentary panic when I have to stop on a hill.  I don't drive now unless I absolutely have to, my husband does most of the driving when we go out together. I used to love driving. Now I'm not such a fan!