‘Driving a manual car is too easy’: Expert gets into manual car. Then she shows the right way to drive it
Is this the year you resolved to learn how to drive a manual transmission? Are you determined to finally buy your dream car with a stick shift?
A new video on Lemon8, the TikTok alternative that debuted in 2023, offers a quick lesson to help you reach your goal. User Autoleader (@autoleader) has posted the driving advice to their account.
As the video shows, getting started on an automatic transmission is as easy as one, two, three—the same number of foot pedals you need to master.
How to drive a manual
Autoleader's video gives a no-frills demonstration of how to drive a manual transmission.
First, she points out the three foot pedals: the clutch, the brake, and the accelerator. Her foot can be seen engaging the clutch.
After she depresses the clutch, she films herself turning her keys in the car's ignition. The clutch must be depressed to turn over the engine when a car has a manual transmission.
She then demonstrates putting the gear shift into first gear. Next, she takes off the parking brake and then eases off the clutch while simultaneously stepping on the gas pedal.
At last, we see her depress the clutch to put the car into second gear.
"Driving a manual car is too easy," she states in the video's caption.
What's the difference between manual and automatic?
Autoleader's video instructions may be a bit oversimplified, but she does a good job of illustrating what a driver must do to get a manual started and into gear.
But what is the difference between a manual and automatic transmission?
Transmissions, sometimes called gearboxes, are used to transmit power from a vehicle's engine to its wheels. The two most common types of transmissions do this by using a gearset, generally of three to six gears, to do this with optimum efficiency.
In an automatic transmission, the driver is not required to change the gears while driving. According to Car and Driver, "An automatic transmission uses sensors that allow it to shift gears at the appropriate time by using the internal oil pressure."
Manual transmissions, often called "stick shifts," require the driver to engage the gears by hand using a hand gearshift and a clutch pedal. When the clutch is engaged, the output shaft of the drivetrain is disconnected from the input shaft.
This allows the driver to switch gears.
Why Americans prefer automatic transmissions
As reported by Reader's Digest, CarMax finds that nearly 96 percent of U.S. residents use automatic transmissions.
This is in contrast to the rest of the world, where manual transmissions are more common.
According to Statista, "In 2015, four out of ten light vehicles produced worldwide was equipped with manual transmission, while automatic cars represented around 34 percent of the global share."
Lauren Fix, aka the Car Coach, told Reader's Digest that Americans prefer automatics because they are more likely to be less focused on the road.
“Americans eat while they drive and they multitask while they drive,” Fix says. “Europeans do not.”
"[Europeans] pay attention to the road much more so than we do here in the United States,” Fix says. “I have been all over Europe and nobody’s on the phone while driving. Not even on speakerphone. They just don’t. That’s just not part of their culture.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Autoleader via Lemon8 comment and through a message via their @automobileleader TikTok account for further comment.
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