Learn to Drive a Stick-Shift

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As a car guy, I was determined to make my kids gearheads. The day my son told me he didn’t want to drive a stick-shift broke my fuel-injector. Knowing how to drive standard can open up a world of experiences.

It was pre-determined than my son Daniel would get a Subaru. The AWD is ideal for Canadian winters, and those cars can easily be modified. Perfect for a young hot-rodder. The selection was narrowed down to WRX from 2002 to 2007; Bugeye, Blobeye or Hawkeye.

A 2005 WRX popped up on Auto Trader with less than 200K and deep purple paint. While flipping through pics, my son commented that it was a 5-speed, so ‘forget it‘. I was shocked! What 16 year old wouldn’t want a manual gearbox? That’s half the fun of driving! He laughed, and snarked at how old fashioned a stick-shift is. Said that next we’d be looking for an old-timey car with a hand crank, and acted it out.

A few months later, he bought a Subaru WRX Bugeye in iconic World Rally Blue, with a 2.0 turbocharged engine backed by a four-speed automatic. I thought it was the wrong decision, but it was his car.

When Daniel moved up to Formula 1200 big shocker all the cars had H-patter manual transmissions. It turned out the young driver would have to learn to drive a stick shift after all. We went on Turo (like the Airbnb of rental cars) and found a $19/day Toyota Yaris with a 5-speed and a slipping clutch. We spent three days learning the basics of engaging the clutch, then on to more advanced techniques like rev-matching downshifts.

In the years since, Daniel has become a pro at driving stick, and it has given him the opportunity to drive race cars from open-wheelers to stock-cars.

Back in 2020, he got the chance of a lifetime to drive a NASCAR Pinty’s Series car owned by Anthony Simone at New Speed Motorsports. After that, it was three seasons in a Formula 1200 with Vallis Motor Sport. Every one of these racing machines has a manual gearbox, and Daniel would never had the chance to drive them without learning this skill.

If you ask Daniel, he’ll tell you that he only wanted an automatic for his daily-driver. It’s such a chore to clutch-in and clutch-out in bumper to bumper Toronto traffic. And he did learn the skill quite quickly when given the chance in that lowly Toyota.

Bottom line, driving stick shift is a life skill that every motorist should have, and it has opened up so many opportunities for Daniel which he might not have otherwise experienced.

~ Chris #16 Demaras ~

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