Car to teach SWMBO to drive stick...

Yes, like far too many of her (and honestly, mine...) contemporaries, SWMBO can't drive anything with a third pedal that isn't labelled 'parking brake'. For the most part this and not been an issue, but it's slowly become one as we've tried to find what is realistically the first 'our' car- a cheap, fun summer convertible/T-top car.

I'd simply been discounting anything with a manual transmission in my searches, but after our plans to go and pick up a Mustang she liked today went completely down the tubes she for the first time sat down with me as I ran a CL search for convertibles in our price range- but hadn't specified 'auto only'. Surprisingly almost half of the cars she went, "Oooh, that's cute!" at were ones that I didn't even have to open the listing to know was almost certainly a stick (MGB, Fiat spider, Triumph Spitfire...).

So, I've decided it's time to finally get her to learn to drive a manual. The problem now is- what to teach her on?

We presently have one manual-transmission car- the DeLorean. And she's flatly said she refuses to learn in it both for fear of damaging it and that she doesn't think she will be able to see out the windshield and reach the pedals at the same time. The latter is not true- but she does have skmethkng of a point otherwise, I'm in no hurry to have to pull the engine and replace the clutch again.

So, that means using another car. The options I've come up with so far are:

1. Buy the cheapest running and road-safe & legal 5-speed beater I can find, teach her on that, and then sell it for as much as I can recoup.
2. Buy something that fits the bill of what we want for a summer car- like a cheap 5-speed Miata that she can learn on and then we can drive for a while after.
3. Try and borrow/rent a beater stick shift from someone for a month or so for her to learn on.

Thoughts?

(Note: options 1 & 2 might also do double-duty as a Challenge car if I'm feeling ambitious...)

You need an engine with some torques. A pickup with more than 4 cylinders comes to mind, something like a 4.3 S10 would fit #1 well. Maybe a soft top Jeep for #2.

Anything cheap I'd say. My hyundai accent is about the easiest thing to drive ever. Of course so is a miata so that's also a great choice and meets your convertible requirement. The aforementioned jeep is also a good suggestion. I've driven a 4 cylinder one it was also easy.

My beater 300 ci F150 takes a little more finesse...I wouldn't want to teach my wife on something like that.

How about a Honda del sol? Easy to find in manual, not to expensive, reliable, easy to drive and fun, aero top, good aftermarket.... Otherwise a miata is calling.

I've taught a couple of women to drive a manual, passably at least, with 4x4's with a low range transfer case on a dirt road.

They're all but impossible to stall in 4-low. Once they get used to HOW it has to happen, you can switch to 4-high.

Either way, a dirt road gets rid of the screech and chirp of the tires when she messes up and doesn't kill the car as fast either.

(Works for males that can't yet drive manual)

cheap, durable, and safe? I would suggest a manual Volvo 850. They are out there, I had one. Nobody wants them. The people who buy non-sports Volvos do not want manual transmissions, so they languish on lots and CL hoping to find a buyer.

With the big 5 cylinder, decently precise transmission, legendary Volvo safety, and being the last "true" Volvo before Ford took over, they can take a beating

I taught mine in a supercharged Mini. Plenty of torques to get you out of a jam, forgiving clutch, but not wicked fast so if she panic dumps like my wife is prone to- it won't attempt to kill her.

The ford ecoboost challenge had cars and instructors that were free and would teach someone to drive stick.

I learned on a 3.8 Camaro (96-02). Plenty of torque, easy hydraulic clutch, and cheap cheap buy in. Get one with T-Tops if you need that open air feel.

I've taught a few on my winter-beater Saturn SL, and loaned it out to a few parents who wanted to teach their kids. Can be had sub 2K all day long, can be sold a few weeks later for about the same money. Seems to have a decently robust clutch and extremely long throws between gears (helps avoid a mis-shift). For a 4 banger, it actually has decent torque (mine's a single cam) but wheezes out after about 4K rpms, so lots of shifting (i. e. practice) is required. If you're thinking of keeping it, buy a wagon for the crap hauling utility. A surprising number are sticks, too.

I'd recommend option 1 or 3. Locally, we have some beater car lots that also rent out the cars they have for sale (this may be a local oddity), might be worth calling them to see if they have a manual you can rent for a week.

BTW - according to my dad, trying to teach SWMBO to drive a stick is one of the dumbest things any man can do. You might want to find a friend to do the instructing. This actually started one of the first big fights my wife and I had after we were married. Small hint: If you chose to instruct, "Are you trying to ruin the transmission?" is ALWAYS the wrong thing to say.

when I taught my last g/f to drive a stick.. I started with my shifting and her just using the clutch. Once she was proficient in getting smooth starts, stops, and even a few really good shifts in, I let her work both the clutch and the shifter.

I've always thought the original VW Beetle was the easiest car to learn in.

mad_machine wrote: when I taught my last g/f to drive a stick.. I started with my shifting and her just using the clutch. Once she was proficient in getting smooth starts, stops, and even a few really good shifts in, I let her work both the clutch and the shifter.

I prefer letting the ladies get proficient at the stick first, and if they're really good, add the feet in later....

Start out with clutch operation only, no throttle, just ease clutch out until car starts to move then push in. Do this in low and reverse. Driver needs to develop sense of control to be comfortable. Next have them move car 5-10 feet and coast to stop. Again in low and reverse and no throttle. Once they are comfortable with this, move on to further and slightly faster, practicing disengaging clutch and using the brakes. Next comes the shifting. Large parking lot, no distractions, cell phone off and only you and driver. I had to teach in coming auto tech students to drive manual every year for over 30 years. Don't forget about starting out on a hill after all of the above and lots of practice. Clutch and car won't suffer much abuse if you take time and are patient.

If your looking for a Miata and she needs to learn stick, and who doesn't want a manual Miata?!?!? Then buy that. Don't buy a vehicle that has to be sold later and maybe you lose money. Buy Miata. Teach swmbo. Install new clutch. Win at life.

outasite wrote: Start out with clutch operation only, no throttle, just ease clutch out until car starts to move then push in. Do this in low and reverse. Driver needs to develop sense of control to be comfortable. Next have them move car 5-10 feet and coast to stop. Again in low and reverse and no throttle. Once they are comfortable with this, move on to further and slightly faster, practicing disengaging clutch and using the brakes. Next comes the shifting. Large parking lot, no distractions, cell phone off and only you and driver. I had to teach in coming auto tech students to drive manual every year for over 30 years. Don't forget about starting out on a hill after all of the above and lots of practice. Clutch and car won't suffer much abuse if you take time and are patient.

+1 to this. I've taught several people, including my wife, using that very method and it works well. My wife learned in a 96 Legacy wagon with a clutch that was already about worn out and it didn't really make it any worse. If you're worried about it, just find anything that you can turn around and sell for what you paid for it. Or, if you're looking at something that is RWD, just get what you're looking for, teach on it, and if you need to do a clutch afterwards (but you won't), it won't be that hard.

Did you see the $1200 miata I posted yesterday? Buy that. Buy that right now and teach her how to drive in it. If the joy of teaching your wife is likely to cause fights I can teach her and you can stay in her good graces. I've taught a lot of people to drive a stick in the past and the Miata might be the easiest car in the world to drive.

Any old car will do, just find something with a reasonably light clutch and a not-too sloppy shifter and go for it. I understand the impulse to teach someone in a high-torque car, or in low-range, but it's really not necessary, a 1.6 Miata will do just fine. The mechanics, i.e., you're gonna have to add some throttle, are the same for high torque and low torque cars, it doesn't matter that much to the learner if it's 15% throttle, not 5%. Caveat: I'm not saying teach her in an AP1 Honda S2000 with a racing clutch, just that you don't need any special type of car to do it.

As far as the "how," there is some good advice on here for that (outasite, I'm looking at you), the only thing I would add is that it can sometimes be helpful to give a rudimentary explanation of what the clutch does. For some people it helps them understand what they're trying to do if they know that this pedal breaks the coupling between the spinning shaft from the engine and the spinning shaft that makes the wheels turn.

TL;DR: Don't worry about torques, buy a Miata, have a good time.

my recomendation is just keep an eye on it once shes moving. i taught my wife in an NA 4 cylinder mustang that i was turbo swapping so i wasnt worried if she hurt it. she caught onto pulling away quick but she almost killed us looking down at the shifter to put the car in 5th

I learned in a diesel pickup. It is similar to the 4 low suggestion because it won't easily stall. That's good because you can learn the process without the frustration of constantly stalling when getting going. After she gets that down learning the little four bangers will be easy.

ebonyandivory wrote: I've taught a couple of women to drive a manual, passably at least, with 4x4's with a low range transfer case on a dirt road. They're all but impossible to stall in 4-low. Once they get used to HOW it has to happen, you can switch to 4-high. Either way, a dirt road gets rid of the screech and chirp of the tires when she messes up and doesn't kill the car as fast either. (Works for males that can't yet drive manual)

I taught my sister that way.

ShadowSix wrote: TL;DR: Don't worry about torques, buy a Miata, have a good time.

I have taught many to drive manual trans in my '90 Miata.
Just ealier this month, I taught my 17 yr old nephew. We put on about 75 miles in the first outing!

My method is to teach them the "grab point". The point when the clutch grabs and the car starts to move.
We started in the empty parking lot of the local community college on a Sunday. The Miata is light enough that the by releasing the clutch, the car will move without throttle.

This is the first lesson. Nearly 1 hour of low speed work. The main exercise is to get the car moving without using any gas peddle. Sure, they will stall may times initially but this will not hurt the car.
Once you have down the feel for the grab point and can launch the car, they have learned the #1 basic.

In my teaching I also present the logic of what is happening in layman's terms.
You have the engine on (so engine is turning) but the trans/wheels are stationary (not turning.)
It is the job of the driver, with the clutch, to make a smooth introduction of the moving and the non moving.

If you pull out the clutch too abruptly, the non moving tires will win and you will have a non moving engine (stalled).
If you rev the engine real high, the fast moving engine will win and the non moving tires will abruptly move (peel out).
Practice both methods/examples.
Following this logic, as you come to a stop, the clutch must be pushed in (to separate the engine from the trans) so that the engine can still run, even though the wheels are not moving.

By finding the grab point, and knowing where and what the grab point feels like, easy, smooth launches can be done.
Once moving (now with moving engine and moving trans/wheels) it is about impossible to stall the car. What needs to be worked on from here is just the smoothness of the introductions to the next gear. This is just assuring that you are off the gas between shifts and back on the gas smoothly.

I too subscribe the advise of never teach how to drive a manual trans to anyone you sleep with. For this reason, I taught a buddies wife (then girlfriend) how to.
I would be happy to teach yours too. Head up my town, Sandusky, Ohio for a weekend and I will put 3 hours into teaching her. I guarantee she will come away with perfect ability.

Sandusky, OH; Lake Erie:
Also home of the #1 Roller Coaster Amusement Park in the World.
Americas Largest Indoor Waterpark
If that is not enough and your amusements are more adult in nature, We also have South Bass Island and the Village of Put-in-Bay; often referred to a Disneyland for Alcoholics.

Someone recommended DelSol. I had the similar '95 Civic EX and found it to be one of the more difficult clutches I have driven. The car had such little torque and low rev that it was near impossible to launch w/o using the gas pedal.

Came here to say miata. Forget the v6 mustang you both want and NEED a miata, It's the answer after all...I have taught 4 or 5 teenaged girls to drive a manual in a miata, they are very easy for new drivers to get comfortable with and theres no convertible car as fun as a miata.

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions! I have a bit of experience teaching how to drive stick and am pretty confident in being able to do so without either of us wanting to kill each other. Honestly, I really wish I I'd taught her when I still had my old SL2- it's what I taught my brother on, and its clutch was very forgiving such that you could fairly easily get it going without any gas.

The $1200 NB nearby is very, very tempting. There's also this- if the clutch isn't too bad it's something I'm about 90% certain will tickle her fancy style-wise: http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/5117182218.html.

Whatever I do, I want to do it soon- we live right next to a High School with large parking lots perfect for practicing, so doing this while school is still out would be best.