Some would argue that car lovers are born and not made, but today I proved the latter. I just returned from a 19 hour drive from St. Louis ( to Boston ) to pic up my Z. It was my second Z, but first 6 speed ... well honestly my first MT ever. I had long debated over whether or not to learn on a Z, but i'm finding she is being VERY forgiving. I've always been a computer guy and totally ignorant to the automotive world. My new aquisition has inspired a new found desire to "get under the hood" if you will. While I still feel a little funny not driving her the way she should be driven I know it will come in time.

So if anyone is reading this debating whether or not to go AT or MT due to lack of experience .... then please take the leap! you only live once and trust me its a whole lot better doing it in 6 speeds !

BTW - Be warned your Z will bring more attention that you want at times. I received my first speeding ticket during the drive. I was charged with going 72 in a 60. Jealousy I think - HAHA

 

Congratulations.

I have mentioned to potential buyers time and time again that the manual transmission-clutch combination is very forgiving. Enjoy the ride.

 

forgiving my ****! you must have a 06 cause 03-05's are some of the hardest MT's to learn on. i hate the high engagement on our cars, it pisses me off. i drove my buddy's miata to get use to an mt before buying my Z. got it moving without stalling on the first try. i stalled a few times but after 5 minutes it was smooth sailing. the Z on the other gave me fits. i cant wait to get a jwt clutch with a lower engagement point in the future. with all that said, mt's are hella fun to drive. i cant believe i drove at's for so long.

 

Question to the younger guys here - isn't driving a stick part of driver's ed classes any more?

I know I must be really out of it. I learned to drive stick when I was 16, had to for my d.e. class, wouldn't have passed without this basic knowledge.

Then I *really* learned when I was 18 and my step-father taught me the finer points of how to do it well. (Poor guy, I definitely crunched the gears on his car a few times!) When I started buying my own cars at age 22, I owned nothing but manuals for more than 20 years, finally going to AT when I lived in a very congested city that made MTs a nuisance.

So, when you learn to drive today, you don't have to learn MTs anymore? Seems like such a basic life skill, but I guess with MTs being such a small part of the market it's not as essential as it used to be.

 

My school didnt offer a drivers ed, and i graduated in 03 from north torrance....SAXON PRIDE!!!!!!!

 

But did you have to take some sort of driving class, privately or whatever, or did you just read the laws and take the driving test and get your license, no classes required?

 

I agree with you regarding the 'high engagement' of the '03 models. Since this was my first MT I didnt know that was good or bad, just thought it was a pain ! So much so that i mentioned it to my friend and he explained the term and its use. The upside was it forced me to really concentrate when changing gears. I WILL be looking for something with a lower engagement point once I know what that is - HAHAHA

Take care guys !

 

For the drivers ed - back in 95 at my HS we were taught on automatic chevy's. Boring, vanilla, and a lot less for the instructors to be scared of with a bunch of kids learning to drive. It never even crossed my mind that they'd teach that. Left that up to dad and grandpa to teach me.

 

Congratz!

 

no ha drivers ed had us driving an automatic focus and never even once mentioned a manual or even talked about how to drive a manual its sorta sad that they have completely forsaken it. Im 18 so i took drivers ed close to 4 years ago (14 and 9 months). I know how to drive a manual but still got an auto Z couldnt beat the price.