certainly some truth to that. But I still think there is some merit in being fluent driving stick in hectic places. it makes drivers far more aware of traffic as there is more planning involved. such as you need to think a few more steps ahead and watchtraffic ahead of you. Probably more relevant in bigger trucks and other more troublesome machinery, but cars too . All my friends that drive machinery are relatively great drivers. just the rushed ones hopped up on stimulants are shit, though they do have actual skill (their ego just over rides said logic). not all, but most, of my friends that drive auto since birth tend to be quite lacking in the logic and preparation department. Is there anything worse on 4 wheels than a Nissan March driver in Taiwan ?
In my selfish perfect world, people should be forced to learn on stick, then go autopilot. and future testing should also always be with stick, just as a double check. People need to.master the machinery, then master the psychology of society then master reaction times via exercising their reflexes.
Another unpopular selfish opinion of mine is licenses shouldn’t just be renewed every 5 years, but people should be fully retested every 5. But I digress.
I had a March beater here that was awesome. It leaked/burnt lots of oil and the coolant was rust colored but it never broke down and took all my abuse happily. Got it for 50K and sold it for 50K. I drove it when I went out late and worried about finding parking for a bigger car. I could squeeze it into tiny places.
It looks like they don’t sell it here anymore but I remember it was so close to a Polo to make it laughable and that the upgrades were safety related to meet standards in other markets.
Thanks for all the input so far. I guess I should have mentioned straight off the bat that I’d only be using the car 2-3 times per week, but the drive is from Taoyuan to Taipei and back. So while in Taipei it will be a lot of traffic, majority of the ride is on the highway. I’ve driven both auto and manual. Like many have already said, manual requires more thinking ahead and engagement with the car versus automatic. I actually started learning to drive auto, then learned manual, and up until recently have been driving manual daily (in North America).
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You want to have your eyes scanning constantly for red traffic lights, scooters, pedestrians, cyclists, road works, street vendors, blue trucks. This is just a few things.
I don’t understand. When I shift gears I never take my eyes off the road.
Indeed, they are great because they are all beaters and no need to care about them lol.