Nevertheless, says Fix, you can still improve your gas mileage using a stick-if you know what you’re doing. The EPA says this is generally no longer the case, but some testing found better fuel economy on some (though not all) manuals. It used to be generally accepted that manual-transmission cars got better gas mileage than automatics. Fix found the same, looking at several top-selling new manual-transmission cars and seeing list prices at least $1,000 cheaper than their automatic counterparts. When you’re buying a new car, one with a manual transmission may cost less-as much as $1,200 less, according to one report. “There should be no car on the road today that you can’t drive,” says Fix. Say you’re out with a friend in a manual-transmission car, and an emergency requires you to drive it-what then? Also, you may find yourself on vacation overseas, where manual transmissions are far more common. You never know when you might need to drive a stick. “You get the control, the enjoyment and the freedom. “It unlocks an entirely new world of driving,” says Fix, who likens the releasing of the clutch and the pushing of the gas pedal to a dance. With a manual transmission, you’re the one shifting into a higher gear-exactly when you want to-instead of relying on your car to do it for you. But Fix notes that there are some compelling reasons to learn this skill and once you do, you may never want to go back. But learning how to drive stick is easier than you might think, says auto expert Lauren Fix, the “Car Coach.” True, it does take some practice to find the sweet spot between pushing down on the gas pedal and easing up on the clutch as you shift gears. After all, an automatic transmission does the work of shifting gears for you as you speed up or slow down. are made with a manual transmission, according to the Environmental Protection Agency-a number down from nearly 35 percent in 1980. Today, less than 3 percent of new cars and trucks in the U.S. “Why should I bother learning to drive stick?”
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