(05-27-2009 08:11 AM)emmiesix Wrote: This is definitely way-OT, but I know we have a bunch of long-time H-town dwellers around here, so thought I'd ask for your help.
I'm going to Italy for 3 weeks in a month, and it's looking like I may need to rent a car there. I know they *have* automatics, but they're much, much, more expensive than standards. Also, I have long considered it a necessary skill to drive a manual, and have just put off learning it (asside from a couple attempts in high school, long long ago).
I am looking for a driving school in Houston that would teach manual, but every one I've called does automatic-only.
I guess if you guys are aware of any places in the Houston area that would teach real driving, I would appreciate the tip... or if anyone knows a poor student that might want to earn $50 for a couple hours of practice with their car (technically I learned once already)...
Emmie:
I agree with most of what is said here, including:
- Manual driving is cool and worth learning.
- It's pretty easy on flat roads, but hills are a special issue (not while you're moving, but starting while on an incline is tricky).
- Driving in Italy is something else altogether: very narrow roads, unfamiliar direction signage, and reputedly some of the craziest drivers on earth.
Given all that: I don't want to discourage you, but I would strongly suggest that you divide "learning to drive a manual" and "sightseeing in Italy" into two separate projects.
I have been driving a standard for ten years, and I love it. But when on vacation in the British countryside last year, I got an automatic just so I wouldn't have a major new thing to worry about, in addition to the regular unfamiliarity of driving on unfamiliar roads. (In my case, the "new" thing would have been driving on the right with the stick on the left, which is a little different from manual transmission generally...)
As for learning to drive a manual: garden-variety Japanese cars (Honda Civic et al) tend to have transmissions that are pretty easy to deal with and forgiving -- good ones to learn on.