give_it_all_

I used my brother in laws old Cavalier to learn stick in and only stalled once so it was good The dealership wouldn't let me take out a standard car though for the fear that I would break it...

Coors

I learned on a stick via my parents 1984 Sunbird Wagon. 4 Speed Manual FTL!

Xavipheus

hahah i feel better now knowing im not the only one who sucked at it. I'm gonna try and get my friends kia or Hyundia elantra w/e it is and practice on that

seoulgirl7

haha, i learned on a saturn, the guy i bought it from i think felt sorry for me , so he taught me...ive been driving a stick since 99....that being said, my last car was a manual corolla!....when i test drove the cobalt, i stalled at first a few times too...lots different, but when i got the groove of it , and of course, out of first, it was awesome!!

blacksssc05

well my first was this car...but i learned on my friends 2.2 cobalt and mastered it within 10 mins of driving.....then i bought my ss...what a bitch the first month i had it.....now its all god in the hood lol

TCarter

every time you get into a vehicle youve never driven before, its like learning all over again. each clutch in each car is different....


Im no pro by any means when it comes to driving a stick, the first few minutes, i get a feel for it, (i dont stall em, just a little jerky), but by the end of my 2 mile test drive, i can get away with it.

i preffer an auto, but sticks are nice as well.

JimHarr18

thought this was a good thread to have my first post.

yeah, when i test drove my '06 ss/sc, it was.... a little interesting. i drove a stick for the first time a few days before my test drive, i needed a new car, wanted the cobalt, so a buddy at work took me out in his xb. i did pretty well overall, obviously stalled a couple times. so when i went for the test drive, i got in the driver seat, the sales guy (who was new at the dealer, which is probably why i got away with it) asked if i've driven stick before, which i said 'yes' because... i had! well, i took it for a spin in the parking lot after about... 3 stalls. then he mentioned how it rides on the highway. yup, went on the highway, turned around, came back, did my best to not stop so i didn't have to worry about stalling, which went great until i had to turn back into the dealership.

best part of this though. i did my test drive on a saturday, picked the car up on monday. so, me and my gf are in the car, and a couple people from the dealership come out, say congrates and enjoy and whatnot. they back up, i turn to my gf and say i can't look like a fool now. stall. okay, try this again haha, here we go, stall. third time, i say screw it, gunned it dropped the clutch, and we took off!

but yeah, stick takes a little time getting used to, but its not bad. i'm still pretty rough with my car, for some reason i had to reteach myself how to use the clutch over the last month, when i've had the car a year. dunno why. lol. first gear kind of sucks, but once you get the power in 2nd, and especially 3rd, you don't want to let up even though 80 is coming up VERY fast!

Schultzay

so true, I learned on my brother in law's 02 hyundai elantra in fear of killing my cobalt when i got it. so basically mastered it after like a week of driving his car. then when my cobalt was ready at the dealership went in and stalled it twice in the parking lot of the dealership haha. the sweet spot was so much closer to the top in the cobalt where in his hyundai it was basically on the ground. Took me like another week to be able to drive my cobalt without stalling once in a while. And i don't even have a sc its a NA

Cirrus

Xavi check your PMs

Welcome! Good job on stalling infront of the entire dealership

KADSATX

You'll enjoy it even more during rush hour trfc

light'bolt

Don't let it bother you, it all takes time and practice. I learned on a stick and always bought a stick. Autos were never any fun.

When I test drove the ss/sc I granny shifted for a couple of stop signs before he took us to the main road. When we came to the stop light and a little bit of open 60 mph road, the salesman said "go ahead feel the 0-60."

Not wanting to high rpm and dump the clutch I just gave a little chirp then went WOT to third, I look down and I'm doin' 80, oops..... I thought heard the salesman say "whoa...I never knew it felt like that." He may have just been buttering me up for the sale.

Needless to say, driving sticks are fun, and this car is definatly fun.

Zivnuska

I bought the SS/SC specifically to teach my kids how to drive stick. My son (14) got the hang of it in two lessons. Rev matching downshifts took several more tries. Granted, he wasn't a pro for a while but the Cobalt is pretty easy to learn as long as you stay on level ground. Hills are tough for newbees.

The key is to practice starts with NO throttle for a while to get a feel for the clutch. This must be done on wide open, level pavement. If you train your left foot first, subsequent efforts have a chance to succeed. Expect to stall it many times at first.

Heel and toe will have to wait till he is 16 and has lots of time in it solo.

zomghax

rofl

Aggressive Girl is Aggressive!

(pic somewhat related)