I was sent to the Toyota dealer (as part of my job) and saw some cars I admire. Normally I don't care to look at any of the vehicles on display. But this time there were three cars on the showroom floor and all three caught my attention: 5th gen Toyota Prius Toyota GR86 (stick shift) Toyota GR Corolla (stick shift) They are about the only new cars that say, "buy me." But I'll never own one. However, it was nice to actually be able to see them in person. It gave me something to look at while I waited for the service to be done on the vehicle I had brought in (2024 Sienna). If I were told I could just take any one of them for free it would be a tough decision; but probably would go with the GR Corolla. I'll never own any of them. They're just too expensive and either will stay too expensive or likely be abused, or both, so will never be considered on my list of used cars I'd buy. But I guess it's nice to daydream from time to time.
Love manual tranny. However, I learned certain personal issues may make shifting difficult. Had to join the ranks of auto transmissions. Miss working the clutch on back country dirt. Just something to consider, esp. If you are a "bit older." Also selections of manuals are very limited. Saw only five percent of US drivers work a clutch. My father ONLY taught us on our old five-speed Toyota. I thank him for that foresight. kris
The sadder thing is that as a truck driver, I'd lose my job if I couldn't double clutch a manual. My dad taught me to drive in his 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook with a manual 3-speed column shift, aka. "three on the tree."
An old boyfriend had, I believe, an REO Speedwagon, I think was three on the tree. Pretty simple. Working various backcountry jobs in my late teens/early 20s, it was a blessing/curse as so many others were lost with a clutch. My last job, my rig was a gear grinding pickup. kris.
Great REO history, thanks for posting, but now making me think boyfriend John's rig was something other than REO. kris
Your humble reporter mostly attends to how 'science' is affected by interpersonal conflicts. Some of those, dang. Yet it seems to happen all over the damn shop.
Last I heard he was involved in gold mining in Elko, NV and had married a Basque woman. That should help. kris BTW, how'd this get turned away from the OP and Corollas?
It's all good. Thanks for sharing a bit of your story. Or John's story. He drove something with a stick shift. Not that automatics are terrible. But some of us (me) find modern cars rather boring. There are only a few that tickle my fancy, at least a little bit.
