This news item made my day:
An attempted stickup was confounded by a car’s stick shift, when would-be carjackers failed to understand the mechanics behind a manual transmission.
It was two idiots with a gun, trying to carjack a man and make off with his 2002 Corvette — except that they couldn’t even get it started. Even after the owner tried to help! (Which I think really goes above and beyond the duty of a carjack victim.)
After laughing over this, it occurred to me what an American story this is. In Europe, automatic transmissions are still a luxury and most people don’t have them. The stick shift rules, even in car rentals. So I guess that’s one thing we’re safe from over here: American carjackers who can’t drive a stick.
Oregon Expat 
Ha! Excellent! 😀
Both the news and your comment… 😉
Now, now … I never learned to drive a stick, as I seem to lack the fundamental hand/eye/ear/foot coordination required. While that does disqualify me from a career as a carjacker (or valet), thankfully, I hope it does not qualify me as an idiot! >)
Nah, you’re only an idiot if you decide to steal cars at gunpoint without first acquiring the skill set necessary to DRIVE those cars.
Ah. Duly noted. No worries there, then. 😉
LOL really funny story 😀
But you made me thinking if an automatic transmission is uncommon in Europe because of ‘luxury’ or rather tradition. Because you see, I don’t want to have A/T car, even if it was for free :D. I tried it a few times, and no, thankyouverymuch! 😀 While here A/T cars are slightly more expensive than their manual counterparts, I think the difference is not big enough to determine your choice, especially when you can’t drive a stick ;). I remember that before 2009 crisis US used cars were about twice cheaper than the same European models, thus worth import. But after hearing that they all had A/T, many people resigned, seeing it as a serious flaw.
This story sure made me laugh, although it also got me thinking that if someone put me in a car with an automatic transmission, I’d probably be as confounded as those two carjackers, since I’ve never driven one. I’m sure that I would probably figure it out after a while, but I have a feeling that my left foot would keep trying to press the nonexistent clutch pedal.
Like M., I really can’t see myself ever choosing an AT car over a MT one. I love driving, and shifting gears is certainly a big part of what makes it so enjoyable for me.
M., I had not heard that about people rejecting the used American cars due to the A/T, but I can sure understand why. My wife and I looked into buying a hybrid car a few years back, and one of the main things that made us decide against it (besides the horrific cost) was the lack of a real gear shift. Like Carla, I want to change my own gears, thanks! It really is part of what makes driving enjoyable. There’s nothing quite like a perfect downshift from fifth to third when coming off a freeway exit…
That and your wife (aka me) looking like a moron when trying to drive one. There’s a certain left foot that doesn’t have to but keeps pressing on the floor mat.
Now, Maria, there’s not a car dealer alive that could make YOU look like a moron.
Beating a jerky rhythm you’re the only one to hear, perhaps, but never a moron. 😉
I can only drive an automatic myself – like Liz I lack the necessary co-ordination. Maybe automatics are a luxury in Europe, but I don’t think they are in the UK…
The A/T is very useful when you’re recovering from a left knee (or ankle) injury (or severe sprain) or surgery. Speaking from experience… 🙂
Now that’s true! Reminds me of the time I wiped out my left knee in a cycling accident and had to call in sick to work, not because I was sick, but because I couldn’t drive myself to the office (and in coastal Oregon, there’s no such thing as public transit).
That’s hilarious.
I recall a couple funnies…once, when working as a catering delivery driver (automatic tranny F250 van) I had to go to San Francisco to pick up the rental truck for commencement (24 foot box truck) because I was the only one on staff who could both drive a standard transmission and had a valid driver’s license. Another one: while working and driving a Chevy Caprice squad car (and my POV at the time was a small, standard tranny Ford pick-up) and patrolling in the middle of the night, I chose to make a sweeping (yet legal) U-turn to avoid going into the city of Eugene, and stay in the unincorporated area. It was about 0300, and as I am making this slow, sweeping U-turn across 4 lanes of traffic, I hit my pick-up’s stall speed, and jam in the clutch, causing the patrol car to stand on its nose (well, I exaggerate a little here) since it was actually a sudden and dramatic jam on of the brake.
While I do appreciate an automatic transmission in every car I now drive, I also could not fathom an automatic tranny on a motorcycle, although there are a couple out there. And attempted theft of manual transmission cars by those who can’t drive them is not uncommon. At least in Oregon.