[Tenhundfeld]

I drive automatic now, but I miss stick sometimes. One of our family cars was a manual when I was a teen, 20 years ago.

I feel driving manual encourages a deeper focus on the road ahead and deeper connection with how your vehicle operates. You tend to plan ahead a bit more, be more aware of hills and curves, cars slowing down ahead, etc. – anything that'll make you need to switch gears. You could still have distracted driving, especially on highways, but driving stick lessens it, I think, though I have zero evidence to support that feeling.

[jelliclesfarm]

Is it easy to switch from manual to automatic ..on an everyday basis...or is it like muscle memory?

[Tenhundfeld]

Very easy to switch, in my experience. It is like muscle memory. It might take a few weeks to get comfortable with manual, but once you do, it doesn't require much thought to switch gears.

It's a sequence that just happens, similar to typing. You still need to think about what you're saying, etc., but you don't have to consciously think, "now I'm typing an S."

[ksaj]

This is a splendid analogy.

I ride a motorcycle. In the motorcycle version of Driver's Ed, they taught us to simply think of changing gears as the same motions you'd make to wring out a wet cloth. Thinking that way automatically improves the timing and flow.

Once you've practiced enough, you simply stop thinking about any part of the gear changing steps. You don't even need the speedometer or tachometer when gearing up or down anymore because you already know how it sounds and feels. It becomes a subconscious process.

But that initial visualization of wringing out a washcloth makes it really easy to figure out. Soon enough, you have muscle memory and don't have to think about it - you just do it.