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Auto enthusiast and TikTok user Jury Rigged Auto shared a great first date idea: teaching someone how to drive stick.
The TikToker’s video begins with him sitting in the passenger seat of a manual transmission car. Beside him in the driver’s seat is a woman, who seems a bit nervous. A text overlay in the clip reveals that the two people are on a date together. And their activity for their initial outing with one another is actually a lesson in driving dynamics. Particularly, how to appropriately operate a stick shift car.
In fact, Jury Rigged Auto (@juryriggedautov2) indicates as such in a text overlay of the social media post. “First date idea: teach her to drive stick shift,” the TikTok user writes. After putting the ride into gear, she hits the gas pedal, which causes the vehicle to jerk forward. She laughs, as the car begins to move up the road. “Well we’re going,” she tells him, continuing to laugh.
The man recording the video replies, “All right, down to second.” She follows instructions and pulls the stick down as the car continues to pick up speed. An additional caption for the clip provides further commentary on the woman’s foray into manual driving. “Even sent poor Jesus flying,” the post indicates.
Even sent poor Jesus flying ? #dateidea #manual #cartok #relationshipgoals #couple
Folks who replied to Jury Rigged Auto’s video seemed to enjoy the date idea. One person even shared their own amalgamation of romance and manual driving. “Me and my lady have been together for a year. And I’m still trying to teach her how to drive my 240D,” they penned.
This prompted worry from one another user on the application. “Is your clutch okay?” they asked. Fortunately, they said these manual driving tests didn’t put too much stress on the vehicle. “It’s doing fine,” they wrote.
Another person was more smitten with the fact that the car was a Chevrolet Cavalier equipped with a stick shift. Which Jury Rigger Auto confirmed in the comments section. However, this date idea didn’t seem like a swell time for everyone.
That’s because one commenter said that their ex-girlfriend became impatient while trying to learn how to properly shift. “My ex. I tried to teach her and she got so mad she got out and walked home,” they said.
While manual transmissions are still popular in many parts of the world, the US is a different story. There are even folks who argue that stick shifts are inherent anti-theft devices. As the business Advanced Transmission Center writes: “Manual transmissions deter car theft because thieves can’t drive them. And their decreasing familiarity among younger people may reduce theft,” a blog post from the company states.
Of course, if a thief gets into your car and they know how to drive stick that’s a different story. But the odds of this happening is statistically much less likely than something just hopping into an automatic and putting it into drive.
This is largely due to what is almost a complete disappearance of new manual transmission car sales. Reader’s Digest reports that “just 1.83%” of new cars purchased in early 2025 were stick shift vehicles. Conversely, some 45 years prior, in 1980, 35% of all cars bought by consumers were manual.
CarFax compiled a list of all the new vehicles that come with a manual transmission option. And it’s a paltry number compared to the slew of automatic, ICE counterparts, and even all-electric vehicles. Here they are:
CarFax also pointed out that Mini dropped manual options for its Cooper. Jeep’s Gladiator doesn’t come with a manual option for its newest iteration. And the Volkswagen Golf GTI has also ditched stick shift, which may seem like blasphemy to hot hatch lovers. Of course, you could always pick up a used one if you enjoy manually shifting gears.
If you’re someone who loves driving stick shift, it’s probably going to take a lot to convince you to drive an automatic ride. But if you’re not and are thinking of going the manual route, there are some benefits to doing so. Edmunds compiled a list of pros and cons for manual driving. Furthermore, the blog post from the car buying resource also addressed some myths that are appended to modern manual cars.
The first being that they almost always achieve better fuel economy ratings. While this was true for older vehicles, advancements in automatic transmission technology indicate in some instances, the opposite is actually true.
Older models used to sell manual variants of similar models at a lower overall cost. However, due to the lack of popularity among consumers when it comes to stick shift cars, that’s no longer true either. But, Edmunds did go on to list some advantages that are difficult to deny.
Manuals can offer a more engaging driving experience, allowing those behind the way to up/down shift whenever they want. Moreover, transmission repairs can also cost much, much less. This is due to the fact that stick shift units aren’t as complexly designed. Fewer complications result in a smaller repair bill, most of the time.
And if you’re thinking about resale value, if you rock a manual transmission sports car, you might get more for it in the long run. On the flip side, learning a manual can take some time. And if you live in an area with a lot of hills or stop and go traffic, constantly shifting can get tiresome. Not to mention avoiding your car from stalling out when traveling up a steep gradient. And then, of course, there’s a more limited selection of new vehicles that come with manual transmissions.
MotorBiscuit reached out to Jury Rigged Auto via TikTok comment for further information.
Mustafa Gatollari is a MotorBiscuit Contributing Writer focused on practical buying advice for everyday drivers. He helps readers find reliable cars that won’t break the bank or leave them stranded, treating vehicles as a key part of daily life. Based in Northern New Jersey, Mustafa holds an MFA from Rutgers University–Newark. When he’s not writing about cars or viral media, he explores the paranormal through “Haunted Discoveries,” a series he created with his A&E “Ghost Hunters” colleague Brandon Alvis, and co-wrote Elements of a Haunting, published by Llewellyn Worldwide.
