Hooniverse Asks- What's the Worst Manual Transmission Mechanism You've Ever Experienced?

Robert Emslie

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stick shift

Much the way Jeremy Clarkson avers that one cannot be a true car enthusiast until one has owned an Alfa Romeo, many of us think that to be a true believer you need to know how to drive stick. The thing of it is, not all sticks are created equal. And some are even less equal than others.

Take for example my very first car ever- a 1961 Chevrolet Corvair 700 turtle top sedan in a lovely shade of metallic merlot. That beauty offered a three speed manual transmission, which was actuated via a ball-topped arcing stick that was as vague as a Sunday morning politician. Add to that a mechanism so worn that the downward throws required burying the knob in the seat upholstery to grab a gear, and you can imagine this Chevy wasn’t the thing of enthusiast’s dreams.

I am also not a fan of the Gumby arm that passes as the latest Mazda Speed 3’s shifter. That car required a seeing eye dog to find a gear, and more than once I found myself going down when I wanted to go up. But enough about me, let’s talk about you. You can drive stick, right? And you’ve probably seen your share of great (MX5, Scion BR-Z would be on my list), and gawd awful (don’t get me started on the Lotus Europa I once fought against) gear mechanisms. What of those, in your experience, has been the worst manual transmission shifter you’ve ever used?

Image source: Chaka’s World

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Robert Emslie

Robert Emslie

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131 responses to “Hooniverse Asks- What's the Worst Manual Transmission Mechanism You've Ever Experienced?”

  1. Pete_Gaines Avatar
    Pete_Gaines

    The shifter on the '93 Grand Am GT I had in college was atrocious. It had that horrible '80s/'90s GM shifter that was like a flat piece of metal underneath the vinyl cover, if anyone else knows what I'm talking about. I'm glad that car only lasted me a year – and at the time it was only 6 years old, for crying out loud.

    Reply
    1. POLAЯ Avatar
      POLAЯ

      Greetings and salutations Mr. Gaines.

      Reply
  2. eggsalad Avatar
    eggsalad

    I had a '79 Chevy half-ton with a straight 6/3-on-the-tree that was horrible. Then again, it was almost 20 years old when I bought it. I cut a hole in the floor and put in a floor shift, and all was well.

    Reply
  3. Alcology Avatar
    Alcology

    Some F-series dumptruck I used to drive for a job. Had to pop it in to certain gears, seemingly variable on the time of day. Sometimes you just had to give up and try the next gear up. I did teach a coworker to drive stick on it though. She had that truck jumping for a good 100 feet once! That truck really wanted to be a bird.

    Reply
  4. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
    FuzzyPlushroom

    This is my 244's shifter.
    [youtube DdCWOqGDWcM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdCWOqGDWcM youtube]
    The bushings are shot, and the mechanic who replaced the clutch misaligned the reverse lockout, so until I sort it out, I have to pull up the reverse engagement collar to get first and second, and the reverse lights come on whenever they feel like it… sometimes with the car in neutral.
    The only other stick shifts I've driven, though, were my 850, a New Beetle, and a fifth-generation Civic, so it's not like I have any '78-F100-three-speed level horrors to share.

    Reply
    1. FrankTheCat Avatar
      FrankTheCat

      I was going to say my friend's 240 sedan (that he bought for $300 out of a farmer's field) for the same reason; shift bushings had disintegrated into pudding. I just pointed the shifter toward where I thought the gear might be, and sometimes it'd magically be correct. I still want one, though.

      Reply
      1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
        FuzzyPlushroom

        Oh, you definitely shouldn't knock it for that. I've rowed a few other RWD Volvo manuals… all of them in disabled cars, I admit… and enjoyed it. Mind you, I enjoyed my 850 more, but the 850 was otherwise a basket case.
        Seriously, though, the M46/M47 manual are pretty good at guessing the gear you want. Usually. (My 244, a '93, cost me said 850, which was rustier than any 850 I've ever seen, had no brakes, and – as far as I could tell – needed a head gasket sooner or later.)

        Reply
  5. Alff Avatar
    Alff

    At 16 I took a job delivering windows in a very tired old Ford F650 stakebed. You needed a map and a compass to find the gears on an upshift, and the truck was so underpowered that the window of opportunity had likely closed once you got there.

    Reply
  6. nate99 Avatar
    nate99

    My brother once owned a 1971 Ford Bronco with a 3 on the tree. Owing to its advanced age, every bushing and joint in the linkages from the steering column to the transmission had Harbor Freight™ level tolerances. I'm sure the throws were never designed to be short and crisp, but after 25 years, it was hard to find 2nd or reverse without looking like an irate Italian cabbie gesticulating at your fellow motorists for some perceived slight. Finding first and third looked more like you were doing something to your nether regions in traffic that should be kept quite private and much less violent.
    The floor shifter conversion was probably the best Christmas gift ever.

    Reply
  7. lilwillie Avatar
    lilwillie

    Three on the tree for the 1961 Nash Metropolitan. It is just plain guess and go. I don't know how well they are built brand new but after decades of use they get just a tad sloppy. Basically I start throwing the shifter around til I hit something that makes the car move forward and then as I move forward I can tell what gear I'm in.
    'Oh, it actually accelerates, must be in first……nope….smell clutch…..must be in third…'
    Driving it is like playing wack-a-mole.

    Reply
  8. PotbellyJoe Avatar
    PotbellyJoe

    <img src="http://www.marshallauction.com/Archive09/Racek/Ford%20truck.jpg"&gt;
    Easily the Ford L800 I drove for farm supply delivery.
    The clutch took 40+ pounds to step to the floor, the shifter was tow and a half feet long, and when you didn't sync a shift well, the gearshift lever would "rattle" back and forth. Now on a regular shifter, that rattle, no big deal. On the stupid long shifter, that meant full inches of travel that the non-padded shifter would be moving, slamming back into the palm of your hand.
    The other problem was it was a non-turbo diesel motor. So top speed was somewhere between 55 and "how big of a downhill?"
    <img src="http://media.ed.edmunds-media.com/chevrolet/s-10/1993/oem/1993_chevrolet_s-10_regular-cab-pickup_base_rq_oem_1_500.jpg"&gt;
    For consumer vehicles the worst was an early 90s Chevy S-10. That clutch had to be the wimpiest I have ever felt and you never had any idea when it actually engaged because the 4-banger was so weak. Awful awful awful.

    Reply
    1. mallthus Avatar
      mallthus

      My beef with the manual in the S-10 wasn't that the clutch was wimpy. It was that the clutch pedal sat so high as to make it hard for me to raise my leg high enough to depress it without banging my knew on the wheel.

      Reply
  9. JayP2112 Avatar
    JayP2112

    My '74 Beetle was the car I learned to drive a stick with.
    The bushing were shot and the take up on the clutch was way up on the throw. Only my mom, dad and me could drive that thing. Which was probably what dad had in mind. Nigel (who fancied himself a great manual driver) couldn't get 4 feet with it.

    Reply
    1. buzzboy7 Avatar
      buzzboy7

      The difference in feel before and after the bushing replacement on a beetle is amazing. All of a sudden you know where the gears are.

      Reply
  10. smalleyxb122 Avatar
    smalleyxb122

    My father owns a ’92 Vanagon. Through what can only be described as magic, the incredibly vague shifter always seems to find the gear that you want. Prior to that, he owned a ’69 Beetle, which was similar in action, if to a lesser degree, and it earns the “honor” of the second worst shifter that I’ve ever used.

    Reply
  11. TurboBrick Avatar
    TurboBrick

    '85 (?) Ford Escort mk3 1.3L with a broken reverse lockout. Not only was it VERY leisurely in acceleration with 5 people on board, but downshifting to first required precision as you couldn't just jam the stick "to the left and up" because you'd end up in reverse. It was more "slightly to the left and oh, oh, resistance, back off, and up".
    It also had a manual choke, btw, which caused some head scratching for me the next morning as I daily drive a car with an ostentatious K-Jet FI.

    Reply
    1. Devin Avatar
      Devin

      Ah manual choke, do not miss that in the least. They're especially fun in a cold winter when you have to sit adjusting it as the car warms up.

      Reply
      1. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
        mr. mzs zsm msz esq

        I like mine, I adjust it back while driving in freak cold spells. It's just nice to have something so simple that gets the job done when needed.

        Reply
        1. MMcG Avatar
          MMcG

          Like a computer managing the fuel delivery. Learnt to drive in a 1.1 1986 escort with a manual choke lever. coupled with it's love for damp mornings (distributor cap) and my dropping Mum to work so i could have the car for the day, and ti is a memory etched in my mind. That said, we had a R16 , which, coupled with the idiosyncratic starting mechanism, shifter on the tree, and heavy steering, So mum found the Escort a breeze.

          Reply
          1. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
            mr. mzs zsm msz esq

            long story short – Escort with electric choke … You got electrical wires coming out of your carb, you're in for a world of hurt.

        2. Vavon Avatar
          Vavon

          Well it's blatently obvious that you've never driven a 205 Rallye then… 🙂

          Reply
          1. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
            mr. mzs zsm msz esq

            I haven't but please do go on…

    2. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
      FuzzyPlushroom

      My Volvo is just as fun, because you have to pull up the lockout release to get first or second. I just downshift to second, if that, and then brake to a stop in neutral.

      Reply
  12. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    I've been lucky, I suppose, that I haven't driven anything with a stick older than the 90s – even an older Chevy with a 20-some odd foot flatbed I moved around a dealer lot was no worse than a brand-new (at the time) Silverado, which wasn't bad if you're not expecting to drive it like a Miata.
    That said, Subarus tend to have very heavy, agricultural shifters. The newer ones (especially the current Outback) aren't that bad, but it's a strange juxtaposition against the their cars, which aren't the heftiest feeling things.

    Reply
    1. smalleyxb122 Avatar
      smalleyxb122

      The only Subaru that I have ever driven was a ’97 Legacy, and the shifter was reasonably precise, and the throws were short, but the whole thing felt like it was rowing through molasses. Looking through my list, the Legacy is the eighth-worst shifter that I’ve used.

      Reply
    2. buzzboy7 Avatar
      buzzboy7

      The only subi I've driven is my 04 Forester, but I quite like the shifter. It's not "great" but you can feel where all the gears should be and it's not overly long or heavy.

      Reply
    3. Maymar Avatar
      Maymar

      I suppose it's not that the Subies are terrible or anything, although they certainly don't like to be rushed, and they absolutely stand out compared to, well, every single car they compete against.
      That said, I can't believe I forgot the 2010ish Hyundai Tuscon I shot for work earlier this year. In spite of being newish, it was vague and had difficulty getting into gear.

      Reply
    4. NothingHappens Avatar
      NothingHappens

      I drive one, with some worn bushings. They can be sloppyish and notchy.

      Reply
    5. lilpoindexter Avatar
      lilpoindexter

      I have a sort of daily driver '96 Legacy Wagon 5spd. I replaced worn shifter bushings with bronze facsimiles from mcmaster carr…now it's nice and precise…but the shifter is a little bit notchy.

      Reply
  13. Craig F. Avatar
    Craig F.

    This is going to sound like sacrilege, but I hate — HATE — the manual shifters in every BMW product I've ever driven.
    Those Ambig-U-Matic shifters feel like they're half-attached via a network of elastics and bungee cords.
    Despite the long throw, I like a Muncie four-speed. Nothing ambiguous there. When it's in, it's IN.

    Reply
    1. CABEZAGRANDE Avatar
      CABEZAGRANDE

      I agree with you on every non-M BMW I've ever driven. The shifter in my friends E46 M3 was pretty good and the E39 M5 I test drove was OK. But everything else was crap. The shifter in my friends E36 325i felt like it was connected to the transmission with old felt. The 2003 540i M-Sport I test drove, a car you'd expect to have a sporty shifter feel, was amongst the worst shifters I've ever experienced. Incredibly vauge, super long throws, tons of slop when it was in gear. And it's not like either of these cars had ever been abused, they were both in extremely good condition, the shifters were just that bad. If M division hasn't had a direct hand, BMWs manual shifters suck.

      Reply
    2. Scandinavian Flick Avatar
      Scandinavian Flick

      You're in good company. I have heard a number of gripes about the BMW manuals, especially when they start to age. Once the copper washers in the shifter linkage start to deteriorate, it's vaguesville, man. It will never again return to home center on its own, it feels like a limp noodle, and all that nice luxury sports feel is a thing of distant memory…

      Reply
    3. TurboBrick Avatar
      TurboBrick

      I was going to mention the "over…over… no, all the way OVER" reverse gear on BMW's but then I remembered something even worse.

      Reply
      1. MMcG Avatar
        MMcG

        I once had to drop a BMW E39 in for service. Boss's car. Could not find Reverse. so abandoned the car in the forecourt, slightly near the door. Shame.
        Actually found the E90 shift very sweet. Also was unimpressed by the E60 auto box (520D) dim and slow, so disappointing

        Reply
  14. IronBallsMcG Avatar
    IronBallsMcG

    While I'm sure it would be fine for anyone used to driving on the wrong side of the car, the five speed on the left side of the column that I drove in Japan was an experience for me.

    Reply
  15. don fehlio Avatar
    don fehlio

    During my time working in the service department at a Ford dealer, I found Super Duties nearly impossible to drive smoothly. The clutch had so little travel, it might as well have just been a Citroen DS brake-style button on the floor.
    A close runner-up would be and Hyundai Accent or Elantra from the early 2000's, since when the bushings wear out, there is this vast amount of travel between gears, almost like flipping the giant breaker to bring Frankenstein's monster to life.

    Reply
    1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
      FuzzyPlushroom

      Oh, man, I forgot about my friend's '98 Tiburon. Felt like rowing a boat with a kid's plastic shovel.

      Reply
  16. bhtooefr Avatar
    bhtooefr

    My worst was a Mk2-era (so, no shift weight) VW 020 with worn-out bushings and worn-out motor mounts.
    You just want to find a gear, any gear, you don't care which.
    Close second is the VW 02A and early VW 02J. Goddamn Mk3 shifter… Audi's variation on it used in 1999 A3s and TTs was far nicer (more durable and FAR more precise, with better weighting to boot), and VW started using it in 2000.

    Reply
  17. LTDScott Avatar
    LTDScott

    Huh… the shifter on my 2008 Mazdaspeed 3 feels fine. It's not Honda precise, but I've never had any complaints about it and have only mis-shifted maybe once. I've driven a 2010 Mazda 3 2.5, and a 2013 Mazda 3 Skyactiv, and both were adequate as well, but I haven't tested the newest MS3. I know the new MS3 trans/shifters are a bit different than mine, so maybe there's something to it. The clutch, on the other hand, is very tricky.
    The worst I have felt? Probably on my E30 race car. I have replaced as many of the bushings/wear parts as possible, but there is still a lot of slop in the shifter while in gear. At least I no longer have to guess what gear it was going into. When I first bought the car it was much worse, and I'd pretty much have to put it in a gear and slowly release the clutch and hope it was the right one.

    Reply
    1. Robert Emslie Avatar
      Robert Emslie

      Scott, you have the earlier MS3. They changed the shift mechanism on the new version, making it lighter and, in my opinion, more vague. I liked the way the older car shifted, the new one? Not so much.

      Reply
      1. LTDScott Avatar
        LTDScott

        Ah. I knew they changed the tranny gear ratios, but didn't realize they had changed the shifter too. Most of the powertrain on the new MS3s is still the same as mine, so I figured they had the same shifter too.
        Having said that, I'm probably going to buy a "short shift plate" for my car that reduces the length of the throws.

        Reply
        1. craymor Avatar
          craymor

          I too have the MS3 in 2008 vintage, the stock shifter wasn't anything great, but it was very far from the worst I have driven. now, with upgraded mounting bushings, a shift wieght and a short shift (plate) kit it's actually decent (all added at the same time, so no opinion on what anything individual did for it)

          Reply
  18. CABEZAGRANDE Avatar
    CABEZAGRANDE

    Like most of you, my worst was an old heavy truck, in this case a 1958 International semi that my uncle had for puling his heavy trailers on his farm. The throws were literally 2 ft. No synchros, so you rev-matched well or you didn't make the gear. Tons of lever shake when in gear, which with a 3 ft long lever becomes a real danger to your right knee. And 35 lb pedal effort on the clutch meant you were damn tired after driving that thing for a couple hours, which was often because that thing was SLOW. But, I do think that taught me more about proper manual transmission operation than anything else I've ever driven. You had to be so on your game to make it work, and you had to KNOW how it worked to get anywhere. I'm glad I had the character building experience, makes me feel manlier 😀

    Reply
    1. CABEZAGRANDE Avatar
      CABEZAGRANDE

      For shifters that were unexpectedly terrible, i.e. horrible shifters in cars that should know better, I would have to say the 2003 540i M-Sport I test drove and my friends 2006 GTO. The 540i's shifter was horrific for something that was supposed to be sporty. Completely vauge, properly hitting the gate was like poking around in a windowless basement when the power goes out. LONG throws. Horrible slop when in gear. Just awful for something that's supposed to be sporty. The GTO was almost the same way. Unbelieveably long throws. Incredibly rubbery and vauge. It was like the bushings were made of a soft pudding. Both were so bad they made the experience far, far less enjoyable than either car should have been.

      Reply
      1. smalleyxb122 Avatar
        smalleyxb122

        As the owner of an ’05 GTO, I only partly agree with your assessment of the GTO shifter. I never found the throws to be excessive. They may not be short throws, but the length of throw has never been an impediment to a quick, well executed shift. I will whole-heartedly agree on the rubbery feel. I’ve felt worse, but in a car with sporting pretentions, I think that drivers would prefer a more direct feel to the modicum of noise reduction afforded by the rubber mounting. On my list, my GTO ranks as the tenth-worst shifter that I’ve ever used, but if I were to factor in the infernal skip-shift, it would rank higher (worse).

        Reply
        1. CABEZAGRANDE Avatar
          CABEZAGRANDE

          Thankfully, I never experienced the dreaded skip-shift because he put a tune on it that eliminated it basically first thing after buying the car. He later put a Ripshift short shifter from Australia on it, made a WORLD of difference, mostly in how much it firmed it up. I'm running the same shifter on the 05 GTO T56 in my RX7.

          Reply
        2. Scandinavian Flick Avatar
          Scandinavian Flick

          Thank goodness for skip shift eliminators! Does yours randomly stick into 2nd? Once every 15-20 shifts, I have to gorilla arm the shifter into 2nd gear, and sometimes it just won't go in for anything…
          I appreciate its firm, assertive feeling in general. But that accursed 2nd gear issue drives me to madness when it strikes at the worst time…

          Reply
          1. smalleyxb122 Avatar
            smalleyxb122

            I’ve never had issues with 2nd gear, other than when the skip shift won’t let it in. I plan on installing a skip shift eliminator this spring. I really only have the skip shift happen when I’m in heavy traffic, which is really stupid. It wants to force a 1-4 shift on particularly leisurely takeoffs where I would be lugging in 4th , so I just throw it into third. It happens, at most, 3 times a week, so I haven’t been in any rush to address it. I’ve also wanted to install a Ripshift, but 400-500 bucks and having to unbolt the crossmember to lower the back end of the transmission seems like a lot of hassle to replace something that’s perfectly functional as is. That’s also $500 and hours of my time that I should be spending on suspension bushings, instead.

          2. Scandinavian Flick Avatar
            Scandinavian Flick

            Weird… I think I had the issue, albeit to a lesser degree, before I installed the eliminator. Now I'm not sure. That thing drove me nuts though, so I'm glad to be rid of it. It always happened when I was paying the least attention, so I'd just randomly end up in 4th and bog the hell out of the motor… The eliminator was stupid easy to install too, so totally worth it.
            It's been a while since I looked into it, but from what I recall, the shifter install can be done from the inside of the car with some some extensions and adapters. I may eventually go with the Billet Pro.

          3. pj134 Avatar
            pj134

            It's really, really hard to bog that motor though… When my brother got his, the torque was quite exciting after his RX-8. He decided to see if he could drive it without using the gas, and if you let the clutch out slowly enough you can get up to speed without much of an issue. Probably not the best idea to try on a busy road though.

          4. Scandinavian Flick Avatar
            Scandinavian Flick

            I was able to get up to idling along at 30mph in 6th without touching the gas. Torque is fun!
            That said, when the skip shift dumps you into 4th at 20mph, it drags the motor below idle…

          5. pj134 Avatar
            pj134

            I've never had an issue with it. I guess I always shift out of first above 21 when I drive his car.

          6. CABEZAGRANDE Avatar
            CABEZAGRANDE

            I haven't had an issue with second yet in the 7, but it hasn't been running with the LS for very long so I don't have a lot of time to pull data from.

        3. 5keptic Avatar
          5keptic

          the skip shift is enough to ruin the whole damn car. I was expecting so much from a~06 CTS-V, but the slightly rubbery shifter along with the skip shift ruined it. It reminded me of driving a ford T-bird SC from the 90s and made the car feel oh so much heavier.

          Reply
  19. ivanjo10 Avatar
    ivanjo10

    Two worst shifters in my experience are Yugo 55 and Škoda Octavia 1.6MPI. The first one because it's precise as a blind sharp-shooter and the second one because it feels completely unlinked from the rest of the drivetrain. It's precise enough but you just feel like it stands there just because they needed to put something to fill the hole in the floor.
    The best shifter I've tried is the one on 1991 Toyota Corolla GTi. Just brilliant.

    Reply
  20. CalculatedRisk Avatar
    CalculatedRisk

    A '97 Ford F-350 with a smoked clutch, worn syncros and 2nd gear was out. Granny gear to double, double clutch, into super tall third gear accelerations were terrible. Once you were in 4th or 5th gear and gave it the boot the clutch would slip like crazy. One of the few times where I wished for an automatic.

    Reply
  21. skitter Avatar
    skitter

    The 6-speed with a shot second gear synchro in the Acura Legend coupe. It was my sister's car, and while she eventually got the hang of rev-matching it, it could be very frustrating. I only ever did one good shift in it, and even then it felt like the ZF in a tired C4 LT1.

    Reply
  22. P161911 Avatar
    P161911

    A late 1980s Mazda B-series pickup with well north of 200k miles on it in about 2002. My K-5 blazer had recently died in a wreck and I was supposed to tow my Waverunner from GA to TN for a church singles trip. I borrowed the Mazda from a friend that was going too, it was his brother's. My stick shift driving up to that time had been limited to my old 1992 T-Bird S/C and my current 1994 Corvette, not the world's greatest shifters, but not too bad. I'm pretty sure the linkages on the Mazda were rubber bands sourced from Office Depot. No real feel on where any gear was, mostly just push/pull and guess.

    Reply
    1. MrHowser Avatar
      MrHowser

      Odd – a late 80's B-series is one of the best stickshift I've ever driven. Each gear was well-defined, and engaging a gear resulted in a positive feel and a satisfyingly mechanical noise. More precise than a clunk, louder than a click. The rest of the truck wasn't good enough to purchase, but I really liked the shifter.
      I think the only better one I've owned was a '92 Integra.

      Reply
      1. MattC Avatar
        MattC

        I was going to say the same thing. I has a 1988 B2000 and the shifter was fantastic. Mind you the truck may have had all of 80hp but it was fun.

        Reply
  23. Armyofchuckness Avatar
    Armyofchuckness

    '03 Neon 5 speed bar none. Could hardly ever get it into first without multiple attempts. 3rd gear was in a dimensional paradox with 5th gear, so you never knew which one you were getting until it was too late. I thought maybe I was just a bad driver until I got my '86 Jeep Comanche with an Asin 4 speed, and discovered shifting was so, so easy.
    Shocking that a Neon is awful, I know.

    Reply
  24. buzzboy7 Avatar
    buzzboy7

    I take it nobody's ever driven a Remote Shift mini. I believe it came in between the "Magic Wand" and the Rod Link transmissions. The H-pattern is defined in black, the red line indicates shifting the gears in order starting from N : 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 They don't call it the Puddin Stick for nothing.
    <img src="http://i.imgur.com/HQNYS7u.jpg&quot; width="600">
    It makes a VW beetle with a worn out shift bushing feel accurate, short and smooth.

    Reply
    1. MMcG Avatar
      MMcG

      At least in a RHD car you just grab the shifter and reef it towards your hip to "Hit" reverse.
      Diagram spot on for the 1980 Mini 1000 a mate had in the mid 90's,

      Reply
      1. buzzboy7 Avatar
        buzzboy7

        Have you driven a Rod Link mini?
        It's fully on the other end of the spectrum as one of the most pleasant manuals I've yet driven.

        Reply
    2. austinminiman Avatar
      austinminiman

      And yet, I've never missed a gear. Quadrant – Go!

      Reply
  25. pj134 Avatar
    pj134

    The worst manual transmission that was intended from the factory to feel the way it felt when I drove it was hands down the 2012 Sonata manual. It felt like all its linkages and bushings were made of pudding skin. It was the most vague standard transmission I've ever used. I know it wasn't from wear as it only had 10 or 20 miles on it. Terrible, terrible transmission.

    Reply
  26. racer139 Avatar
    racer139

    1. yugo so impersise that the gears felt like a small snick in the wide oval throw.
    2. Chevy sprint, only slightly less vauge than a yugo and for some reason the stick able to be swung in more of an ark but I could always find the gears unlike the yugo. Both of these cars had les than 30k km on them. these are from my youth so heres a few from the current list
    3. saturn ion shifter feels alright but is slightly vauge. Its the rev hang that really killed it for me especially on the down shift there was like a three second delay from selecting a lower gear the revs falling enough to make a smoth shift
    4. 2011 dodge ram 2500 diesel, the clutch is like an on/off switch and the shifter is like its just going through the motions but the actual gear changes are actually electronic.

    Reply
  27. Number_Six Avatar
    Number_Six

    Other than the obvious old pickup truck or van, the worst I've experienced was an early-90s Daewoo Prince. The throws were so long that you were in constant peril of smashing a knuckle on the dashboard or elbowing a person in the back seat. One was never entirely sure what gear it was in, either.
    **Edit: the Lotus Esprit SE was wretched as well – but it's sad to knock such an epic car

    Reply
  28. calzonegolem Avatar
    calzonegolem

    When I bought my last car I test drove a 2004 Echo. It had "68K" on it. The thing was a wreck. It kept wanting to pop out of whatever put it in. To get it to move I often had to hold it into first. Every shift felt like I was trying to row through peanut butter. The idle sounded off, the interior was a wreck ( hadn't been detailed yet ), front rotors were warped and there was a repair on the rear bumper that looked like it had been painted with white out.

    Reply
  29. RustyCSX Avatar
    RustyCSX

    Worst one I've ever driven was in a 100k mile 2000ish Nissan Xterra. It had a really long shifter, and felt like you were fishing for gears each time you shifted it. You pretty much wiggled around that shifter until you caught something and went with it. On top of that, it had the parking brake on the dash, like some box trucks do. Very strange.

    Reply
  30. don fehlio Avatar
    don fehlio

    During my time working in the service department at a Ford dealer, I found Super Duties nearly impossible to drive smoothly. The clutch had so little travel, it might as well have just been a Citroen DS brake-style button on the floor.

    Reply
  31. duurtlang_ Avatar
    duurtlang_

    I don't have any experience with truly old cars, except for a few minutes drive in a ~1970 Fiat 500 with a retrofitted synchronized transmission my experience with cars is mostly condensed to the ones built in the late 80s to early 00s era. From the cars I've driven the €500 rally Legacy had the worst transmission. Easily. It was always a struggle to find third gear, and you had to push the clutch pedal for about a kilometer before it actually did something. It was a very worn car, much more so than my much older and higher mileage VW Golf.
    <img src="http://i50.tinypic.com/wvuauf.jpg&quot; width="600">

    Reply
  32. mdharrell Avatar
    mdharrell

    <img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3530/3183914374_a1f8e05957.jpg&quot; width="500">
    My first car was a '59 Ford sedan with a three-speed manual column shift. The above is a '59 Ford retractable with an automatic, but it'll illustrate the point. Note that the shift mechanism isn't coaxial with the steering, but instead uses a separate rod above the steering. The manual is the same way.
    On my car, after I'd owned it for about a decade, the attachment for the upper pivot point, just beneath the steering wheel, broke as I was shifting back into first at a stoplight. After that, although it was possible to upshift in a normal manner, it wasn't possible to shift back into first without grabbing the shift rod in one's left hand and pulling it straight towards one's chest while working the shift lever with the right hand. Figuring this out for the first time as the light turned green was bracing.
    I drove it that way for about another five years. It was my only operable car the entire time.

    Reply
    1. Rover 1 Avatar
      Rover 1

      So that's how it started!
      ; )

      Reply
      1. mdharrell Avatar
        mdharrell

        Worse, when my folks gave me the car it had a two-speed Ford-O-Matic. When that failed, my father and I installed a three-speed manual with freewheeling and electric overdrive. When that failed, we installed a conventional three speed manual. Then the shift linkage broke….

        Reply
  33. quattrovalvole Avatar
    quattrovalvole

    <img src="http://carsdata.net/pics/Isuzu/isuzu-panther-04.jpg&quot; />
    The worst I've ever come across is the one in Isuzu Panthers. You can pretty much pick any generation from the early nineties to the current one as they all feel the same: long throw and vague. Changing gear feels like you're stirring a bowl of concrete. That's definitely "fun" when you need to downshift to engine brake. Oh, and this combined with the super-rough diesel engine results in a gear stick that has the tactile feedback of a vibrator.

    Reply
    1. faberferrum Avatar
      faberferrum

      What was your experience with Panthers? I grew up in Indonesia, we had one of them all through high school. I never drove it, but I do remember the tractor-diesel sound

      Reply
  34. Synchromesh Avatar
    Synchromesh

    My '89 Subaru RX had a shifter that eventually became loose and would fall towards the driver on right turns. It was pretty vague. Current WRX also had a horrible shifter despite being a factory short throw. Subaru shifters tend to be terrible for some reason.
    I've driven an Dodge Omni once with a 4-speed and no power steering. It was pretty bad from what I recall.

    Reply
  35. Devin Avatar
    Devin

    While I've driven some agricultural equipment in my time, I have to say that the worst shifter I've ever used was installed in one of these:
    <img src="http://www.motorstown.com/images/chevrolet-optra-5-05.jpg&quot; width="500">
    The problem? Vagueness. It was seemingly connected to the transmission through the psychic friends network, and as a result it was near impossible to get it in the right gear. As a result, I was constantly putting it into the wrong gear in the brief time I was behind the wheel. It was also made out of flimsy-o-matic plastic so I kept thinking I'd break it in my hand.

    Reply
    1. buzzboy7 Avatar
      buzzboy7

      Agricultural shifters at least tend to be precise. Long throws and heavy but you know exactly what gear you're in and where it is.

      Reply
      1. Devin Avatar
        Devin

        I did lose weight when piloting certain grain trucks, they don't go into gear without force. But then again, old agricultural equipment, so they have some excuse.
        A newish mass-market hatchback really doesn't.

        Reply
  36. lincoln Avatar
    lincoln

    God, all of these horror stories make me feel so lucky to have owned two great manual equipped cars: a 1998 acura integra and a 2005 Acura RSX Type-S. they are both easy to drive, crisp, and direct with great feel.

    Reply
    1. Number_Six Avatar
      Number_Six

      Those two, plus later Honda Preludes, are in a class of their own when it comes to FWD cars.

      Reply
  37. muthalovin Avatar
    muthalovin

    When learning how to drive, you don't realize how terrible a shifter is until you drive something devine like a Honda or BMW-M car.
    When auto-journo's talk about a shifter being 'rope-y', I know exactly what they mean: my Dodge Daytona had the ropiest shifter, ever. That thing makes my current F150 feel like Ferrari-style shifts.

    Reply
  38. NothingHappens Avatar
    NothingHappens

    Easy. 1992 Mercury Topaz, special ordered with a stick new by a buddy's mom and given over to him as a high school. It looked and felt like FMC had adapted a Ranger transmission, complete with 4 foot shift lever, to a fwd application. As vague, sloppy, and ill-defined as a Sun Media article.

    Reply
    1. Kris_01 Avatar
      Kris_01

      Hah! I had an '89 Escort with a shifter of the same design as the Tempo/Topaz twins. Mine had bushings so worn it would literally rotate around its bottom axis. Shifting was pure guessing game.I wound up replacing the shifter with one from a Tempo – this one must not have had as much play because now I could actually drive the damn car.

      Reply
  39. Scandinavian Flick Avatar
    Scandinavian Flick

    I'm going to go with my most disappointing: A B7 Audi RS4. I had high hopes and expectations for this car, but it turned out to be the most disappointing car I have ever driven. It felt so disconnected, like they focused way too much on luxury, and not at all enough on driver engagement. The shifter was a vague wet noodle, the clutch had a random and indistinct engagement, and the whole car did nothing to make it feel like I was the one in control. I was just along for the ride. If I could get it into gear, that is…
    The fact that they wanted $48k for a 3 year old one felt like a slap in the face after that experience…

    Reply
    1. pj134 Avatar
      pj134

      I think that's what I love about the CTS-V. Luxurious at normal speeds and just a big dumb dog that loves to play when you put your foot in the tank.
      I guess that defines most LS equipped RWD cars though, sans the luxury part.

      Reply
    2. mr. mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
      mr. mzs zsm msz esq

      I'm not going to make the obvious tasteless joke, I'm not going to make the obvious tasteless joke. I'm not going to make the obvious tasteless joke…

      Reply
  40. Stu_Rock Avatar
    Stu_Rock

    I'm surprised at the number of responses to this question. It's America after all–where did you guys find all these cars with manual transmissions?
    I don't have a good answer to this question. I've only driven three manual cars–my 505, a C6, and an Integra. They're all fine by me, except for the occasional annoyance from my 505's failing 2nd gear synchro.

    Reply
    1. Devin Avatar
      Devin

      I like to drive manual hatchbacks. I pretty much have to buy new because there are no manual hatchbacks in the local used market. My current car had to be brought in from another dealership.
      Though I have seen a manual Compass recently, my mind was blown.

      Reply
    2. Maymar Avatar
      Maymar

      I drive (well, move around a dealer's lot) about 150 late model cars per week, so just by sheer volume, some of them are manual.

      Reply
    3. MMcG Avatar
      MMcG

      Some of us are lurkers for the land of $10 a gal gas.
      Worst shifter, the 2001 ford transit I rented many moons ago. A near 2 foot long shifter made of Rubber, or so it felt. Throw was a good foot for most gears.

      Reply
  41. ZomBee Racer Avatar
    ZomBee Racer

    That's a dead-nuts tie between the piece of crap in Super-Spouse's smart Fortwo, and an aunt's VW Bug "Autostick" she had back in the 70's.
    I think the edge goes to the aunt's Autostick because it never tried to kill you, and it was actually connected to something.
    The smart's flappy-paddles and floor mounted "ratchet-shifter" are really just electrical switches that don't really control a manual transmission that you cant really shift, and one of these days someone is gonna get run over by a truck because the stupid things sit in the road all confused when you are in a hurry trying to get out of said truck's way. "@#$%&!!!!! AAAAAGH!!"
    Therefore, the smart is the winner (looser) for worstest ever. And most deadliest.
    <img src="http://www.motorstown.com/images/smart-fortwo-1.0-01.jpg&quot; width="600">
    <img src="http://images.thesamba.com/vw/gallery/pix/893598.jpg&quot; width="600">

    Reply
    1. jeepjeff Avatar
      jeepjeff

      I updinged you, but I split manual-vs-automatic based on the existence of a third pedal, so I normally put the Smart ForTwo down as an automatic. OTOH, if we are just talking linkages, you've still got a strong argument, and I've always been tempted to go out and test drive a Smart just to find out how terrible that transmission really is.

      Reply
      1. ZomBee Racer Avatar
        ZomBee Racer

        I also personally split manual vs auto with the 3rd pedal, which is another reason why the smart sucks. They took the innards of a bon-a-fide manual instead of just using a real auto, and removed all external inputs. Then they went and classified it as an "Automated manual". What kind of boogyman crap is THAT?!?!
        The Bug also lacked a 3rd pedal, and used a centrifugal clutch instead. Otherwise it was a regular 4-speed. The problems with it were that they left the clutch pedal arm in place, and bolted a long brake pedal between it and the brake arm. Thus when it was time to shift, muscle memory says "push in clutch", which results in tires screeching and everyone's teeth smashing against the dash or seatbacks in front of them.
        Also, if you rested your hand on the shifter at ALL (as I was prone to do) the clutch thought you wanted to shift and would suddenly disengage, sending the rpms through the roof and making you look like an idiot. Erm, MORE of an idiot.

        Reply
        1. mdharrell Avatar
          mdharrell

          I'm okay with counting manuals lacking clutch pedals on this question, given the way it was posed.
          I've never driven a VW Automatic Stickshift but, as I've mentioned before, I do want a two-stroke SAAB with a Saxomat.

          Reply
        2. jeepjeff Avatar
          jeepjeff

          The "push in clutch" muscle memory is bad enough with normal layout of pedals. I've done it on normally setup vehicles before. Actually, a couple times. Now I normally stomp the clutch and if I don't find one, I switch over to automatic mode. That Bug might still throw me for a loop. (And I often rest my hand on my shifter, too… I'm sure we're not the only ones.)
          As for the Smart, it's a near-miss for me. If they'd just had an option to have a real clutch and shift linkage, I'd probably love those cars.

          Reply
      2. ZomBee Racer Avatar
        ZomBee Racer

        If you do test-drive a smart, keep in mind that an aftermarket tuner company wrote reprogrammed shifting code that was so popular, the factory went ahead and gave it to all new smarts, and retroactively to existing cars as a "firmware update".
        Currently they are only 1/3rd as bad as they used to be. So when you see how weird it STILL is you'll understand why folks like me used to scream obscenities at it for the first year.

        Reply
      3. W. Kiernan Avatar
        W. Kiernan

        The epileptic Bug!

        Reply
  42. jeepjeff Avatar
    jeepjeff

    So, I was about to reply to Stu above to say I hadn't driven many manuals, but then I wrote out the list and came up with this:
    1993ish Ford F-150 (302 V8), 1988 Toyota Tercel EZ, early 2000s Honda S2000, 2002 VW Jetta TDI, 1989 Nissan Pathfinder V6, my 2001 Jeep Wrangler (4.0), 1975ish Jeep CJ-5 (232 or 258 I6) and a mid 80s Volvo 242 DL.
    Which while likely exhaustive, is both quite a few and far from the most, I'm sure. The stand-outs at the top of the list are the trucks, the F-150 and the Jeeps. I love me a stupid, heavy clutch and a slow-but-accurate shift mechanism. (That I don't regard the S more highly probably has more to do with me and the driving circumstances than the S. I'd love to give it another shot.)
    I don't think any of you are going to like this. The Volvo was the worst of that lot. It had the vaguest shifter I've ever driven (but it wasn't too bad) and the clutch, well, light and gooey comes to mind. Vague would be a bit too positive a description for the clutch. It was just terrible. Easily the worst manual transmission I've ever driven. Sorry guys. Admittedly, that car was older, and a bit ill maintained. I don't think I drove an example that would allow me to understand what y'all love about them.
    (Honorable mention: My Jeep Wrangler 4.0L with shot u-joints and bushings. When those really went, working the clutch lightly enough to keep the axle from hopping was a very difficult task. But, I've replaced all the relevant bushings and u-joints, and it's back to Awesome! Probably the most rewarding repair I've done for most improved seat feel post-repair.)
    (EDIT: Yes, I know, the question said shifter, but I haven't used a truly vague shifter, and clutch feel is normally how I judge the quality of a stick.)

    Reply
    1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
      FuzzyPlushroom

      My 244 has an updated five-speed version of the four-plus-overdrive in that 242. The clutch is light, not featherlight but not very resistive, but I find feedback from it to be adequate enough, not Honda good but more 'natural' in its travel than, say, a Mk4 VW's (although I just had a new clutch put in after the original literally disintegrated). The shifter gets vague and floppy as its bushings go out; mine are in desperate need of replacement.
      I've never actually driven a truck with a stick, though, so I can't really compare there.
      However, it may be heartening news that an 850's clutch is better, and its shifter may be my favourite so far.

      Reply
      1. jeepjeff Avatar
        jeepjeff

        I didn't get to drive it very long, and this was recently, so the stick I was used to was the Jeep. If I'd driven it 10 years ago when I was daily driving an 88 Tercel, I may have had an entirely different impression.
        I think truck clutches are fun, but they're a workout. How miserable my Jeep is in traffic is strongly correlated to how well I'm keeping up with weight training. Which means anything near featherlight is going to feel like nothing next to it. And it's a light clutch by truck standards…

        Reply
  43. MrHowser Avatar
    MrHowser

    The worst I've ever driven is the '83 Civic that was my first car back in '03. Likely a case of worn bushings and linkage, like most of these, but I have driven two others of the same year, and all three felt the same – vague and rubbery, with a clutch that gave almost zero feedback.

    Reply
  44. name_too_long Avatar
    name_too_long

    1978 International Harvester tractor by far.
    40 lb. clutch: Check.
    No Synchros: Check.
    Throttle that was basically a switch: Check.
    3 ft. shift lever: Check.
    18 inch shift throw: Check.
    Incredible vagueness: Check.
    Lack of centering / return springs: Check.
    Incredibly narrow rev range: Check.
    Massive number of gears: Check.

    Reply
  45. njhoon Avatar
    njhoon

    The two worst for me were:
    1) by a wide margin a 66 GMC pickup my friends and I shared back in high school, a worn out 3 on the tree. God was it awful, vague, rarely stayed in gear and some how always in the way.
    2) A guy I knew, his father owned a contracting company and I would occasionally move equipment for them. The vehicle for such feats was a three axle dump truck with a two speed rear. It was white knuckles every time, no idea of the gear because the shifter gave you no idea between 1st and 4th because it was the same place. The actuator for the rear was sort of broken so you had no idea if you were high or low until moving, or not depending on if you moved or not. It was a god awful mess.

    Reply
  46. DemonXanth Avatar
    DemonXanth

    So far, my 3 speed Corvair. 1st and reverse share a gear that slides back and forth via the shift fork. Meaning no synchros because it's not even constant mesh. To shift into either it you need to be at a complete stop. 2MPH and you get grinding.

    Reply
    1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
      FuzzyPlushroom

      You mean that you have to stop to put it into either gear, or just to go from one to the other? I can't imagine GM being senseless enough to build a car that was impossible to drive in stop-and-go traffic.
      Well, I can imagine it, I just don't want to.

      Reply
      1. DemonXanth Avatar
        DemonXanth

        You can't get into either. 1st you just use to get moving then it's all 2-3. Effectively the shift pattern works out like this:
        R1
        L2

        Reply
        1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
          FuzzyPlushroom

          Wait, so if you're in stop-and-go traffic, you have to take it out of second or hold the clutch in below somethingteen miles per hour, and either stop dead to engage first or slip the Hell out of the clutch to get going from a few miles per hour in second?
          That sounds… well, infuriating, really.

          Reply
          1. DemonXanth Avatar
            DemonXanth

            Could be worse, some of the FC's had what is called a "mystery shift". The linkage came out underneath the seat and the H was at a 90 degree angle. When the linkages wore and got some play, what gear you were in really was a mystery.

  47. sunbeammadd Avatar
    sunbeammadd

    Front wheel drive Simcas had a series of rods with ball-and-socket joints connecting the gear lever to the gearbox. When new they were at best vague. When worn they were a nightmare. Once they had worn a bit finding a gear was guesswork. On the one I owned if you guessed wrong and tried to push the lever into a non-existent slot it would pop the linkage off the gearbox. Until I sourced some new parts I don't think I ever had a journey in it that didn't involve pulling over somewhere to reattach the gear linkage.

    Reply
  48. 1slowvw Avatar
    1slowvw

    I drove a toyota matrix/pontiac vibe as a delivery driver in high school. It was absolutely terrible, I compared it at the time with one of those fisher price toy sets with the gear shift. It was all plastic and didn't seem to have any tangible link to the transmission.

    Reply
  49. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar
    Rust-MyEnemy

    Really suprised to hear all the negative comments on BMW shifters; I've always enjoyed them because, well, they're the exact mirror opposite of MB ones.
    Seriously, the most inexcusably offensive manual shift I have ever encountered (and I've driven some really, really terrible cars), is that of every single Mercedes CLC. Vague, rubbery and entirely lacking in sensation; powerfully sprung in every axis, and combined with an obstructive, obstinate clutch that seems to have three separate biting points, whose pedal hangs too high for comfortable heel and toeing and lacks feel despite being heavily sprung.
    It's just shit.
    Furthermore, there's the pedal operated paking brake, which sits as well on a manual car as anchovies sit well atop an apple pie.

    Reply
    1. buzzboy7 Avatar
      buzzboy7

      BMW sticks at least feel better than the clutches. That blasted valve in the clutch line kills me. Makes somebody who drives stick fine look(and feel) like a fool for the first few starts.

      Reply
  50. Maymar Avatar
    Maymar

    Strangely enough, I drove a brand new Dart today (re. delivery mileage) with the six-speed. Except, if it had a reverse lockout (it seemed to have the collar for it), it wasn't working, which, with reverse right beside 1st, is sort of terrible (it took plenty of fiddling to find it, sometimes by finding second first). Not bad otherwise, but if that's not a defect, that's a fender-bender in the making.

    Reply
  51. C³-Cool Cadillac Cat Avatar
    C³-Cool Cadillac Cat

    1980 F-100 three-on-the-tree I-6 with not one option on it.
    Oh, wait…it had a passenger side mirror, about the size of a 3×5 card. No, that's being generous.
    This vehicle was purchased by my genius of a father, new, in 1980. The shift linkage hung up about a mile from the house. This was just the first time, and it wasn't like he'd ever owned anything but column-shift manuals.
    I'd finally tired of the column shift getting strangely hung up in such a way you had 2nd, and that's it, until you got under the hood and likely gathered a few cuts/blood blisters trying to un-discombobulate it.
    Put in a floor shift…eliminate the middleman.
    Only thing was, it still had the column's layout, so:
    1 3
    |–|
    R 2
    It was exceptionally easy to hit reverse on the 1-2 shift, even after a few years of DD-ing it.
    At least on the '67 Dodge A-108 FC passenger van which was my first vehicle, the shift handle, column shift, no longer had a pin holding it to the linkage, so every oh, 10th shift from 1st to 2nd, it'd come out in your hand, if you hadn't subconsciously pushed it back in a little by the fifth shift.
    However, it was a great theft deterrent. And it freaked out passengers not aware it had become a feature of the vehicle's personality.

    Reply
    1. buzzboy7 Avatar
      buzzboy7

      My old Mercury had the floor shift three speed with that pattern. I was about the only person who could drive it.

      Reply
  52. MattC Avatar
    MattC

    Worst is a toss up during my teenage year between an mid 80's Chevette and a 1986 Ford Escort. Both horrible manuals ,but the Ford was far worse than the Chevy. At least the Chevette was a company car that was beat up on by every teenage driver that worked at that pharmacy.

    Reply
  53. mallthus Avatar
    mallthus

    Volkswagen Fox (aka VW Gol)
    It was my girlfriend's and it had the 4 speed manual. Occasionally, when you were shifting from 1st to 2nd, it's actually go into 2nd. More often, it just sit in neutral or slid over, inexplicably, to 4th. Oh, and did I mention it had less than 15,000 miles on it when I was having these issues?
    <img src="http://www.alamaula.com/img/timthumb.php?src=/uploads/1/280/Classified/1824465/interior-bueno-795_big2.jpg&w=650&h=412&quot; width=600>

    Reply
    1. Reuven Avatar
      Reuven

      Wow, that was my first car! Drove it for 189000 miles. You've got the fancy one with a Tach, mine had a big clock there. Interesting feature of the car, pressing the entire steering wheel down would activate the horn.

      Reply
  54. K5ING Avatar
    K5ING

    I'll agree with the other "three on the tree" commentators. I've driven many early 60's Fords and Chevys with manuals on the column, and it seemed they all had about a foot-and-a-half of play in them. Horrid things.
    <img src="http://www.567chevyclub.com/images/56_Chevy/3speed.jpg&quot; width="600">

    Reply
  55. 2cver Avatar
    2cver

    Anybody remember the Saginaw transmission in F-body GM cars? I had a 78 Phoenix 4 door with a bench seat and four on the floor (a real police special). Only problem was you had to twist the steering column to go into reverse. The forward gears felt like I was feeling my way in the dark, hoping I the right gear. On top of all that, I had to operate the clutch, brake, gas, high beam and parking brake all with my feet. Dave Grohl would love it.

    Reply
  56. ptschett Avatar
    ptschett

    Obligatory Eaton RoadRanger RT-11607LL shift pattern:
    <img src="http://i43.tinypic.com/261ok6t.jpg&quot; width="500"/>
    Though I'd have to say the worst mechanism I've dealt with is the side-of-the-dash-mounted 5-speed on an IH/Farmall 686 tractor.

    Reply
  57. Felis_Concolor Avatar
    Felis_Concolor

    A 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air I was given by a friend's grandfather while at college. Equipped with three-on-the-tree, the transmission was so worn out it would pop out of gear if you gave the engine anything more than a slight tickle on the throttle. This was fine while on the flat section of the North Shore road we drove it back on, until we reached Kaneohe and the rolling terrain found there.
    I am grateful for the overengineered materials used in American cars of that vintage; I managed to keep the wheezing vehicle in 2nd gear on the uphill slope from the Likelike/Kam Hwy intersection towards the college by suspending my entire body weight from the shift lever, although it did pop out of gear twice during that portion of the trip since I did need to give the engine some gas and if I pushed too hard on the throttle, I'd reduce the weight on the shift lever to the point it would pop out of gear again.
    It eventually netted me $600 for the various parts others wanted for their hot rod projects, especially since the front and rear glass was intact and clear.

    Reply
  58. Paul Rain Avatar
    Paul Rain

    A Mazda3 with a six speed manual.
    What the hell possessed the manufacturer to try to fit the six forward speeds into the same horizontal width as my four-speed Triumph saloon (which has perfectly acceptably snappy shifting if you match your revs I'll have you know)? More importantly, what genius at Hertz thought it was a good idea to buy a rental car specced like that?
    On the other hand.. given that the drive it was being taken on was 50% open country roads where even sixth gear had it humming nastily, and the other half twisty hill country where I could've used a decent engine and a four speed manual- better any manual than an automatic.

    Reply
    1. buzzboy7 Avatar
      buzzboy7

      I actually find the Mazda3 to have a refreshingly large amount of side to side travel compared to a T56 with a shortened shifter.
      What I don't like about it is how narrow the gears are. I'd rather a 5 speed that has the same 1st and 6th from that gear set.

      Reply
  59. 5keptic Avatar
    5keptic

    Does this count? by far the worst shifter i have ever tried to use was a 1940 Farmall A series tractor.
    <img src="http://www.antiquefarming.com/images/farmall-A.jpg&quot; >
    i was only 11, but could never ever find the forward gears. no matter how far the clutch was in, the shifter always ground against the gears. i had to get my grandfather to do it every time

    Reply
  60. pwned88 Avatar
    pwned88

    Had a buddy with an old 90s civic. No matter what gear you put it in, when you let go of the shifter it looked like it was in neutral. I used to constantly throw it into 3rd trying to get into 5th.

    Reply
  61. Kevin Avatar
    Kevin

    I'm surprised no one has mentioned the old Porsche 914 (yes I know it was an effing VW). I test drove a '70 with a 1.7 four and the original design 'tail' shifter was a nightmare. I felt so bad when I went from first straight into reverse! Ouch! The improved side shifter wasn't much better either.

    Reply
  62. Jeff Avatar
    Jeff

    When I met my wife she drove a '92 Chrysler LeBaron convertible, 3.0 V6, 5-speed, 30% clearcoat remaining, no more than 2 hubcaps at any given time, and constantly leaking oil. Looking at the shifter, you couldn't tell if you were in N-1-3-5 or 2-4-R. Those two groups looked the same, you just had to deduce from your revs and speed which one of those gears you were actually using. That combined with a long throw, vague gates, a wheezy un-rev-able engine, and a clutch pedal that a yeti would find heavy, and you had one awful driving experience. Oh and don't forget the horrendous chassis- I was sure the car was going to shake apart after every tiny bump on the highway. And the motor for the convertible top stopped working, so the only good part about the car- the removeable roof- didn't even work.

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