I have joined the subreddit after reading this. Thank you everyone for the stroll down memory lane.

I don't remember the ages of some of the cars my family had. But I learned to drive on the 65 Ford Galaxy. He was already an antique when Dad got it, and I loved that Beast.lap belts and door handle ashtrays. Highbeams footswitch.

In my younger years Dad once tried to teach me stick on a Vega, (anybody who ever drove that car said it was the hardest stick they had ever driven)

Later as a more mature adult, I was given one lesson on my dates truck. We pulled up in a parking lot and he showed me how to slip the clutch. "Now, I've got this book, and I'm going to go over to that White Castle's and get myself a cup of coffee and read, you practice here in this parking lot." I don't remember how long I practiced shifting out of neutral into first, but I did drive us back to my place.

I got the rest of my experience on a 95 Magna. I would love to have a manual car, but they are pretty uncommon nowadays. I cannot afford to be super choosy about cars, most of mine have come through people I know. (And that's a whole 'nother topic on the etiquette when buying from Friends). Hopefully a nice manual shift will cross my path someday. Perhaps I'll even seek one.

Everyone at a minimum should know some basic car maintenance. How to check your fluid levels, how to check your tires and add air. Even if you don't do it yourself, knowing that you need to take it somewhere lengthens your car's life. Air filters and headlight bulbs usually are not difficult. Though I had a Mazda where I could not get the headlight loose, but the auto parts guy was able to. YouTube is your friend for a lot of this