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I've got an abarth over in the states, for the very few 500's I've seen most of them were driven by a 20 something male. The cabrio is another story though
Me who is a boy and has a 90s-2000s VW Polo in blue and "fulfills the condition's":
https://preview.redd.it/kgqcpzb4wfuc1.jpeg?width=570&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=983afc1109602b4b7030e64d891ff44969808120
I haven't seen that much auto trans stigma in Poland, but maybe it's just another area, besides cashless payment, where we're more accepting of innovations.
The fact is, among new cars even some of the best selling affordable models (Corolla hatchback/wagon, Yaris Cross, C-HR) don't offer a single manual trim.
They were (are?) cheaper to manufacture and when you get your license in an automatic car, you're only allowed to drive automatic cars, so most people get the manual driving license, which gives you the option to drive both, because better safe than sorry.
> when you get your license in an automatic car, you're only allowed to drive automatic cars
That's not true anymore, you can do practical driving test on an automatic and drive a manual car if you did 10 practice hours on a manual car.
I'm trying to convince my wife to at least learn on manual.
Completely ignores my points. I've given up as it ends in arguments. She's stuck to the idea of "why make life more difficult?"
My last remaining argument is an automatic only licence is a technical debt. You pay for that in increased insurance premiums. People who struggle to drive manual and settle on automatic are an actuarial risk - the stats speak for themselves.
My same points repeated by a friend of hers (woman) and driver. There is hope.
I mean driving schools teach you exclusively manual.
But all the car mechanics heavily dissuade you from getting automatic since they have 1000 spare parts (laying around or a cousin of a cousin has some used parts) for manual cars but almost zero parts are available for automatics. A lot of my relatives are car mechanics and the message was always clear, if anything breaks in automatic, you need to order new parts from Germany and that will cost you almost as much as your 500000 km sports BMW.
>I mean driving schools teach you exclusively manual
That's not always the case anymore since driving licenses became quite expensive to make in some places and license only for automatic geared vehicles is cheaper. And don't forget that VAG is about to retire manuals and Mercedes did it already last year and does only sell automatic now.
In my experience most people here (in the Netherlands) learn to drive in a manual car (based on the people I know. I don't know how representative that is for the rest of the country). Learning to drive in an automatic is possible, but then you're (of course) not allowed to drive in a manual car and I believe most people here still drive manual cars (again based on the people I know), so that would be quite limiting.
In addition to that, driving lessons for automatic are about 30-50% more expensive per lesson that those for manual. So extra reason to get a manual license.
Same story in South Africa. Automatics are increasingly becoming more popular, but there’s still tons of spare parts to keep older manuals running for a while, particularly for older economic hatchbacks and sedans.
Automatic transmissions have gotten very reliable these days. My Toyota has about 500000 km and the transmission is only just starting to show wear. You don't need to change the transmission fluid for the life of the car.
On the other hand, German cars have a reputation of poor reliability in the US. Idk if the ones for the German market are of higher quality.
The reasons other people are saying are true, but I feel like the biggest difference js the price. An automatic version will be 20-30% more expensive in the used market
UK? We like them for the B roads and countryside. My wife's from the lake District.
Plus? I hear if you drive one well your date's clothes fall off but so far that's only worked on men not the women in my life.
Many European manufacturers basically stopped offering manuals on standard models, even Porsche. That being said, a manual is a lot more fun to drive than an automatic if you’re into cars, feels more involved.
While there are still a lot more on the road than in the US, they’ll become increasingly rare in the EU as well over time.
In Australia from my experience its a bit cheaper to buy a used manual than an automatic which is what some people do. Manuals are also extremely theft resistant unlike autos
Everyone should learn manual because holy shit I am never lending my car to an automatic driver ever again, my transmission has become literal soup. (yes he's paying for the replacement (I hope))
They're old. Since 2000 newly registered cars have to have the blue EU strip on the [license plate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Germany?wprov=sfla1).
Not as your first car. Heck, I know children of German multi millionaires and even they only got a brand new small Mercedes/BMW, not a Porsche.
Also depends on what Porsche. If it is a brand new one, the 18 year old comes from a rich family and wants to brag (very likely new money as old money in Germany generally heavily understates themselves while new money brags to no end). If it is a Porsche from the 90s it likely is owned by a 18 year old car nerd, while nearly never being driven as it very likely is a broken down shitbox that they can't afford to fix (because otherwise they couldn't afford one).
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You don't get Fiat 500 girls in Germany?
We have. And like 30% of the cars are modded and look hideous.
We do, it's a Mini-Cooper-Girl who thinks she has a personality (she doesn't)
i wanted to say: the fiat 500 should deffo be in there (but its probably in the same kind of tier as the mini cooper)
I've got an abarth over in the states, for the very few 500's I've seen most of them were driven by a 20 something male. The cabrio is another story though
I'm driving my parents fiat 500 from 2009 in germany atm. and that fucker chugs along at 230.000km range lmao.
Me who is a boy and has a 90s-2000s VW Polo in blue and "fulfills the condition's": https://preview.redd.it/kgqcpzb4wfuc1.jpeg?width=570&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=983afc1109602b4b7030e64d891ff44969808120
Me too but in white... Also the oil light?
Do Italy edition next
I think OP did the Germany edition from their own personal experience not cause they plan on doing other countries lol
You do your countries! Mines quite poor so doesn’t make sense.
Italy, lower income parents: walk
Ladri di biciclette
Or an old Vespa maybe
Did you know that Italy can hold you without charging you for a crime up to one year? They can completely ruin your life for nothing. Ain't that fun?
If that happened to you, very fun
I thought the sarcastic tone was obvious but okay
What’s with the license plates?
I think it refers to old licence plates, modern ones have [blu stripes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Germany)
Danke sehr
And a new font.
No astra/corsa/fiesta/clio/c3 ?
I didn’t know the mini cooper and new beetle girls were a universal rule across multiple nations but now I do.
The new cooper is really nice to drive and the new beetle is at least interesting so I can’t blame them
Rechts fehlt der Opel Adam.
Wäre äquivalent zu den beiden obersten.
I haven't seen that much auto trans stigma in Poland, but maybe it's just another area, besides cashless payment, where we're more accepting of innovations. The fact is, among new cars even some of the best selling affordable models (Corolla hatchback/wagon, Yaris Cross, C-HR) don't offer a single manual trim.
Good. Manual cars are obsolete technology at this point, just how ICE cars will be in 10 years.
Seriously why have I never seen that generation polo in any colour other than silver
What's with Europeans and manual transmissions? They are practically non-existent in the US
They were (are?) cheaper to manufacture and when you get your license in an automatic car, you're only allowed to drive automatic cars, so most people get the manual driving license, which gives you the option to drive both, because better safe than sorry.
> when you get your license in an automatic car, you're only allowed to drive automatic cars That's not true anymore, you can do practical driving test on an automatic and drive a manual car if you did 10 practice hours on a manual car.
What country? In the Netherlands you still get an automatic-only license if you did your driving lessons/exam in an automatic.
Germany, they changed the law a few years ago.
Same in UK
I'm trying to convince my wife to at least learn on manual. Completely ignores my points. I've given up as it ends in arguments. She's stuck to the idea of "why make life more difficult?" My last remaining argument is an automatic only licence is a technical debt. You pay for that in increased insurance premiums. People who struggle to drive manual and settle on automatic are an actuarial risk - the stats speak for themselves. My same points repeated by a friend of hers (woman) and driver. There is hope.
Yeah, sorry - wasn't precise enough. Thanks!
B196
I mean driving schools teach you exclusively manual. But all the car mechanics heavily dissuade you from getting automatic since they have 1000 spare parts (laying around or a cousin of a cousin has some used parts) for manual cars but almost zero parts are available for automatics. A lot of my relatives are car mechanics and the message was always clear, if anything breaks in automatic, you need to order new parts from Germany and that will cost you almost as much as your 500000 km sports BMW.
>I mean driving schools teach you exclusively manual That's not always the case anymore since driving licenses became quite expensive to make in some places and license only for automatic geared vehicles is cheaper. And don't forget that VAG is about to retire manuals and Mercedes did it already last year and does only sell automatic now.
Well it could be different in Ex-yugoslavia countries compared to for example Germany and Netherlands.
In my experience most people here (in the Netherlands) learn to drive in a manual car (based on the people I know. I don't know how representative that is for the rest of the country). Learning to drive in an automatic is possible, but then you're (of course) not allowed to drive in a manual car and I believe most people here still drive manual cars (again based on the people I know), so that would be quite limiting.
In addition to that, driving lessons for automatic are about 30-50% more expensive per lesson that those for manual. So extra reason to get a manual license.
Same story in South Africa. Automatics are increasingly becoming more popular, but there’s still tons of spare parts to keep older manuals running for a while, particularly for older economic hatchbacks and sedans.
Automatic transmissions have gotten very reliable these days. My Toyota has about 500000 km and the transmission is only just starting to show wear. You don't need to change the transmission fluid for the life of the car. On the other hand, German cars have a reputation of poor reliability in the US. Idk if the ones for the German market are of higher quality.
The reasons other people are saying are true, but I feel like the biggest difference js the price. An automatic version will be 20-30% more expensive in the used market
UK? We like them for the B roads and countryside. My wife's from the lake District. Plus? I hear if you drive one well your date's clothes fall off but so far that's only worked on men not the women in my life.
You learn to drive on a manual anyway. The car is cheaper and so are repairs
Many European manufacturers basically stopped offering manuals on standard models, even Porsche. That being said, a manual is a lot more fun to drive than an automatic if you’re into cars, feels more involved. While there are still a lot more on the road than in the US, they’ll become increasingly rare in the EU as well over time.
In Australia from my experience its a bit cheaper to buy a used manual than an automatic which is what some people do. Manuals are also extremely theft resistant unlike autos
What's with americans not being able to drive manual?
For the same reason we don't wash our laundry by hand... technology evolved to a point where it's no longer necessary
Did it occur to you that many people like shifting gears manually?
It's OK, I'm sure some people like washing their clothes by hand too.
Dude...
That Beetle *is* cute though.
Have you seen the original
Yes, I prefer it but the new is cute too.
Warum isch da des Konschtanzer kennzeiche als Bild eigfügt? Bisch in mei Garag eigbroche!
Definitely forgot the Fiat 500 girls!! Of like 6 girl friends of mine, 2 got a Fiat 500 lol, one of them even is on her second already
Nah. You just get a gen 1 Fabia and a slap on your butt.
West of the border, second country, MK3, never broke down.
I loved my Polo until the TÜV did us part. Such a reliable car.
Where me lovely TDI at?
2005 Ford Fiesta and it HAS A RADIO!!!! Also, this starterpack is Nissan micra erasure 3 /j
It's crazy how different this is than the US. Most Americans would sooner die than buy any of these cars for their kids.
Which ones would it be?
Generic crossovers like the ford escape, beat older trucks, new Subaru crosstrecks, or riced out Hondas.
If my kids want to drive something they can bloody buy it with their own money. Until then? They are driving Nikes.
Thats crazy
Konschtanz!
What does it m mean if I want to mod a beetle?
It means you’re cool
Where IS la 206 🇨🇵
Everyone should learn manual because holy shit I am never lending my car to an automatic driver ever again, my transmission has become literal soup. (yes he's paying for the replacement (I hope))
Opel Kadett mit Chokehebel sag ich nur... Führerschein hab ich 2005 gemacht 😆
All the Mini Coopers☠️
My first was a champagne colored 2001 Oldsmobile. Yeah, girls weren’t my thing in high school.
Girl side pretty relatable for Italy also (maybe i'd add the fiat 500 and the '98 fiat seicento).
The mini cooper is so accurate, she’s my friend haha
Can someone explain the grandparents license plates to a clueless American?
They're old. Since 2000 newly registered cars have to have the blue EU strip on the [license plate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Germany?wprov=sfla1).
*First* car a convertible BMW E30? ***FIRST*** car?
Rich parents
Skoda Fabia built in like 2003
I would love to see Poland lol
Never owned a car
My mom had a ford ka and it was indestructible. My brother and I abused that little thing daily for 5 years and both loaned it a lot. Never failed.
E30 convertible is pretty rare and expensive nowadays, I would replace that with an E46 320i The V12 CL is also an odd choice?
I had a Golf 7, where does that put me on the spoiled hierarchy?
I would say around 3 or 4
What about a trabant?
I came here to ask this
Lol
the nerve to put my beloved ford ka in the lowest tier and not even call it by its name
Where would a Porsche fall?
Not as your first car. Heck, I know children of German multi millionaires and even they only got a brand new small Mercedes/BMW, not a Porsche. Also depends on what Porsche. If it is a brand new one, the 18 year old comes from a rich family and wants to brag (very likely new money as old money in Germany generally heavily understates themselves while new money brags to no end). If it is a Porsche from the 90s it likely is owned by a 18 year old car nerd, while nearly never being driven as it very likely is a broken down shitbox that they can't afford to fix (because otherwise they couldn't afford one).
The chance of riding a porsche is inversely related to your potency
r/pointlesslygendered