Remember back in the day when cars had manual transmissions instead of automatic ones? These days, it’s difficult to find stick shifts unless you ask for it specifically or look for older cars. Some of the most popular manual transmission vehicles are old, powerful Pontiac cars, or muscle cars as we call them. But if you’ve never learned how to drive a stick, buying one of these may be intimidating for you. Here are some tips to help you stay in control behind the wheel of Pontiac cars with a manual transmission.
• Put your foot on the brake to start the car. Next, put your left foot on the clutch, which is the pedal furthest to the left. With both pedals pressed down, shift into first gear with the gear shifter.
• When you are ready to start moving, release the parking brake and slowly take your foot off the regular brake pedal.
• Slowly apply pressure to the gas pedal with your right foot. As you do this, ease your left foot off the clutch. Try to sync it so you are adding as much pressure to the gas pedal as you are releasing from the clutch.
• To switch gears, press the clutch and move the gear shifter at the same time.
• Practice, practice, practice. The only way you’ll master the technique is to practice. Find an empty lot somewhere and follow these steps before hitting the road. Once you learn how to drive stick shift Pontiac cars, your car-buying horizons are limitless!
