Last week, two thieves attempted a carjacking in a Bethesda, Maryland mall. They got the owner's keys, but gave up and ran away because neither knew how to drive a manual transmission car.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/two-men-try-to-steal-car-from-bethesda-mall-then-realize-they-cant-drive-a-stick-shift-police-say/2018/08/09/6d1fe466-9bc5-11e8-843b-36e177f3081c_story.html?utm_term=.4b12d3996fe8&wpisrc=nl_buzz&wpmm=1
(this might be paywalled)
I don't drive a stickshift anymore, but when I did I appreciated their theft resistance. My old '82 Accord was broken into in front of my apartment, and the thief hot-wired the car, but apparently he couldn't drive off with my car due to the stickshift.
It'd foil the hell out of me.
I only owned standard transmission cars for over twenty five years (late seventies to early naughts). My son and daughter both learned to drive on them.
My daughter actually had to drive herself thirty miles to the hospital, with a stick shift, while in labor for her firstborn. Her husband's car had been totaled the week before and he did't know how to drive stick shift!
Learned to drive a stick on my uncle's '59 Rambler: "3 on the tree" (shift on the steering column), no 1st gear synchro. Essentially hell on wheels -- double-clutch territory! When I got my first stick-shift vehicle in college (a Lotus Cortina), the all-synchro 4-on-the-floor seemed (relatively) like a little piece of heaven in comparison. Did my last cross-country trip in a stick about 19 years ago (my old Mitsubishi-built Dodge Ram 50 w/5-speed); don't think I'd attempt it again at 68! My GF can't drive a stick, so both our Toyotas are autos. Unless someone gifts me with a sports car w/stick (and pays for the insurance as well!), I don't think I'll be acquiring any more stick vehicles.
I learned to drive a stick shift, but I haven't driven one in a very long time -- fifteen years or more.
Despite the deterrence, my brother had a manual transmission car stolen and taken for a joyride.
I once rented a Cadillac that was an automatic, but had paddle shifters for GM's version of Auto-Stick.
Quote from: abefroman329 on August 10, 2018, 12:10:26 PM
I once rented a Cadillac that was an automatic, but had paddle shifters for GM's version of Auto-Stick.
I have paddle shifters on a CVT car. Beyond my understanding of why the hell..
Quote from: kalvado on August 10, 2018, 02:53:58 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on August 10, 2018, 12:10:26 PM
I once rented a Cadillac that was an automatic, but had paddle shifters for GM's version of Auto-Stick.
I have paddle shifters on a CVT car. Beyond my understanding of why the hell..
It's one of those "just because they can, doesn't mean they should" things.
One of several reasons I drive manual. Three years after purchasing my most recent manual vehicle, I've only had four other people drive it. No doubt thieves would be deterred.
A carjacking in Seattle was foiled by a manual gearbox a few years ago:
(One of the funniest news clips I've watched in a while)
https://youtu.be/b04YW3r5xhg