[yelojkt]

Originally Posted by clickman

Huh? Teaching a new driver should include giving them as few unnecessary distractions as possible. Fiddling with gas and clutch while trying to deal with traffic, lights, etc is not going to get a newby confident and safe as quickly as possible. Sure, once they're comfortable on the road, if you feel the need to take a chance on damaging your manual car during the learning process, go for it.

Clickman Please don't take this wrong but...Oh my goodness did you think at all before writing this. You talk like I put my kid in the car in downtown rush hour traffic and said "Go for it kid" They both started in a big empty parking lot learning to be semi-proficient with their start and stoping skills. Than I take them into a commerical area where they can practice on streets with no traffic. This way they are as safe as possible while gaining confidence. And how in the world are they going to damage my car learning to drive it. I drive the piss out of my car and have over 200,000 miles on it. I'm sure all those thousands of hours of driving plus all the autocrossing and track time I have put on my car have been alot more punishing on the mechanicals than the few short weeks it takes my two boys to learn. This whole time I am riding with them ready to give them any advice they may need when they need it. I love spending this time with my kids and it is something I hope they remember just as I remember learning to drive in a 68 beetle as a 14 year old way back in good old 1979. Although my mom was the one teaching because my dad just did not have the patience. Peace dude.