"You Women Can't Drive Stick."

By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter

A few years ago, I had a  Mitsubushi Eclipse Spyder Turbo convertible.  Very fun to drive very fast.  But, it had two clutches die very sudden deaths in the first 11,000 miles. NOT Fun.

The first one that died, the mechanic made a comment something like, "Man, even if you had your foot on the clutch pedal at all times, you couldn't have killed it this fast."   

The second clutch that abruptly died (while I was driving on the PA turnpike. One minute I had a gear higher than second, the next I didn't.) I had the car towed to the original dealer from which I leased the car. His comment (complete with chuckle and eye-roll): "You women can't drive stick."

1. I turned in the car early and refused to pay penalties. (Yes, you can do that.)
2. I told everybody at every opportunity (this was pre-blog days) NOT to do business with Conicelli (the eye-rolling dealer).  I also wrote the CEO in Japan, and got blown off with some auto-generated corporate speak.
3. I've never bought or leased another car from Mitsubishi (two cars before the Spyder, I owned a Mit. Galant that I loved, drove it for ten years.)

This was the third "stick" car I'd owned/leased. 

Mitsubushi is off my list forever.  We women remember things like this for - well - forever. 

And, we tell everybody for - yep - forever. 

Comments

[zachipoo]

I've driven stick forever...a transmission doesn't just put itself in 2nd gear all by its lonesome at highway speeds, and that will spatter your clutch all over the engine bay and sometimes through the firewall. They just don't go into a lower gear by themselves, the syncros won't let them. And, my mother taught me to drive stick, she's been driving since the 60's.

[Philippe]

Funny thing, you US women (yeah US !) who think men think you can't drive stick...blah...blah...
In Europe (yeah, Europe...a few miles from Mars) nearly every woman who drives....drives shift !
UNBELIEVABLE ! (yeah, really, I mean it...how can they ????)
Keep up the good thinking,

Philippe

[sheryl]

The father of my children taught me to drive, a stick, in 1966. He let me drive his gorgeous red Plymouth Sport Fury, with a huge MOPAR engine...It was fun and fast. Got stopped with a NUN in the back seat one day...got off. My 2 daughters bought VW beetles, STICK. We, women CAN drive a stick...

[Mary Schmidt]

Jack,

And I bet your Mom just loves your attitude...good thing for you she could remember how a diaper works, heh?

Actually, men have more trouble with traffic lights - as a higher percentage of them are color blind - and just can't seem to remember which one is on top.

(We women also have lower insurance rates, golly, go figure!)

[jack]

you remind me of my mother- she doesnt remember which light means go.

[Matt Ellsworth]

I can't believe that the mechanic would say something like that. The clutch should last a lot longer - and even if you did drive with your foot on it slightly - which almost no one does....

I had a mustang with 140k on it - still had the original clutch. A friends escort wagon had over 100k on the original clutch - and that was after 5 of us used it to learn how to drive stick - it still worked.

I like your idea of scatching mitsu off the list of businesses to deal with.

[feefifoto]

Once, when planning a move, I interviewed sales people for several moving companies, one of whom kept asking me what my husband would want to do even after I told him several times I was single. Later he had the nerve to call me to ask why I hadn't hired his firm.

[Laura]

Oh yes, that would really cheese me off (family rated blog that this is). I don't know how you couldn't resist severe damage to sensitive parts, if you catch my drift.

I love driving a standard car and miss it a great deal. You really feel like you are driving when you are driving a stick shift.

I learnt on a 1979 Mazda RX7. I still love the rotary engine purr...