In Canada, the ones I have heard over the years included: standard, stick, stick shift, manual, and three-on-the-tree
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Since the beginning of time people have used slang terms. So there are a variety of terms for a manual transmission! The fact that several folks insisted that “stick shift” only meant a floor shift amazed me.
@gasser667 ай бұрын
I'm 57 7/8 years old from New York and whenever I have been asked "can you drive stick" I have always interpreted that as "can you drive a manual transmission". Never gave shifter location a thought.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Same here! So it’s not a “regional” thing it seems.
@ApeGorrillo7 ай бұрын
Those people are crazy. I'm from Washington, and I call them all stick shifts. I usually just say manual, but I'll also often specify "3 on the tree", "4 on the floor", or whatever. Some people say standard as well. They're ALL stick shifts, though. Automatics are not stick sticks. Plain and simple.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
My point exactly! Many of these terms are just simply slang. Interpretation varies but I had never heard of “stick shift” meaning a floor shift only… in my life.
@user-ip1ro6qx2b7 ай бұрын
Wow Austin! A stick is a stick is a stick! Sure, you can call it a manual or a standard transmission but it's still a stick and it doesn't matter if it's on the column or on the floor. Keep crankin' 'em out bro! A push-button automatic is a push button automatic even if it's not in a mopar. People getting way too touchy. They can "stick" it. I love your channel and you featured several of my favorite cars today, the '62 Plymouth and the '72 Coronet. Another one I loved is your '47 Dodge with the Fluid Drive. I have a '66 Newport and my first car was a '67 Coronet. I love them all. Keep up the good work!!!
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
I’ll have a feature walk around video on the 62 Plymouth soon. ‘66 Newports are nice rides. I’ll likely own one at some point!
@trippberry7 ай бұрын
Good video, I'm from South Carolina . I've always heard it used interchangeably, stick shift for manual and vice versa. My grandpa that did a lot of building and racing in the 50s and 60s uses stick shift as a broad term as well, more than that he msotly says "straight drive". He'll further specify column shift or floor shift if need be, funny enough I've never really heard him use "three on the tree". Although it is fun to refer to the old three speed floor shift as "three by the knee" don't hear that one much lol
@dwi1897 ай бұрын
My Dad converted his 1965 Ford F100 pickup from a 3 speed on the column to a 4 speed on the floor. The shift linkage got worn where the linkage would jam up and we'd have to wiggle the linkage to free it up. So he found a Ford truck 4 speed manual in a wrecking yard and took the 3 speed out and put the 4 speed on the floor in.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
A truck I could see getting a lot more hard use compared to a car resulting in higher likelihood of wear.
@danielulz16407 ай бұрын
Stick shift was the common term for a manual transmission, to differentiate from an automatic, from the 40's through the 70's, at least. This usually meant a three on the tree until floor shifters came back into fashion in the 60's. I know this because I was there.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Yep! It was just a common slang term for any manual transmission. I really was curious how others viewed the term.
@ladahs7 ай бұрын
In my opinion stick shift means manual shift. It doesn't matter where that shifter is located. I have 2 cars with column mounted manual shift, and i am 29 years old. No one has ever tried to give me any unsolicited advice. I have 1964 Opel Rekord with 4 speed manual column shift and 1966 Volga with 3 speed manual column shift. And you can shift them hard as you like, as you said, they are meant to be used and they have to reliable. My personal preference is to shift them in a relaxed manner because they feel more comfortable that way. They are bit more awkward to use if you really want to powershift. Greetings from Finland!
@stevenandrews10127 ай бұрын
I am Washington born and raised.l have never heard any distinction between a floor or column shift...a stick izza stick... Jamie from Dead Dodge Garage gave u a shout out,glad he did,enjoying your channel..
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Thanks for the input. Seems the consensus is that the majority of people in the USA consider a stick shift to be any manual transmission. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t crazy! Ha! I got more content coming so hopefully you’ll find it enjoyable!
@404goldie77 ай бұрын
Thanks for this video. I'm surprised too by the comments you got. I'm from central FL, born in 1960. The words are utterly interchangeable to me. Though mostly we'd say "stick," like "You know how to drive a stick?" or "my Dad's truck is a stick-shift." And, you don't have to shift them gingerly. At least not with a Mopar, ever. I've seen more than one Ford with the shifter tied-on with rope. Some people are such fraidy-cats about everything these days! On a side note, gotta recognize you for always dressing so effortlessly cool! 😎 Side note #2, when it comes to your manual window cranks and your switchgear, on an old car, you do want to be gentle. If I have a passenger, I'll remind them not to slam the door hard when they get out.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Thanks for watching and thanks for sharing your input on the topic! Stay classy friends! 👌🏻
@domenicogaldo60657 ай бұрын
As long as your making good forward and reverse motion and not grating the gear-change or riding the clutch, that´s just fine, Austin. Here in the U.K we call car´s with stick-shift, Manual gearbox.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
For sure! Y’all don’t have a slang term for manual transmissions?
@domenicogaldo60657 ай бұрын
@@ObsoleteAutomotive Not in general use like Stick-shift in the U.S. We just say Manual or Automatic gearbox/transmission. Unfortunately, now there are so many different automatic, semi-automatic, Dual-clutch or CVT that the automatic type transmissions are confusing for the average Joe.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
@@domenicogaldo6065 I hear ya there on the numerous amount of different automatics these days! Thanks for your input. I guess we Americans like our slang. Ha
@georgeclark-uz7ld7 ай бұрын
I’m 66 and grew up in the 60-70’s and we used both terms. I will say I’m surprised that with the age and miles your column shifters work so well. I didn’t back then drive many Chrysler products but a lot of GM and Ford. As they aged they loved to hang up and get stuck between gears if you didn’t carefully shift in a definite H pattern on the “Tree”. Then you had to pull over and if lucky open the hood and wiggle the linkage or if not crawl under the car and pull on the shift rods. After a few times of that you either drove more leisurely or converted to an aftermarket 3 on the floor.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
I’ve had several cars past 100k with shifters still operating fine. I’ve had others that needed new bushings in the shift levers on the transmission and such but still would shift. Never really had one that was so out of whack it would lock up.
@tripp-n-drive7 ай бұрын
No one I've asked personally about this has had anything to say other than using stick shift as a catch all interchangeable with manual shift, manual gearbox, four in the floor, three on the tree , and so on. Not sure what was with the guys in your last video. But slang is something that's subjective and not set in stone anyway.
@johnkendrick73047 ай бұрын
I have to say you have some really beautiful cars and for a younger guy you really get it. I'm an older guy who has been in the car business his whole life. And those things are tougher than anything made today by the way
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Thanks! I love the old iron.
@chrisparsons70437 ай бұрын
90% of Brits learn to drive in "manual" cars, autos probably make up for only about 25% of cars on the roads. "Stick shift" doesn't actually make sense as a description. You either change gears "manually" or the car changes "automatically" - "manual" / "auto". Nobody in Britain would say "stick shift" most manual cars since the 70's here are floor chsnge manual, column manual was common in the 60's, as were column autos.
@BanzoSan5 ай бұрын
I have heard older people call them "standard." When I was a kid and asked my dad what a "stick shift" was, he described it as either "three on the tree" or "four on the floor. " (He didn't own a five speed vehicle until the mid-80s.)
@ObsoleteAutomotive5 ай бұрын
Exactly. “Stick shift” just meant a manual transmission where I’m from.
@danielthoman73244 ай бұрын
An older lady I know bought a Toyota with manual tran. She said it probably would not get stolen because nowadays almost no one knows how to drive a car with manual trans. She is probably right.I am 77 and I don't know how to drive one.😅
@joemazzola73877 ай бұрын
I never drove a car with 3 on the tree just 4 on the floor However some people have "heavy hands" meaning everything they touch from the headlight control to the old t v tuner I turn on my headlights on click at a time sane as the fan speed
@rogerlee39417 ай бұрын
I Live in Alabama. I'm 75 and have always lived here except for 7 years when I was in the Air Force. A stick shift has always meant manual transmission to me and everyone I knew. The only time we specified is when we had a four speed. Great video!
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
The few people that said stick shift only means floor shift seems to be the minority! Thanks for sharing your insight!
@ericbausman81957 ай бұрын
I have never been able to break a manual transmission or shifter or linkage but I have proven that I can blow up an automatic with one neutral slammer. YMMV😎
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Oops! 😂
@timothyhh2 күн бұрын
I figured they were called column shifts.
@Dukesmobile7 ай бұрын
I'm used to calling it manual or stick or (from what I found out) the more uncommon, old regional slang, "straight drive".
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
“Straight drive” is another common term here in North Carolina.
@fireballfireball10674 ай бұрын
In Australia I've heard them called '3 on the tree'
@JoeBritton-mw5yk7 ай бұрын
I have a '72 Dodge Charger automatic "slap STICK" shifter on the floor that came from the factory and I have always referred to it as such. Just thought I would mention this since it was called a slap stick automatic by Chrysler.
@user-57Plodge7 ай бұрын
Here in New Zealand it’s manual or auto, I have a 57 Plodge that is factory right hand drive, three on the tree manual
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Oh cool! The “Plodges” are neat vehicles.
@waggitnshaggit65927 ай бұрын
As far as hand positioning my uncle Larry (now uncle Bob)shifted with a stub for a hand after dragging his arm in the water on a fishing trip.
@michaelmihalis90573 ай бұрын
Austin,the only car I’ve ever owned that I called something else was my 77 cj 5 that I called rockcrusher referring to the Muncie 3 speed on the floor.Mike the Greek
@ricks.85637 ай бұрын
Probably the ones who said you drove it too hard think that's more suitable for a more sporty floor shift, like a hurst. But c'mon, then we are talking about really slamming it into gear, because of stop bolts they used, and these were made for that. But you weren't doing that, you were just quick shifting and that's completely fine, as with most kind of manual shifts. Second, to be really honest, "stick shift" when it's about these cars is always referred to as a shifter on the floor I think. Old surf songs, car advertising and such, would say a big chrome "stick" and that's just on the floor. The three on the tree is more a "lever". And it is shifted like a lever, as it's on the column, like a turn signal lever. Of course you don't call it lever shift, it just didn't have such extra known name like "stick shift" for a floor shift. They were just called "column shift". In Europe there were a bunch of manual shifted classic mopars. Floor or column, they were even built here. But it doesn't matter, you have cool cars, you make great videos and just have fun with them!
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
I felt like most of the commenters hadn’t ever actually drove a 3 speed on the column. I had to go back and watch the video and see if maybe it looked like I was really slammin gears… but I don’t see it. Shifting firm and concise isn’t the same as flogging it. Thanks for commenting. Glad you enjoy the videos!
@mattw90057 ай бұрын
I'm following your channel from Melbourne Australia, I suppose for me its column shift auto or column shift manual but the term 'three on the tree' is also used, I usually think of stick shift as on the floor but I guess there's no right or wrong, as you say seems very controversial with some viewers.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Greetings! End of the day it’s just slang and that can be interpreted and used many ways. But a lot of these folks were insinuating that I didn’t know anything about cars because I don’t use a made up term like they do. Sharing an opinion is one thing but trying to be insulting or saying their way is the only way is just lame. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
@johnkendrick73047 ай бұрын
Very simple. Stick shift is slang for manual transmission. That's it no question
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
I agree!
@user-oj9dq8io7r7 ай бұрын
Speaking of shifting gently I still remember a 1965 Ford Galaxies 500 4-door I drove from 1973 until 1990 with an automatic that when, after backing up, I would shift into drive with a quick smack with the side of my hand against the shifter, I wouldn't miss putting it in drive or ever have any problem with the linkage it was my karate chop of momentum.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Karate Chop Shift™️
@highlandrab197 ай бұрын
Well here in the uk you would just say how many speeds it has ie 4 speed or 5 speed and it’s assumed it will be a manual unless you have actually said it is an automatic
@jimcabezola30517 ай бұрын
My Dad had a 1966 Valiant V-200 Station Wagon with the same 225 Slant Six and 3-on-the- tree. Your transmission isn't gonna explode. It's fine. If you like the feel of the column, then KEEP IT! Sure...you could buy a shift kit to change it to a three-on-the-floor if you like that kind of thing. Good luck finding one, though. I've heard tales (yes...tales) that one can save weight and get better "shift feel" with floor shift. I've driven hundreds of thousands of miles with floor shift; I like floor shift. Not everybody else does. So what? Who cares? Enjoy the crap out of this gem...and stop listening to folks like me! Safe and happy motoring!
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
I know it ain’t gonna explode but so many people think that it will. Firm and crisp shifts are not the same as slam shifting. A floor shift would likely give better “feel” in most cases as there’s less mechanical movement and potential slop for sure. For me I prefer the column shift probably because that’s what I’ve driven the most of! Thanks for replying!
@stevenandrews10127 ай бұрын
Had problems with both floor and column shifts hanging up in gear due to worn bushings, requiring crawling under,(72Vega)or under the hood(OG Bronco) to take it out of the offending gear.Probably where most of that thinking is coming from...
@itswoodstock16967 ай бұрын
Here in pa we say manual or standard. However nobody differentiates between floor and column shift when saying their car is auto or manual. I will say I’ve seen some issues with column shifted manuals. Particularly on an old c10 3 speed. It needs some help every once in a while.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Thanks for the input!
@itswoodstock16967 ай бұрын
@@ObsoleteAutomotivealso it’s worth mentioning most of the time we just say how many gears it has, for example id just say my bmw has a 5 speed rather than manual.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
@@itswoodstock1696 Yes same here. Anytime you said just the number followed by speed it’s a manual transmission (3 speed)… but if you want to talk about an automatic then it’s “3 speed automatic”
@user-oj9dq8io7r7 ай бұрын
X- on the tree or x-on the floor I consider as a location of the "stick" or shifter.
@chrisparsons70437 ай бұрын
By the way, i would absolutely love a 72 Coronet Custom 4-door 👍😎👍 it would have to be auto though because I'm used to right hand drive manual or auto and have a left hand drive Scamp auto. I teied driving a leaft hand drive manual Mercedes and being actually left handed too, i found it very hard to do. 🤭
@michaelmihalis90573 ай бұрын
Austin, I call all manuals stick shifts and I’m in Maryland. Mike the Greek
@ObsoleteAutomotive3 ай бұрын
People are still getting bent out of shape about me saying stick shift. It’s comical!
@corbyscall7 ай бұрын
Three on the tree! I agree a stick is a stick.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
That’s it!
@leightonfarms49627 ай бұрын
Yep, 3 in the tree or 4 on the floor is stick shift.👍👍
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Right on!
@kendallsmith14587 ай бұрын
Does it have a clutch pedal? It's a stick! An early 70s Dodge van, two actually, I drove had a plastic pin in the steering column that would wear out from 'speed shifting'. Made it difficult to put in reverse. Don't know if the sedan has the same engineering failure.
@goneshootin616 ай бұрын
3 on the tree or 4 on the floor or 3 speed manual or 4 speed manual , canada .
@TaylorZ25 ай бұрын
The old timers always called it "standard shift". Austin how did you learn to drive stick?
@ObsoleteAutomotive5 ай бұрын
Standard shift or straight drive was other terms commonly heard around here. Other than a handful of times prior I really learned how to drive when I did my first cross country trip. I bought a 64 Valiant with a 6cyl and 3 speed on the column, flew out to CA. Did all the mechanical work and drove it 5000 miles from northern CA to NC.
@TaylorZ25 ай бұрын
@@ObsoleteAutomotive Is there a video of that trip? I'm partial to 63 valaints since I've had two (a v200 and a signet)
@ObsoleteAutomotive5 ай бұрын
@@TaylorZ2 That was way back in 2011. When I was a poor kid with the desire to get a classic car out of the junkyard, fix it and drive it coast to coast. I have plenty of photos. I may do a talking video at some point showcasing that first cross country drive. Plenty of stories on that trip.
@RichMander17 ай бұрын
You never once said “standard shift”. That’s what the old-timers called it, because that’s what it was. Standard.
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
I actually reference that in the video description. The other common one around here is “straight drive”.
@johnkendrick73047 ай бұрын
Of course it's a stick shift. You're shifting it with a stick. And not for nothing who cares anyway .. people sure make some petty comments
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
Some of those folks got bent out of shape. They could have just said that’s how they use the term instead of just saying I’m wrong or an idiot. But it seems the majority of people do use the term like I did.
@johnkendrick73047 ай бұрын
@@ObsoleteAutomotive that seems a little silly I don't know why anybody would take it that far. I lived in Texas and I live in Boston and it's the same no matter where I have ever been
@ObsoleteAutomotive7 ай бұрын
@@johnkendrick7304 that’s why I made this video. Was curious how other people used the term.