*raises hand* I wish to join you sir!

...and I suddenly remembered that 3 speeds had a dog leg first gear. Does this make them cool?

5th Gear: Harley’s Big With Millennials

I had a 4-on-the-tree for a while (Saab V4) and it really isn’t bad. Reverse was a bit tricky sometimes, but other than that it was just as easy as any other manual. In spirited corners you could hit the shift lever though, but it’s not like it would pop out of gear unless you really wailed on it.

I am too! I really liked the shifter on my SAAB 96 - four-on-the-tree. Whenever you were holding the steering wheel, it was right next to your hand. And look at all that leg room, too. Even though it had bucket seats, you could still squeeze three people in the front if necessary, and of course it was cozy when riding…

I’d ask them to record video of it for a first person POV as well.

I’m with that, but we’re showing our age. Bet few under 50 have ever rowwed a column, am I right?

I drive a manual and my insurance rates it as “theft deterrent.” No kidding.

I had two daily-driver three-on-the-trees in my life, a ‘67 Mercury Meteor Rideau 500 wagon (with factory 289!)and a mild custom ‘51 Ford Victoria. The custom was a joy, in the way that turning your cell phone off for a day and reading a book in the park is. The Mercury, its linkage would slip a lot, so I’d have to…

Maybe it was okay in a Fairmont but in a van it was straight sadness. No, I've never seen regular car reviews. I should check it out.

Australian here, I agree.

Awesome. My mom apparently learned to drive in the 60s on an old Saab with a column shifter.

Not as bad as riding a motorcycle, though. Got stung by a second... And it stung a little too close to where the sun doesn't shine.

and they should throw in the high beam foot switch on a couple models as well just to add to the complexity!

When I was in high school, our Driver Training class had simulators with 3-on-the-tree shifters ... they never bothered to teach us how to use a clutch properly so we students royally abused those devices ... usually slamming clutches and gears with wild abandon.

My Dad’s pickup had a three-on-the-tree. If you came to a stop with it in 3rd, it would jam and you couldn’t shift. You had to pop the hood and bash the linkage free manually. It was awesome!

The stalk is on the column but on the left side rather than the right which is where the shifter is. Years of mental conditioning conspired against me until I finally got used to it

I couldn’t tell you. I actually don’t like him very much in general, so it’s hard for me to justify anything he does.

My grandfather always said - use the proper tool for the job.

I’m still not allowed to use the baler in the warehouse.