Carjackers Fail to Steal a Manual Car Because They Do not Know How to Shift It

Despite the fact that today cars equipped with manual transmissions become obsolete and get replaced with more advanced automatic models, it still can be useful to know how to drive a stick shift, especially if you plan to steal a manually shifting car. And a recent story from Canada proves this point.

According to the news report, the story took place in Toronto in late November, when two teenagers tried to steal a car from a man, preliminarily threatening him with a gun to get his keys and drive away. Everything was going according to plan until carjackers got inside the car.

These teenagers should have watched this video before trying to steal a manual car

Most drivers prefer a comfortable driving in cars equipped with automatic transmissions. In Canada, even not all experienced drivers know how to use a clutch while shift gears manually, and don’t even bother about acquiring this obsolete skill. Despite the fact that manual transmission are more maintenance-friendly and cheaper for manufacturers to produce and for drivers to buy, but the current generation of drivers simply gives preference to automatics. Therefore, two potential carjackers were confused to see a clutch pedal inside the car. It turned out that none of them knew how to drive a stick. It is hard to imagine the scale of frustration when unlucky criminals had to put up with the sad truth that they did not have the faintest idea how to shift gears manually.

At that point, they didn’t know any better than to get out of the car and run away. But it didn’t help, as later both criminals were arrested by police. The alleged criminals are now facing several charges—to say nothing of a surge of mockery, such as the Canadian newspaper's headline naming them "Stick Shift Simpletons."