Consume Product

Wholeheartedly agree. Every vehicle I've owned has been a manual transmission. I can't fucking stand driving automatics, it's not just a matter of having control over speed but more specifically velocity/potential velocity. Your dad is right, if someone can't drive stick then they can't drive. And most shitbags on the road in the US provably can't fucking drive. And that has made driving an unpleasant chore most of the time, which is too bad because I do still very much enjoy it when there is no one else on the road.

The one advantage of standard transmissions being erased in modern America is that over time that has forced me to become a decently adept mechanic, acquiring skill & knowledge as I go working on the older cars that I have driven and maintained. And yes this is but one of many examples of how dissimilar men like us are from the average person, and especially the average American. The fucking lack of curiosity or desire to do for oneself consistently astounds me. The contentment to be nothing more than dependent consumptive biomass confounds me.