1993 Isuzu rodeo.

Learned to drive manual on a 1981 BMW 320i. All of my cars are still manual to this day. 1999 Toyota Solara, 1988 Toyota Corolla GTS, 2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder and 2020 Hyundai Veloster N. But mostly I ride my bike, which is also a manual.

My first car was a '73 VW Super Beetle.

I learned in both because while automatics were the norm, my parents never wanted me stranded in case a manual was my only option. So I learned in an older cute as hell red paint faded it was almost pink Jeep pick up truck with no tailgate.

Looking at photos online, I think it was maybe a 60s era Willie or a Gladiator from the 70s. It was pretty old, but not a classic, when I drove it.

Dad had to replace the clutch before I had mastered the subtle art of doing two things at the same time in a car.

Also I'm dyslexic and get my right and left mixed up easily . So you can imagine trying to navigate two feet on 3 pedals didn't go well.

I did eventually learn a manual.

I only drove manual and then bought an auto. Had trouble going up steep slopes more than once and came back to manual.

My first two cars were manuals, and I enjoy manuals (drive an EV now so no choice there) but this post reeks of acting like doing so makes us special. It doesn't. We just learned a different skill, and almost anyone can learn it if they chose to and especially if they enjoy it.

OG Mini. So, yes, had a manual clutch. Now, 40-something years later I'm driving an automatic for the first time because they don't make the car I wanted at the spec. I wanted in a manual.

I learned on an automatic and didn't know stick. Did that stop me from buying an old manual Mustang? Nope. I figured I had some practice with manual shifting in racing games (console), surely it couldn't be that hard. I stalled plenty of times leaving the lot but once I got it going it was fine. It only really took a couple days of dropping clutch and stalling on hills before I had it down.
Edit- Dang pedants

Driving stick is still the norm here. Learned it in a Suzuki Swift, which did not do honour to its name.

European here, learned in a Toyota Yaris

My second car was manual in high school. It was super fun to drive once I got used to it. I’ve had a manual for about 13 years and since switched to an auto for the last 9. Only reason I’d go back would be a fun sporty car but I’d probably be more likely to get a quick EV with one pedal driving at this point.

Never driven once since I was learning. Honestly couldn’t think of anything more annoying to worry about when I’m driving.

Learned and took my driving test in an 88 Dodge Omni 5 speed.

Whatever the driving school had, I have no idea what car it was.

started off in a Vauxhall Corsa with no power steering or windows, yes a full manual car. Except choke

I did drive some of my mums auto cars, remembering that they dont have a clutch is the problem.

I dont seem to get the joke no matter how much brainpower i use...

Mazda GLC

I didn’t learn to drive in a vehicle with a clutch, but I did learn to drive vehicles with clutches! I love manual transmission cars. Been fighting the urge to make a poor financial decision and scoop one up before they’re gone.

I learned on a 1st gen Saturn. That's before GM ruined the brand. It had a good deal of pickup to it, and was a lot of fun in the snow.

I don't miss it though. If I lived somewhere I could joyride with zero hills, traffic or parallel parking, sure. Otherwise? It's not worth it.

1987 Golf, and I still drive a car with a clutch.

Chevy S-10. I think a 1999? Around that anyway.

Still miss that little truck. The clutch had two positions - on and off. It was a pain to drive but once I learned on it I could drive anything.

I still drive stick today.

I learned to drive on two cars because my parents were divorced: my Dad's Ford Ranger (manual) and my Mom's silly "talking" Chrysler Laser (it literally talked to you, felt weirdly futuristic see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voice_alert ). I never really had a problem with using a clutch, it was the lack of power steering on that truck that sucked. I made sure that I never bought a car without power steering after learning on that truck.

VW T3 with a 4 speed manual and a Passat with a 3 speed slush box.

Chevy Chevette. This may have been one of the worst cars built, take minutes to get up to speed and over-rev cruising in the highway, but it was also a tank that lived through 6 people learning to drive a stick and probably close to two decades.

It was also really easy to work on, but

• when I replaced the springs I found them light enough to compress by hand
• when my brother replaced the clutch he said it’s the only car he saw where the transmission was light enough to hold one handed while replacing

I did. 1993 Saturn SL2. I bought that car for $1500 in 2001 when I was 16 and quite literally drove it until the wheels fell off (which then ended in me flipping over the car on the highway, but that's a story for another day. That also ended with being the reason I can't listen to "The Red" by Chevelle without a mild panic attack, also a story for another day.)

The idea of buying an 8 year old car (with only 93k miles, at that) for $1500 just seems so foreign now.

All it needed was a muffler, too. I drove it for about a year and a half before I killed the clutch, and that was the most expensive repair it had.

Learned in a Golf 7 and now I drive a Golf 4. It was delightful not having to turn off auto start stop after I got my license.

1972 AMC Hornet Station wagon with 3 on the tree. Literally The Green Hornet

An ancient 10 speed dodge dump truck doing sugar beet harvest in nodak.

The UK is becoming more automatic now, and we also have a lot of EVs. I learnt on a manual but didn't get a car until last year, which is electric. It's much better.

An old Chevy pickup, with my dad mocking and bitching at me the entire time which really helped my anxiety about being on the road. Wonderful learning experience. First and last time I ever went out with him to learn to driving.