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There has never been a worse time to learn stick shift. Less than 1% of cars sold in 2025 had a manual transmission. Exotic cars are no exception: Ferrari has not sold a manual car in almost 15 years. Electric cars can provide maximum torque at all times; they don’t have a ‘transmission’ in the usual sense. I called Flatirons Subaru in Boulder to ask if I could trade in my automatic for a stick. They had zero stick-shifters in the lot.

My stick-shift interest comes from the sandy, mesquite-shrubbed canyonland of my soul. It’s the reason I write my own software, do my own oil changes, mail postcards, and make my own books on a 1960s typewriter. It’s why I have a bike repair stand in my garage, and why you can find me at the Waffle House at 1 AM. Ultimately, “that’s just the way things are done” is worth as much to me as — how shall I put this — a pair of porcine-posterior peccadilloes.

I posted an ad on Craigslist, saying I’d pay for stick-shift lessons. The response was instructive. Over a dozen people emailed me to say that the damage I could do to a car’s clutch was far greater than what I was offering. My best bet would be to find a beater car on Craigslist, and learn by doing.

The beater arrived at my house on a flatbed trailer towed by a minivan. It was a Volkswagen Jetta with a bumper sticker that read “S***box Edition.” The front bumper was in the back seat. The stereo had an anti-theft feature called “not existing.” I was informed that warning chimes would go off if the car went above 20 MPH. All that said, it was advertised as ‘drivable.’ Price: $600.

The owner was a mechanic in the Nebraska panhandle. Let’s call him Steve. Before I continue, I must stress that Steve is an honest, decent man. He showed more integrity than any customer service agent I’ve dealt with in the past year. Character is revealed when things get screwy. Things were about to get very screwy.

I told Steve about my plans to learn stick-shift. He offered to show me the basics before we completed the sale. This was, in hindsight, a very good choice.

Photo by Peter Anderson, licensed under CC BY-ND

I sat in the driver’s seat, and Steve rode shotgun. I put in the clutch and brake, and turned the key. Then, I began searching for the “bite point”. I stepped on the gas a little while letting my foot off the clutch. The car began moving. To its credit, the car handled this part well.

I live in a suburb of Broomfield with long, picturesque streets that curve through parks and farmland. In other words, an unwalkable food desert. Between remote workers and helicopter parents, there are no pedestrians to worry about. It’s the perfect proving ground for a student driver. The brown mounds of the Erie landfill rose up as I learned the gears.

Steve had a lot of helpful advice, like “Go go go go go!” and “Gas, now! Shift! Shift!” The quiet streets were a safe space to stall several times. I learned that driving stick means committing to the shifts. You can’t sort-of shift, or hesitate in the clutch-gear-gas movement. If the clutch is out and you let off the gas pedal, the RPM will drop to zero, and you’ll stall. Neutral gear is more than just Car Wash Mode in a manual: it has an actual purpose when the car is not moving. For stick shift to work, you have to be bold, and it wasn’t working. I made note of that.

We made our way through the suburb. The first time I successfully shifted into second, then third, Steve and I cheered.

Two miles into our loop, the Jetta lurched.

“Sorry,” I said.

“No,” said Steve, “you shifted fine. Hmm.”

Hearing a ‘hmm’ in the engine can be bad. Hearing a ‘Hmm’ from your driving teacher is worse.

The car stalled again. I went through the movements: brake and clutch, ignition, and the car started. We sat at a stop sign, and Steve listened.

“It shouldn’t sound like that…” muttered Steve. “Here, hop out.”

The car barely made it back. It died on the doorstep; not on *my* doorstep, but on my neighbor’s doorstep. Where his children like to play hopscotch. Steve opened the hood and unscrewed the radiator cap.

“Um, maybe we should wait–” I started. The cap popped off, and coolant started bubbling out like a witch’s cauldron brew. It flowed down the street in a green river–right in front of my neighbor’s house. I hooked up my garden hose and began spraying.

“Earth Week 1” by Nick Harris, licensed under Creative Commons BY-ND 2.0

Steve was mortified. He said this had never happened to him, and he felt embarrassed as a mechanic. I told him I expected some issues with the car, but to learn stick-shift it had to, you know, drive.

Before he drove down from Nebraska, I told Steve I would pay him for his time in case we didn’t go through on the sale. I reminded him of my commitment, but he refused my money.

Photo by David Day, licensed under Creative Commons BY 2.0

As Steve backed the S***box Edition onto the trailer, it started smoking. We shook hands and chatted about audiobook podcasts he listened to on long hauls. It was cloudy as he drove off in his minivan, car in tow. When the street was hosed off, I went over to my neighbor and explained how I owed him a favor now.

I am no closer to learning stick-shift, though my neighbor said he’d help teach me. For now, Broomfield’s streets are safe. The guy at Flatirons Subaru? Eh… he’ll get back with me if something rolls into the lot.

The next time I lurk on Craigslist, I’ll hope for a seller as honest as Steve. Why can’t we get a Steve at the state capitol? I’d take him over Jared Polis any day.

Until next time, I’ll practice keeping my foot on the gas.

Boldly.

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The post The Stick Shift Misadventure appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

[ Local ]

• CO Springs settles $2 milloin lawsuit from three officers beating Black man during a traffic stop
• Boulder plans to install “bi-directional” car chargers that will be able to both charge vehicles and power buildings
•  Ranchers bemoan the loss of half a dozen cattle, call for halts, after wildlife experts reintroduce native Grey wolves to Colorado in a move that will help restore natural balance and strengthen the ecosystem
• Colorado prisoners injured while performing hard labor at below minimum wage for corporations have little recourse to sue, cannot protest, and can be sent to solitary confinement as punishment for not working
  The Northern Lights make an extremely rare appearance over Colorado skies putting on a natural light show for anyone with clear skies

[ National ]

• Trump makes several statements over the month, indicating he will revoke any LGBTQ+ protections he can, tells donors he supports Israel “crushing” Palestinians, and will deport students for protesting
• Supreme Court rules that a gerrymandered South Carolina district can stay rigged, which in effect excludes thousands of Black voters
• Biden and Trump agree to a debate in June, likely to change absolutely no one’s opinion of either candidate
• Judge Cannon indefinitely postpones trial on the former President’s mishandling of classified information, in a sign that our courts are totally healthy and functioning as they should to protect democracy and hold power accountable…

[ International ]

• U.S. State Department states it is logical to conclude that Israel has committed war crimes and violated international law, yet weapons are still being sent to the belligerent party
• Iranian president dies in a fiery mountain helicopter crash during foggy conditions on a mountain range near Armenia
• Horrifyingly, but not surprisingly, Human Rights Watch states that Israeli attacks on aid being sent to Palestinians are “not unusual”
• Assassination attempt against Slovakia’s far-right Prime Minister leaves him gravely wounded but luckily still alive, attacker was arrested immediately

Quotes

“These efforts target and single out an already vulnerable group of kids and, if successful, will place an additional administrative burden on our already-overworked teachers, coaches, and school administrators” – Bruce Parker of Out Boulder on anti_LGBTQ+ ballot initiative

“…under new anti-terrorism legislation just passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, that kind of hard-hitting investigative journalism could cost The Intercept our nonprofit status” – The Intercept about  losing funding over their criticism of the Israeli war in Gaza

“I used to believe I was born biologically… upon reflecting on my experiences I was convinced God had sent me” – Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, the world’s largest democracy

“All Colorado parents should be aiming to remove their children from public education” – email directive from director of special initiatives for the Colorado GOP

By the Numbers

$2 Million / 17 Children

City of Uvalde settles with the families of 17 children killed in the mass shooting that continued because of incompetent law enforcement

34 of 34

Guilty counts for the first ever felony conviction of a former president

2025

Project 2025 openly calls for an authoritarian take-over of the federal government following the next Republican presidential victory, remaking the presidency using executions and the military to quell opposition

50th / 1.1%

Colorado saw the second smallest increase in teachers’ salaries nationwide, at just over 1%, ranking 50 out of 51 (including Washington D.C.)

-18%

Property crime rates in Boulder dropped by almost 1/5 since 2020, but report notes violent crime rates have risen slightly over the same period

The post Month in Review | May 2024 appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

Eco conscious citizens have often harped on the value of a hybrid car.

With laid back braggadocio, we are told of fuel savings, lowering carbon emissions, saving the whales and freeing Tibet, all because of a car that runs on both electricity and gas. Okay, okay, maybe the car won’t advocate the release of Shamu, but the Hybrid bumper is typically chock full of political pointers telling unfavorable presidents exactly where to shove it. Hybrid car owners are passionate people, and the car itself is a symbol of their dedication to a safer world with cleaner skies. But what if the hybrid car could perform even better? Paul Guzyk has a way to supercharge your Prius and transform it from responsible gas
sipper to electric Zen master of the road with Boulder Hybrid’s plug-in upgrade.

YS: What is a plug-in upgrade?

PG: A plug-in upgrade means that you can plug your existing hybrid into the wall and charge it from the wall as if it were an electric car, but the car still has the gas engine and a gas tank. So for city driving it’s an electric car, but on longer trips it’s a hybrid. It’s the best of both worlds.

YS: But what’s the difference between a hybrid vehicle and a plug-in car?

PG: A pure plug-in car like a Nissan leaf only has an electric battery—you can only charge it and fuel it by plugging it into the wall. So if the battery is depleted you will be stranded.

YS: So why convert an older hybrid into a plug-in electric?

PG: They use less gas, so the average customer gets close to a hundred miles per gallon on the fuel they burn with a plug-in car versus a regular hybrid Prius that gets closer to 45 miles per gallon.

YS: How does the conversion work for the car?

PG: It’s an add on system, that actually gives the car a bit better performance in that it doesn’t need to use the gas engine if you are taking a short trip around town.

YS: Does the state of Colorado offer any rebates or support for the conversion?

PG: There is a state tax rebate that Colorado residents get about six thousand dollars back from the state if they do the conversion. The conversion costs around twelve thousand dollars before the rebate.

YS: The conversion alters some operational components of the vehicle, does that void the warranty?

PG: There is a law in the United States called the Magnus-Moss warranty act, that unless the problem in the car is directly related to the after market equipment, your dealer cannot deny you warranty coverage.

The post Plug In Power appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.

There could be a day in the near future that the town of Superior will be overrun by futuristic-looking golf carts whizzing by at a pesky 35 miles per hour. Sounds annoying, but it’s a proactive step toward reducing auto emissions. Residents are asking the city to take a page from the book of Lincoln, Calif., a town that has welcomed Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) as a primary means of scooting around town. Lincoln, a community filled with retirees, built specific infrastructure for the more than 500 tiny electric cars there to use.

What’s Next: Residents and the Recycling and Conservation Advisory Committee will work to see what Superior can do to accommodate NEVs.

The post Don’t Worry These Cars Don’t Look That Funny appeared first on Yellow Scene Magazine.