You know, if you're going to steal a car, you ought to make sure you know how to drive it, first:

Two teenage robbers spent valuable getaway time Monday night trying to drive off in a stolen car — but gave up, police said, when they realized they couldn't navigate a sedan with manual transmission.

The teens bolted from the Honda Accord into some woods but were captured within minutes.

One more advantage of having and driving a stick. It reduces the potential pool of car thieves.

For something like a Honda Accord, it certainly reduces the pool of potential thieves, but for high-end sports cars that generally only come with a manual, the pool isn't shrunk by much, because it usually takes a rather skilled professional to get into the car in the first place.

Disadvantage to a manual transmission: You need all 4 extremities to be healthy in order to drive it. Sprain an ankle, break a wrist, and you're not going to go very far (at least, not safely or comfortably).

Knowing how clumsy I am, I will always be sure that at least one of my vehicles has an automatic transmission.

Pity they couldn't get it going - they probably would have killed themselves, and thus cleaned up the gene pool just a bit.

Also the advantage of an old diesel, especially in cold weather.

"Why won't it start?"

I lent my '69 Ford pickup to my little sister once. She could drive a stick no problem, but she had no clue what a "manual choke" was.

Breen: "Disadvantage to a manual transmission: You need all 4 extremities to be healthy in order to drive it."

Not necessarily. When I tore my right medial meniscus 3 months ago I never missed a day driving my 4 speed Jeep, even drove it home immediately after the accident.

Had it been my left knee however, I could not have operated the clutch.