Other than an alarm, a manual transmission is one of the best defense mechanisms you can have on a car to avoid getting it stolen.
Now, even judges are recommending that thieves learn how to drive stick.
It's a story that is bringing a lot of shame these days in the tight knit car jacking community. A man goes to steal a car and then realizes it's a stick shift and he can't drive it. In this particular case, two enterprising car jackers jumped into a 1990s Toyota Tercel. Then they realized they couldn't drive stick. This is definitely one reason to learn.
Instead of car jacking, they pointed the gun at the owner and made him drive. That makes this an attempted kidnapping. The cops caught up to them down the road a few minutes later and took the thieves into custody.
The Court of Appeals for California's Third Appellate District was not impressed at all. This is what they had to say:
We strongly discourage anyone from choosing crime as a career. Nevertheless, as with any pursuit in life, one should be prepared. For instance, if you are planning to carjack someone, you should make sure you can drive a stick-shift.
The judge has a point: If you're going to undertake an endeavor, professional or not, make sure you're well prepared.
Photo Credit: tobiastoft
(Hat Tip to Bijan!)