Gears

    • I haven't heard "free-wheeling" (that sounds like the car is happy-go-lucky :) ), but when I drove a stick-shift, I would refer to the car not being "in gear."

    Elisabetta
     
    No, no, no... :) It means a "standard-transmission" car, one that requires you to manually change or "shift" gears using a lever or "stick." I believe that's what you typically drive in Europe, no? Here in the U.S., most cars have automatic transmission.

    Elisabetta
     
    Oh! I see :) . No, I wouldn't say that in Europe cars aren't usually automatic, but of course in eastern countries you are more likely to buy a stick shift car than the one with a standard transmission :).
     
    Oopsie, maybe I wasn't clear:

    Standard transmission (or manual transmission) cars have a stick shift.

    Automatic transmission cars (which have become "the standard" in the U.S.) do not have a stick shift.

    :D

    Elisabetta
     
    You were clear, but still I made a mistake :eek:. What I wanted to say is that some people buy stick shift cars rather than authomatic transmission ones.
    Thank you for explaining it to me! :)
     
    virr2 said:
    Maxiogee, can we say "the car is not in any gear" or "the car is free-wheeling"?
    Click to expand...

    I'd be more likely to hear that without the "any" — "the car is not in gear".
    The other is fine — free-wheeling is illegal in this country, to the best of my knowledge.
     
    maxiogee said:
    I'd be more likely to hear that without the "any" — "the car is not in gear".
    The other is fine — free-wheeling is illegal in this country, to the best of my knowledge.
    Click to expand...
    free-wheeling usually denotes motion, whereas a car could be in neutral or not in gear while stopped at lights.
     
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