does anyone else do this to manual drvers)... you know when you've backed out of a parking spot and the car is rolling backwards slowly, does anyone just put it in first and and drive off slowly. i do this often and so does some of my friends. is this bad for the clutch or anything?

 

This is a minor sin.

Something has to make the vehicle stop moving backward before it can begin moving forward. If you step on the brake pedal, that "something" is the brake. With the driving practice you described, that "something" is the clutch.

Both clutch and brakes use friction materials which will eventually wear out and require replacement. Which would you rather replace, clutch or brakes?

 

I do that sometimes too because those guys in Mustang GT's don't think it is a 5-speed and they stop laughing after the find out.

 

Now that's a lame reason to do it. Have some self respect, who gives a crap what the GT guys think. I considered getting a Mustang GT convertible recently and couldn't bring myself to it for all the problems I discovered once I did a little research plus the bad history that I had once with a Ford truck and especially Ford service. I swore I wouldn't make that mistake again - and I almost did.

I've had my share of manual trannys in my life and have done that on occasion but only because it kinda felt cool, going backwards and then forward kinda fast, easy to spin the tires that way.