

I’ve never driven a car that couldn’t do this, and I’ve driven at least a dozen manual transmission cars and trucks, all gas. Hell my beater right now doesn’t have first gear, and I have no problems starting in second just idling. You just need to be really slow and attentive to your rpms. Not that you should always start rolling like this, but I agree with the comment above that it’s an excellent learning exercise. I always start with this one when I teach other people how to drive stick with great success, and I wish that I started with this exercise when I was learning.
Many cars and trucks don’t even have a tach. Older Ford focus’s don’t, they just have a shift light. I used to drive a 70s Ford ranger that had neither. Don’t get me wrong I wish it did, but it’s only a nice-to-have for regular driving. Shifting off sound is fine, but it’s not just sound, it’s the vibrations in your seat, how the engine reacts to gas pedal inputs, etc. I only look at the tach when I need to downshift to pass.