Friday POLL: Manual or Automatic?
- Thread starter Zenophile
- Start date
Learned to drive stick on an army Jeep and never looked back.
Loved having a manual but haven’t had one for decades.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
What's your pleasure?
or
Depends... Saturday morning drive give me a stick shift. Saturday night out with my lady give me an automatic. Kinda sad how sticks have gone to the wayside. I learned on a stick (coming from a car racing family) my family thoughts were in an emergency or if required it's much easier to go from a manual to automatic versus in an emergency automatic trying to learn how to drive a stick.
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anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
Guest
Learned on a ‘68 Chevy II Nova (3 in the tree). After that thing, I was able to drive farm equipment, dump trucks and various other heavy equipment. Now it’s mostly automatic but for pleasure it’s gotta be a manual!
I wasn't allowed to drive an automatic until I passed my driver's test in a stick.
Many years later, I still drive a stick.
Many years later, I still drive a stick.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
Learned to drive stick in Japan in a '79 Mazda RX-7. Loved shifting with the left hand. That said, failed miserably trying to teach the wife to drive a stick in Italy and automatic is just too convenient these days...
Depends on the vehicle. I have no interest in shifting if I’m driving a truck or SUV.
Also depends on driving conditions. I hate shifting in stop and go traffic.
Probably automatic except for a weekend fun car.
Also depends on driving conditions. I hate shifting in stop and go traffic.
Probably automatic except for a weekend fun car.
had a sick for the last 26 years. Was looking to replace my Audi A4 with an A5 last year and found out they were discontinuing manuals (in the US) for 2019, so I had to find one left on a dealer lot and got one of the last dozen in the country in November. Finding a manual with AWD (big help living at 7000' ASL in Colorado) was extremely limited before, and now it's pretty much down to Subaru.
I drive a full size truck. Hard to find a stick in those anymore. I'm going to be distraught when my 13 yr old truck finally needs replaced
For commuting, can't beat automatic. But there's just something about driving with a manual.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
Exactly... before moving to from PA to FL when driving in snow it was so much easier to drive a stick. You can control the car much more on starts and slowing the car down.
the other day I was talking cars to a 20 something, I said maybe you need a '3 in the tree', I got an awful strange look. I got even more of a strange look when I explained how it worked, and further when the hi beam switch was on the floor!
For many years - it was manuals-only in our driveway... but now that we are in our early 50s, and we drive in some rush-hour stop-n-go traffic, relinquished and went for an automatic when I bought my wife’s car back in November... sadly I’m saddled with the CVT hell that is a company car 
Back when you were choosing btw a 3 or 4 speed automatic vs. saving $1000 with a 5sp manual and getting a few extra MPGs t’boot, the choice was easy....
Automatics are so good these days (okay, x CVT) - makes little/no sense to opt for the third pedal...
Though as a member of the manual transmission preservation society- my sons will be learning on a 5sp Honda currently collecting pollen in my driveway...
Back when you were choosing btw a 3 or 4 speed automatic vs. saving $1000 with a 5sp manual and getting a few extra MPGs t’boot, the choice was easy....
Automatics are so good these days (okay, x CVT) - makes little/no sense to opt for the third pedal...
Though as a member of the manual transmission preservation society- my sons will be learning on a 5sp Honda currently collecting pollen in my driveway...
Wrong... VW still offers a manual with the Golf Sportwagen 4motion and the AllTrack (until 2020) ... and it’s a way better driving / ownership experience than a Subaru*
Frankly I think they should move the Hi-beam/low beam back to the floor.
Three letters for you: D S G
There used to be a performance and an economy advantage with a manual... that is no longer the case
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anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
Guest
That’s awesome! Fun walk down memory lane. The weird beam switch on the floor. And the 4-way knob hidden on the column. I can only imagine the look that kid would give you learning he’d have to find that thing in an emergency!
For a vintage muscle car like my neighbor’s 1969 427/435 corvette or a less heavily powered sports car such as my old 1986 RX7 or 2004 RX8, I definitely would go with the manual because it really improves the driving experience IMO. For every day driving and commuting, hands down the automatic is the choice.
I much prefer the high beam switch on the floor vs. the turn signal stalk.
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When you reach an age where a fart can surprise you in a bad way, probably best not to have a stick anymore. Driving my TR-6 and banging three times in a night were fine memories along with driving a stick with youthful exuberance.
By “banging” he means banging three times a night on the dashboard to try to get the headlights to work
#lucaselectrics
Golf R as well. BMW 440, Mini Countryman. Porsche still offers the manual on several AWD variants of the 911. Jeep offers the manual on the Wrangler.
That brings back memories. I almost failed my drivers test because I took the test in my Bro-in Laws '74 Mercury Capri and the horn was a push button on the end of the turn signal stock and I forgot. LOL.
If your kid drives a manual transmission, he/she:
-can’t text while driving
-can’t gulp a pumpkin-spice half-caf double latte while driving
-can’t ‘lend’ the car to friends as easily
-makes the car harder to steal
-can always get a job as a carhop at an upscale restaurant
-will enjoy driving
On a personal note, any Miata with a slushbox should be put on an iceberg and set adrift in the Bering Sea.
-can’t text while driving
-can’t gulp a pumpkin-spice half-caf double latte while driving
-can’t ‘lend’ the car to friends as easily
-makes the car harder to steal
-can always get a job as a carhop at an upscale restaurant
-will enjoy driving
On a personal note, any Miata with a slushbox should be put on an iceberg and set adrift in the Bering Sea.
I went with a stick on my Mini S and love it but I don't have to deal with a lot of traffic for my work commute.
I was excluding trucks (incl. Jeeps) and 911 based on price. I'm pretty sure going forward you can't get the BMW440 either, only M2/M3/M4 (RWD). If I didn't live where it snows ten months a year, I might have been up for an M2.
Toured the Mini factory in Oxford last year. Pretty cool.
Can’t beat sticks for real driving. I loved having a manual rental car in Iceland and being able to bomb into empty traffic circles and such. Once you learn, you never forget.
One other great thing about a manual. Being able to jumpstart a dead car by getting it in motion down a slight hill and popping the clutch. Had to do that almost weekly for a month or so as a poor grad student with a balky electrical system.
One other great thing about a manual. Being able to jumpstart a dead car by getting it in motion down a slight hill and popping the clutch. Had to do that almost weekly for a month or so as a poor grad student with a balky electrical system.
Maybe I'm biased, but this is a good strategy towards learning to becoming a good driver.
I could even do that skill (popping the clutch to start the car) in reverse!!
Manual:This isn’t the Friday poll thread I was hoping for. In the vein (
Automatic:
This isn’t the Friday poll thread I was hoping for. In the vein (
