too old and knees hurt too much to drive manual unless Im back home on the farm helping out my dad. Its funny to ask a young kid to try and drive not only a stick but a diesel stick, which is even a little different
Friday POLL: Manual or Automatic?
- Thread starter Zenophile
- Start date
Yup to that. Balky electrical system? Lemme guess, a Brit sports car with Lucas components! A quart of oil every 1000 miles, too. But a hell of a lot of fun with the top down....
A
anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
Guest
I learned in 'Murica but drove in UK a bunch, always shifting with left. Agree it's a fun twist. But the Peugeot and whatever else I was driving weren't an RX-7. That must have been great--and far better than the Chevy II POS I learned on.
And I too failed miserably teaching wifey. She's a really great driver but is also really impatient and adverse to instruction. So I gave up teaching her the right clutch-gas balance on the only manual I still own. With a 351 Cleveland with a somewhat high idle, I avoided a headache and told her to just take her foot off the gas entirely and slowly let out the clutch. So I guess I taught her to drive the car but didn't teach her to drive a stick. Still happily married. ;-)
Punchline: The machine will release automatically once it's collected 3 gallonsThis isn’t the Friday poll thread I was hoping for. In the vein () I was hoping for, I go manual over automatic.
A
anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
Guest
My brother-in-law made the inspired move of replacing his Rubicon with the new maunal one so it'll be my nephews' (14 and 12) car when they get older. So they'll learn how to drive one and for the reasons you listed above. I plan to follow suit, although not with a Rubicon.
EDIT: and thanks @Zenophile for starting this fun thread and getting us out of the doldrums of the few other threads worth wasting time on lately. This is a good break.
I think there should be a third choice -- Automatic with Select-Shift.
Using a clutch pedal provides a little more control but I wonder if, for those who prefer a true manual, would you still have that preference if you had learned on a "manual" that had no clutch pedal?
Since driving is often mixed and a pedal is a real hassle in congested driving, I think the Select-Shift is a reasonable compromise. If I could have a sports car just for fun country driving, then yea, I'd like to have the pedal.
A Miata or Mini-S would top my list for the country-car. Anything more powerful, like a Corvette, is just wasting capital and fuel given speed limits.
Using a clutch pedal provides a little more control but I wonder if, for those who prefer a true manual, would you still have that preference if you had learned on a "manual" that had no clutch pedal?
Since driving is often mixed and a pedal is a real hassle in congested driving, I think the Select-Shift is a reasonable compromise. If I could have a sports car just for fun country driving, then yea, I'd like to have the pedal.
A Miata or Mini-S would top my list for the country-car. Anything more powerful, like a Corvette, is just wasting capital and fuel given speed limits.
A
anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
Guest
First two cars (pictured below) were manual. Got married when I had the Supra (red one) and desperately tried to teach my wife to drive it with no luck. Ever since it has been automatic so we have the flexibility of her being able to drive either car. As I got older I probably would have switched any way, but if I ever get my (slightly past) mid-life crisis muscle car (Dodge Challenger) I would consider going back to stick.
Hadn't driven one for over 20 years til we went to Italy. Was having a ton of fun re-learning... until we made a wrong turn down a steep grade on gravel and had to back up into a scary hillside intersection (you know the one... no cars coming until one appears out of nowhere hurtling at breakneck speed into the curve lol). Tested our honeymoon magic a bit... lol.
Automatic without another thought. How the hell am I supposed to text and shift gears at the same time?
Just specced a 2020 440 awd with a manual on BMW's website.
https://www.bmwusa.com/byo.html#!/build/options/dwqxunxc it's under the options section at the back.
Don't get the aversion to a manual in traffic. I daily drove a manual for the last 3 years in Chicago and it was significantly more enjoyable than sitting in traffic with an automatic/having to keep my foot on the brake to keep the car stationary the few times I had loaner cars. (I know not all automatics automatically roll forward.)
Dual Clutch Transmissions also need to be driven differently in traffic than torque converter automatics. Slowly creeping forward with one prevents the clutches from every fully engaging and wears them out prematurely. It's the equivalent of riding the clutch in a manual.
Last edited:
If only there were places you could take a high performance car and explore those upper limits. Some sort of roadway that wasn't public. Like a track...
Pretty easy, since unless you're driving on some very windy, hilly, back road, you're not shifting gears that often
First two cars (pictured below) were manual. Got married when I had the Supra (red one) and desperately tried to teach my wife to drive it with no luck. Ever since it has been automatic so we have the flexibility of her being able to drive either car. As I got older I probably would have switched any way, but if I ever get my (slightly past) mid-life crisis muscle car (Dodge Challenger) I would consider going back to stick.
It’s 1989 and my girlfriend is getting ready to head back to school after visiting for the weekend... brushing off her Mk1 Scirocco S with a 5 speed stick ... gotta love that mono-blade wiper that was a mk1 Scirocco hallmark .... sadly it’s the only photo I have of that awesome car...
We’ve been married 21yrs now... the Golf Sportwagen i bought her a few months ago is her 1st automatic (other than the infamous minivan) ... might be time to trade her in
In Toronto at 4:00 automatic. on 268 along the Allegheny river on a crisp May or September day? Manual.
Teaching my 16 year old to drive now and told her how my first car, a 1968 Barracuda had the high beam switch on the floor near the drivers left foot - she thought that was the smartest thing ever - I agree and have no idea why they moved it to the tree with all the other stuff - way more of a pain now to find it quickly.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
It’s 1989 and my girlfriend is getting ready to head back to school after visiting for the weekend... brushing off her Mk1 Scirocco S with a 5 speed stick ... gotta love that mono-blade wiper that was a mk1 Scirocco hallmark .... sadly it’s the only photo I have of that awesome car...
We’ve been married 21yrs now... the Golf Sportwagen i bought her a few months ago is her 1st automatic (other than the infamous minivan) ... might be time to trade her in
There are a few cars I've wanted to see come back in "retro" form.
1.) Scirocco and or Corrado
2.) Karmen Ghia
3.) Opel GT
In this day and age a manual transmission could be considered an anti theft device. Not sure why the motorcycle industry never produced an automatic transmission?
In high traffic areas like central and north jersey a manual transmission would finish killing my hammy.
In high traffic areas like central and north jersey a manual transmission would finish killing my hammy.
Last edited:
A
anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
Guest
Pretty sure part of the thought was with automatics taking over, it was the only remaining part of normal driving involving the left foot (except perhaps the emergency brake). And with so many vehicles designed for worldwide distribution --basically interchangeable between right and left side drives (especially Japanese vehicles), the step button became more of an engineering challenge. Just my .02.
A
anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
Guest
There are loads.
https://www.cycleworld.com/top-automatic-motorcycles-you-can-buy-in-2019#page-3[/QUOTE]
Great post. I think everyone should have to learn driving a stick first. I’ll add that in bad weather areas I think people should learn to drive in the snow without 4WD before they can drive anything else. So basically I’m just saying I’m an old fart I guess
LOL...was just talking about that being a treat kids don't understand....until you are driving at night with your high beams on and need to downshift, slow down and a car comes up on the road you are turning onto so you need to hit the brake, clutch and highbeam switch all at the same time.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
my two sons got good pay and tips doing valet parking at parties while in high school and college. The other valets couldn't park the high end sports cars and these were the best tippers!Great post. I think everyone should have to learn driving a stick first. I’ll add that in bad weather areas I think people should learn to drive in the snow without 4WD before they can drive anything else. So basically I’m just saying I’m an old fart I guess
The Corrado with similar but modern lines and modern equipment would be awesome.
My company's former owner sold the company and immediately upgraded his Posche 911 4S Targa. As he was going out to order it, his wife convinced him to get the auto with paddle shifters and she might drive it (she won't drive a straight stick). He told me its been the worst decision he's made in his life! She never drives it and he curses when he does. He'll buy a new one in 18 months, I am sure.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
My company's former owner sold the company and immediately upgraded his Posche 911 4S Targa. As he was going out to order it, his wife convinced him to get the auto with paddle shifters and she might drive it (she won't drive a straight stick). He told me its been the worst decision he's made in his life! She never drives it and he curses when he does. He'll buy a new one in 18 months, I am sure.
Tell him next to go with the GT3 and tell her too much hp for her to drive it...
My understanding is that the computer can now shift more economically than a manual. True?
Where manual used to get better gas mileage, that is no longer the case.
I loved driving manual too, but agree, getting older and sitting in traffic makes the automatic more appealing.
Great suggestion! Perhaps give her the Targa and just get a GT3 for himself. This guy has so much money...years ago he and I met to play basketball after work. Later that night, we met for dinner. He was driving a Red Honda Accord that day and for dinner drove up in a black one. I mentioned that I recalled that car being red. He said that test drove the new Accord and bought a new one for each of his three kids for Xmas which was two weeks away. He is driving the three of them to make sure there aren't any problems before he puts a bow on them and drives them over to the kids houses.Tell him next to go with the GT3 and tell her too much hp for her to drive it...
VW developed a new Scirocco with the intention of bringing it here... but suddenly found themselves mired in a crisis of their own doing.... likewise the writing was on the wall with crossovers so they focussed on the MQB Tiguan and Atlas instead of a niche hatchback ...
Frankly, I wasn’t bliwn away with the new Scirocco when i saw the first press releases
https://autoweek.com/article/wait-theres-more/vw-scirocco-found-daily-driving-virignia
Yes - humans can’t change gears faster than a dual clutch automatic.... many of which now carry 7 , 8, or 9 cogs... so no longer is there a performance and/or an economy argument for three pedals... only an emotional one for old fogies like me
