Manual vs. Automatic?

[place-saint-henri]

HEY ROADGEEKS:

what do you prefer? I would like to have my next car be a 5 speed even though I cant really drive it (Dr. Frankenstein taught me and I stalled his car like 52,000 times). but actually having a manual car and being up the creek when its time to take it off the lot will teach me how! I guess would prefer it for Its better for fuel economy, more control but really because its COOL to be able to say you can.

I would hopefully get a 1987 Volvo 240DL Wagon with a 5 speed and do donuts in the parking lot for the Decarie Square Mall because CDN-NDG (right next to the A-20 Decarie expy) is the place to do gangsta sh*t like that. although not in the winter because I wouldn't drive in the winter because Quebec winters eat through 25+ year old cars like Don Gorske eats through Big Macs.

but anyway I digress...

AARoadgeeks my question to you is what do you prefer? Standard or Auto and why?

[NE2]

Pedal-powered.

[on_wisconsin]

We just had a thread on this back in July: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=9580.msg228023#new

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Manual.  Automatics are slushed up too much these days, because people don't want to feel the shifts.

Only way to accomplish this is to make the clutches slip more, which heats them up more, and decreases their life.

In other words: automatic transmissions have engineered-in issues anymore, because people are wussies.

[1995hoo]

I've never owned an automatic and hope never to have to.

[Takumi]

Both my cars are manual. Whenever I drive an automatic my left foot gets bored.

[cpzilliacus]

Never owned a vehicle with an automatic, though I may be forced to go that way if I want to keep driving Ford pickups, since they don't apparently offer trucks with manual transmissions any longer.

[corco]

My strong preference is to drive a manual, but I have two cars with an automatic at the moment.

[signalman]

All the cars that I've purchased, including my daily driver, have had manual transmissions.  One previous car and my truck (both given to me by family members) had/have automatics.

[Stratuscaster]

Manual.  Automatics are slushed up too much these days, because people don't want to feel the shifts.

Only way to accomplish this is to make the clutches slip more, which heats them up more, and decreases their life.

In other words: automatic transmissions have engineered-in issues anymore, because people are wussies.

Not everyone that drives an automatic wants to "not feel the shifts" and fluids are engineered to combat the slipping of the clutches to reduce the heat and wear.

I attempted to learn manual and learned several things - it's a pain in the behind in my daily commute, I'm not very good at it, very few folks with manuals will let you grind their gears to learn, and not a lot of folks around me own manuals in the first place. But it's all OK - I've survived driving the last 30-plus years with automatics and my manhood is still intact.

All that said - I'm not against offering manuals to those that want them - but I can envision where after decades of charging a premium to have an automatic (despite the take rate being something like 94%), there will be a premium to buy a manual.

I've yet to drive an "automated-manual" like in some VWs and in the new Dodge Dart and Fiat 500/500L.

[bugo]

No such thing as an "automated manual".  They are automatic transmissions.

My current car is a slushbox but I much prefer manuals.  I like the fact that I can drop from 6th to 2nd if I am passing on a 2 lane highway.  With an automatic with paddles, you must go from 6 to 5 to 4 to 3 to 2, but with the manual you can go straight from 6th to 2nd to build up power.

[hbelkins]

I have no desire to own or drive a manual. Why make the act of driving more complicated than it has to be?

[bugo]

I have no desire to own or drive a manual. Why make the act of driving more complicated than it has to be?

Because it's a lot more fun?

[wxfree]

I have no desire to own or drive a manual. Why make the act of driving more complicated than it has to be?

I love driving.  With a manual transmission, I love driving even more.  If using a manual transmission isn't something you enjoy or prefer, then there's no reason to use one.  A modern, properly-maintained automatic is every bit as good as, and sometimes better than, a manual-shift.  It's strictly a matter of preference; use whichever you like better.

[bugo]

Automatics aren't "better" than manuals, just different.  Nothing will ever replace the good old fashioned 3 pedal manual.

AT&T Princess phone

[wxfree]

Automatics aren't "better" than manuals, just different.  Nothing will ever replace the good old fashioned 3 pedal manual.

AT&T Princess phone

"Better" is a matter of opinion; technical superiority is not.  Continuously variable transmissions, dual-clutch automatics, and, in some cases, regular old slush boxes, have the potential to be, and often are, superior to driver-controlled transmissions.  Fuel efficiency, acceleration, and off-road performance are now better with a well-designed automatic than with anything controlled by a poorly-designed driver.

I agree that a three-pedal manual is better in terms of being more fun and more instructive, but the machines we now design are better than what we can do ourselves.

[Truvelo]

My current car is an automatic. All my previous cars have been manual but I've reached the point where I was getting sick of changing gears.

[Alps]

Automatics aren't "better" than manuals, just different.  Nothing will ever replace the good old fashioned 3 pedal manual.

AT&T Princess phone

"Better" is a matter of opinion; technical superiority is not.  Continuously variable transmissions, dual-clutch automatics, and, in some cases, regular old slush boxes, have the potential to be, and often are, superior to driver-controlled transmissions.  Fuel efficiency, acceleration, and off-road performance are now better with a well-designed automatic than with anything controlled by a poorly-designed driver.

I agree that a three-pedal manual is better in terms of being more fun and more instructive, but the machines we now design are better than what we can do ourselves.

Disagree. A good driver can make more efficiency and performance out of a manual than out of an automatic. I use my car's manual-shift mode whenever I'm not on a roadtrip, and definitely appreciate being able to set my own gear. That said, I don't have the attentiveness to work with an actual manual, since I often find myself forgetting to shift. And it wouldn't work if I have to take a no-look one-handed photo while simultaneously braking, turning, and accelerating through a corner, which I do often.

[US81]

Manual transmission for me, though it's getting very hard to find them in vehicles that are otherwise comfortable. Easier to find in the most basic "starter" car lines or in the high end sports performance car.

[realjd]

Manual.  Automatics are slushed up too much these days, because people don't want to feel the shifts.

Only way to accomplish this is to make the clutches slip more, which heats them up more, and decreases their life.

In other words: automatic transmissions have engineered-in issues anymore, because people are wussies.

Not everyone that drives an automatic wants to "not feel the shifts" and fluids are engineered to combat the slipping of the clutches to reduce the heat and wear.

I attempted to learn manual and learned several things - it's a pain in the behind in my daily commute, I'm not very good at it, very few folks with manuals will let you grind their gears to learn, and not a lot of folks around me own manuals in the first place. But it's all OK - I've survived driving the last 30-plus years with automatics and my manhood is still intact.

All that said - I'm not against offering manuals to those that want them - but I can envision where after decades of charging a premium to have an automatic (despite the take rate being something like 94%), there will be a premium to buy a manual.

I've yet to drive an "automated-manual" like in some VWs and in the new Dodge Dart and Fiat 500/500L.

Electronic manuals are hit or miss in my experience. VW does a good job with theirs. I drove a Peugeot with one that was absolute garbage though. Shifts were jerky and they kept the manual gear ratios. Hit the gas pedal and it would lurch forward very briefly, seemingly stall while it shifted, then lurch forward again in 2nd.

[1995hoo]

I have no desire to own or drive a manual. Why make the act of driving more complicated than it has to be?

I don't find it complicated at all. It's more second-nature.

[cpzilliacus]

I have no desire to own or drive a manual. Why make the act of driving more complicated than it has to be?

I don't find it complicated at all. It's more second-nature.

Agreed.  Even in D.C.-area traffic that is often terrible.

[Brandon]

I have no desire to own or drive a manual. Why make the act of driving more complicated than it has to be?

I don't find it complicated at all. It's more second-nature.

Same here.  I find myself looking for the phantom clutch pedal and shift lever in an automatic.

[corco]

That said, I don't have the attentiveness to work with an actual manual, since I often find myself forgetting to shift. And it wouldn't work if I have to take a no-look one-handed photo while simultaneously braking, turning, and accelerating through a corner, which I do often.

It's odd how that works- if I drive a car with an automated manual in manual mode, I nearly always forget to shift. If I'm driving a car with a real manual, I never have that problem. There's something about the way an engine responds when mated to a real manual that makes it hard to forget to shift- or the clutch part makes or breaks the attentiveness. I don't enjoy driving automatics with the option to manually shift at all because of it- if the car doesn't have a clutch I'd rather just stick it in D, using the manual mode just to downshift on steep grades or prior to passing.

In my experience though you can't really equate driving an automatic in manual mode to driving an actual manual- it's two totally different sensations. Not only are you using a clutch, but you use the gas pedal and even the brakes a lot differently with a real manual- an auto-manual you just drive as you would with an automatic and then flick to shift- if you tried to drive a manual like an automated-manual with a clutch you'd burn out the clutch and transmission and probably stall a lot. If you drove an automated manual in the same way as a regular manual without a clutch, you'd be the jerkiest driver ever and your passengers would hate you.

As for taking pictures- my first couple years of roadgeeking were with a manual. The trick is to just not shift while you need to take a picture- it won't kill the car to stay in a gear for an extra couple seconds if you modulate the gas pedal right- if you're going to brake as you go around a corner just pop it into neutral before the curve, take the picture as you brake, then shift into the appropriate gear.  It's a little bit more complicated I guess, but not too much. You get used to it.

[DaBigE]

I've always driven an automatic, but I would like to learn a manual someday. Both have their place; similar to the PC vs. Apple arguments (which this thread shows some signs of turning into, given how passionate some folks seem to be). FWIW, some of the newer automatics I've driven have made me wish I had a manual, cause the transmission programming would "overthink" it's inputs, creating some questionable shift points. The computer doesn't (yet) know what's ahead, exactly where I am going to go, or what the conditions are.