automatic OR manual? - Page 11

Accumulator · 03-11-08, 09:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansB

Yeah, automatics in sports cars are for girls...

Eh....my wife can heal & toe her way through double-clutches better than most guys, but it was *I* who had to have an automatic in the WRX I used to have due to knee problems (at the time I could either drive a stick or exercise, easy choice). Last year I drove a stick every day for a few weeks, and my left knee started to bug me again during my squats and cardio....Just pointing out that it's risky to generalize

I've known a number of guys who had to drive autos (automatic 'vettes, tiptronics in Porsches) due to physical limitations that were a lot more serious than my knee problems were, not that you could always tell by looking at them.

I'm still at the same place I was the last time we visited this topic; knee issues aside, I still generally prefer automatics for what I'm currently using the cars for. Accumulatorette and I used to insist we'd never drive automatics, but now most of our vehicles have 'em.

And in some cases an auto is still the only trans that'll get the job done; repeating an example for those who haven't read the whole thread: ever try to drive a manual trans car from the passenger seat? It won't happen, and if/when the car stalls you won't be able to restart it from over there either. Yeah, I know, not the sort of thing most people ever have to worry about....

Quote:

Originally Posted by YAL

..[autos in some cars].. will ALWAYS feel wrong to me forever

Heh heh, I once started to get out of the WRX with it in "drive"

...I completely forgot it was an automatic because, yeah, it was just so "wrong"

And I gotta admit that my M3's automatic feels all wrong to me too...my previous ones all had sticks and the slushbox is *not* the right trans for me in that car

Heh heh, see...I can approach this one from either side of the argument

Yal · 03-11-08, 10:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accumulator

Heh heh, I once started to get out of the WRX with it in "drive"

...I completely forgot it was an automatic because, yeah, it was just so "wrong"

And I gotta admit that my M3's automatic feels all wrong to me too...my previous ones all had sticks and the slushbox is *not* the right trans for me in that car

Heh heh, see...I can approach this one from either side of the argument

LOL

Thats exactly what happened to me, I got into this guys G35 coupe and I put my foot down where I thought the clutch would be and I was disappointed then I parked the car and left it in drive, boy was that scary

I never say stick shifts are for girls after this middle aged lady in a Miata owned me on the West Side highway here in NY, with the top down no less

Accumulator · 03-11-08, 10:54

Yal- Heh heh, funny about our similar experiences in cars that "oughta have sticks"

And yeah..never know when you'll run into some lady who's been SCCAing or something for ages

It's like a modern version of the "Little Old Lady From Pasedena"...I grew up with that as my late mother drove some big-block sleepers and she got a kick out of dusting young guys who never saw it coming.

bumoftheday · 03-11-08, 01:11

After I had learned to drive stick and hadn't driven anything but my car in months, I got into my sisters auto. First complete stop I came to I tried to hit the clutch with my left foot but hit the MASSIVE brake pedal(they are like 3 times the size as most MT cars). Came to a nice screeching halt and freaked my sis out.

JustinDetail · 03-11-08, 01:37

Of the 12 or so cars I've had since I was 19 (am 27 now), 10 have been sticks. I LOVE to shift the gears hehe. FWIW, is I was to go clutchless, I'd just get an auto, I don't like the paddle shifter, SMG, DSG trannies all to well.

HansB · 03-11-08, 05:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accumulator

Just pointing out that it's risky to generalize

I was just kidding...

Accumulator · 03-12-08, 10:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansB

I was just kidding...

That's OK, I didn't mean to come across all

or anything. There *have* been a few remarks like that where the poster was *not* kidding, and I don't mind being the guy who stands up for the ladies, having had my hat handed to me by women drivers on a few occasions (my wife at Mid-Ohio comes to mind

but she also dusted more experienced guys in much faster cars than mine).

thump_rrr · 03-12-08, 03:06

I'm 40 years old and have never owned an automatic or a car with 4 or more doors.
I do drive an automatic service vehicle bat that's a company owned vehicle.
I also have owned heavy trucks and can shift without use of the clutch better than most.

Accumulator · 03-13-08, 08:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by thump_rrr

..I also have owned heavy trucks and can shift without use of the clutch better than most.

That's an impressive skill

I had the clutch go out on an old Alfa, and getting it back to the shop without clutching was a real job of work!

mhadden · 03-14-08, 07:54

Manual tranny all the way, even in Chicago driving. I don't like computer's to tell me when I can shift and those "sport transmissions" just don't do it for me. I could probably get used to a DSG. Unfortunately with America's laziness, auto tranny's come standard on almost every car nowadays...

Macruz19 · 03-24-08, 12:21

6-speed FTW. Keeps me aware on the road.

dublifecrisis · 03-24-08, 12:33

DSG comes pretty close to giving the best of both an auto and manual. My GTI has the DSG and I love it. I do miss the manual fun sometimes but the rev matching etc in the DSG is pretty darn cool.

Manuals might just become a thing of the past if technology follows what DSG and other trannys are coming up with. It's a marvel