Post by: WhoKnowsWho on March 05, 2005, 07:48:53 PM
Post by: Unisaw on March 05, 2005, 07:54:54 PM
Post by: Zach S on March 05, 2005, 08:14:03 PM
Me? Lucky? Nah...
Post by: nico on March 05, 2005, 08:15:28 PM
Post by: WhoKnowsWho on March 05, 2005, 08:25:30 PM
Post by: deej on March 05, 2005, 08:51:40 PM
Post by: Unisaw on March 05, 2005, 10:17:08 PM
Post by: 9mmepiphany on March 05, 2005, 11:30:54 PM
i prefer a manual, because it gives my right hand somthing to do when i'm not sipping cofffee or eating. but with rush hour traffic as bad as it is, there is alot to be said for an auto tranny.
BTW you no longer need a clutch pedal to have a true manual transmission. both the BMW SMG and the Audi DSG are true manual transmissions with electro-actuated clutches. other than the prancing horse, i believe there are others also.
Post by: Darkmind on March 05, 2005, 11:31:39 PM
Post by: Old Fud on March 05, 2005, 11:49:00 PM
You're merely riding in one with an Auto.
Post by: Cool Hand Luke 22:36 on March 06, 2005, 01:06:04 AM
Post by: garyk/nm on March 06, 2005, 02:27:32 AM
Post by: Wedge on March 06, 2005, 02:43:40 AM
My wife and I hate automatic transmissions. We both have manuals, our last cars were both manuals and my next car will be a manual. It means that I have to limit what cars I look at since I hate automatics so much. I drive city traffic every day, get caught in traffic jams and still prefer to shift for myself.
The only time I like an automatic is on a truck when trailering something and that is mostly due to the higher tow ratings available with an automatic.
Post by: jamz on March 06, 2005, 02:44:36 AM
I do a lot of sitting in traffic.
Love, James
Post by: Quintin on March 06, 2005, 02:57:58 AM
Post by: Kharn on March 06, 2005, 03:22:58 AM
Kharn
Post by: wingman on March 06, 2005, 04:05:05 AM
trans are young. I did also when I was a young fellow but then I liked
wild women also, well actually I still enjoy wild women.
Post by: griz on March 06, 2005, 04:42:32 AM
Post by: PlayTheAces on March 06, 2005, 05:43:26 AM
Nine years ago I got married (again). My wife preferred automatics. She didn't care much for my Porsche, either. No big deal, I thought. She can drive her Probe, and I'll drive my stuff.
Today, we have a truck, a car, and an SUV. All are autos. My old Porsche is long gone.
Occassionally, I wonder just what exactly happened.
I have to admit though as traffic gets worse and worse, the autos are less hassle.
Post by: RadioFreeSeaLab on March 06, 2005, 06:03:58 AM
Post by: grislyatoms on March 06, 2005, 07:59:15 AM
As far as eating while driving a manual, when you can eat a whopper meal in stop and go traffic driving a 13 speed without making a mess, you're doing pretty good in my book. (Forget about tacos, I can't even eat them sitting at the dinner table without bits and pieces of them flying everywhere).
Post by: Lee on March 06, 2005, 10:52:49 AM
Post by: cfabe on March 06, 2005, 12:03:03 PM
My main reason for the preference is that I understand how to drive a car properly and I know exactly what gear to choose when, instead letting a computer guess for me and then react when it guesses wrong.
Also, I can do a clutch job in any car, for a fraction of the cost of a slushbox rebuild.
If I were going to be driving in heavy traffic alot, I might consider an automatic, but for right now I'm a stick shift guy.
Post by: Gewehr98 on March 06, 2005, 12:44:38 PM
In my blown, big-block 580cid S-10 street rod, I run a 700R4 transmission with reverse pattern manual valve bodies. No clutch pedal, but I still have to shift the beast with the Hurst Quarter Stick.
My daily-driver S-10 runs a manual 5-speed. My wife's Hyundai Elantra is an automatic, and I find myself wanting to shift it.
Anybody remember the original "clutchless" manual transmission? I had a VW Bug with the Autostick, and had to remember to keep my hand off the shift handle. (It contained the microswitch for the vacuum-operated clutch!)
I'm thinking the next generation of CVT's will remove my dislike for the slushbox style of transmission...
Post by: Phyphor on March 06, 2005, 01:01:34 PM
Quote
Most of my cars have been autos, my two current vehicles included. I look for the clutch every time I get in the car. Since the C4 auto in the hot rod is dying, I may cough up the cash for a 5-speed soon. I miss the hot rod... Maybe I can get lucky and find a deal on a tremec 3550 or TKO.
Me? Lucky? Nah...
Me? Lucky? Nah...
Why not have the C4 rebuilt, and if possible, rollerized?
If you change to a stick, you're going to have to change the flywheel/flexplate, starter, and possibly the driveline, too (unless you get lucky and find a manual trans that is the same length, ) Not to mention the rearends are different.. (Is the rearend stock, or did you put in an upgraded (say, something like a 4.11 rear?) differential?
Post by: Phyphor on March 06, 2005, 01:12:22 PM
Quote
I prefer a manual, but I must say that some of the arguments agianst automatics have been fixed in the last few years. I've seen many new cars where there's no longer a mileage advantage to a manual transmission, and they seem to be getting better about longeviety as well.
Generally, the mileage assistance is due to the usage of overdrive (4th + gear ratios, IIRC, OD is 0.625:1, isn't it? I'm a C4 junkie, so I'm not positive on 4+ speed ratios,
) and lockup torque convertors (which, when lockup is initiated, causes a direct mechanical linkage between the impeller and turbine in the convertor, rather than the fluid coupling that's normally used. (Note: The fluidic coupling is why you can sit in gear at a stoplight and not stall your engine, ) )Quote
My main reason for the preference is that I understand how to drive a car properly and I know exactly what gear to choose when, instead letting a computer guess for me and then react when it guesses wrong.
Also, I can do a clutch job in any car, for a fraction of the cost of a slushbox rebuild.
If it ain't a computerized tranny, slushboxes aren't that hard to rebuild, EXCEPT when you're messing with the valve body... (And if you can do any gunsmithing (I.E. take apart stuff with small springs and lots of small parts and put it back together again, ) then a valve body shouldn't be too much more of a challenge, )
Quote
If I were going to be driving in heavy traffic alot, I might consider an automatic, but for right now I'm a stick shift guy.
I pondered a stick for a while, but seeing all the stuff I'd have to track down to convert my current ride to stick (not to mention cutting the transmission tunnel, etc, ) I figured I'd back-burner it until I got another car (And just turn the Comet into a hotrod/strip car) ....my next car/truck will probably be a stick, but mainly due to the fact that I absolutely DESPISE computer controlled automatics....
Post by: Silver Bullet on March 06, 2005, 01:22:43 PM
Auto is good for stop-and-go traffic. With Auto, I'm insulated from the outside world. With Manual, I'm involved: two hands and two feet to drive. Depends on my mood, somewhat. I kinda like driving auto during the week, and then a manual on the weekend when I feel like sport driving.
Does anybody have a Continuously Variable Transmission ?
Post by: jmtgsx on March 06, 2005, 03:25:29 PM
Quote
Ten years ago, I was single, owned a truck and two cars, all of which were manuals. I liked them. A lot.
Nine years ago I got married (again). My wife preferred automatics. She didn't care much for my Porsche, either. No big deal, I thought. She can drive her Probe, and I'll drive my stuff.
Today, we have a truck, a car, and an SUV. All are autos. My old Porsche is long gone.
Occassionally, I wonder just what exactly happened.
I have to admit though as traffic gets worse and worse, the autos are less hassle.
Nine years ago I got married (again). My wife preferred automatics. She didn't care much for my Porsche, either. No big deal, I thought. She can drive her Probe, and I'll drive my stuff.
Today, we have a truck, a car, and an SUV. All are autos. My old Porsche is long gone.
Occassionally, I wonder just what exactly happened.
I have to admit though as traffic gets worse and worse, the autos are less hassle.
I feel ya Aces. I had a GMC Jimmy, a Lincoln Town Car, a 19' Cobalt boat and the motorcycle of my dreams before I met and married the woman of my dreams. Now...I've still got the woman ...and a Toyota Camry with a manual. The rest is History and I dont remeber how it happenned either. :?
Post by: Paddy on March 06, 2005, 03:30:25 PM
), and my 4x4 truck has a manual. Most of my previous cars/trucks have been manual. I prefer manual, I guess. But then I don't live in a place with a lot of stop and go traffic.
Post by: Myself on March 06, 2005, 04:02:47 PM
Manual in my zippy little sports, midlife crisis, impractical, fun mobile.
Automatic in the truck. I tried for manual in the truck but like nobody around here sells them like that and I did not feel like doing a special order.
Post by: Arc-Lite on March 06, 2005, 04:43:47 PM
Post by: jefnvk on March 06, 2005, 04:47:49 PM
Anytime I do drive an auto, my left foot gets tired.
Post by: crt360 on March 06, 2005, 05:44:08 PM
Post by: Ron on March 06, 2005, 06:45:58 PM
My car (BMW 325is) has a stick as it should
I used to have a Ford pickup with a three on the tree shifter.
Post by: Happy Bob on March 06, 2005, 07:33:38 PM
Quote
We are control freaks?
*DingDingDingDingDing* "Johnny, tell griz what he's won!"
Post by: BillBlank on March 06, 2005, 11:27:12 PM
I too am surprised that so many here prefer manual gearboxes.
Post by: jamz on March 07, 2005, 03:13:23 AM
Love, James
Post by: Stetson on March 07, 2005, 07:01:13 AM
Post by: SkyDaver on March 07, 2005, 07:33:47 AM
If I had my midlife crisis car (mid-late 60s midsize ragtop) I think I'd go for an automatic in that.
The cool thing about my Max is that it's got a lot of torque, and can go as slow as 25 in 3rd gear and still accelerate acceptably
Post by: Schuey2002 on March 07, 2005, 08:06:15 AM
:twisted:
Post by: Dannyboy on March 07, 2005, 08:47:04 AM
Post by: Control Group on March 07, 2005, 12:28:17 PM
The common reasons given for manuals being "better" don't apply to me. Better gas mileage - yes, marginally, but I guarantee I burn more gas the one time I stall/jackrabbit start than I saved over the last two thousand miles of driving. If I got good enough that I never stalled/jackrabbited, this would, admittedly, go away. But then, I'm already getting 35-38 mpg, so this isn't a huge deal for me.
Better control on ice - given my car's "start in 2nd" option, I can start up on ice as well as anyone. And downshifting is always possible, even in an automatic. And I don't have to worry about the uber-steep driveway into my alley as much (again, if I actually drove one regularly, I'm sure I could learn to be good enough for that not to bother me, either).
Easier/cheaper maintenance - true enough. I've worked on both, and manual is easier to work with. Of course, I've only worked on trannies from late-sixties Pontiacs. None of the new cars I've driven have needed transaxle work (including my current workhorse, with 220k miles on it), so I this isn't real relevant to me, either.
What it amounts to is that only thing a manual can do that my automatic can't - skip gears shifting up - isn't something the lack of which bothers me.
Now, I don't do any racing, towing, performance driving, or anything like that. My car gets me to and from work, to and from the range, to and from my g.f.'s apartment (ninety miles away), and around town. It's just a tool for the job, and an automatic is a tool that lets me spend more time focused on the road, the traffic, and my surroundings instead of on my car.
This is much the same reasons I'd rather drive a car with an automatic choke, too (and I say this as someone who drove a car with a manual choke for three years).
Post by: White Horseradish on March 07, 2005, 01:40:31 PM
Stupid car industry. I'm stuck with automatics.
Post by: Hawk on March 08, 2005, 09:05:09 AM
I am curious as to why the majority of individuals responding are choosing manual when the vast majority of autos sold (I believe) are automatic. Perhaps because enthusiasts would be more likely to choose manual and concurrently more likely to participate in a poll? Hmmmm.
2001 Firehawks, for which I just happen to have production numbers here, consisted of 356 M6 Trannys vs 184 A4's. For an unapologetic muscle car, I would have bet more than 66% would have been M6's.
At the risk of a minor thread hi-jack, I have a question: Given a 6 speed manual, driven almost entirely in DFW creep and start traffic, when should one expect to need some clutch work? At 50K miles, mine is still going strong and it shouldn't be that way based on my mid-50ish memory of things mechanical. Did these things get more bulletproof since my teen years?
[whine]
Dang, I'm going to miss those F-bods. People of my generation can't buy Vett's without invoking charges of mid-life crisis, but the F-bods were exempt, and I like American V-8's and don't care for trucks or SUV's. Mustangs, maybe? Oh, woe is me. [sorry]
[/whine]
Post by: FPrice on March 08, 2005, 01:41:32 PM
Post by: Newt on March 09, 2005, 09:32:29 AM
Post by: Modifiedbrowning on March 09, 2005, 04:13:06 PM
For what's it's worth both times I broke my left wrist snowboarding I drove myself to the hospital in a manual using only my right hand. No big deal really, you just have to practice steering with the left knee. The first time it was about a 45min drive.