lylen

Since everyone was on my thread talking about pro and cons on manual/autos, I thought I should just start one so everyone can state their opinions!

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

There is soooo much information out there...

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=manual+vs+automatic

dBski11

lazy = auto

car enthusiast = manual

rondog

iTrader: (1)

Manual negative aspects can be considered positive in many people;s eye's, especially those who own a manual. I will NEVER buy another car that does not come with a manual. Drive one and you will hopefully feel the same.

BaByBlAcKtYpE-s

iTrader: (2)

If i had the choice auto as a daily (maybe), and definitely a manuel as a weekend/track fun car. But knowing me im looking at a maunel integra for a daily just more fun to row through the gears.

knavinusa

It really depends on the gearbox for me. I'd probably rather drive an auto that shifts smoothly than a notchy manual. Now if we're talking about the S2K gearbox.. I'll take the manual please!

fsttyms1

All cars should be required to be manual. If they were we would have much better and safer drivers.

SouthernBoy

Your other post was a report by you that you had just driven a manual for the first time and as you stated, you failed. Now this one asking people's opinions between the two types of transmissions??

Don't worry... I'm not busting your chops. So here's my two cents.

For my personal driving machine, it absolutely MUST be a manual transmission. I will not even consider the purchase of such a vehicle unless it is available with a manual. As for a utility-type vehicle (beater car, truck, etc.), it makes no difference to me. If the 3G TL had not been offered with a manual (27% of the TL's on the dealer's lot that day were manuals), I would be driving something else.

Did you read the links I posted for you?

Costco

for the most part. Some people are so terrible, that I don't want to find out if they'd become better or not after driving stick. I know that I became a better driver once I started driving a manual.

We'd have less people slowing down 5-20 mph going up hills, and we'd also have fewer people speeding up 5-20 mph going down grades. Hopefully fewer people yapping away on their cell phones or eating or doing make-up (saw this on the freeway in LA, crazy) while driving.

Something interesting I noticed was on a Euro car forum, a lot of people had manual transmission cars, and preferred them even in their larger luxury barges. They're a lot more prevalent in other countries, it seems.

1StGenCL

I so miss the manual in my CL and bike, just a better driving experience.

As for traffic, that was my daily driver and it was pushing 300k when my sister totaled it. Living in jersey with that many miles, you know it saw lots of traffic but the manual was never a problem. If anything, it was actually a good thing because it forced you stay more alert in traffic

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Ahhh, this debate never gets old even though it has been around as long as car enthusiasts have been driving.

For me, auto for commuting, manual for fun.

Rockstar21

iTrader: (1)

i drive both.

auto for traffic... manual for everything else.

dallison

it would make them pay more attn to things, maybe.

auto; heavy stop and go traffic

manual: all others. sports cars should only come with it.

rondog

iTrader: (1)

I used to get drowsy sometimes in my old auto CL after long drives back from Brooklyn, I'd open the windows, honk the horn, I'd do anything to wake up, sometimes even pull over for a micro nap. With the manual, I am convinced I will never fall asleep at the wheel, and I am forced to pay attention the whole time driving. I hate traffic and I have the freedom to choose not to drive (no commute) so I can't really coment on that.

Crazy Bimmer

Depends on the car. Some manuals i just cant stand and prefer their automatic gearbox instead.

Most part I love a manual but really enjoying my DCT.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

Even in the craziest traffic...MANUAL. FTW.

speedemon90

I really cant say since I have one car and its an auto. My next car for sure is going to be a manual, and then thats when I can officially decide to have a manual or auto. Ive driven manual a couple times as practice and I love how you feel just that much more connected to the car. So I believe I will love the manual and probably prefer manual.

I kinda feel left out no driving a manual...I really want one!!!!

n0rm

iTrader: (6)

BIG

speedemon90

While over here I would say a huge majority of cars are bough automatic over manual, in Europe thats not the case. Im really not sure how much but I know there are a LOT more people driving manual there than over here...

Today in our rental car fleets its hard to find a manual, I dunno if most even offer a manual, but in europe I hear that its simple to find a manual rental car.

Europe is more car friendly than America, I sometimes wish we got some of the cars offered there over here

Will Y.

OTOH, some cars with great manual transmission setups (like the MX-5, RX-8) should come with automatics only for the disabled.

BurnabyTSX

Count me in as another who would not consider any car that doesn't have the third pedal. Even in heavy commute, I don't see what the big deal is with a manual. In fact, I find it breaks the monotony of stop-and-go traffic when you get to play with the tranny.

I might be an extreme case, but I've driven some real crappy manual gearboxes, but I'd still rather drive that than a slushbox (or even an SMG). There's just something to be said about the feeling of connectedness; and something for the left leg to be doing.

mdkxtreme

Are you guys worried that the H pattern/clutch shifting will become extinct? All these new cars that comes out have like sequential shift boxes or paddle shifters with no clutch and it's almost like an automatic any ways.

I tell myself I will never get an automatic because it's soooo boring to drive in one but I'm just scared that in the future all these nice cars will get rid of the manual clutch.

I do understand that technology has made shifting gear MUCH faster now. But that's only if the computer does it for you. And I think that's why manual clutch have gone obsolete because people want faster and the manual clutch is too old of a technology or something.

TheMirror

I drove nothing but manual trans cars for 20 years and half a million miles.....and then it got old. So, put me in this camp:

Automatic - Daily driver
Manual - Performance/fun vehicle

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

Manual FTW

/thread

Blazin Si

I've always bought manual equipped cars in the past, but I've began to appreciate auto's now that I'm a bit older. My next DD will likely be auto. Honda has always had nice manual transmissions that were easy to drive. I guess that's why I've continued to buy them. My college room mate had a '94 5.0 Mustang with a 5 speed and I remember sitting in traffic, sweating like hell and hating life. That was one of the worst commutes I've ever had.

fsttyms1

That would be the hope. There would be less time and ability for many of these schmucks to be texting while reading the paper while eating and applying their makeup.

TS_eXpeed

Manual



/thread

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

I can live with that.

mitch14

my current two cars are both manuals, and i like it, but it all depends on the car/clutch/etc
my cl has barely any torque so it's hard to start in first without slipping the clutch, especially in traffic
my wrx is very good to drive, but the clutch is extremely stiff, so if i had any trouble with my left leg at all, it would be extremely difficult to drive

but ideally i'd want an auto to drive as a DD/winter car
and a manual as a weekend/summer car

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

Kind of a

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...matic+standard

gdcwatt

The guy who coined the term "MOPAR" (short for Motor Parts) told me that, "One of the advantages of the Ford "flathead" V8 was that women could start the car in 2nd, and leave it there all day." Hey, it was the '30's! I can't recall my mother, however, ever driving the '29 Model A, or the '33, '36, or the '37, and the [much newer] T-Bird has an automatic and a V8. Well, anyhow, leaving it in second all day just doesn't sound like any fun, but it almost sounds like an automatic.

I used to work with a guy who drove on the street - and raced - a C-Type Jaguar. In response to particular comments and questions about my '55 TR-2 (4 spd, but with overdirve in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th), he said that, "...you needed to use the gearbox to slow down; the brakes just wouldn't last." So, I guess an automatic wouldn't have worked on the race track, in the early 1950's, or on the street. [For those who are interested, he skidded upside down across the finish line, in front of his fiance, in his and the car's last race. That car - before it's last race - would be worth a million dollars today.]

Another guy, who taught me "to drive" some 16 years AFTER I got my license, told me that the 5.0 Mustangs he raced against in showroom stock only had "one good brake" a lap, so his 2.0L Nissan was able to keep up with them [well, at Shannonville, if not at Mosport]. About the same time as this discussion, I remember seeing a '69 427 Camero having a front disc brake conversion done, to retire the OEM drums; front discs were actually an option in 1969. So, the 60's, 70's, and 80's are leaning toward the manual transmission, but not for the reasons we thought: the brakes.

What we know about the TSX is that it's agressive gearing with the 6-spd manual masks it's "torque deficiency", and that you have to really work at it to make that car go fast: it is NOT just point and shoot. And not just anybody can drive it quickly: one of the things I like about the manual TSX is that I know my wife and kids CAN NOT drive it as fast as I can - they just don't have the skill or desire, but that's another reason I didn't buy a TL.

Six months after he bought it, by father had the engine of his '77 930 rebuilt. It only had a 4-spd manual, but it seemed to me that he almost never got the damn thing out of second gear before the next light would change. I got to drive that car up and down the driveway, only when I washed it. With me in the backseat, my step mother used drive her '79 911 through traffic on the highway in 3rd gear, my growing weight negating the need for 4th or 5th gears, although at "those speeds" my Fiat would have been left far behind - in any gear - but I would have been having more fun trying to keep up...if I wasn't already in the backseat of the 911.

I guess what I'm saying is that the more things change, and improve, the more they stay the same: manual still wins, because it's just more fun, and it works better.

Speed_Racer

I made the mistake of thinking the 260hp in the CL in 2000 would make up for not being available in a manual. I ended up getting another CL-S but a 6MT 2 years later and just the transmission alone transformed the CL. I'll never get a car without a manual transmission again. I just hope there will always be a selection of them in the future. Doesn't look likely.

TheMirror

Heh heh, it seemed like he never got it out of second gear in town because he probably never did get it out of 2nd gear in town. 2nd gear in the 930/30 4-speed is good for about 90mph as I recall. Truly intergalactic gearing in those things.

Costco

Yeah, some of the things that I've learned about Honda A/Ts is that they are inferior to the average A/T overall. They tend to have higher parasitic losses and are clunky by design. The saving grace is that their manual transmissions are great!

Hopefully Honda will start integrating dual clutch transmissions in their road cars. I think Honda had plans to put dual clutch trannys in their motorcycles.

F23A4

Not much of a choice when we got our MDX.

But I still regret getting my 07 AV6 with the 5AT instead of the 6MT, as it's a totally different car with the latter.

Costco

Yeah, with almost all current SUVs you don't really have a choice when it comes to manual vs. auto anyways. Not sure if I'd get something like an MDX with a manual either (if it came with one) and everyone knows how much I like manuals.

calgary2800

One of each if I can afford it. LOL.

AznX TL

my current car is manual, now i want an automatic as a DD because
A.) if i go on a trip with my gf, i have to drive because she doesnt know how to drive stick. and sometimes i wouldnt mind switching when im dead tired.
B.)traffic sucks
but i still love driving spirited, rowing thru gears and choosing which gear i want the car to be in.
so i also vote auto w/tiptronic DD and manual weekend car.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I've never driven one but I think the Cayenne S with 6MT would be badass!

d-townhakuzo

Auto is not necessarily for lazy people. It does have its pro's, then again, I drive an auto and I would rather have a manual.