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Do you know what I saw today? When I came home I saw two Porsche Boxter Cabrio (2 seats) at two different parking places in my neighbourhood and both porsches had a FULL AUTOMATC (P,D,N,R). And this over here in Germany. These people are spending all the money for a Porsche and then missing all the fun!!!
All of you automatic friends. I just don't understand you at all.
By the way, do you know that driving with a manual is friendlier to the Environment than driving with an automatic? The manual transm. version of the same automobile model consumes less gasoline than the automatic version.
not wholey true. Many of todays autos get better mpg than their manual version, and that percentage is increasing every day on U.S. models.
full disclosure, I drive both. Prob better than most people as well.
On EPA tests automatics do show as good or better mileage than stick shifts.....That's EPA tests--under set conditions.
I would agree that on the highway it's the same...but anything else its not.
In actual driving- non-highway driving- (and I've checked) a stick shift beats an automatic every time and it's not even close.
I could give more examples of why...but I'm too lazy to type right now.
Mikey
Driver habits vary to much to go anecdotal evidence. The fairest baseline we have is epa mpg and every year more and more autos are getting better mpg overall than manuals. Its a fact. So no, manuals as a whole do not always get better fuel mileage than autos.
not wholey true. Many of todays autos get better mpg than their manual version, and that percentage is increasing every day on U.S. models.
full disclosure, I drive both. Prob better than most people as well.
That's what the automatic transmission manufacturers say, but in reality is not true. If you drive a car with an automatic transmission, and also the same car model but one with a manual transmission, you still can save a little more fuel driving the manual one. For example, the 2009 Subaru Forester with a normally aspirated motor and automatic transmission used more fuel than the same automobile with a manual transmission. In this case, the automatic had 4 speeds, while the manual had 5 speeds. The reason for the difference is that the motor only produces around 170HP.
Now, if a motor produces a lot of power, then the manufacturer can build an automatic transmission that has more speeds. For example, the 2010 Rav 4 V6's motor produces 270HP, and still does quite well on fuel consumption. It has a 5-speed automatic transmission that keeps the motor's RPM as low as possible. But if I were driving the same car with a 5 or 6-speed manual transmission, I still could save a little more fuel.
And yes, automatic transmission technology will get better and better, and 6 speeds are becoming the norm.
1. When driving around town in an automatic, I step down on the accelerator to get the car to perform and keep up with traffic, etc.
With a stick shift I have much greater control. I choose the gear I want to KEEP FROM having to step down on the accelerator constantly to make the car move.
2. If I feel like really pushing the gas mileage up with a stick shift, it's easy to bump it into neutral and coast off the exit (or where ever) and factor in 99.9 mpg for short distance (in Florida I can do it for over 1/2 mile).
Right now with the stick I'm driving I'm actually getting 37 mpg (combined). That's considerably more than what is advertised and more than what people who drive the same car with an automatic say.
Again, drivers and driving habits vary too much. The only accurate measurement is epa mpg ratings because they are more consistent method of testing. There certainly are automatic models getting more mpg than their manual conterparts these days. Not a ton of them, but there still are plenty of examples.
If you want to use anectdotal "evidence" instead of a much more scientific repeatable method than you might as well just **** away all the numbers.
Again, not ALL autos get better mpg, just like NOT ALL manuals of the same model get better MPG.
not wholey true. Many of todays autos get better mpg than their manual version, and that percentage is increasing every day on U.S. models.
full disclosure, I drive both. Prob better than most people as well.
Only if you cannot handle the shifting well (shifting higher too late, etc.)
For example, I once had an automatic Ford Fieste and right after this a Manual Audi A 4. The Audi A 4 (much stronger) didn't consume more gas. CRASS! By driving a Manual you can exactly control your gas consumption behaviour.
Last edited by holzhaus123; 07-04-2014 at 01:59 PM..
The shifting done during the EPA cycles is better than average. And still, SOME autos get better mpg.
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