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I wasn't allowed to learn to drive an automatic when I was a kid. I was always told you need to know how to drive a manual in case there was ever an emergency and that was the only car available, lol. With that being said my parents always drove stick. I have always loved driving them too. My vehicles are all automatics and its killing me. Yes auto is nice but not as fun to drive as a stick. I almost just want to go buy a cheap beater with a stick so I can enjoy driving again.
I have an old compact pickup with a 5 speed. Don't drive it all that often any more, but it still runs just fine. My daily driver is an automatic. Over the years I've owned a handful of vehicles with manual transmissions. But with the big improvements in automatics in recent years, I doubt that I'd buy a new car with a stick shift unless it was a sporty model and I just couldn't resist the allure of a gear box.
All my cars have been stick shifts for years now and my wife and kids only drive manual transmission cars.
I bought a new car last year and eliminated any models that didn't offer stick shifts.
Interestingly, the Honda Civic SI only comes with a manual transmission
I like interacting with the car and when I'm driving an automatic it's like eating the same ham sandwich every day of my life.
To compensate for the boredom of the automatic, I start interacting with the car with my right foot..... and the gas mileage goes right down the toilet.
Modern 8-9 speed automatics are stronger, get better fuel mileage and deliver more power to the ground. Due to the need to be efficient and get better fuel mileage, this will be the norm from here out. You'll notice modern trucks have smaller engines than they ever have, but get better fuel mileage AND tow more at each weight point. That's partly due to the improvements in automatic transmissions.
Somewhere around $30,000 Cash and they won't miss my business??
I thought companies were in business to make a profit??
Also your explanation on how good Automatics are is interesting, but you totally missed my point.
I personally don't care how good they are, I drive a Manual for reasons that some will probably just not understand.
This reminds me of an old Bumper Sticker from years ago. It read:
"Harley-Davidsons"
"If I have to explain it...
You probably wouldn't understand anyway".
I feel the same way about Manual Transmissions, lol.
I've had a stick shift car for over 20 years. Most of the time, it was for performance reasons. But the numbers don't lie... modern automatics are much faster than their stick shift counterparts. Take the latest 911 turbo. Can run 0-60 in 2.6 seconds, all day every day. Even though my 6 spd turbo has more horsepower, I can't equal those 0-60 times. It's impossible. The best I can hope for is a low/mid 3 second time. My quarter mile time is also slower, even though I have a higher trap speed. I just can't make up that time differential in a quarter mile, and I certainly don't shift as fast as the computer can do it.
.
The vast majority of mass market vehicles see faster acceleration with a stick. The Fiesta with a DSG is a perfect example of this 'modern' tranny but slower 0-60. It also just so happens DSG trannies are terrible in most conventional market vehicles. While EPA testing indicates fuel savings in the auto the real world numbers are not reflecting that. The new 911s do not offer manual transmissions to it is impossible to compare 0-60 times.
Traditional autos cannot compete with manuals and dual clutches are not my idea of a good time in an econo box. Honda added a torque converter to their DSGs for a reason and that sacrifices MPG and power.
Yes, super high performance vehicles may do better with an advanced auto, most of us are not driving super performance vehicles.
I'll never have another automatic if I can help it. I had 2 Miatas with a 6 speed, then went to a Mustang with an automatic. Even though you could select your gear, it still wasn't the same as rowing your own gears. So I sold the Mustang and picked up a Fiesta ST with a 6 speed. I do miss RWD a little, but the Fiesta is so damn fun I rarely notice.
They sell 500,000 plus trucks a year, and turn a huge profit on them. They won't miss one customer. Seriously.
Yep. The problem with manuals is not performance. It is the take rate. Car companies are in business to make money. Creating a second model with a manual is costly with unfortunately little gain. Consumers have to change this alone by driving the market. It doesnt make sense to invest in more advanced manual transmissions when nobody buys them. This has dried up the market and led to little serious advancement (more gears etc.)
I'll never have another automatic if I can help it. I had 2 Miatas with a 6 speed, then went to a Mustang with an automatic. Even though you could select your gear, it still wasn't the same as rowing your own gears. So I sold the Mustang and picked up a Fiesta ST with a 6 speed. I do miss RWD a little, but the Fiesta is so damn fun I rarely notice.
You are VERY fortunate you did not get the auto in the fiesta. Take a look online at the problems ford is having. Replacing the clutch multiple times on vehicles.
These days there are few that would drive that market unfortunately as they want automatics so that they can play with the technology in the car and don't want to be interrupted by shifting. Growing up I was infatuated with cars, it was all I was interested in, today, I have lost most interest. They don't interest me at all except for older models and classics. There are very few new cars at all that I would actually entertain owning...I was actually looking at the new 2016 Tacoma and wanted a 6cyl with a manual tranny. Well you can only get the manual in the 4cyl model unless you jump to the $35k V6 model. Even with the 4cyl manual, I think you are only offered a limited color. The auto industry seems to be the ones driving the market to buy anything other than manual.
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Do You Drive Stick?
