Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think anyone caught texting or dialing while driving should get mandatory sentence that if they want to drive, it MUST be a MT. It would save alot of lives.
Quoted from another thread. But it made me wonder, why do people choose MT over AT? I tried to search to see if there was a thread, but didn't find anything I'm sure there is one, so sorry for the repeat).
I'm sure most of us who drive a MT aren't doing it for resale or gas mileage...if anything it's so we can drive specific performance cars or just that feeling of control. For myself, it's also because I get bored driving an AT and start to nod off or get super distracted (not good). Most MT's aren't cheaper anymore; if anything, they're getting more expensive because yes, they're harder to find or you are having to pay for the "premium" version of a model.
So, why do you choose to drive a MT?
I personally drive a MT because I enjoy having that control, being able to downshift and get some torque when needed, I hate paddle shifters and to me it's not the same feeling. I don't care how much "better" paddle or AT is nowadays, it's not about that for me. I don't care about gas mileage, if I did, I'd buy a super gas efficient or hybrid/electric car. If anything, it comes down to one word for me. FUN. I haven't found an AT that is fun as a daily driver.
Disclaimer: I took out the author of the quote, not sure if I'm supposed to or not.
I used to be a die-hard manual guy, now? I'm kindof moving into the camp of well-tuned autos. What took me from buying cars only offered in manual, to this?
Several things. One, the tuning on autos is MUCH better. My CX5 for example, when I hit the brakes, it downshifts and engine-brakes just like I would. When I hit the corners? Same thing. Pop it to accelerate, then let off, then pop it again? It's still in the lower gear, no jolt, just GO! Mazda really tuned this thing with a legit driver in mind. My neighbor has an AMG43 GLC, and the 7-speed DCT in that thing is just flat-out amazing. There is no WAY I could slay shifts in a manual the way that thing cracks them off. It's absolutely next-level.
I may well one day buy another manual vehicle, but it will be for nostalgia and to be a better driver personally. The automatic is physically unbeatable, and I have come to value it. Part of it makes me sad, but in the same way that we reminisce of the sound of dial-up internet connecting. It makes me sad for the other things of that era, not that exact thing, so to speak.
I think anyone caught texting or dialing while driving should get mandatory sentence that if they want to drive, it MUST be a MT. It would save alot of lives.
You can still text and drive, drive intoxicated, or drive poorly, in a MT. It will not save more lives, merely postpone their deaths.
You can still text and drive, drive intoxicated, or drive poorly, in a MT. It will not save more lives, merely postpone their deaths.
I drove a MT and could still Text and drive before it became law that you couldn’t. I can walk and chew bubble gum also. What’s so difficult about a MT some on here act like it’s so difficult to drive. Hell they were out long before the automatic transmission. Driving a manual is a easier than he’ll i can drive any type of manual transmission sure miss the 3 on the tree. But 4 on the floor was a blast to drive in my day.
Except when you want to pass someone and you can drop it down a gear or two to get more torque. You can press the AT pedal down, it may or may not engage immediately, depends on the car. Also, I like being able to control my torque on hills. Some cars, just can't handle hills and you sometimes had to downshift those to get it to do what you want.
With all of the cars I have owned (all with automatic transmissions), I can manually drop it down a gear or two to pass someone.
Theres this thing called kickdown on automatics (regular not DCT), works exactly the same. Been around a long time too, and it'll shift down faster than you can even in a 70s tranny, because an average upshift is 500ms in a manual, downshifts take longer.
You don't control torque going up a hill, the torque controls you. There are only really two gears, the right gear and the wrong gear, I've never seen a car that cant handle hills, I've seen drivers struggle with steep hills, but those mostly were rowers, not autos. Even a 600cc 2CV can climb Baldwin Street Dunedin New Zealand, so I gravely doubt theres any mechanical reason for any car to not make it up any hill in the US regardless of the transmission.
I'll name 2 cars that couldn't handle hills. Honda Civic and Hyundai Elantra. Granted, this was years ago, so maybe things are better, but no, they couldn't handle hills in "D". 3 cylinders don't help. Turning on the A/C made it even worse. I probably could have manually downshifted to D2 and forced it to downshift, but my point is, if it's an automatic, I shouldn't have to do that. Barely made it over the Grapevine in 90 degree heat. LOL
Quote:
Really? You mean you're driving along at 60mph+ and just randomly change into a lower gear for s**ts and giggles? If you're travelling at the flow speed of traffic, or at the road speed limit, why would you change gear? There are only two reasons, you're changing speed (so slowing down, or speeding up, which is dependent on the traffic flow), or, you were in the wrong gear. The former makes no difference if you're in an auto or manual, because the traffic flow is determining your speed, thus gearing, the latter doesn't happen with autos, because they don't choose the wrong gear.
Really. Driving one speed is boring. So yes, I'll screw around for S&G and play with my car.
I used to be a die-hard manual guy, now? I'm kindof moving into the camp of well-tuned autos. What took me from buying cars only offered in manual, to this?
Several things. One, the tuning on autos is MUCH better. My CX5 for example, when I hit the brakes, it downshifts and engine-brakes just like I would. When I hit the corners? Same thing. Pop it to accelerate, then let off, then pop it again? It's still in the lower gear, no jolt, just GO! Mazda really tuned this thing with a legit driver in mind. My neighbor has an AMG43 GLC, and the 7-speed DCT in that thing is just flat-out amazing. There is no WAY I could slay shifts in a manual the way that thing cracks them off. It's absolutely next-level.
I may well one day buy another manual vehicle, but it will be for nostalgia and to be a better driver personally. The automatic is physically unbeatable, and I have come to value it. Part of it makes me sad, but in the same way that we reminisce of the sound of dial-up internet connecting. It makes me sad for the other things of that era, not that exact thing, so to speak.
ITA that well-tuned autos are awesome! I just miss the shifting part. I relate it to books. I have an e-reader, but I still prefer paper.
I'm dying over the sound of the dial-up connecting.
I know. I think my point is, with an auto, you shouldn't have to do that. It's an automatic!
(I'm also not talking about triptronic ones or whatever they're called now, where you can put it into a mode where you shift).
Actually, with my cars, the transmission will shift down when passing someone if enough throttle is used. I manually shift down anyway since I know how to and have done it many times.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
