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I haven't driven an automatic since I got rid of my 1978 Buick Regal in 1981. I enjoy driving and enjoy shifting the gears myself. It doesn't look like I will have that opportunity for much longer though. Manuals have unfortunately almost gone the way of the Dodo.
It would sure be nice if the auto makers would take notice of our preferences! As a female (engine/tranny ignoramus) who just knows what she likes - I would much rather drive a manual than an automatic. I can see where it could be a pain in heavy, slow traffic situations but there aren't a lot of those out in the smaller towns, cities, and rural areas around here.
It would sure be nice if the auto makers would take notice of our preferences! As a female (engine/tranny ignoramus) who just knows what she likes - I would much rather drive a manual than an automatic. I can see where it could be a pain in heavy, slow traffic situations but there aren't a lot of those out in the smaller towns, cities, and rural areas around here.
You are correct hdinia! What a pain in the arse a standard trans is in regular stop-n-go traffic. When driving in foul weather or bad conditions I feel like I will always be okay and I am a chicken from way back! I have never experienced that level of confidence while driving an automatic. That to me is worth it, and my car is now thirteen years old!
Those of you familiar with a little road called the Connecticut Turnpike (aka Interstate 95) that I travel the entire length of - but only 5 or 6 times a year - will understand this. This is not traffic folks, this is EXTREME traffic! It's insane, I don't know how CT drivers with automatics can handle it on a daily basis. The worst part is always I-95 North especially west of New Haven. Sometimes you can get as far as 12 miles in 2 hours! I know I have! No exaggeration but it's been so slow at times that if I were a friendlier person I could have easily had conversations with other drivers on 95, it gets so slow! Do this for an hour: stop => 1st gear => neutral => coast to stop => stop => 1st gear => 2nd gear => neutral...and repeat. The speed limit is 65mph!
Only then do I wish I had rented one of those "cars without clutches" for the trip. But I won't give up my stick/shtick! and I love my manual.
More pros:
it's really difficult to speak on a hand-held cellphone when shifting gears so it acts as a deterrent
you can easily jump-start it rolling down an incline
I had a little convertible with a stick shift that was a lot of fun UNLESS I found myself stuck in crawling traffic, then it was a royal pain.
So my answer is both, depending on where you're driving.
I dislike automatics because it has made driving such a complacent activity that anyone with a positive IQ point can operate it. A lot of the issues with "distracted driving" wouldn't happen if everyone had to drive a stick shift ...
Eating a meal? It's not so easy to have a burger in one hand and a gallon gulp in your other if you have to shift gears. Texting? Forget it. If you didn't know what you were doing, you wouldn't be able to even get out of the driveway ... and that is how it should be.
I have to go with an auto with a sportronic/paddle shifter mode. I live in SWPA a little south of Pittsburgh where it's nothing but hills and the Appalachian Mountains...being stuck on one of Pittsburgh's ridiculous street grades with a redlight at the top is a nightmare if you have a stick and some idiot is perched right on your tail. Tons of very fun roads to drive along within this part of the world, it's just not necessarily practical for a daily driver though when considering city traffic/topography/etc.
being stuck on one of Pittsburgh's ridiculous street grades with a redlight at the top is a nightmare if you have a stick and some idiot is perched right on your tail.
So according to your father, most americans are *****'s?
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"Give Me A Clutch or Give Me Death"
No exaggeration but it's been so slow at times that if I were a friendlier person I could have easily had conversations with other drivers on 95, it gets so slow! Do this for an hour: stop => 1st gear => neutral => coast to stop => stop => 1st gear => 2nd gear => neutral...and repeat. The speed limit is 65mph!
