Driving stick shift vs. automatic

[PrinceOfLeigh]

Manual

For all the reasons Samson stated and then some that I can't be arsed to post.

One reason being that there is so little straight road darn sarth that an automatic gearbox would burn out within 50 miles?

 

[Till]

Automatic, because it is more convenient. I don't even have a car and only drive when my family comes for a visit. Driving a car is not something i particulary cary about. Don't think i rake up more than 100 miles a year.

If i want to have fun while going from A to B, i take my bike.

 

[Rambuchan]

One reason being that there is so little straight road darn sarth that an automatic gearbox would burn out within 50 miles?

Please, do not judge everyone by your "potted, dirt track, pig farmer in his rustbucket tractor, on the way to take fatty bacon to the grubby miners, in their stinking coal pits that strongly correlate with medieval descriptions of hell" standards. *breathes*

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I'm a pilot, so i drive manual; because it gives me more control over my vehicle. That, and I can shift better than any automatic can

 

[Turner]

Not too many minivans out there that are stick shift. Automatic is easy to drive, but of all the cars I've had, I miss the stick shift the most.

 

[jamiethearcher]

I learned on an automatic, but when it came time to buy my first car, a stick was significantly less money, so I had to learn stick - Ill never go back now! so much fun.

 

[IglooDame]

Not too many minivans out there that are stick shift. Automatic is easy to drive, but of all the cars I've had, I miss the stick shift the most.

So you're the guy the Navy recruiting commercial is talking about, when they say "and some poor guy out there is buying a minivan".

 

[MobBoss]

Either or. At my age, I just want to get to work and back in one piece.

 

[Simon Darkshade]

Automatic was what one operated on in the formative years, because it was what was there, and it is what I drive. Never tried manual, not that interested. Auto is fine; i do a fair bit of driving, as it is close to 400 miles to the nearest city, and that is a commute I do fairly often of a weekend.

 

[Marshy]

It has to be a stick shift for me. I've driven an automatic and it doesn't feel like you're really driving. With a stick shift you can really feel the engine, and you have far more control when it comes to acceleration.

 

[Alpine Trooper]

Nothing but manual.

Why? I can shift better than any automatic.

No you can't.

My 2.5L I4 Turbo will never loose boost between shifts because its backed by a 3 speed auto. Try that in a manual.

Then find out if you can "shift" better than a CVT transmission. CVTs are constantly in the right power range and are constantly efficient.

I've said before, manuals are good for smaller cars, cars without a great deal of horsepower, or cars that are not aspirated. But once you want to tow something, have boost, something that can handle a lot of horsepower, or need to make insanely quick shifts - an auto is king.

 

[thetrooper]

Oh dear, I should have added this:

 

[Samson]

No you can't.

My 2.5L I4 Turbo will never loose boost between shifts because its backed by a 3 speed auto. Try that in a manual.

Then find out if you can "shift" better than a CVT transmission. CVTs are constantly in the right power range and are constantly efficient.

I've said before, manuals are good for smaller cars, cars without a great deal of horsepower, or cars that are not aspirated. But once you want to tow something, have boost, something that can handle a lot of horsepower, or need to make insanely quick shifts - an auto is king.

I have obviously not driven a car like that, all the auto I have driven have had a noticable loss of power while changeing. I cannot however see how you can predict the gear changes reliably enough for it to never mess up your weight balance. If you do not care about your weight balance then you are not really driving.

[EDIT] CVT does solve that problem. However I belive you meant to say constantly inefficent

 

[Turner]

So you're the guy the Navy recruiting commercial is talking about, when they say "and some poor guy out there is buying a minivan".

Guilty!

I was gonna go into the navy. Then I regained my sanity and joined the Air Force.

:ontopic: I've heard that if you don't know how to drive a stick, the best way to learn is to buy one. By the time you get home, (be it hours or days later) you know how to drive one.

My dad tried to teach me a stick. Didn't work. My grandpa had marginally better success. But it still was rather, um, sucky. Finally, we bought our stick shift. Well, I couldn't drive it by the time we got home because my wife drove home. She was marginally better at it than I was. Definately better by the time we got home. Her dad, who's had nothing to stick shifts as long as I can remember, helped us get the car home. Then he sat with me while I drove around the apartment complex. By the time he was done, I could drive it.

 

[crabapple]

Manual, never tried automatic and it would be odd to do so

 

[Akka]

Manual.

Sorry, I don't like toy cars

 

[WillJ]

Automatic, because I'm a girly man.

 

[truckingpete]

Automatic, I have no clue how to drive a stick shift anyway...I'll explain...

My grandpa wanted to get his Dodge 2500 Diesel, but it was parked far away. So i said i'll go get it....yah one problem, I had no clue how to start it...so i went back and asked him how. He said to push the clutch all the way to the floor (and i know which ones the clutch)

So I went back, disable the parking brake started it up, and omg..it started backing up, then it died after it moved 5 feet or so. Then being myself, I started it up again, and once again it moved backwards then quit. so iwas quite freaked out now, considering im in a parking lot with cars behind me and I was bout to hit one if I started it again.

Well my grandpa came there and he said you had to put the shifter in "1" and push on the brake at the same time....and it was in reverse when i saw it...

So yah I think I might need to learn how to drive a stick shift

 

[IglooDame]

Guilty!

I was gonna go into the navy. Then I regained my sanity and joined the Air Force.

See, that's why Navy stands for Never Again Volunteer Yourself.

:ontopic: I've heard that if you don't know how to drive a stick, the best way to learn is to buy one. By the time you get home, (be it hours or days later) you know how to drive one.

My dad tried to teach me a stick. Didn't work. My grandpa had marginally better success. But it still was rather, um, sucky. Finally, we bought our stick shift. Well, I couldn't drive it by the time we got home because my wife drove home. She was marginally better at it than I was. Definately better by the time we got home. Her dad, who's had nothing to stick shifts as long as I can remember, helped us get the car home. Then he sat with me while I drove around the apartment complex. By the time he was done, I could drive it.

Indeed. I'd been shown how to do it by a friend but didn't have much opportunity to try it out (her stickshift truck was her prized possession), until a cousin loaned me their beater stickshift Toyota after a move before my own car showed up - I got adequate at it, fast, and my next car ended up being a stickshift too.

 

[Turner]

You really need to learn to drive a stick.

For instance, if you try to rob a bank, and jack a car, and don't know how to drive a stick, you'll end up like this guy!

Of course, I don't advocate robbing banks or jacking cars.