Automatic or stick (manual)

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Replies

  • spider_mark51959
    spider_mark51959 Posts: 2,868 Member
    Driven a stick for 31yrs. Only 'auto' I would ever consider would be on some super exotic. (which I'm highly unlikely to ever own.

    My wife also prefers a manual transmission.
  • catrinaHwechanged
    catrinaHwechanged Posts: 4,907 Member
    Psshhtt.....wish I didn't have an automatic SUV. I want a fast little car with a manual transmission.....oh, how I miss that!!
  • jjlibunao
    jjlibunao Posts: 78
    I've had both but most of my cars have been stick. I drive a stick now and have for the last 11 years. I live in the Bay Area and driving stick on those hills of San Francisco is such a pain. Try to parallel park uphill or downhill (steep hills) with a stick shift. Not easy.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    I have a cute little blue Nissan Juke that's manual and my Xterra is auto so best of both worlds
  • tehboxingkitteh
    tehboxingkitteh Posts: 1,574 Member
    I learned how to drive a stick at 13... and it's still my preference.
  • xxghost
    xxghost Posts: 4,697 Member
    Depends on the car. My Jeep, which I drive everywhere, is an automatic. I love it. My dad's street rods, however, are all stick. Those I don't drive often, but I enjoy them.
  • Tiznonay
    Tiznonay Posts: 124 Member
    Manual's all the way! I have a 5 speed civic, and a 69 Ford P/U with a 3 speed

    Only time you ever regret it is in real bad traffic, but its still a much more involved and fun way to drive
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    Manual. All the way. Automatics scare the crap out of me. I want the car to go when I tell it to go, not go just because I took my foot off the brake. A manual gives me more control, which is helpful when I need to get away from an SUV-wielding soccer mom who has a cell phone in one hand, coffee in the other and is looking at her kid in the backseat, all while slowly drifting into my lane. I need to be able to drop it into 3rd and scoot. Not put my foot down and wait a while until the car figures out that I would like to go faster.
    Granted, my car (Subaru Impreza 2.5i) isn't as much fun to drive as my husband's (Subaru WRX), and his current car isn't as much fun as his old car (highly modified Subaru STi that he sold when he decided to be all responsible), but it is more fun to drive than any automatic I've ever driven.
    Heh, I'm totally with ya in theory, but I'll have to throw in that you haven't driven the "right" automatics yet. :wink:
    There isn't an automatic that can compare with a good manual. My mom's Mercedes (a ~$70k turbo something) still doesn't compare to the bone stock WRX, let alone the modified STi, both of which cost less than half what the Merc did. The Merc is a great car and has a lot of pep and will certainly go. It's still not as responsive and fun as just about any manual I've had (Miata, Turbo Beetle, 2.5i, STi and 2 WRXs). My very favorite ever was the STi. There's nothing quite like dropping that critter into third gear and putting your foot down around a curve. 450 HP (to the wheel) and all-wheel drive on a tightened suspension make for a fun trip.
    And for the record, I do commute to work every day in stop-and-go traffic and I still prefer my manual. I'd rather deal with shifting in traffic than deal with an automatic on an open road.
    :heart:

    I'll take a manual everyday and twice on Tuesday.

    do-you-even-lift_o_918871.jpg
  • MizTerry
    MizTerry Posts: 3,763 Member
    I love a stick shift, but I'm hell on clutches because I give the smoothest ride in town.
  • StarChanger
    StarChanger Posts: 605 Member
    Manual. All the way. Automatics scare the crap out of me. I want the car to go when I tell it to go, not go just because I took my foot off the brake. A manual gives me more control, which is helpful when I need to get away from an SUV-wielding soccer mom who has a cell phone in one hand, coffee in the other and is looking at her kid in the backseat, all while slowly drifting into my lane. I need to be able to drop it into 3rd and scoot. Not put my foot down and wait a while until the car figures out that I would like to go faster.
    Granted, my car (Subaru Impreza 2.5i) isn't as much fun to drive as my husband's (Subaru WRX), and his current car isn't as much fun as his old car (highly modified Subaru STi that he sold when he decided to be all responsible), but it is more fun to drive than any automatic I've ever driven.
    Heh, I'm totally with ya in theory, but I'll have to throw in that you haven't driven the "right" automatics yet. :wink:
    There isn't an automatic that can compare with a good manual. My mom's Mercedes (a ~$70k turbo something) still doesn't compare to the bone stock WRX, let alone the modified STi, both of which cost less than half what the Merc did. The Merc is a great car and has a lot of pep and will certainly go. It's still not as responsive and fun as just about any manual I've had (Miata, Turbo Beetle, 2.5i, STi and 2 WRXs). My very favorite ever was the STi. There's nothing quite like dropping that critter into third gear and putting your foot down around a curve. 450 HP (to the wheel) and all-wheel drive on a tightened suspension make for a fun trip.
    And for the record, I do commute to work every day in stop-and-go traffic and I still prefer my manual. I'd rather deal with shifting in traffic than deal with an automatic on an open road.

    You're comparing apples to oranges. A loaded "mom" Mercedes (undoubtedly bought to be a comfortable, yet peppy, upper-end daily driver) is quite a different beast that a well tuned WRX which was built, from the factory, to be a road race car. Don't get me wrong, WRXs are some of my favorite little cars (don't own one, but I respect them...). I also completely understand the "for less than half of the price" argument, as I've been making it myself for years...being a 13-time mustang owner (everything from little 65 coupes to my current 550+hp Supercharged cobra 1/4mile car). But the bottom line is that my 1995 cobra with 550hp and $35K worth of mods is NOT the same as say, a 2013 corvette coupe...the bottom end model with "only" 430hp. That car would probably eat my cake, even with an automatic. High end sports automatics do NOT have the lag you typically associate with low-end automatics...and if they do, it's only because there's a turbo involved and someone doesn't know how to spool it up. I can still make the "my car cost less" and has more HP...but who cares? Sometimes nice is just, nice.

    My "race car" is a manual...I wish it was an automatic (they are more reliable for 1/4mile times). My former daily driver is an almost stock '01 vette....it's an automatic....but I bought it used at a REALLY good price, so I couldn't complain. Besides, I don't street race anymore, so it's kinda nice to do my long commute, without spilling my mocha, when the weather is nice. The vette is now retired in the garage and my newer daily driver is an automatice too. Hubby's Speed3 is a stick. My Aston Martin (my dream car...I WILL HAVE ONE) will be a manual....unless I get a really good deal on a used automatic (the one I want is paddleshift anyway). :bigsmile: :smokin: :tongue:

    So our paddock contains 2 manuals, and 2 autos. Best of both worlds. :drinker:

    (BTW....I had a 2000 New Beetle Turbo too. Awesome little car and WAY zippier than anyone guessed. It honestly handled better than the vette. Strangely, no one ever begged me for rides in the Bug...weird.)
  • mestacy010
    mestacy010 Posts: 577 Member
    Stick duh, the more the power, the better to drag race with....or street race. I love racing.
  • mestacy010
    mestacy010 Posts: 577 Member
    Manual in the city is a pain in the *kitten*. Automatic all day. If I lived somewhere with no traffic, I'd prefer a stick.


    It depends on the vehicle too.

    In a car (or truck even) you can cut the shifting in half or even less than half


    You can still have fun in the city, starting from hills is fun :)

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