ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Poll: Manual or Auto??

Vehicles are getting cheaper by the second the world over.
What is your preference as far as the gear- stick goes?.
I, like a lot of people learned to drive in a manual and I like to have control over the engine while I'm driving.
In fact, I'd sooner have a 5 spd gearbox than any Auto any day.
Your thoughts?.
Can you prove me wrong?.

When I was younger I loved a manual tranny( I still do in my 67 mustang) but I'm old and lazy now so I prefer an automatic in my work truck. Don't have to pay attention to shifting that way I can drink coffee, read the paper and talk on my cell while driving

I'll drive either. I always had manual in my earlier driving days, but I've been driving automatic for a good many years since I decided to buy American vehicles.

A lot of Brits have an aversion to automatic transmissions though, so I'm quite possibly in a minority here. Automatics are much less common here than in the States.

My first car was a '65 Corvair with a 4-speed. My second car was a '69 Camaro convertible with an automatic.

All of my vehicles are now automatics. The cell phone takes up my other hand.

Never gave it much thought until I bought a pickup with a floor stick - then had to drive it on LA freeways in stop-N-go traffic daily. For years. I think I prefer a stick in all situations except 1) stop-N-go traffic, and 2) driving uphill in San Francisco.

Radar

My first experience in using a manual tranny came the day I joined the Fire Department. I've never been as scared in my life as I was when I took a 20,000 lb. fire engine out for a spin (along with an experienced Chauffeur, thank God) .

Love standards, but now it seems everything, even fire trucks, are going automatic. Not as much fun anymore .

Mike (mamills)

There once was a blissful time upon our dear little planet. It was because they were building chevys with manual three speed shift up there on the steering column. Rrrrrrrrrrr.Rrrrrrrrrrr. Rrrrrrrrrrr.Zoooooooom. Now I buy automatic. And I tell my kids speeding is a bad thing.

I drive both manual and automatic and, while I prefer banging my own gears when I want to drive, I have to say for a daily driver, an auto is just more convenient( lazy?)
I will make the point that autos are not as efficient as rowing your own. Thus, manuals do get better gas mileage, which is probably why they are much more popular outside of North America where gas is cheap, relatively

Standard for fun, auto for daily driving.

As has been said, with coffee, a sandwich, a phone and paper work who has a free hand to actually drive.

My dad insisted on my learning to drive on a standard, many of my cars and personal trucks have been standards, work truck auto.

Bob

Mike... "Three on the Tree" as it was known around here.

I did a lot of close quarters snowplowing with "three on the tree" and I can tell you first to reverse and back again would get pretty tiring.

Than of course as the linkages got old and sloppy they would jam up.

One of the more interesting standards I drove was a 1960s era International Cab over. The transmission was about 6 or 7 feet behind the stick, with the stick in a gear it still moved around so much you would think it was not even connected.

Getting the feel for the gears on that one was a fun challenge ggggrrriiinndd oops that was "R" not "3".

Bob