Drove a 6spd manual yesterday...don't miss it

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I like a good automatic, but there are plenty of bad ones due to the auto makers focusing on EPA fuel economy numbers. Early upshifting as an example. The 8 speed auto transmission in the Ram 1500 is much better than the 10 speed automatics in the Chevy and Ford trucks. Most of the small group of people who buy a new car with a stick today are aggressive drivers. Im a semi mechanic for UPS and our all newer semis have an automatic. I've heard sticks in semis are quickly becoming a thing of the past and only owner operators are buying new sticks.
 
While many of today's automatics are great, the fact is that they upshift into a high gear way faster than enthusiasts prefer.

I know when I need 3rd gear. And despite shiftable 10 speed automatics, going from 8th to 3rd is a royal pain. And never conducive to a pleasant driving experience.
 
I miss driving a manual, but not in LA traffic.

I also scoff at automakers offering automatic rev-match with manuals. That's one of the joys of driving a manual, when you "heel-toe" and get the proper rev match and the response from it.
 
I had a Mustang and three Rx7's that were all sticks so I have several hundred thousand miles of drive time shifting gears, and it was ok back then but I dont miss it a bit. Back in the 80's when I was learning to drive if you had a small engine you needed a manual to get any decent acceleration out of it. Got better mpg's too, and in many or most cases they lasted longer. These days with even the most pedestrian 4 cyl engines putting out HP numbers that rival or surpass 70's, 80's and even some 90's era V8's, and getting 30+ mpg's doing it, I dont see the point. A lot of cars today if you compare the MPG's and acceleration numbers, many automatics outperform their standard shift counterparts. If you like shifting for yourself and find it fun or more 'in control', I dont fault people one bit for feeling that way, but beyond that, I dont see too many compelling arguments in favor of them anymore, other than people who learned to drive on them and just prefer them.

I find most modern automatics light years ahead of anything built even 10-15 years ago. A few fluid changes early in their life and most will outlive the chassis they are installed in, they shift smoother and faster than most people could manually, and since I dont have to worry about shifting I can use my free right hand to hold my beer, tickle my wifes knee, check my Facebook with my phone held down low, and pull the onions off my double McWhopper while not having to worry about grabbing a shift lever or having to think about what gear I am supposed to be in as I narrowly miss running over the construction worker four feet over the line standing in the berm. Whats not to like?

I do agree that standard shift is a great anti-theft. Finding anyone under age 50 who can drive a stick is getting pretty rare. I'm glad I still know how to do it, but honestly in the last 20+ years other than driving the neighbors new Vette I cant think of a single time where I needed to know how to do it.
 
We've got 5 cars. Samurai, Mazda and old F-150 are manuals and all 3 would be much worse with automatics. Driving an old Ford I-6 with an auto and a manual back to back its hard to believe anyone bought the auto when new. Its a totally different animal. The samurai can barely get out of its own way (60hp) so manual is necessary and the mazda is just plain fun.

The 8spd auto in my Ram is by far the finest auto I've ever driven and I wouldn't have it any other way. And the Auto in the wife's CRV is fine and I have no complaints.
 
To each their own. I had a 12-year absence from driving manuals and I didn't realize how much I missed it. Now I'll only DD a manual until I physically can't or they're banned altogether.
 
I consider myself a car enthusiast and while I did briefly learn to drive stick I didn't practice enough to do it fluidly. I could move a car across a parking lot if need be or do it in an emergency... good enough for me.

Modern automatics, although many are poorly programmed or programmed for best MPG but not best driving experience, are smarter than humans and can drive both faster and more efficiently. That's why they don't sell many anymore.

PS: You can't drive, mess with a phone, eat, and look at something on a laptop at the same time with a manual transmission :p not that I've ever done that... that would be a terrible idea and I would NEVER do such a thing.
 
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Originally Posted by wemay
Can you still be a car enthusiast and not want a manual transmission?


Yes, though the car snobs who masquerade as enthusiasts will try to tell you otherwise.
 
Once I was visiting home and my brother had at disposal Peugeot 508 GT 2.2 hdi with some 300 lb-ft and automatic. It can go 155mph like nothing. Other car he had was FIAT 500 1.4 naturally aspirated, manual.
I took 500, had much more fun, regardless that it has hair dryer under the hood and that overall, it is miserable vehicle compared to 508. But manual+mountain roads....
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Sometimes I wish I could rev-match and heel/toe, but it's hard enough to resell a coupe in today's market I could only imagine how difficult it would be to resell a couple that had a 6mt.


If I ever decide to sell the E63 M6 with 6-speed manual, I'm not worried I'll find a market. Most came with the less desirable (to me) DSG. But I didn't buy it with resale in mind anyway. It's provided an engaging driving experience for 9 years now.

Likewise the modded Viper isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
 
Apparently, the best anti - theft device is a manual transmission ... LOL.

I have NEVER owned an automatic as my personal vehicle. I enjoy driving, and to me, a huge part of the experience is shifting, matching revs, and being in complete control of the car.

Are new automatics " faster ... " ? Don't care. I'm not racing against a clock.

More fuel efficient ? Maybe on an EPA dyno test. But again, I don't care.


But, I will admit that grid lock traffic makes driving a manual transmission decidedly less fun. I still enjoy driving stick enough to accept that sometimes, it is more work than fun. But that is OK, for me at least.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Once I was visiting home and my brother had at disposal Peugeot 508 GT 2.2 hdi with some 300 lb-ft and automatic. It can go 155mph like nothing. Other car he had was FIAT 500 1.4 naturally aspirated, manual.
I took 500, had much more fun, regardless that it has hair dryer under the hood and that overall, it is miserable vehicle compared to 508. But manual+mountain roads....

When I was in high school and college, I has a '72 Spitfire 1300. That car was fantastic fun to drive hard. Felt like you were going so fast and yet the reality was that the car would rarely top 80-85 mph. It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slowly.
 
Originally Posted by JunkdrawerDog
It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slowly.


I've heard the same thing about cars and motorcycles. I have to say I've never agreed with it. I'd rather have a fast vehicle with high limits which can be explored when the situation is right to do so.
 
I currently have one manual car (1996 VW Golf GL) and one automatic (94 Honda Accord) and I can tell you that I much prefer the manual VW Golf, it's more responsive,
more controllable, and it was cheaper to buy new, and the way I drive the clutch it will probably last for 350k miles.
 
It completely depends on the vehicle. I have now owned a manual Corolla and one with an automatic. I much prefer the automatic. I will soon be buying a Corvette, and I wouldn't own one with an automatic...
 
Originally Posted by JunkdrawerDog
Originally Posted by edyvw
Once I was visiting home and my brother had at disposal Peugeot 508 GT 2.2 hdi with some 300 lb-ft and automatic. It can go 155mph like nothing. Other car he had was FIAT 500 1.4 naturally aspirated, manual.
I took 500, had much more fun, regardless that it has hair dryer under the hood and that overall, it is miserable vehicle compared to 508. But manual+mountain roads....

When I was in high school and college, I has a '72 Spitfire 1300. That car was fantastic fun to drive hard. Felt like you were going so fast and yet the reality was that the car would rarely top 80-85 mph. It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slowly.

I would say it depends on engine and vehicle. While FIAT has 1.4 hair dryer, it really like to spin. It is happy when revs. I drove some engines that are just miserable, manual or automatic. I remember driving Nissan (i forgot name of the model in Europe) with 1.8ltr engine. That thing is screaming telling you: no more than 3,000rpms. Than I had Alfa Romeo 1.6ltr with 105hp and boxer engine. Holy moly was that car fun.
 
Originally Posted by 02SE
Originally Posted by JunkdrawerDog
It's more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slowly.


I've heard the same thing about cars and motorcycles. I have to say I've never agreed with it. I'd rather have a fast vehicle with high limits which can be explored when the situation is right to do so.


I agree 100%!
 
I've gone from a die hard stick shift or die fanatic to somebody who can legitimately enjoy both. My golf wagon is a stick and its fun to daily drive. The TourX is the wife / I drive it when we all go somewhere vehicle and i really enjoy the aisin 8 speed auto. Its relaxing and seems to do well enough in gear selections. I tend to agree with many on here that lower power 4 cylinder stuff its better suited to a manual. Its harder to drive heavy and powerful manuals without clutch wear. Someday i want to buy a V8 camaro/corvette/SS and i honestly wouldn't care if it was stick or auto.
 
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