I’m tired of manual transmission

NDL said:
Not to come off like a jerk, but as someone who regularly endured NYC metro area rush hour traffic, I never understood some of the "I hate sitting in traffic, with a manual" comments.

Now...if someone has a physical ailment, or if they're driving a Super Duty, I can understand that a clutch can get wearisome. But for most people, it's negligible.
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Clutch in, put car in first, slip clutch; can't fully release clutch pedal because traffic is going 3mph and first gear idle is 5mph so I constantly have to feather throttle. Traffic stops, pedal in, neutral, pedal ou....oh wait traffic is moving again so clutch in, put car in first, slip clutch....etc.

Or gas pedal, brake pedal.

SwampSurvivor said:
I like driving manual, but sometimes you just want to get in and let the car do most of the work. My Focus was the worst manual transmission I've ever driven - some of it was the gearing of the transmission and the rest of it was the terrible programming from Ford. The Subaru was actually really good and enjoyable but I was just ready to go to having 2 pedals.
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Agreed, the focus's gearing was horrendous. Typical first, super long second, short third, super long fourth, decent fifth, useless sixth. This made timing the shift for buttery smooth shifting hard. You could really just use 2nd and 4th gear and skip the others if you wanted too. The evo's gearing was spot on through and very linear and predictable, made me appreciate the small things about cars that you normally don't think about when driving.
 
My newest would have been a manual if it had been as effortless to use as the one I had in my 95 Saturn SL 1.

The manual in the ION I test drove was fussy, jumpy and noisy. Not something I wanted to fight in LA traffic and despise while stuck with payments. 3 speed manual in the Valiant and LA traffic, no problem, SL1, no problem.
The suck of the ION 5 speed was real. I went with the automatic.

SIL bought a five speed Forte a few years back, and she's tired of it already. Salt Lake City traffic and she works from home. Very telling.
 
NDL said:
Not to come off like a jerk, but as someone who regularly endured NYC metro area rush hour traffic, I never understood some of the "I hate sitting in traffic, with a manual" comments.

Now...if someone has a physical ailment, or if they're driving a Super Duty, I can understand that a clutch can get wearisome. But for most people, it's negligible.

Modern automatics may have come up in reliability, but they're still no match for most manuals.
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Agree 100%. I commuted my entire career with manual gearboxes and never found to bothersome. If I had my way, I'd want all of our cars to be manuals. Also too, there are automatics and there are "automatics". The only halfway decent "automatic" I've ever owned is the DSG in our Passat.

Scott
 
I had an S-10 pickup with a 5-speed manual. Who knows, perhaps it was already worn out but I never could get used to it despite putting another 50-60 thousand miles on it. It would have driven me to road rage eventually!

I've had other manuals that were a delight to drive. Apparently they are not all created equal.
 
I find that I compartmentalize my driving and preferences; for my DD when I am simply going somewhere, I enjoy being insulated and letting the vehicle shift itself, climate control on auto, driving dynamics on auto...I'll happily sit back and listen to Sirius, or more likely be on a concall.. Now when I am driving I'll take a manual please as its part of the engagement and enjoyment.
 
I had a manual transmission in my previous 06 Civic. I could get great mileage with that car but I grew tired of shifting all the time. Plus, it costs a small fortune to replace the clutch with labor costs in today's world. I had a lot of 60's and 70's cars with manual transmissions and they are fun however for a daily driver I prefer an AT.
 
I think in countries with lots of manuals, there is less actual stopping in "stop and go" traffic, as most people prefer a slow roll with a manual. Also a slow roll is more efficient even with an auto, but in N.A. we seem to have a pretty low overall driving IQ, especially racing to a stop...
I have to admit I do like the theoretical efficiency of perfectly matching engine rpms to power requirements of a CVT, after all why use 1900rpm when 1800rpm will do?
I like the manual in snow as well. My commute has no stop and go, and something around 60 gear changes in 30 miles, so its pretty easy on the clutch and transmission. I just wish there was a nice 6th gear for hwy mileage on the Focus.
 
Pew said:
Agreed, the focus's gearing was horrendous. Typical first, super long second, short third, super long fourth, decent fifth, useless sixth. This made timing the shift for buttery smooth shifting hard. You could really just use 2nd and 4th gear and skip the others if you wanted too. The evo's gearing was spot on through and very linear and predictable, made me appreciate the small things about cars that you normally don't think about when driving.
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My Focus was a 5 speed which was even worse. It was like a 6 speed missing 1st gear - always felt like taking off in 2nd. 1st gear it would idle at like 8 MPH. And then due to the weird PZEV stuff, it would bump up the idle if it was in traffic long enough to keep the catalyst happy. More than once I had to pull over and put the hazards on because the car decided to idle at 2000 RPM randomly in traffic. That was not a manual transmission for someone who liked driving manual transmission - that was a manual transmission for someone who couldn't afford the manual.

In my Forester, it was a lot better. 1st gear required no gas pedal to take off. With that I'd usually do 1-2-4-6 or 1-2-3-4-6 . Very close ratio transmission and really really low differential gearing.
 
I agree with you. I still have my old manual Mitsubishi l200 that i do love don't get me wrong but i got annoyed by its manual trans so i replaced it with an automatic ranger long ago. The Houston tx traffic on 290, 610, 10, 45 ect and city driving will kill your love of manuals pretty quick.
 
SwampSurvivor said:
My Focus was a 5 speed which was even worse. It was like a 6 speed missing 1st gear - always felt like taking off in 2nd. 1st gear it would idle at like 8 MPH. And then due to the weird PZEV stuff, it would bump up the idle if it was in traffic long enough to keep the catalyst happy. More than once I had to pull over and put the hazards on because the car decided to idle at 2000 RPM randomly in traffic. That was not a manual transmission for someone who liked driving manual transmission - that was a manual transmission for someone who couldn't afford the manual.
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Interesting! I recently considering getting a Focus, but it would have to be a manual (I've had a couple of their "powershift" automatics as rentals and I hated them!). Sounds like they managed to take the enjoyment out of the manual as well.
 
After driving class 8 trucks for 45 years, I wouldn’t even consider a manual for my DD! This thread reminded me of all the thousands of times I’ve been stuck in stop and go traffic on hills while grossing 80,000 lbs and having to inch along in traffic in granny gear and trying not to come to a stop where I have to get the entire mass of 40 tons rolling again uphill without spitting a drive shaft, and all the while trying to not jump all over the Corolla in front of me with the Peterbilt I’m having to wrestle that has a clutch so stiff King Kong would find it difficult to feather. It Makes my left knee hurt to think about it.
 
I live in a city, oftentimes with an extra 20+ minutes of traffic tacked on to my 9-mile commute. Hate driving my manual and tailgaters at red lights on steep hills.

It doesn't happen often but when it does happen, a perfect shift still makes me a smile. Immediate power, perfect rev match, perfect clutch release speed, perfect accelerator press speed....

But yeah, the next car is an auto for sure.
 
Dennisfly said:
Love driving my Ford Model A. No syncros and every shift is a double clutch, and it's only 19 years older than I am! Not in New York City though. I don't want to drive anything there.
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My Tudor is 22 years older than I am. I love the looks I get when I drive it. For fun driving, there is no beating my 2005 VW Jetta TDI wagon (in the picture). I shift without thinking, so it drives like an automatic. Then there was the time I tried to push in the clutch on my wife's Civic CVT. It actually took me a moment to figure out why the car suddenly decelerated so hard.
 
It really depends on the car imo. A crap box Toyota sedan or any other boring car with a manual trans is a complete penalty box.
 
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