Thinking about getting an automatic

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Since i've been driving i've always preferred driving automatics by far and i think you can really have a good control on when you want it to shift just by lightly releasing the gas pedal, at least on all the automatic 4 and 5 speed Mercedes i had. However, i don't know if i am the only one but being an extremely distracted person, I've come closer to accidents way more often with automatics and never, ever with manuals as it keeps me more concentrated on what's going on ahead of me at all time. For me an automatic brings confort and pleasure to drive, however, a manual has low maintenance cost on it's side, and for me, safety. The two cars i now have are 5 speed manuals but manual old Mercedes aren't exactly fun to drive. I am thinking about getting an automatic again but would like know about other aspects i should consider before making the move, and if it is wise to start with. Also, what are the best, most reliable automatics available besides the good old Mercedes 722.4/6, what about Vovlo and BMW? If i get something else than a Merc it would be something from the 90s or early 00s.
 
Maybe you should work on this first before worrying about which car you’re going to buy next.

Behind a steering wheel is no place to be easily distracted
I am getting better these days but for exemple i avoid having a discussion while driving in the city if i want to stay 100% focused and i don't listen to music while driving anymore for this very reason. Not sure why but there was a big difference between driving an automatic an manual for this reason. It's been a while now since i had an automatic and with age i've also become a better driver as well.
 
Deffo on getting a handle on your wandering mind.
Since you're looking towards 25-30 year old vehicles, select one with a popular automatic many shops can rebuild.
See which units are GM based even on European marques.
There's a reason GM V8's and trannies are fit into restored cars many of which aren't GM's.
 
I agree with OZHSV. This is one reason why I have used very moderate hypermiling techniques. Forces me to stay focused on the road. Also helps me avoid speeding tickets, which I have picked up occasionally prior to doing this. Saves on brakes and at the pump as well.


Maybe you should work on this first before worrying about which car you’re going to buy next.

Behind a steering wheel is no place to be easily distracted

M119 said:
However, i don't know if i am the only one but being an extremely distracted person, I've come closer to accidents way more often with automatics
 
Also, what are the best, most reliable automatics available besides the good old Mercedes 722.4/6, what about Vovlo and BMW? If i get something else than a Merc it would be something from the 90s or early 00s.

I try to avoid BMW automatics from that era like the plague - the ZF units are generally time bombs.

Volvo fortunately uses Aisin transmissions. The four-speeds up to 2000 are pretty bulletproof. 2001/2002 had some stumbles with the newer 5 speed model automatic and a few bugs to work out. After that, generally great. Higher-end models got a "gear-tronic" version that allowed manual shifting, which might interest you.
 
Agree on the hypermiling techniques, i drive like that too, i keep good distances with other vehicles and don't touch the brake a lot. The other way of thinking would be to consider a car with a manual transmission that's actually enjoyable to drive.
 
M119.

imma go deep here for a minute. My dad was a deeply conflicted man and had to survive and live through a lot. He once told me, and this has stuck with me, “you can tell the spiritual health of a man by how he handles silence.” Before the board questions this statement, my dad is not religious.

Vulnerability to distractions is probably a burden wrapped about a gift. Imagine the radio antenna needed to communicate with satellites space. It has to be super sensitive to pick up weak signals (they have limited power) yet will also pick up everything else! The antenna in your head gets many signals due to its powerful receiving ability.

One thing we do with antennae to make sure they have a good reference, is we Ground them. We electrically anchor them to earth. I will take this in 2 directions.

1. Simple vehicles without frills, screens, phones, buttons, dials, beeps, gadgets... A transmission which connects you with what is immediately happening may be a great way to keep you grounded with the car and connected with the task. You and the machine and no superfluous widgets. Driver and car. It’s not a bad way to go.

2. mentally, #1 is a coping skill but not a cure. We ALL need mental “grounding.” This world has many distractions. with an antenna, the receiver will use filters to disregard unwanted signals. In order for the filters to work, they are also connected to ground. Somewhere in that circuit, a long rod is pounded into earth with a hammer. What can you do, to make such a connection? Figure that out and you can drive whatever you want!
 
No problem there. I agree about manuals being more fun to drive.

As far as manuals being "the other way of thinking..."---at the risk of stating the obvious, let's not look at hypermiling and manuals as mutually exclusive. How about hypermiling while driving a manual? Sounds like the best of both worlds.

Agree on the hypermiling techniques, i drive like that too, i keep good distances with other vehicles and don't touch the brake a lot. The other way of thinking would be to consider a car with a manual transmission that's actually enjoyable to drive.
 
Very interesting meep, and i can relate a lot to what you are saying. I am like that with pretty much everything and it can be annoying and tiring when you're receptive to everything going on around you at times. Back to driving, when i drive a modern vehicle with a bunch of buttons and a big screen in my view, it distracts me and i definitely need to feel connected to the road. It reminds me about how the germans wouldn't put cup holders in cars before the 2010s because they thought a car was a bout driving, and fast usually and that you weren't supposed to do anything else.
 
No problem there. I agree about manuals being more fun to drive.

As far as manuals being "the other way of thinking..."---at the risk of stating the obvious, let's not look at hypermiling and manuals as mutually exclusive. How about hypermiling while driving a manual? Sounds like the best of both worlds.
I am always looking at what's going on ahead, if shifting is needed or not. Saves fuel, brakes and clutch. I used to use the "jigsaw shifter" as i call it, a lot to keep the automatics from shifting up above 3rd or 4th before going downhill or while driving in the city for exemple to save brakes and put less strain on the transmission.
 
Haven't driven a manual in 20+ years although I did drive one for 5 years. I wouldn't go back. Mercedes transmissions aren't that good and if you're looking for 2000-2010 cars, that era also involved their merger with Chrysler where QC went south. Although when the transmission goes, a replacement of the conductor plate fixes it so it's not like you need a whole new transmission. The 2010+ seem to be better with the transmissions. With a manual I think you eventually wear out the clutch so that would cost you about the cost of the automatic transmission option. The automatic should last the life of the car. I like all the stuff on the E class though. I would get the 2008-2009 models the early 2003-2007 all had various issues, even the later ones still do but not as bad. Or go with 2012+. Very easy to get distracted with playing with satellite radio, navigation, trip computer, ipod audio, bluetooth phone, etc. Haven't had any accidents in it though from that.
 
Don't do it.

Automatic transmissions are the smart phones of the automotive world. Once you get sucked in you can never get out.

Consider yourself warned.:)
 
Very interesting meep, and i can relate a lot to what you are saying. I am like that with pretty much everything and it can be annoying and tiring when you're receptive to everything going on around you at times. Back to driving, when i drive a modern vehicle with a bunch of buttons and a big screen in my view, it distracts me and i definitely need to feel connected to the road. It reminds me about how the germans wouldn't put cup holders in cars before the 2010s because they thought a car was a bout driving, and fast usually and that you weren't supposed to do anything else.

m119 I want you to try something. Don’t ask me where this is from. Each time you sit down to drive, close the door. Before you start the car, make a knife edge with your hand and hold it horizontally against your chest, centered, heart level. Inhale 3 times. Grab that feeling and hang on to it, start the car and go.
 
I've never found that a manual trans helped me keep focus while on the highway. Going to my inlaws might have a couple of stretches where I might not shift for up to an hour.

Although: for a while I tried to stay in top gear for as long as I could on my commute, years ago. I'd shift into high gear on a backroad, go 7 or so miles. Then merge onto a highway for 20 and change highways--the interchange is marked at 45 but no-one goes that slow there. Then several miles and slow down for a toll: I was happy when EZ Pass went in, so I could do this! but boy the car did not like pulling away at 40 in top gear... Few more miles, another highway change, and finally the city, where I had to start shifting again.

Got the chance to take the wife's car out on the highway yesterday. Was fun rowing through the gears but once in the city I started having second thoughts. I rolled my left ankle many times over the years and sometimes it just aches.
 
I’ve driven and own both. Both have their pros and cons. I don’t get distracted easy in either one. For city driving like when I have to go to my school or when I’m working I prefer automatic because of all the stop and go for highway and back roads I like my manual. The automatics are much easier to control in my opinion because you can use both hands on the wheel at all times instead of having to reach over to shift. But I have to say the automatic is nice lol.
 
As someone who got rear-ended this morning on the way to work by a teenage girl playing on her phone, learn to drive and freaking pay attention.
 
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As someone who got rear-ended this morning on teh way to work by a teenage girl playing on her phone, learn to drive and pay attention.
That really sucks. I got hit on my way to school last month by some crazy lady who was all over the road. Then she demanded my insurance and everything else I’m like wait a minute not happening. Bad part is it wasn’t in the back it was in the front she cut over in front of me and clipped my front end so it made it look like it was my fault.
 
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