Why Don't people enjoy driving a manual trans??

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Most people don't equate driving with enjoyment, period, and for them having to shift gears manually is just an extra hassle. They want their appliance to take them from A to B, and they want it done with minimum amount of effort and engagement since they have many other things to focus on, like their phone or their make-up. And there's nothing wrong with that. Just a different approach to driving.



I agree with this mightily -- except for the last line, which I disagree with just as mightily.

In this country, people HAVE to drive just to get around, and cars are sort of ingrained in the culture as symbols of freedom and empowerment. Therefore, most people see driving as a necessity and a right, not as a privilege. It makes sense that they'd value simplicity and mindlessness over involvement and control. So, that's where we agree.

How could anyone say there's nothing wrong with this picture? When you see parents pacify their kids with iPads just so they can watch TV all day and not care, would you call that "just different approach to parenting?" If there were a whole community (let alone a nation) of absent-minded parents like that, would you want to live anywhere near those kids when they grew up? If their eyes glazed over whenever you talked about more effortful methods of child-rearing, wouldn't that disturb you?

America's obsession with mindless driving is a bad thing. It fills the roads with people who are intentionally ignorant about what they're doing. It pushes the car industry toward boring and isolating products that make the laziness worse. It creates conditions that are unfriendly to people who WANT to know what they're doing (i.e. enthusiasts). Seems plenty wrong to me.


You said everything I always want to say but pretty much never bother to... I agree mightily with ever bit of it!

 

[shDK]

I personally prefer manual transmissions at every time, for all the reasons mentioned in this thread. Someone here mentioned the use of auto transmissions in Europe is minimal. That is with no doubt true, but I think it has something to do with in genneral smaller engines. I have 120 DIN HP in a Mazda 6, and guess that would be something to laugh at in the US. Much higher taxes on cars and petrol is Probertly also big reasons.

 

[edwardh1]

hills and traffic, holding clutch down

 

[Olas]

An automatic cannot look a mile down the road an select tbe correct before getting to the hill/stop sign/whatever

Automatics make people think its ok to be lazy 'because an xtra pedal means more work' but once you're moving you dont need the clutch - just think about wheel speed x road speed / engine speed..its called rev-matching.

I dont care about syncro/non syncro, sequential, paddles/stick, but I absolutely INSIST on a SMF and conventional clutch (dontcare abiut single plate or multi plate)

To me driving is a.verb. You have to actually DO it.

 

[Turk]

I love, LOVE driving a stick!

 

[wrcsixeight]

My friends who learned to drive on Automatics are the worst drivers. They have no concept besides right pedal go left pedal slow. No concept for where their wheels are, no engagement with the road nor other drivers around them. No ability to plan ahead, and don't seem to care. All have been in accidents, some several, which of course were "not their fault" but also could have been avoided if they were aware and vigilant and had any sense of their go machine's abilities, but the automatic allowed them to be less engaged and less aware.

I taught one of them to drive stick later on, and he even bought a stick shift in his 20's, but he was a brutal shifter, stalled regularly and all his other bad driving habits stuck with him throughout the years.

I drive a Stick Shift every chance I get, and I can shift them smoother than the Automatic I Now drive. If I could snap my fingers and have a 5 speed manual in my ride now it would be a no brainer, as I hate when and where my Automatic decides to shift.

My Old man insisted I learn how to drive on a Stick shift, and in fact I learned how to shift on a Cub Cadet ride on mower in my single digits. The clutch and brake were one and the same pedal but I was shifting without stopping, cutting the lawn early without missing spots and plowing snow with it in the winter time.

I was fuming mad I was not allowed to take my driving test in the manual transmission car.

Sure there are times when having a manual would be more irritating, like in traffic, but I imagine if everybody were forced to drive a manual there would be less stop and go, accelerate and slow, but more a constant first or second gear march, like when you get behind a trucker in traffic.

 

[cb_13]

Originally Posted By: Clubber_Lang
Automatics are well suited to chicks, wimps, the lazy and the elderly.

Yes because you can tell absolutely everything about a person by the vehicle they drive. There are many situations I would prefer a manual to an automatic and vice versa. None of them have anything to do with my gender, ability to withstand physical pain, ambition or age.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
A further comment on driving enjoyment.

For most of his life, my Dad was a typical "I'll just get comfortable A-to-B transport" guy. His cars over the years:

- Chevy Malibu
- Ford Taurus
- Lincoln Continental
- Acura 3.2TL

Then, after a lot of very careful persuasion, he bought a BMW 128i.

His commute is about 45 minutes each way. It used to be something he just kind of lived through, like everything else. Now it's something he looks forward to. That means his 128i has converted 1.5 hours of every single work day from tedious to rewarding. That is a LOT of recovered time, especially for a successful working professional.

Dad's 128i isn't manual, but his experience speaks volumes about what a difference it can make to have a car that lets you enjoy your time on the road.

FWIW.

To be clear: I did NOT post this to say automatics are as good as manuals. I posted it to show that driver involvement is good for everyone, not just enthusiasts.

My father got an automatic strictly because of where he is in his life. There are other people who get automatics for physiological reasons. We've also heard from a trucker who just hates shifting by the time he gets to go home. That's all well and good.

I'm really talking to people who could drive stick but are wondering if they should bother. What I'm trying to say is, yes, you should bother. Do NOT discount the value of being engaged in your drive. Minimizing effort equals minimizing reward, and the time you spend on your daily commute adds up fast. Let that time work for you.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Clubber_Lang
Automatics are well suited to chicks, wimps, the lazy and the elderly.


If you ever drove an automatic that's made to shift very firm and very quick, you wouldn't be saying that.

I used to own a Mercury Cougar that shifted so firm, it eventually ripped the shock mounts right out the unibody. Both rear tires would slide over about 12 inches when shifting from 1st to 2nd under full throttle and then it would chirp the tires when shifting from 2nd to 3rd. And that's with a stock Ford FMX transmission, not built up.

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight
Sure there are times when having a manual would be more irritating, like in traffic, but I imagine if everybody were forced to drive a manual there would be less stop and go, accelerate and slow, but more a constant first or second gear march, like when you get behind a trucker in traffic.

Great point.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Considering the state of the Main Street economy you would think the incentive to save at least 1000$ on a car by selecting a manual would be a no brainer. Heck then the cost of maintenance goes way down as well, and the longevity of that manual box is going to be quite a bit longer than the auto/CVT/DSG anything, it could last three times longer.


I agree. Manuals are far from dead in Europe, though we don't get them all here. It's not really a pride thing as much as a control one, especially for ease and use of neutral.

IMO there is a perfect storm of laziness crossed with profitmongering that creates the situation. Sure, some MTs can be tough to drive in heavy traffic. But having to drive in DC snd NYC traffic often, I know that a well-selected gearing/flywheel combo makes it a breeze. Unfortunately many mt ratios are picked stupidly,,don't have a good enough OD, etc., then MPGs can suffer too.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight
Sure there are times when having a manual would be more irritating, like in traffic, but I imagine if everybody were forced to drive a manual there would be less stop and go, accelerate and slow, but more a constant first or second gear march, like when you get behind a trucker in traffic.

Great point.


+2

 

[JerryBob]

I drive a stick because it is an anti-theft device. Most thieves will walk away cuz they're dorks who can't drive one.

Been using a stick for 40 years and it is by far the most efficient and economical way to go.

As for driving in traffic, - jeez, at least you're getting some exercise.

 

[Colt45ws]

I don't enjoy them because I try to take off from a light and the [censored] thing stalls. Then I get [censored], so I drive even harder than I normally do (which is saying something).
An automagic saves me a lot of stress.

 

[demarpaint]

I've always had at least one stick in my fleet since I first started driving in the 70's. I live where heavy traffic is the norm, I got used to it. I like a stick in sports cars and light trucks. Don't get me wrong a good AT is nice too. CVT, no thanks............

 

[CharBaby]

Years ago when we traveled much, much more and putting on several hundred thousand miles on vehicles, a manual tranny would have been perfect even though we still drove automatics.

Today, a manual tranny would not be in the cards for us as long distance travel is much, much less and our city/suburb type driving style with so many stop signs and signal lights along the way to anywhere we travel.

I like a good shifting manual tranny once in a while for fun. Like getting in a buddy's Cooper S, Mazda 3 or manual Accord. All being very nice shifting cars. The old Muscle Cars with their manual shifts are not fun for me though my good buddy's '61 Corvette is a nice change!

 

[Clubber_Lang]

I love how some people on here are so agitated at pushing in a clutch pedal in traffic.

Driving isnt supposed to be like 4 wheels supporting your lazy boy fully reclined living room furniture.

Waahhhh!

I feel like I should call up the waaahhhmbulance.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: Clubber_Lang
I love how some people on here are so agitated at pushing in a clutch pedal in traffic.

Driving isnt supposed to be like 4 wheels supporting your lazy boy fully reclined living room furniture.

Waahhhh!

I feel like I should call up the waaahhhmbulance.


Who says?

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
I don't enjoy them because I try to take off from a light and the [censored] thing stalls. Then I get [censored], so I drive even harder than I normally do (which is saying something).
An automagic saves me a lot of stress.


Yes, it is hard not to like a smooth modern slushbox.

Everybody likes a stick for a short period, then you hit the traffic...

 

[Silverado12]

I made my son learn to drive on a 5 speed Cavalier. I told him anyone can drive an auto, it takes some skill to drive a stick. He still has that car and loves it. Me, on the other hand, will get autos for now on being I would shift my 18 wheeler all day (now that's something that takes real skill). Pickup trucks aren't even available with a manual shift anymore. Kind of surprising as 1/2 tons were available with a stick up until a few years ago.