who loves driving a manual transmission car?

[norcalP5]

All my cars for the past 20 years have been manual. It takes a while to track some of them though. My last one was a Honda crv 5 speed as my commuter. My current car is an M3 and 5 series both manual. Sometimes there are a few occasions that I wanted to drive an AT. Especially driving in san Francisco with the steep hills and bumper to bumper traffic. The reason I stuck with MT is for reliability and it just puts a smile on my face everytime.

My CRV was stolen 4 weeks ago and is still missing. That is when I looked for another commuter and found my new commuter P5.

 

[RatLabGuy]

Manual.

anything else and you are just a rider, not driving the car.

 

[kamesama980]

Manual.

anything else and you are just a rider, not driving the car.

I'm with this guy.

She knows how and is about average (comparing to the general population that I do see driving stick) but I can't get my wife to give in all the way and get a manual car. Typical cyclical argument: she isn't comfortable with it because she isn't as good as me because she doesn't do it because she isn't comfortable with it...

 

[nickthaskater]

There's no real difference anymore in mpg between manuals and automatics. A used car with a manual also doesn't sell for as much or as quickly. They're fun when you're a kid, but not really if you commute daily in gridlock traffic. Now in a truck it has to be a manual if you're going to tow anything.

I've never understood the complaints about gridlock in a manual. In an auto you're pumping the brake pedal, in a manual it's the clutch... Unless it's more strenuous to push a pedal with your left leg than your right, there's essentially no difference.

Oh, manual, please.

 

[ReginaldWagon]

I've never understood the complaints about gridlock in a manual. In an auto you're pumping the brake pedal, in a manual it's the clutch... Unless it's more strenuous to push a pedal with your left leg than your right, there's essentially no difference.

Oh, manual, please.

Living in British Columbia I can't imagine you have experienced California traffic. Creeping along for miles is exhausting in manual transmission and isn't worth the 2 extra mpg and lower resale value, it's even worse when you're stuck on a steep hill for a half hour or more. Manuals are fun when you're young, the thrill of starting the drive and everything, but working long days is tiring and your joints take a beating. All I want to do is get home without further exhausting myself.

 

[ReginaldWagon]

I wanna herd it,...

The next step from an Automatic transmission is auto steering, braking and accelerating,... then you've a Google car.

I hope I never "drive" a Google car.... I will opt. for the herd-able version of that car. (it will be an expensive option for sure)

I have seen the Google self-driving cars around here, they are quite interesting looking. What's more interesting is that the vehicle code limits their speed to 60mph (5-10mph below the posted speed limits of our highways, freeways and interstates) where most people here drive over the speed limit. This should create some very strange road rage incidents.

 

[nickthaskater]

Living in British Columbia I can't imagine you have experienced California traffic. Creeping along for miles is exhausting in manual transmission and isn't worth the 2 extra mpg and lower resale value, it's even worse when you're stuck on a steep hill for a half hour or more. Manuals are fun when you're young, the thrill of starting the drive and everything, but working long days is tiring and your joints take a beating. All I want to do is get home without further exhausting myself.

You'd be wrong. I've been in more than my share of go-nowhere-for-hours gridlock. In manual cars no less. Like I said, it's really no different than riding the brake in an auto aside from using your left leg instead of your right.

If you prefer an auto, fair enough, but I have yet to see a reason that holds water for auto vs manual in gridlock. Perhaps if you have an exceptionally stiff clutch, but we are talking about Proteges and the like...

 

[ReginaldWagon]

You'd be wrong. I've been in more than my share of go-nowhere-for-hours gridlock. In manual cars no less. Like I said, it's really no different than riding the brake in an auto aside from using your left leg instead of your right.

If you prefer an auto, fair enough, but I have yet to see a reason that holds water for auto vs manual in gridlock. Perhaps if you have an exceptionally stiff clutch, but we are talking about Proteges and the like...

Ah youth. Years and years of repetitive things are hard on ones joints. Not a preference, just practical -- unless you can't afford an automatic, take what you can afford. There is a big difference in the amount of energy and attentiveness required to operate a manual and automatic transmission -- or else various states and countries wouldn't have imposed restrictions for those with physical limitations or drivers who have not shown proficiency In most states it's also illegal to coast with the vehicle in neutral or the clutch disengaged on a "downgrade", what constitutes a downgrade in this scenario is left to the officer to decide. You may see a speed bump, I see a downgrade.

 

[katapaltes]

I'm not sure why this is a debate here... I've driven my manual in rush hour traffic and I do think it required more effort and caused more discomfort in my middle-aged knee than with an automatic. If I had to do that every day, I'd get an auto. That said, I didn't buy a manual because it was all that I could afford.

Before I bought my P5, I went to the Mercedes dealership on a Friday night to pull the trigger on a C class hatchback after twice confirming a price over the phone. The salesman pulled a bait and switch on me and basically informed me that I would be buying an automatic with leather instead of the manual with cloth we'd agreed on, probably because it would be much, much easier for him to locate one. Hell, since HE was telling me what I would buy that evening, he could have found something on the lot. I told him I was fine from ordering from Germany if that's what it took to get a manual. He gave me the resale argument, which I'm sure has merit on a $30k car, but I don't buy a car for its next owner and I also hold on to cars forever, so resale is not an issue. In the end, I walked out of the dealership and got back in my old Celica. Some months later my dad suggested Mazda and we checked out the P5. I test drove a manual, smiled like a kid, and bought one the next weekend for half the price of the Mercedes.

My plan now is to buy a manual Miata and keep the manual P5. When my commute, my age, or my relationships dictate otherwise, I'll get an automatic. Both have their place.


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[nickthaskater]

Ah youth. Years and years of repetitive things are hard on ones joints. Not a preference, just practical -- unless you can't afford an automatic, take what you can afford. There is a big difference in the amount of energy and attentiveness required to operate a manual and automatic transmission -- or else various states and countries wouldn't have imposed restrictions for those with physical limitations or drivers who have not shown proficiency In most states it's also illegal to coast with the vehicle in neutral or the clutch disengaged on a "downgrade", what constitutes a downgrade in this scenario is left to the officer to decide. You may see a speed bump, I see a downgrade.

Wow, you're rather judgmental... "Youth"? I'm 6 months away from being 30, thanks. Please don't talk to me as if I haven't lived, worked, or commuted a day in my life.

A person with a physical disability driving an automatic because they can no longer adequately perform the required movements to drive a manual? Obviously I have no problem with that, but that's not what my comment was about, clearly. That said, the energy required to constantly keep pressure on a brake pedal in an automatic isn't really much different than your average clutch, it's just a matter of right leg vs. left leg.

Although I have to say, the fact that you're citing reduced attentiveness as a positive reason for owning an automatic is a little troubling.

 

[Maroon]

You'd be wrong. I've been in more than my share of go-nowhere-for-hours gridlock. In manual cars no less. Like I said, it's really no different than riding the brake in an auto aside from using your left leg instead of your right.

If you prefer an auto, fair enough, but I have yet to see a reason that holds water for auto vs manual in gridlock. Perhaps if you have an exceptionally stiff clutch, but we are talking about Proteges and the like...

A clutch is considerably more work than an auto in traffic. You don't push a brake pedal to the floor like a clutch, when creeping you only have to modulate pressure, and to get going you don't have to slip the clutch. During my former commute, I routinely did: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, stop, creep along, 2nd, stop again, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 70 mph, stop. Over and over and over. That is understandably annoying for some.

Despite that, I still only own manuals, and am only considering a manual as a replacement for the P5. Traffic is a relatively small downside compared to the downsides of an automatic, in my opinion.