Do you prefer driving cars with manual transmission or automatic transmission?

[Tystie]

On 4/5/2020 at 10:24 PM, timewarp said:

Manual of course. To be honest I still miss the manual choke a bit.

Oh, my. Manual choke. I do NOT miss that!

[Guest]

Definitely automatic, manuals are such a faff. My entire ambition when driving is to get from point A to pint B as quickly and easily as possible without dying or killing anyone else, and automatics do that just fine. As soon as self driving cars are a thing I'll be getting one. I learnt on a manual and have driven manual work vans but I have always owned automatics.

[Anthracite_Impreza]

5 hours ago, Tystie said:

I also remember my dad saying that driving an automatic is boring. I wouldn’t know; I’ve never tried.

It is. My left leg has nearly dropped off in boredom just driving down the street.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Tystie said:

I also remember my dad saying that driving an automatic is boring.

My sentiments exactly.

[Guest]

On 4/6/2020 at 5:38 AM, CBC said:

Easy-peasy for me. Live in Canada and still haven't the faintest clue how to drive a car at the age of 35. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Same here. 31, NZ, no idea how to drive a car  

[Ortac]

On 4/5/2020 at 9:12 PM, Skycaptain said:

The Metro was highly innovative. The first car with a split rear seat, which is universal nowadays, it had all the chassis expertise of the Mini, and no car that size has had so versatile a cabin. Believe it or not the Metro rewrote the rule books for small cars. Without it there would be no supermini 

And I speak as a former Metro owner, they were a decade ahead of the competition 

Oh, OK. Fair enough. My ideas that the Mini Metro was a rubbish car was because my grandmother owned one, and I remember when visiting her on one occasion my father had to borrow her car. He recoiled in horror and declared that it was the worst car he had ever driven. The attribute which came in for particularly harsh criticism was that the sills at the base of the doors were so high, you had to lift your leg up like a contortionist to get out of the thing. He couldn't understand why my elderly grandmother who struggled to get in and out of cars anyway would opt for a model which made that even more difficult.

[Ortac]

On 4/7/2020 at 1:15 PM, Tystie said:

I also remember the rumours of the wheels falling off. No idea whether that was true, but it did make riding in one as a child feel like very risky behaviour!

For me too there were certain cars that I was scared to ride in when I was a child.

 

When I was a kid, I saw a news report on the TV which reported the results of a study into which were the safest and least safe models of car to be in if you were involved in an accident. The car which was revealed to be the least safe on the roads was (unsurprisingly I think) the Citroën deux-chevaux, the 2CV (as well as it’s less common uglier sister the Dyane). I would have been scared to have to go in one anyway before seeing the news report, but after it was revealed by a formal study to be the most flimsy and fragile car on the road, that firmly cemented my fears.

 

The trouble was, these things were so ubiquitous in the 80s and early 90s, and it seemed that about 1 car in every 5 on the school run was one of these. Although my family didn’t have one, my mother decided one day that it was silly her driving me to school every day when she had a friend who drove past our house every morning on her way to the same school, and that I should go with her. Unfortunately, my parents had not seen that news report, and even more unfortunately, my mother’s friend’s car was a 2CV. For some reason, I didn’t think to calmly explain to my mother that the reason I didn’t want to go with her friend was because I was scared of her car. Instead I just simply threw the most HUGE tantrum and kicked and screamed about it. So there was my mother thinking I was a horrible disobedient obnoxious child, and there was I thinking I had a mean nasty horrible mother who was willing to put my life in danger by sending me in an unsafe car. I think everyday going to school in that damn thing my heart rate was elevated; I was genuinely scared.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[J. van Deijck]

I have no licence whatsoever, so I can't really speak for it. however, I've tried driving a car with manual gar and i didn't like it, it seemed like too much to pay attention to.

My friend has a licence and he's the driver, he says he prefers manual gear over the automatic one. (European living in Europe here)

[ozzythefabulous]

From the UK, I prefer manual for the extra control it gives you over the vehicle.

[N8ty L3asT]

For me I don’t really have a preference  they both have pros and cons and it also depends the situation for me. 

[AFlyingPiglet]

I live in the UK and voted for the manual.  I only passed my test (at the 7th attempt) just under 3 years ago at the age of 45. 

 

When I kept failing my test, someone suggested me trying to drive an automatic instead as I might find it easier to pass my test but I was determined to not be beaten.  Eventually I passed.  I kept failing only because I got so nervous each time I came to sit my test.

 

I never had a burning desire to learn to drive which is probably why it took me so long.  It has been invaluable though these past few months with having to do a large shop for my mum who is isolating due to COVID-19.

[Kelwyne]

I never understood the obsession with manual, i always preferred automatics.

[oldgeeza]

As someone who drives for a living, I prefer automatics, they're easier to drive and after driving a truck all day, I just want to get to and from work as easily as possible

[Blue eyes white dragon]

I really like manuals (my first car was one), but automatics are slightly easier since I dont have to remember to shift. Plus it's harder getting a manual here. 

[Cosmic Latte]

(USA)

 

I was taught how to drive with automatic 😅

I figured out manual works in racing video games, that is, how to climb the gears to go faster...

 

However, I have no idea how to smoothly change between gears for day-to-day city/urban driving 😬💦

[Acing It]

On 4/11/2020 at 9:24 PM, Jelle van der Lee said:

I have no licence whatsoever

I thought you had a licence to drive a tram? 😁 (or have I misread where you work?)

 

Just noticed how old this thread is. Thread warmed up again by @Cosmic Latte 😊

[Guest]

I’d take on a ride with two sticks given the opportunity. Of course I would need to be hauling a heavy load for the auxiliary to be of any use at all.

[NewStart]

I have always owned automatics.  The small handful of times I have tried manual I have ended up going whump, whump, stall.  

[ubersnail]

I'm probably the only person who prefers manual because I hate driving and find it really stressful. With a manual, I have to be more focused on how the car's "feeling" and whether I'm planning to speed up/slow down/stop, so it feels like I'm more "in tune" with the car, and more prepared to react to what's going on on the road, even though in reality it probably makes it harder...

[Guest]

I live in the suburbs of New York City and I do not know how to drive a car. Although I do know how to drive a motorcycle, I much prefer public transportation, regardless of how good the weather is (I hate when people assume that I enjoy driving a motorcycle when the reality is that I would rather scrub a toilet with a toilet brush than drive a nasty disgusting motorycle).

[Siimo van der fietspad]

Prefer bicycles anyway (two have traditional derailleur gears, the other a CVT).  Small preference for a manual car as it gives finer control and better fuel consumption, however an auto is much less tiring in urban traffic (which I don't do a lot) and there are some very steep hills in my city which require a bit of skill in stirring the box. I also feel there's a still a perception in this country that if you don't have a full manual license then you're a bit dumb. On the other hand, looking forward to having a hybrid/full electric where it's irrelevant.  Piston engines and their associated transmission are now virtually obsolete, requiring a huge number of complicated and fragile parts to mitigate their shortcomings and inefficiency.

[korik]

I've never learned to drive a manual, and I honestly don't think I ever could. I'm not sure that I'm coordinated enough. - Nor do I think it's even necessary, honestly. An automatic has never failed me. 

[riskygamble]

I was taught how to drive manual shortly after I got my license after learning on an automatic. Despite others around me saying that they prefer manuals because more control over the vehicle, I prefer automatic. Manual's cool and all but I'll take the less complicated way

[Guest]

On 4/5/2020 at 6:24 PM, timewarp said:

Manual of course. To be honest I still miss the manual choke a bit.

I have some NOS manual choke conversion kits and WILL install one if I can get my hands on a carbureted vehicle. That is, unless I get hold of a Canadian-spec Hyundai Pony which is the newest vehicle I know of with a factory-installed manual choke.

 

This school bus originally had an automatic. The 4-speed Spicer was installed first to get an overdrive for highway speeds and the bus was later converted to full manual with a 5-speed Eaton-Fuller. Here’s a rundown of the gear changes in this video:

 

Starts off in 2/low.

3/low

4/low

4/direct

5/direct

5/overdrive.

 

 

[iff]

@Ortac

 

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