Question Of The Day: Why Do People Buy Manual Cars?
07-17-15, 03:08 PM
#16
Lexus Fanatic
And they love to rib us about it(although they're justified).
When I had my learner's permit, my parents made sure I drove all of their cars. That included a good amount of time behind the wheel of my dad's 92 F-350 when we were out working together(every day after school). It has a 5-speed manual. So I learned.
My first car was a 1989 Pontiac Firebird with a 2.8 V6 and a 5-speed manual. It wasn't fast, and I imagine it would have been much worse with an automatic. Low power cars definitely benefit from a manual, especially in hilly territory.
A high school friend had a late 90's Saturn SL2. My sister also has one. His was manual, hers is automatic. The automatic makes it awful in the hills.
When I had my learner's permit, my parents made sure I drove all of their cars. That included a good amount of time behind the wheel of my dad's 92 F-350 when we were out working together(every day after school). It has a 5-speed manual. So I learned.
My first car was a 1989 Pontiac Firebird with a 2.8 V6 and a 5-speed manual. It wasn't fast, and I imagine it would have been much worse with an automatic. Low power cars definitely benefit from a manual, especially in hilly territory.
A high school friend had a late 90's Saturn SL2. My sister also has one. His was manual, hers is automatic. The automatic makes it awful in the hills.
I learned to drive a three-speed stick on a Plymouth slant six .........my Dad once owned both automatic and manual-transmission versions of that engine. The difference between the two in power and response, even in the same type of car, was amazing. But, to compensate, the RWD Chrysler Torqueflite automatics were far more durable and reliable than the flimsy three-on-the tree with un-syncho first gear, which was crap.
Essentially learned a four-on the floor in an MG which belonged to a friend of mine....that was fun, but the seating space was cramped for big guys.
BTW, you may not have considered a 2.8 Pontiac V6 and 5-speed fast, but, by the standards of the time, it was no slouch. Some four-cylinder compacts, back then, couldn't get out of their own way...especially with automatics.
Last edited by mmarshall; 07-17-15 at 03:18 PM.
07-18-15, 05:25 PM
#17
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
good article about stick shifts and why they aren't going away...
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...l-transmisson/
http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cult...l-transmisson/
07-18-15, 09:56 PM
#18
Lexus Champion
When my father downsized from the (comparatively huge) Plymouth Volare wagon to the Honda Civic wagon, we decided to go with a stickshift, afraid that the Hondamatic would rob the tiny engine of what little power it had.
I was just learning to drive at the time, so after getting my licence with driving school car, I quickly learned to drive stick.
Our preference for the stick (my parents learned to drive outside of North America where automatics were almost unheard of at the time) continued when my father bought his first Camry, and when I got my first car a few years later. Again afraid that the slushbox would rob the subcompact (at the time) Corolla of power, I insisted on a stick; even then, passing on a 2-lane road had to be carefully planned out.
When I traded in my Corolla for my first Camry a few years later, I stayed with the stick, but when I got my second Camry, the stick was not available so I had no choice but get the automatic transmission. It was not a great loss at that time, as my commutes were in stop-and-go traffic and the automatic made it easier on my left leg.
But I still like the manual transmission, finding myself now manually downshifting the automatic transmission in slow traffic as a speed-control device, to avoid having to shuffle between the gas and brake pedals and avoid wear on the brakes.
I was just learning to drive at the time, so after getting my licence with driving school car, I quickly learned to drive stick.
Our preference for the stick (my parents learned to drive outside of North America where automatics were almost unheard of at the time) continued when my father bought his first Camry, and when I got my first car a few years later. Again afraid that the slushbox would rob the subcompact (at the time) Corolla of power, I insisted on a stick; even then, passing on a 2-lane road had to be carefully planned out.
When I traded in my Corolla for my first Camry a few years later, I stayed with the stick, but when I got my second Camry, the stick was not available so I had no choice but get the automatic transmission. It was not a great loss at that time, as my commutes were in stop-and-go traffic and the automatic made it easier on my left leg.
But I still like the manual transmission, finding myself now manually downshifting the automatic transmission in slow traffic as a speed-control device, to avoid having to shuffle between the gas and brake pedals and avoid wear on the brakes.
07-19-15, 07:00 AM
#19
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
07-19-15, 08:04 AM
#20
Lexus Champion
in a sedan or cruiser, automatic is fine.....but anything sporty I prefer a stick.
My wife's A5 has a slushbox and I'm constantly using the paddles to up-shift the goddamn thing into 6th gear because it wants to keep RPMs high in case I want to accelerate....I just don't like dealing with crap like that....glad the WRX is a stick....ZERO issues with it.
even higher powered V8s are much more fun to drive with a stick....any numbnut can hit the gas pedal...takes a little more skill to drive a stick.
My wife's A5 has a slushbox and I'm constantly using the paddles to up-shift the goddamn thing into 6th gear because it wants to keep RPMs high in case I want to accelerate....I just don't like dealing with crap like that....glad the WRX is a stick....ZERO issues with it.
even higher powered V8s are much more fun to drive with a stick....any numbnut can hit the gas pedal...takes a little more skill to drive a stick.
07-19-15, 08:38 AM
#21
I don't get why everybody is *****ing about the stick being a pain in traffic. Maybe I'm just used to it since both my car and truck for the past 3 years have been manuals.
Also on cars not made in the past 4-7 years, the ones with a manual usually are quicker by a good deal. And I'm still convinced even on new cars like a Honda Fit with a tiny non-turbo 4 cylinder engine that loves to rev, the manual will be a lot faster/more responsive than the automatic.
I know my 1992 SC300 with the 5 speed is just as fast as the SC400 with the automatic in instrumented testing, despite it being down 25hp vs the V8.
Also on cars not made in the past 4-7 years, the ones with a manual usually are quicker by a good deal. And I'm still convinced even on new cars like a Honda Fit with a tiny non-turbo 4 cylinder engine that loves to rev, the manual will be a lot faster/more responsive than the automatic.
I know my 1992 SC300 with the 5 speed is just as fast as the SC400 with the automatic in instrumented testing, despite it being down 25hp vs the V8.
Last edited by Aron9000; 07-19-15 at 08:41 AM.
07-19-15, 09:44 AM
#22
I also enjoy driving a manual. But given the reality of today's traffic compounded by dual clutch autos that shift quicker and sometimes smarter 
when my money is on the line I'll probably pass on the manual like most due today.
I will say there is something special about driving a manual, esp in lighter cars as bit points out. Plus due to their recent popularity (or lack there of) they make a pretty good theft deterrent system
when my money is on the line I'll probably pass on the manual like most due today. I will say there is something special about driving a manual, esp in lighter cars as bit points out. Plus due to their recent popularity (or lack there of) they make a pretty good theft deterrent system
07-19-15, 10:18 AM
#23
I enjoy driving more when I have a stick, & in many of the more enjoyable cars I can afford, you still get better performance with one. On top of that, I find it easier to maintain my speed in places with unreasonably low speed limits if I can just drop to a low gear & leave it. When I drive an automatic in these situations, they tend to go to the highest gear that won't stall, which leads to me slowly accelerating & getting into trouble. Both my current cars are automatic, & I do use the manual shift option in these situations, but for some reason, they just don't feel as natural in manual mode as either a true manual or as they do left in auto. As someone who does autocross on weekends, I'd prefer to have another manual, but even barring that, I would not consider a car that didn't at least have a manual shift mode for the automatic. Nothing's worse than trying to pick up speed coming out of a tight corner & having the car hunt through 5 gears to get something sensible, & then throwing you around when it does find the right one.
07-19-15, 10:37 AM
#24
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
i don't know if you drive every day in a congested huge city but i did for a while and i tell ya, it's gets old in a hurry with the clutch.
07-19-15, 11:12 AM
#25
Once I test drove the 08 IS250 and the automatic transmission in PWR mode, I saw no need to own a stick anymore.
07-19-15, 12:05 PM
#26
Lexus Test Driver
For me it's just more fun, and involving. My current dd is auto and I get so bored. Gonna unload it soon and get another stick. Also I'm in nyc and no, traffic does not bother me with a stick.
07-20-15, 04:53 AM
#27
In the UK most cars are still manual and that's because most people learn to drive and take their test in a manual. The test includes reversing round corners, parking and hill starts without rolling back so you have to have a reasonable level of clutch control. You can take your test in an automatic but then you're only licensed to drive an auto and, to be frank, if you said you couldn't drive a manual people would look at you like you were a bit simple.
It is changing though as the performance and economy penalties of autos are being reduced, and the cost comes down. As the traffic density goes up more and more are choosing an auto. I've had an auto for the past ten years but at the moment I'm driving a manual and I thought it would be a pain to go back but actually it hasn't been.
It is changing though as the performance and economy penalties of autos are being reduced, and the cost comes down. As the traffic density goes up more and more are choosing an auto. I've had an auto for the past ten years but at the moment I'm driving a manual and I thought it would be a pain to go back but actually it hasn't been.
07-20-15, 08:11 AM
#28
Lexus Fanatic
07-20-15, 08:16 AM
#29
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by Sulu
When my father downsized from the (comparatively huge) Plymouth Volare wagon to the Honda Civic wagon, we decided to go with a stickshift, afraid that the Hondamatic would rob the tiny engine of what little power it had.
I was just learning to drive at the time, so after getting my licence with driving school car, I quickly learned to drive stick.
I was just learning to drive at the time, so after getting my licence with driving school car, I quickly learned to drive stick.
If you are going to learn on a stick, IMO it's difficult to beat the silky-smooth, crisp, precise, light-effort manual-transmission linkage and clutch of the Honda Civic. Civics, regardless of their generation, have always had some of the slickest, easiest-to-use manuals on the planet....and probably the slickest ones for FWD.
07-20-15, 08:16 AM
#30
Lexus Champion
Given a choice, I would almost always choose a manual. I've owned 11 cars and 7 of them were manuals. I hate that I currently only have automatics in my garage.
I'm fine with my RX being an automatic, as I was with my 4Runner. I hated that my TSX was an automatic, and hate that my IS is auto. I was planning on trading in my IS on a GS at lease end, but now I'm thinking about going back to a 6 speed Tacoma.
I'm fine with my RX being an automatic, as I was with my 4Runner. I hated that my TSX was an automatic, and hate that my IS is auto. I was planning on trading in my IS on a GS at lease end, but now I'm thinking about going back to a 6 speed Tacoma.
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