Who drives a manual anymore?
 

Personally I've been raised on them and also while looking for a new car demanded a manual. Back many moons ago, about a year ago, my mom got a automatic car and I just hated driveing it. And when I drove in someone elses car and they had an automatic I never liked it then either. So the question is am I just really old school or are manuals ever going to come back and be more popular?

And on top of that Who the hell drives one and what are they driveing?

I don't think manuals will be popular with the normal population, but I believe cars should be offered with a manual transmission option. If it were up to me every car would either be an SMG or a regular manual transmission, especially since the SMG can be programmed to be automatic.

I drive a manual and wouldn't have it any other way.

I live with manuals. I love them because they allow me to feel like I'm really in control of the car.

Besides, with the stick, I can do doughs ;)

88% of US drivers have automatics so that they can drink a soda, eat their fast food, talk on their cell phone, and put on makeup while driving.

There's absolutely no excuse for not being able to drive stick. My mom worked with a guy who could use a manual transmission despite the fact that his right arm was amputated above the elbow. If he can do it, so can anyone else.

I personally prefer driving a stick, but with the traffic I have to drive through, a stick makes my legs turn to rubber by the time I get home, so I drive an automatic out of comfort.

"Just say no" to automatics. :thumbsup:

If i lost my right arm and left leg in a chainsaw accident or shark attack i'd make the shifter and clutch tonque activated or something.

Manual rules. Automatic transmission is so limiting. No kickstart, no engine braking and especially no doughnuts :|

I'll stick to my 5-speed box, thank you very much.

When my car was new, an auto tranny was a $500 extra option. Now that my car is 10 years old, an auto tranny version is about $2000 cheaper (ie, in much less demand).

I think the market has decided. Some cars deserve a stick. :)

I used to be a big advocate for manuals, but I'm much less so after getting used to shifting autos. There are also automatics out now (such as those on AMG Mercedes) which are (to me) better than any stick.

The DSG (Dynamic Sequential Gearbox) on the new Volkswagen's and Audi's are said to be some of the best in the world, and I can say from personal experience that they're a pleasure to drive. But I'm a sucker for a 1984 Ford Escort 1600 Sport with a nice short gear stick making reverse-firsts and second-slips a breeze :D

At least there are some other people out there who drive stick. Manuals for life.... how can I convert some one who is an automatic lover to be a manual freak?

I won't drive anything else...auto's are so boring...though driving in traffic is a nightmare

I drive a manual Lancer and wouldn't buy an automatic.

You have to show them how much more fun a manual transmission is to drive versus an automatic. Of course, this requires a car that is more fun to drive than whatever they are currently driving.

Of course, not many people actually enjoy driving and only view it as something they have to do to get to work or shop. In this case, you aren't going to convert them to a manual transmission no matter what. Because in their view, the manual is just a few more problems added on to something they already hate doing.

I learned how to drive in a manual, My first car was auto..My current car is manual..I'm never going back.

Manual is so much fun.

My first two cars were manual so i grew up with it, but then my next three were auto, which considering I was in a shitty traffic area was probably good. Now I have a manual again and still like it, except when I'm stuck in rush hour for two hours! I'd much rather have a manual in bad weather too. People who get sports cars with auto are lame.

I learned on a stick as my first vehicle (old beater farm truck) currently in my nissan I blew the automatic transmission and its a pain in the ass to fix and troubleshoot. So i'm doing the better thing and putting a stick, I love it for the gas mileage, ease of fixing and for the less wear on the brakes I will have. Typically I get double the brake pad life since I rarely use brake pads with a stick.

I drive a Honda CRV with a manual. I won't own a car with an automatic, I don't like them.

Since teaching my wife and daughters to drive a manual, they also prefer them.

If you are talking about your spouse or SO, I'd suggest against it. Teaching my wife to drive a stick is the closest I've ever been to divorce.

I drive a WRX with a 5-speed. I would never, never own an automatic. My parents always had them and I had to wait until I got a car of my own until I could get away from them. The choice is clear: manuals are just awesome!

I finally got a 3000gt Vr-4. its a stick and god i love it. i have had two autos and one other manual in my time driving. all my time spent with the autos has really been dull. i never liked driving them, they were so uneventful. and honestly i love having a stick, i just feel better driving one.

I learned on a manual, but now I drive an auto Jetta and I'm not a fan of it.

I find driving a manual keeps me focused on driving rather than just steering the car...

My car back in California was a Honda CRX, and I absolutely loved driving it. Automatics make it too easy to forget that safe driving requires your attention... and stick is so much more fun to drive. I really appreciate the more nuanced control I have over the car in a manual. I didn't even mind it in bad traffic - I mean, if I'm going to be inching forward at uneven intervals, I want to be paying attention so that I don't space out and rear-end the car in front of me. I think the roads would be a safer place if everybody was required to know how to drive stick in order to earn their license.

I have owned 3 vehicles. All have been 4WD trucks. Only 1 was an automatic, but as it turns out it was my favorite truck. It was fast and always shifted or stayed in the gear that I wanted it to. My truck now is a big lifted Chevy witha a 5-speed. Given the size of the tires and off-road use, I am glad that it is a manual because I don't even want to know how many auto tranny's I would go through. Makes it better for towing too, I think.

Having said that though, with just daily driving and what not, I would much rather am auto. Pushing down and holding a truck clutch, something that takes a fair amount of pressure, is a pain in the ass, or leg.

I will not buy an automobile that has an automatic transmission. period! :thumbsup:

I can't think of anyone I know who drives an automatic in England.

Once I hired an automatic VW bus to take me and some friends snowboarding in Scotland. About 5 minutes into the journey I nearly broke their faces when I slammed the brake down, thinking it was the clutch. They all wore their seatbelts after that incident.

I haven't owned a vehicle with an automatic transmission in over 10 years, and that's not gonna change any time soon. I just bought a new car last week, and I had a hell of a time finding what I wanted with a 5 speed.

The last time I drove my girlfriends car, it's an automatic, I was slowing down to pull into her driveway and as a normal reaction my left foot went to mash down on the clutch only to hit the 15 inch wide brake pedal. I locked up the wheels and we both banged our heads into the windshield. That was the first time in at least 5 years that I had driven a car that was automatic. I now refuse to drive her car. I absolutely hate it, and I hate the fact that she won't learn how do drive stick. The only reason people don't learn is because they're lazy. I know my girlfriend couldn't handle it because she's always to busy talking on the phone or fucking with her hair. Then she can't figure out why she's had 9 accidents. For the record I've had none. So guess who drives when we go somewhere together....

My car is a manual, since I get better gas milage and think it has better acceleration than an automatic. Once in a while when driving my wife's car, I forget there is no clutch and jam on the brakes by mistake. My wife doesn't think that's funny.

:thumbsup:
Glad I'm not the only one.

I learned on manual and have mostly owned manual cars since.

The cool thing is when I go to Europe on business and we rent a car... I am the the one most likely to get to use the car because I can actually drive stick.

Heh, I did that in a rented Subaru Forester on spring break...we were getting off the freeway and I, being so used to my manual, forgot it was an automatic after having had my foot just on the gas for the last 200 miles. Whoops.

I love my manual--out of my family's four cars it's the only stick we've ever owned. The transmission is getting ready to go though :( Sad.

Well I would never get an auto Mustang, its like a sin or something..... and I will always own a mustang so I guess I will always own a manual.

My ex and I got a manual on our '94 Saturn SL2. I was fun to feel in control of the car, but I confess that I got tired of working it on hills.

I also confess that yes, I talk on a cell phone and do other things when I should be driving.

All in all, I probably won't go back to a manual.

I love sticks, I really do. But I live in Queens. I used to have a manual here too, but it just got too exhausting - stuck above the Tappan Zee bridge for 2 hours? Ugh. But the minute I move out of the city, I'm going back to manual. Whee!

It's just better - you can have a crappier car in standard, and it drives better in the winter than a fancier automatic!

StanT - I taught my husband to drive standard... he was frustrated, but he did get it eventually. No divorces! Perhaps one of you isn't patient enough to learn/teach, hmm?? :p

While I haven't owned a car in years... Every car I ever did own was a stick... and much prefer driving them.. even when I lived in the city... I think I killed the clutch on my first car by teaching other people how to drive it...

The only downside to a stick.., when I got my driver's license (in the state of Connecticut in the very early 80s) if you road tested on a stick part of the test was to stop on a hill, and start up again without rolling backwards down the hill...

A few weeks back, I was at a customer site, and someone there had the 50th anniversary edition Corvette... I got to take it out for a spin... Oh that was sweet... Power good.. .controlling that kind of power... very good.

Manuals have some good points, but I'll stick with manu-matics, thanks. There are some occasions (read: about 95% of the time) that I don't want the hassle of dealing with shifting and gear selection. When the special time does occur (bad weather, fun twisty roads, spinning tires), I can easily shift into manual mode and do it that way.

Computerized transmissions are SO good in today's automotive world that there really is no performance benefit from driving a manual. You might save a little on gas, but that's about it. In the end, I would never buy a BMW, Merc, Corvette, ect. with a manual. Save sticks for less-advanced set-ups like four-banger econo-boxes, Mustangs, and anything from Honda.

I drive a stick but I like both manual and automatic, sticks are for the fun driving and automatics are for the boring stuff. Go fast cars should be a stick while the family A-to-B'er should be an auto. I have to agree with the some of you that say people that drive automatics tend to not pay attention or space out. Automatic only drivers are many times worse than people that drive or at least know how to drive a stick, I too think we could make better drivers if training included learning how to drive a stick and do so in traffic.

Sticks for life, TM875 automatic in corvette = very very bad--you speak such horrid evil

I drive a stick and always have. My wife drives a stick. I have a Miata and she drives a Camaro. I like feeling more involved in my driving. With automatics too many people don't drive, they just ride behind the wheel. With a stick I'm more involved in the whole driving process. Sure, ruch hour traffic can be a pain but to me its worth it.

I'm definately getting a manual for my next car, but I can easily see how people prefer the automatic. I drive 1-1.5 hours each way to work through stop-and-go traffic and I'm pretty sure that would be a nightmare in a manual.

As much as I love manuals, I found that every single manual I have driven usually gets driven into the ground. I have a tendancy to drive aggressively (perfect driving record)

Maybe its all those damn video games or something I dunno, but I've noticed the automatic transmissions keep me from driving like too much of an ass, and in turn, my car last a lot lot longer than the manuals did.

But I agree, manuals are way more fun :)