So what do you prefer, Manual or Auto transmissions?

[WhoKnowsWho]

I have more fun and feel like I am in more control with a manual, and it is mechanically simpler to boot. But dang, no more eating while driving, not that I did it more than once every few months before anyways!

[Unisaw]

Best of both worlds here: Tiptronic transmission on a VW Passat.

[Zach S]

Most of my cars have been autos, my two current vehicles included.  I look for the clutch every time I get in the car.  Since the C4 auto in the hot rod is dying, I may cough up the cash for a 5-speed soon.  I miss the hot rod...  Maybe I can get lucky and find a deal on a tremec 3550 or TKO.

Me?  Lucky?  Nah...

[nico]

a "tiptronic" is still an automatic.  It's not the same as Ferrari's F1 or BMW's SMG paddle shifters.  btw, you can eat with a manual.  It just takes practice

[WhoKnowsWho]

Tiptonic or any automatic with "manual" mode doesn't count. No clutch, not a manual! I could have purchased my Mazda3 with the auto tranny with a manual mode, but it doesn't feel at all the same, it's like an illusion of a manual.  

[deej]

Well, I prefer a manual, but I've got one of each at the moment.  5-speed in the Passat, automatic in the Cherokee.

[Unisaw]

I learned to drive on a manual (John Deere tractor, VW, and "the Gremster") but, with the stop and go traffic in the Seattle area, I wouldn't want to have a manual transmission on my primary car.

[9mmepiphany]

i learned to drive with an auto and am very thankful...because it was in san francisco and learning to hold the car on a hill with the clutch is not spmthing for beginners.

i prefer a manual, because it gives my right hand somthing to do when i'm not sipping cofffee or eating.  but with rush hour traffic as bad as it is, there is alot to be said for an auto tranny.

BTW you no longer need a clutch pedal to have a true manual transmission.  both the BMW SMG and the Audi DSG are true manual transmissions with electro-actuated clutches.  other than the prancing horse, i believe there are others also.

[Darkmind]

Manual for me!

[Old Fud]

You are DRIVING a car with a manual transmission.
You're merely riding in one with an Auto.

[Cool Hand Luke 22:36]

Manual tranny makes a car harder to steal. The average car thief can't drive one.

[garyk/nm]

Manual for me. Does get kind of bothersome when I'm trying to eat and talk on the cell at the same time, though.  :mrgreen:

[Wedge]

Manual!

My wife and I hate automatic transmissions.  We both have manuals, our last cars were both manuals and my next car will be a manual.  It means that I have to limit what cars I look at since I hate automatics so much.  I drive city traffic every day, get caught in traffic jams and still prefer to shift for myself.  

The only time I like an automatic is on a truck when trailering something and that is mostly due to the higher tow ratings available with an automatic.

[jamz]

DEpends.  For Driving,  I like a manual.  For sitting in traffic, I prefer an auto.


I do a lot of sitting in traffic.  


Love, James

[Quintin]

In a truck, especially if I'm pulling a trailer, I want an automatic.  My current daily driver has an automatic.  In a car, I want a manual, just 'cause it's more fun to drive.  Makes me look like a hard core racer kinda guy to match revs and blip the throttle pulling up to a stop light.  

[Kharn]

I dont know how to drive a manual, so I'm stuck with an auto.  :oops:

Kharn

[wingman]

It would be an interesting poll if it included age, bet most who like manual
trans are young. I did also when I was a young fellow but then I liked
wild women also, well actually I still enjoy wild women.

[griz]

Wow, manuals are winning by a huge margin. Considering that autos are in something like two thirds of all cars, and are getting to be what comes with the car unless you specify a manual, that's something. What does that tell us about gun people/transmission choices? We are control freaks? We're old farts? More sporty people? We know what's best and nobody else does?

[PlayTheAces]

Ten years ago, I was single, owned a truck and two cars, all of which were manuals.  I liked them.  A lot.

Nine years ago I got married (again).  My wife preferred automatics.  She didn't care much for my Porsche, either.  No big deal, I thought.  She can drive her Probe, and I'll drive my stuff.

Today, we have a truck, a car, and an SUV.  All are autos. My old Porsche is long gone.

Occassionally, I wonder just what exactly happened.

I have to admit though as traffic gets worse and worse, the autos are less hassle.

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

I've had several of both, and prefer manuals.  Right now I have a 2002 F150 with a manual.

[grislyatoms]

I would rather drive an auto (unless it's a sports car) but would rather own a manual, strictly from a repair $$$ perspective.

As far as eating while driving a manual, when you can eat a whopper meal in stop and go traffic driving a 13 speed without making a mess, you're doing pretty good in my book. (Forget about tacos, I can't even eat them sitting at the dinner table without bits and pieces of them flying everywhere).

[Lee]

My wife and I have three vehicles and all are manuals.  Even her boring Volvo wagon is a 5 speed.

[cfabe]

I prefer a manual, but I must say that some of the arguments agianst automatics have been fixed in the last few years. I've seen many new cars where there's no longer a mileage advantage to a manual transmission, and they seem to be getting better about longeviety as well.

My main reason for the preference is that I understand how to drive a car properly and I know exactly what gear to choose when, instead letting a computer guess for me and then react when it guesses wrong.

Also, I can do a clutch job in any car, for a fraction of the cost of a slushbox rebuild.

If I were going to be driving in heavy traffic alot, I might consider an automatic, but for right now I'm a stick shift guy.

[Gewehr98]

I split the difference sometimes.

In my blown, big-block 580cid S-10 street rod, I run a 700R4 transmission with reverse pattern manual valve bodies.  No clutch pedal, but I still have to shift the beast with the Hurst Quarter Stick.

My daily-driver S-10 runs a manual 5-speed.  My wife's Hyundai Elantra is an automatic, and I find myself wanting to shift it.

Anybody remember the original "clutchless" manual transmission?  I had a VW Bug with the Autostick, and had to remember to keep my hand off the shift handle. (It contained the microswitch for the vacuum-operated clutch!)

I'm thinking the next generation of CVT's will remove my dislike for the slushbox style of transmission...

[Phyphor]

Most of my cars have been autos, my two current vehicles included.  I look for the clutch every time I get in the car.  Since the C4 auto in the hot rod is dying, I may cough up the cash for a 5-speed soon.  I miss the hot rod...  Maybe I can get lucky and find a deal on a tremec 3550 or TKO.

Me?  Lucky?  Nah...

Why not have the C4 rebuilt, and if possible, rollerized?
If you change to a stick, you're going to have to change the flywheel/flexplate, starter, and possibly the driveline, too (unless you get lucky and find a manual trans that is the same length, )  Not to mention the rearends are different.. (Is the rearend stock, or did you put in an upgraded (say, something like a 4.11 rear?) differential?