stick or automatic??

[Rogue One]

Baltimore - Washington Parkway, Beltways around DC and Baltimore. Used to commute daily from Maryland's Eastern Shore to Alexandria, Virginia, approximately 90 minute drive, one-way.

[nissangirl74]

I-10 west in July at 5pm laughs at any road outside Chicago or lax

Fact. It's a fracking parking lot. 120*+ and you're sinking into the asphalt.

[BusyBadger]

I-10 west in July at 5pm laughs at any road outside Chicago or lax

Fact. It's a fracking parking lot. 120*+ and you're sinking into the asphalt.

[franman187]

aright thank you for explaining the differences

[themadscientist]

Dual clutch? I dig them.

[metalmagician]

I choose manual not because of gas mileage, simpler parts, or fun to drive necessarily. (even though all those are true and do help) I drive stick be wise I have a control problem. I want to decide when I want to change gear. I don't want something else to. I know where the power is if I need it and I can react faster than a conventional automatic. Now I've own automatic cars and it is nice sometimes to just get in and go but I still curse them out when suddenly mashing the throttle to get onto the bypass.

Edit: as far as dual clutch goes, I like them and they are fun but as a personal preference I'd want a stick over paddles on any car any day

[TurboSauce]

I'm not sure if my age warrants a response in this thread input 19 year old who's had about 7 cars.

My first car, 5 speed suzuki ignis

was $2000 and was one hell of a car. I abused it terribly trying to learn stick. Bought it missing 3rd, sold it missing 3rd, and 5th.

then I went to a honda torneo

it got me where I needed to be, and was truly a simple as hell car.
like I serviced it myself, and nothing ever went wrong with it.
just, it was auto tragic, and couldn't get out of it's own way.

after the honda I got a Toyota Altezza, 6 speed, 2 liter 4 banger.
this car was a flipping blast, blew the clutch and throwout bearing, but other than that, also stupid reliable.
was gonna turbo it and realized i'm not a rich mofo. sold it as a project.

bought a 2002 Nissan Skyline 4 door 250gt.
4 speed automatic with the manual gear select mode.
After coming from the altezza tbh I hated it.
but I got used to it. meh Still have it.

then got me a 1jz sc300 with an auto and an open diff, then put an lsd in there and spun out into a wall.
would've been so much better with a manual transmission. 1 word : clutch

now I have a 1998 Ls400 which I'm honestly bored of because I want another manual car.


You really have no idea how useful push starting is until you get an automatic with a dead battery.

[gwoods]

Fact. It's a fracking parking lot. 120*+ and you're sinking into the asphalt.

So your graph shows cities witht he worst commute, many parts of Phoenix have much better traffic because of better design. We don't have Rivers (salt river is dry except for our manmade Tempe Town Lake) or Lakes or mountains to build our roads around. So although I-10 is a nightmare many other roads the 101, I-17, 51, 60 & 202 are much better and many times you can drive the speed limit even during rush hour. Most of our roads were built with cars in mind many other cities (Washington, NYC, Boston) had horses first and it showes.

[Rev_D21]

I own nothing but sticks. What I like is I can see what's coming up and can shift to a gear based on my eyes, the auto hasn't a clue. Also if something goes wrong you only have a brake pedal to step on in an auto, I have brakes and engine working for me. Anyone can sit on a couch and step on a pedal which is why the good driver pool has thinned horribly over the years.

[breadbox]

Yeah, another good point. My friend borrowed my car and it had a leaking rear caliper that I was unaware of at the time. He started complaining about the breaks being a bit mushy. When I drove it back home I had to engine break the whole way cuz there were essentially no brakes. I would love to see someone used to an auto deal with that issue. I thought it was kind of fun but not really tho.

[gwoods]

Do you really want us to comment on the differences between someone driving home with no brakes because they had engine braking vs an automatic that you couldn't pull off that super safe drive with?

Kid considering your first car buy a stick because if you don't have brakes you can still drive the car. With an automatic you'll be forced to wait until your car is safe to drive.

[Dattebayo]

Most of our roads were built with cars in mind many other cities (Washington, NYC, Boston) had horses first and it showes.

With all due respect, the interstates and highways we use now were not around in the time of the horse.
DC had only the center 10th or so of the city designed at that time, and most of the houses and streets north of downtown were built during the time of the automobile. The buildings and streets downtown have been extensively modified since that time as well.

Anyway, I would say stick is always good to learn on first, just because you can. This may be the last few years anyone could learn on one anymore, so I would get on it while I still can!

[gwoods]

I love it when people say with all due respect LOL

From my point of veiw driving in Phoenix where the roads are laid out on a grid then going anywhere east coast where they don't seem to have any planning in the design I have heard the horse thing before.

[yodawill2000]

I flew into Phoenix last month to set up 4 new stores for the Company I work for, and It blew me away how the streets looked flying in !!
East and West, North and South. that's your options !!!
I might add that Scottsdale is one helluva fun place !!
Didn't want to leave !!! lol

[gwoods]

Scottsdale is nice, Tempe is more fun. Given the choice I'd live here, Hong Kong or Austin Texas

[Dattebayo]

I think that roundabouts probably just confuse you, you wouldn't be the first. It really doesn't have anything to do with a horse...

[yodawill2000]

I opened a store in Tempe as well but unfortunately it was 3am when I finished.
Went straight back to the hotel after that one.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I think that roundabouts probably just confuse you, you wouldn't be the first. It really doesn't have anything to do with a horse...

Roundabouts are a genius idea that is prevented from reaching its potential by the incompetence of its users. Even those of us who DO know how to use them rarely get to, because there's always THAT ONE GUY who gets overwhelmed and just STOPS and breaks the whole damn thing. It's foolproof...if you're not sure what to do just keep driving! You can even loop around and buy time to figure out where you're going! SO MUCH more natural than stop signs. But we've conditioned people to think that it's impossible to blend traffic without stopping some of it, which is asinine and probably the reason so many people suck at merging.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Roundabouts are a genius idea that is prevented from reaching its potential by the incompetence of its users. Even those of us who DO know how to use them rarely get to, because there's always THAT ONE GUY who gets overwhelmed and just STOPS and breaks the whole damn thing. It's foolproof...if you're not sure what to do just keep driving! You can even loop around and buy time to figure out where you're going! SO MUCH more natural than stop signs. But we've conditioned people to think that it's impossible to blend traffic without stopping some of it, which is asinine and probably the reason so many people suck at merging.

[themadscientist]

Roundabouts are a genius idea that is prevented from reaching its potential by the incompetence of its users. Even those of us who DO know how to use them rarely get to, because there's always THAT ONE GUY who gets overwhelmed and just STOPS and breaks the whole damn thing. It's foolproof...if you're not sure what to do just keep driving! You can even loop around and buy time to figure out where you're going! SO MUCH more natural than stop signs. But we've conditioned people to think that it's impossible to blend traffic without stopping some of it, which is asinine and probably the reason so many people suck at merging.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAgX6qlJEMc[/youtube]

[sx moneypit]

[Flicktitty]

i personally LOVE turbocharged automatic cars. the no loss of boost is awesome especially when making decent power, Not to mention for drag racing it also helps prevent driver error so you can run more consistent times. Not to mention when a automatic trans is built or modified and has a good torque converter they can be A LOT of fun, i have yet to see a single person that has been for a ride in my car that hasn't had a big grin from ear to ear. even with them saying, "Oh, it's automatic" when getting into the car.

[elwesso]

i personally LOVE turbocharged automatic cars. the no loss of boost is awesome especially when making decent power, Not to mention for drag racing it also helps prevent driver error so you can run more consistent times. Not to mention when a automatic trans is built or modified and has a good torque converter they can be A LOT of fun, i have yet to see a single person that has been for a ride in my car that hasn't had a big grin from ear to ear. even with them saying, "Oh, it's automatic" when getting into the car.

Agreed.. regular slushboxes are terrible, but with a shift kit and a torque converter, it's like being able to shift perfect and launch perfect every time...

My biggest beef with automatics is how most times they're slow to respond..

[gwoods]

We have roundabouts in many of the neighborhoods in Phoenix. I call them accident circles.

They are not a problem for me but then I also favor a 200 mph speed limit

[Dattebayo]

You might want to consider getting a plane stead then...

[gwoods]

You really have no idea how useful push starting is until you get an automatic with a dead battery.

Few moments ago I ran out to pick up lunch. Hopped back in the altima and got the ol click when I tried to start it. I was parked on a slight grade so I left it in R and coasted out of my parking spot, popped the clutch and hit the gas motor roared to life. Drove straight to Autozone to the the battery tested. Sticks are awesome (except on 2010+ newer cars)

[dre1507]

I accidentally destroyed the flywheel once in my old RSX a few years ago. I had to push start it about four times before I could get it fixed. Learned a lot from that little car.

With the RSX, because I had intimate knowledge of how my specific clutch behaved, I never had to battle any of the supposed downfalls to manual transmissions (i.e. stop and go traffic or incline starts). I mastered the super low speed 1st gear crawl, so stop and go traffic wasn't any more unbearable than with an automatic. Also, I could start off on an incline without any roll back at all.

I actually have no real beef with automatics. I just find them super boring. I can't explain it, but I truly enjoy the simple acts of learning a clutch's engagement point and getting a shift correct. I do however, think automatics make for better rentals, but I'd never want one as a daily driver again.

The only reason my current car is automatic is that I needed to quickly replace the RSX, and it was almost what I wanted for good bit cheaper than what I wanted to spend. I'm actually In the process of deciding whether to swap in a manual box or just sell and buy something that already comes with one. The problem with the latter would be finding a cheap RWD manual sedan.

[audtatious]

I've never understood the "in traffic" argument for autos. I've driven both types of transmissions in all types of traffic. Even if I DID agree that manuals are tedious in heavy traffic (and I don't) that small drawback doesn't come anywhere NEAR outweighting the numerous, significant, and everpresent drawbacks of an automatic. Occasional small downside. Big, constant downside. Pretty sure one outweighs the other no matter how much you hate traffic.

I majorly sprained my left ankle so long term clutching can be painful. Newer autos don't necessarily have the delays of their predecessors so they can be faster. Sure, you loose some control, and I miss that control at times, but I'm quite content with my auto and paddle shifters.

One positive about an auto when you are young or dating......you don't have to take your hand off the girls leg to shift which gives you more opportunity to "test the waters".

[themadscientist]

I daily drive a twin plate rotary in traffic with very little discomfort. The lack of a cupholder is more problematic to me. Some folks need to man the **** up if that's the sole reason they don't drive stick. If it just holds no appeal to them, that's different; by all means do what you want. I'd have no problem driving an automatic car if it was a luxury car, but for a sports car, for me, I have to row my own gears.

Being able to bump start a manual has saved me many times, a definite plus.

[audtatious]

Man the f*** up for what purpose? If you can easily drive a stick and choose an automatic that makes you a p****?

Don't make me bring my hoverround over there.