automatic transmissions

[thebarber]

i dont think i could ever be satasfied with a car with an automatic transmission

since my wife has the yaris in waterloo, ive been driving the aveo. the aveo is an auto.

i have to admit that driving an auto sometimes is nice. its relaxing. you dont have to do too much. and in heavy stop and go traffic it might suck having a manual, but man, there are some days where its just boring as hell.

like today

i miss the manny tranny.

i dont think i would matter the what the horsepower, torque, or handling characteristics of the car were, i think id be bored with an auto.

the car i had before my yaris was a 6spd matrix xrs and i loved it. the car before that was a 2000 malibu. a BEIGE 2000 malibu at that. sure, it was a GREAT highway cruiser, but as for interesting to drive? nevar.

i think my wife has also come to the conclusion that manuals are the bestest and in our talks of trading in the aveo for something, we're looking at the new honda fit...with a 5 speed.

i personally find that even when youre taking it easy in a manual, its still 100x more fun than an auto. i just feel more connected to the car.

anyways, these are things i was thinking of on my boring commute into work this morning...

[custom Lftback]

man, now you made regret my Auto decision.
The main reason i got auto is because the re-sale value is better for automatics, but I have never owned a manual before and now I'll have to wait until my next car. oh well

[lita_g]

Manual can be fun to a point, in my case, I use the car mostly to get to work and back, and it's a pain to drive a manual wearing high heels. I drove my husband's audi S4 for a couple of months earlier this year and I couldn't take it anymore, sometimes my left foot (clutch) would even cramp, and since I like wearing long pants, it was not an option to wear other shoes, and when you're in a hurry you don't want to worry about changing shoes in the morning when getting to work.

I wouldn't mind driving a manual more often, but I can't wear flats everyday. Maybe one day I'll get a weekend car that's a manual.

[m911gt]

My first car was manual, I drove it for two years...loved it. My next three cars were automatic but I did own an 88 prelude that was 5spd for two weeks (don't ask). When it came time to buy the Yaris, there was no way I would have bought an AT, I just had been so bored with the auto's I'd owned previously and I knew the Yaris was something I wanted to modify and one day race. I've driven many many stick cars over the past seven years of driving and I can honestly say I've enjoyed the driving experience as a whole much more than driving automatics.
Although...I must also say that in some cars the amount of torque makes having a true manual almost silly because it's not possible to shift as quick and precise as an AT. The only car I can personally testify this to is my boss' McLaren SLR, but other than that...true 5spd/6spd ftw.

[Bob_VT]

The automatic Corvette is alleged to be quicker than the standard.....

I have a bad knee and I like the auto.

[KCALB SIRAY]

I love my auto, but it's purpose is what I needed for traffic and travel for my job. Nothing can take a way the feel a fun of a manual, but when your stuck in traffic pretty much all day, it can really make the ride a bitmore comfortable.

[TinyGiant]

i've driven stick like 3 times in my life... one of the reasons i went with the auto

lol went and watched the transporter last night... probably a good thing i dont have a stick i would have been racing around town

[thebarber]

Originally Posted by Bob_VT

The automatic Corvette is alleged to be quicker than the standard.....

faster or not i couldnt drive an auto corvette...

that, and an auto corvette just seems wrong...

laughably, my old boss's brother was all about corvettes. i knew he had one and he talked about driving it all the time and how fast it was. he actually stopped by the office one day with it. i was excited to take a look at it. then i saw the blautomatic transmission and was quite thrown for a loop....

[nemelek]

I used to only drive sticks. Now I don't think that I'll drive a car without an auto again.

[GeneW]

Never owned an MT car in my life. I can barely drive one. Never missed it either.

Be a nice skill to acquire, maybe some day.

Gene

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by thebarber

faster or not i couldnt drive an auto corvette...

that, and an auto corvette just seems wrong...

laughably, my old boss's brother was all about corvettes. i knew he had one and he talked about driving it all the time and how fast it was. he actually stopped by the office one day with it. i was excited to take a look at it. then i saw the blautomatic transmission and was quite thrown for a loop....

For a long time the most popular transmission for dragster use was the GM "Powerglide", a two speed AT. They were mechanically simple, robust and with a cast iron case could tolerate tremendous torque.

In contrast MTs could cause trouble if a goofed shift caused the the clutch to "blow apart". If one did not have proper shielding fragments could penetrate the floor of the passenger compartment, causing injuries or death.

Gene

[thebarber]

ya, in drag racing autos give consistent launches and consistent ET's....but im not drag racing my DD (at least not again, lol)

[rg570lvr]

Originally Posted by GeneW

Never owned an MT car in my life. I can barely drive one. Never missed it either.

Be a nice skill to acquire, maybe some day.

Gene

You're not alone. I've never driven one, ever, don't know how. My parents always had autos, my freinds never taught me in they're cars so I never had a chance to learn. It looks like a lot of fun though.

[thebarber]

it IS fun. super fun, in fact.

but, then again, there are days like today where an auto coming into work was nice and relaxing....

[MadMax]

Some of you act like an automatic cannot be manually shifted, like a golf cart or something. There are other gears besides 'D' ('Drive'), if you want to have more control over the transmission of your Yaris, you can do so even with the automatic. The main difference is the lack of a clutch, which is a big factor but from a guy who has driven manuals for 30 years, and automatic can be manipulated for greater performance (and a sacrifice in gas efficiency). Using only 'Drive' just optimizes the shift points for regular driving...

Cheers! M2

[jclo3313]

Originally Posted by rg570lvr

You're not alone. I've never driven one, ever, don't know how. My parents always had autos, my freinds never taught me in they're cars so I never had a chance to learn. It looks like a lot of fun though.

I was the same way with automatic trannies. Back in the day of the carburetor you had to learn how to feather the gas when driving an auto. I'd stall auto trannie cars all day and never had a problem with stick. Strange but true.