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Car transmission: automatic or manual?

Automatic or manual transmission?

  • Total voters
    114
Scarlet Fever said:
I really wish I had a manual. I have a manual license, and i'm looking to buy a second-hand manual, but both my parent's cars (a ford falcon wagon and a holden commodore wagon) are both autos. I almost feel lazy driving them.



semi auto trannies = epic fail. They never shift when you want them to shift, and they don't solve the problem of the slushbox between the engine and the driveshaft.
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My feelings exactly, which is why I went off on the guy. Those semi manuals are lame. The clutchless manuals, on the other hand, are pretty sweet. I'm talking about stuff like the DSG from VW, and similar systems. Those are the best of both worlds.
 
Demosthenes X said:
These transmissions are great for performance, but I still object to them being called "manual" transmissions. Some would argue that anything without a torque converter is a manual - that's a load. Anything without a clutch pedal is an automatic, no ifs ands or buts!

A manual will always be more fun and more engaging to drive than an auto or DSG. The only cars I would buy with an auto would be something with no manual option (e.g., GTR), or if I ever bought a pickup or big SUV. No point to a manual in a vehicle like that, imo.
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Err, the F1 racing community might want to have a word with you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_car

Scroll down to the part on transmissions.
 
steve2112 said:
Err, the F1 racing community might want to have a word with you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_car

Scroll down to the part on transmissions.
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those things have clutchless manuals because there is no person alive who can physically depress a clutch, change the gear and release the clutch as fast a computer-controlled machine can. The F1s are almost a computer with a person in the middle of them.
 
I currently have a manual (in fact, I've never owned automatic), but due to where I live, I'll be getting an automatic next to deal with traffic. Plus, my fiancee is a great actor and insists I give her whiplash every 5 seconds ;) I prefer manual, but not for my car. It's a 1.5 liter, so I'm in first gear for all of 2 seconds, which makes the start inevitably a little rough when I'm keeping up with all of the BMWs and Mercedes in LA traffic.
 
Scarlet Fever said:
semi auto trannies = epic fail. They never shift when you want them to shift, and they don't solve the problem of the slushbox between the engine and the driveshaft.
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I will agree in general as my Aura's tapshift is generally slow to shift when I tell it to. But, with my dads 335xi, the ZF unit is just so responsive. As soon as I tell it to upshift it does. :D

My policy is, for the average sedan, an auto as they are normally not fun to drive anyway. Sports cars, roadsters, special trims of a car( like Cobalt SS, Civic Si), etc sticks all the way. :)
 
I love my 1994 Isuzu Rodeo SUV with the clutch.. unfortunately, I don't see many SUVs with the manual option anymore... except maybe the Jeep Wrangler, but I'd never buy one of those things. :p
 
ElectroGhandi said:
I love my 1994 Isuzu Rodeo SUV with the clutch.. unfortunately, I don't see many SUVs with the manual option anymore... except maybe the Jeep Wrangler, but I'd never buy one of those things. :p
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Who wants a manual when you've got makeup to put on, kids to slap and yell at, and books to read?

And yes, I've seen a woman reading a novel while driving.
 
Funny, the huge preference for manuals on this board.

Of course, I also prefer them. Much more fun to drive.
 
VideoFreek said:
I think at some point in the future, driving a manual will be pointless. There are some pretty exciting things going on right now in automatic transmission technology (at least with the Japanese and the Germans; the US OEMs are hopeless). Mercedes has been steadily improving on the 7-speed automatic they rolled out in 2003, and ZF (a German tranny OEM) has introduced an 8-speed that will go into BMWs. Toyota are also shipping 8-speed transmissions on certain Lexus models. These are not your father's automatics: they offer much better performance, faster shifting and far better fuel economy than the old 4- or 5-speed models. Right now, these tend to be on high-end cars, but I'd expect that the technology will trickle down to more affordable cars eventually.

For me, though, the really exciting development work is in double-clutch transmissions (DCTs), which are best thought of as automated manual transmissions, i.e., manuals with no clutch pedal. They employ separate clutches for odd and even gears, and thus shifts are instantaneous with no loss of power during shifting, unlike with conventional manuals. Up until recently, VW and Audi have been the main proponents of these, but BMW and others are getting into the act.

As for me, I've been driving only manuals since 1981, but I think I could be persuaded to switch to a DCT if it becomes available on a model I care about.
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Driving a manual won't ever be pointless. Sure, they're improving the gas mileage you get out of autos and doing cool things with twin clutches and all that. But nothing is still as fun as driving a manual, and as long as there are people like us who would still rather have a manual even though the automatic version of the car might be better in every way, manual transmissions won't be worthless.

And I've driven a Volkswagen GTI with the DSG dual clutch transmission. Yeah, it's better than a regular automatic, and in fact, it shifts faster than anyone could ever shift in a manual, but at the end of the day, it's still a boring automatic. I bought my GTIs (yeah...plural. Two of them. The first one was in a bit of an accident :() with manual transmissions because it's still more fun than the DSG GTIs even if the DSG ones are a fraction of a second quicker from zero to 60.

One more thing, as far as I'm concerned, if it's possible to drive the car without ever having to manually change gear (except to put it in drive obviously) then it's an automatic. I don't care if it's a dual clutch system, a Ferrari F1 transmission, or two leprechauns operating the clutch pedal and shifter for you, if you don't have to shift, it's an auto.
 
doubleohseven said:
When I do get my license, I'm going to be learning how to drive manually, so I picked manual. I'm just scared about burning the clutch/stuffing it up, though. :eek: :D
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You are going to kill the engine at first. A lot. Jumpy starts and shifting will be around for a while, too. But once you get the hang of it, it's a blast. :)
 
I like Steptronic or its equivalent. It allows you to use an automatic when desired and then switch to a manual that's controlled by buttons on either the steering wheel or next to the gear shift. They offer that on Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and others. :)
 
Brien said:
Funny, the huge preference for manuals on this board.

Of course, I also prefer them. Much more fun to drive.
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While it may seem that way something I question is that because they seem to be "cooler" and more fun to drive but they currently do not own one.

I drive a manual and for the most part I prefer it but there are times where I would much rather drive an auto. Those being in heavy traffic or lots of stop lights.

Other times is when I feel like crap or am injured I can not just toss my keys to friend to drive my car because most people can not drive a manual.

For my next car I have debated if I want to make it a manual or not. While I would truly miss it the times of just drive to work and back would be a lot easier or just going places. I know I would get over it but I have debated about just getting an auto and calling it good. Plus finding a manual right now is getting hard. It quite often cost more than an automatic or it lacks all the other features I want.
 
It really depends. I love driving my dad's manual BMW, but it definitely makes it harder to pick a CD :eek:

If I'm driving a short distance or it's late at night I'd definitely take the stick, but if I'm driving an hour or more I'd like an auto as it's just one less thing to think about.
 
TuffLuffJimmy said:
It really depends. I love driving my dad's manual BMW, but it definitely makes it harder to pick a CD :eek:

If I'm driving a short distance or it's late at night I'd definitely take the stick, but if I'm driving an hour or more I'd like an auto as it's just one less thing to think about.
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That is one of the reasons why I like a manual more. I'm forced to just drive. Can't be tempted to use my cell phone.
 
I'll take a manual with 9+ gears, no syncro's and a beefy clutch, not that I'll use the clutch much...

Oh, and give me a big diesel to put in front of it :)
 
Automatic

Automatic all the way. My first car was a manual and ever since it's been auto. I seem to be able to enjoy the ride more. :)
 
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