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Stick or automatic?

Stick or automatic

  • Standard all the way!

    Votes: 29 55.8%

  • Automatic!

    Votes: 10 19.2%

  • both, doesn't matter to me!

    Votes: 12 23.1%

  • Pssh shifting, I only have one speed GO! (just limited to how fast my feet take me)

    Votes: 1 1.9%
  • Total voters
    52
I much prefer a manual. You can do tons more with it, INCLUDING being better in traffic(if you know what you are doing). And in snow? No comparison. Longevity? Absolutely no comparison.

Best "paddle" shifter? VW's DSG tranny. Basically a manual tranny that can shift automatically. In paddle mode, when you downshift it revs the engine up automatically, to match where it will be when it shifts(like you'd do in a manual)......infinitely better! And for an automatic it is good in the snow, although a true manual is much better.

To keep a thing going here. First car: Opel 1900 (Ascona). Miss that car! Saw one for sale(after-the-fact) in California not too long ago that had only 65,000 miles on it! It sold for like $6,500!! New it was like $3,500.
My Opel was exactly like this one:

Here's the article: http://bringatrailer.com/2008/07/26/61k-mile-blue-plate-1975-opel-ascona-survivor/
 
Which NYYDynasty? The one from the 70s?
Europeans aren't too lazy to shift for themselves! Anyone watching traffic around some of the larger European plazas? like the Arc de Triomphe should realize a stick is manageable.

Maybe it's our marketing. Cars are supposed to surround you in luxury. Get you to your destination like royalty.
 
I don't drive as I have a medical condition, started to learn to drive but got sick and now I drive my electric wheelchair :)

I drive like a NASCAR racer lol
 
gallandof said:
Whats your preference? Sit back let the car do the work? or do you like rowing through those gears? Do you know how to drive or stick or not?
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I learned to drive on a manual and currently own cars that are both, though the auto offers full manual control, minus the third pedal.

I prefer auto/clutch-less manual over a manually operated clutch ANY day of the week, as I enjoy the flexibility it offers (full auto for daily driving, manual control when playing). It offers much more consistency/less room for error, allows me to focus on actual driving, and I can shift on-throttle in turns. Add to that, it's much faster than I am, which is nice, as I don't have to preempt some of my intentions.

Playing with the third pedal and gearbox is always fun (and better than a non-performance auto gearbox), but I just don't find it to be practical or necessary, these days, with some of the better alternatives.

Also, I'll add that some of this varies by car. Not all gearboxes are created equal, manual or auto. :)
 
My G37S is a 6mt, yes it is fun to drive, but in the same breath, its a huge pain. I drive to work and home from work in stop and go traffic- there are days where I get tired of constant shifting...

I did drive a G37S auto with manual mode and paddle shift- the car will rev match when downshifting to a lower gear, just like a manual- I thought it was decent. However, the black one I wanted was a 6mt.

My next car will probably be an auto, unless I have a different job by then...
 
I wonder how many of you are too young to remember the old 3-on-the-tree (column shift, sixties-era F-100 p/u for example? That was weird.
 
I'm too young to remember it but since I love older cars and pickups I know what you're talking about.
 
I remember "three on a tree." Had a Chevy and a Ford with it. The 65 Mustang was a 6 cyl, four on the floor. Someone told me that combo was not too common. Everything else has been 4 or 5 on the floor.
For a fast throw, try an old TR4 with a racing gearbox. (I had a friend who raced)

I also remember the automatic stick. My father had always driven stick, but age and a handicap finally got him. He bought the VW bug with that system. I went home and drove him around before he died, and he was always complaining that I didn't know how to drive the thing. I never did figure it out. I always had to remember NOT to look for a clutch pedal.
 
jerofld said:
Automatic cars piss me off. I always end up pumping the gas to try to get the damn thing to shift when I want it to.
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Haha. Instead of 'just' flooring it, grab the gear lever and pull it back one click, or two... depending on speed and desired acceleration, as well as flooring it...

The last auto' I had was an Omega MV6 and I constantly had my hand on that lever... pressing the sports button, clicking it back to 3rd or 2nd, and rarely 1st, and sometimes a combination of the sports button with manual over-ride of the gears.

;)
 
I own both and preference depends. If there is little traffic and it's not a long drive, my 290whp turbo Ford Focus is my choice. if it's a longer drive or lots of traffic, I prefer to be in my Ford Edge with it's auto tranny.
 
bigbadwulff said:
Best "paddle" shifter? VW's DSG tranny. Basically a manual tranny that can shift automatically. In paddle mode, when you downshift it revs the engine up automatically, to match where it will be when it shifts(like you'd do in a manual)......infinitely better! And for an automatic it is good in the snow, although a true manual is much better.
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Quoted for the truth. DSG is the best manumatic on the market. Bar none. I drove a friend's and couldn't believe how seamlessly it worked. It is the only auto I would consider.
 
I enjoy driving and feeling the responsiveness of the car to my input. So naturally a stick is my preference. It appears to be a dying art, at least in the US. Whenever I travel internationally, all I see is manual transmissions.

Ironically, my current daily driver is an automatic with the paddle shifters and steptronic.
 
sleedeane said:
I wonder how many of you are too young to remember the old 3-on-the-tree (column shift, sixties-era F-100 p/u for example? That was weird.
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3 on the tree 4 on the floor :P think it was my buddies old javelin,or camaro(or one of his many other project cars) was my first experience with column shifters, dont miss them at all.
 
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