MotoringFile Most liked posts in thread: Is the Manual a Dying Breed?

My argument for teaching people manual has recently been "Hey, during the Zombie Apocalypse you don't want your last thoughts to be 'crap. it's a stick.'"

 

I consider my manual a theft deterrent.... The more people that don't know how to shift the better for me....

 

Babs drives a stick, but she chose an automagic. It's OK with me. She is happy & that is a very good thing.

Never minded sharing my car with Babs. Heck when we I raced she got her competition license & raced too. For me it was pretty cool having a wife who raced cars with me, still is cool.

 

You can take my stick when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers. After the wreck that I had because the clutch went out on a particularly tricky high-speed series of turns

Seriously though, I've tried flappy-paddle gearboxes, and I just can't get the hang of them. And Automatics just don't make me feel enough in control. As long as they make them, I'll buy them.

 

I'm 66 and have never owned an auto.

 

It's amazing to me that our local MINI dealer doesn't stock manual transmissions any longer. He claims that they sit on the lot too long and the automatics fly out the door. It's only manual mania for me!

 

Some of my cars have manuals, some have automatics. I bought my MINI with an automatic because my wife doesn't drive a stick. I have found that the Asin automatic, in manual mode, shifts faster than I can shift a manual transmission.

Dave

 

I always liked Manuel.....

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-oH-TELcLE"]Basil Gives Manuel a Language Lesson - Fawlty Towers - BBC - YouTube[/ame]

 

I prefer a manual but due to tearing in some tendons a couple years ago with reoccurring tendinitis in my left knee I had to decide if I wanted to drive to enjoy activities I like or forget doing anything and just drive... I enjoy my out door activities too much so have opted for automatic transmissions...

 

I remember when I was little telling my parents, who until recent years have driven manuals, that when I was of driving age that I wanted an old Corvette with an auto tranny so I didn't have to lean to drive a stick.

I know, WTF was wrong with me? In my defense this was like 25 years ago, remember I'm young compared to most of you silverbacks, lol!! Kidding guys.

When it came time to learn to drive, in an '88 Accord no Vette, I had no option but to learn to drive a stick. When I took my actual driving school I was a little confused because the car they used was an automatic, but I was still a better driver than my classmates.

I also had a bit of an accident with an automatic after I first started driving that involved a '84 Firebird SE that a friend of mine owned. He had the habit then of anytime I would ride with him a little down the road, he would pull the car over light a joint and get out the the car proclaiming it was time for me to drive. He did this VERY frequently. Well within about two weeks or so of having my license I was out driving with him and he was super baked and we were cruising along a back road with no traffic and he mentioned that I needed to shift into overdrive. Now keep in mind I was sober at this point in time, but for some reason my mind associated overdrive with 5th gear. My friend said he looked over at me right after he said that and saw me reach for the shifter and go for the invisible clutch. I succeeded in shifting from 3rd gear to reverse at 55 MPH. The result was impressively loud. We completed 3 or 4 complete spins and some how managed to stop facing the correct direction in the opposite lane. And somehow with that, there was nothing wrong with the car. I though for sure I did that car in.

TL;DR: I hate automatics.

Someone once called me an angry control freak in the car. I will always buy manual, unless there comes a day when it is no longer an option or I buy a Lambo.

 

More and more automatics are being developed to allow the driver to control the gear selection more easily than can be done with a manual. They're quicker and more efficient than a manual. All that's missing is the third pedal. It's called progress!

 

Yes, of course it's dying. But "dying" is not the same as "dead".

 

Depending on the vehicle I don't mind an automatic. In a fun car it will always be a manual, unless of course I can get a sequential like a Hewland!

 

Is the mania a dying breed? According to Road & Track who looked at the numbers the answer isn’t what you might expect. Based on the numbers it would appear that manual buyers aren’t shrinking. Rather is the cars that have been traditionally manually that re picking up more buyers and thus being sold in […]

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