Help Me Pick A New Car

[Main_Brain]

In all Honesty the Automatics of today are not at all comparable to the ones we grew up with. Smooth Transitions, high Fuel Efficiency and they all have some option to add some extra torque if you need it. Be it the infamous sports mode or manual downshift.

Still. Manual seems to be linked to masculinity for some here. Control over a thick hard stick obeying every whim is obviously a power fantasy. Most likely like a Fighter Plane Joystick or other Penis Symbols.

[Berzerker]

chirrrrrppppp............chirp.......chirp....chir p

automatics better for 4 wheeling

[Ben Kenobi]

darn Ben, don't join my side of the argument

Sorry, we used to call 'em standard. I learned because I wanted to date a girl and borrow that car. My dad taught me stick, but my gramps taught me actual driving on his farm in the boonies with his truck. Nothing to crash into!

[Alexander's Horse]

a thing I notice is younguns tend to see a button saying snow and ice and think great, whereas old farts like me tend to think "yeah right", especially with automatics

[Dinner]

I've owned both and greatly prefer manuals. You get more power, better fuel economy, and more control over how the car drives. Not to mention you save money in the initial purchase price. That HC finds them too complicated just means he suffers from a personal deficiency in his education as a man.

As for the claim that clutches are too heavy for stop and go traffic... Hell, just about every car which isn't a bottom feeder econ-box has a hydraulic transmission these days which are much lighter and easier to use plus engine displacement is much smaller (no more 5.0L V-8 engines like the one I learned to drive a manual on) so the pressure needed to actuate the clutch is much lighter and hardly a problem even in stop and go traffic. It just makes you a better driver with more control over the vehicle you're driving.

[Alexander's Horse]

real men drive manuals, also hot girls

[Dinner]

Amen, brother.

[Asher]

I've owned both and greatly prefer manuals. You get more power, better fuel economy, and more control over how the car drives. Not to mention you save money in the initial purchase price. That HC finds them too complicated just means he suffers from a personal deficiency in his education as a man.

Get with the times, man.

Automatics get better fuel economy. Not even including CVTs.

2012 Lexus IS 250 automatic: 21 city, 25 combined, 30 highway MPG
2012 Lexus IS 250 manual: 19 city, 22 combined, 28 highway MPG

That was with the six-speed auto. I imagine the eight-speed auto in the 2014 will do even better.

2012 Infiniti G37 automatic: 19 city, 22 combined, 27 highway MPG
2012 Infiniti G37 manual: 17 city, 19 combined, 25 highway MPG

[Berzerker]

nevermind

[Alexander's Horse]

yes but Asher you get all the fun of shifting

[onodera]

As for the claim that clutches are too heavy for stop and go traffic... Hell, just about every car which isn't a bottom feeder econ-box has a hydraulic transmission these days which are much lighter and easier to use plus engine displacement is much smaller (no more 5.0L V-8 engines like the one I learned to drive a manual on) so the pressure needed to actuate the clutch is much lighter and hardly a problem even in stop and go traffic. It just makes you a better driver with more control over the vehicle you're driving.

They aren't heavy, they're just tedious. Imagine climbing an onramp in stop and go traffic with manual transmission.

[Alexander's Horse]

you get an extra spurt of speed when you need it

[BlackCat]

HC, you drive a manual with your ears and your gut. Looking at the RPMs is useless. It also becomes second nature after a few days of driving, so it's really no different in terms of 'work required'. Just more fun.

When I got my current car it took me a couple of days to adjust - the damn car was so silent compared to the old that I had to find other measures for shifting. Slow speed it's by view, pedal down, it's the pressure of the seat - unfortunatedly, i then have to go from third to sixth because I drive too fast - I'm tempted to visit germany

[Dinner]

They aren't heavy, they're just tedious. Imagine climbing an onramp in stop and go traffic with manual transmission.

I do it all the time.

[regexcellent]

An automatic would not make it easier for me to get to my classes or wherever I need to be. My car, which has a four-cylinder engine, is perfectly sufficient for what I do right now. I have no need for increased performance. I have never felt a need for increased performance. Maybe I would if I ever had to tow stuff. A manual just means more work for me.