Poll: do you drive automatic or manual?

[loc978]

Automatic. Simply because at the time the one car we had that was manuel was off limits. No driving zeh expensive car for me. So I never learned.

You didn't learn to drive a manual car during driving lessons?

You'd be amazed at how simple, non-technical and all-around useless driving lessons are in North America.
Personally, I think Finnish driving tests should be a worldwide standard for passenger vehicles.

 

[Amberella]

I drive an automatic. I need to learn how to drive a manual though. :3 I will someday soon.

 

[Sandernista]

Stick FTW >

ETA: I can drive auto, but it almost feels like a toy and it freaks me out.

 

[crudus]

I can drive a manual, but my car is an automatic.

 

[silasbufu]

I really mean no offense, but automatic is just for lazy people, I don't see many other reasons why it exists ( I have nothing against laziness, I just think that automatic gearsboxes might influence some people in a negative way because they may think they can afford to divert their attention to something else like a cell phone, food, even freaking laptops. That's putting yourself and worse, others, at risk )
Also, there's nothing like when you do that perfect quick-shift.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I was taught manual although automatic seen to be more of a logical choice (easier to use and cheaper to use) (althought I have never try it myself).

 

[KedynCrow]

'Nother motorcycle-junkie reporting in. Learned on an automatic, bought a pick-up with a manual transmission, and finally made the switch to two wheels.

My steed has no use for your flimsy automatic transmission.

 

[Nimcha]

I don't have a car of my own, but I prefer manual by a longshot. When driving an automatic the car never shifts gear when I would. It's annoying.

 

[matsugawa]

I've driven manuals, and I'm terrible with them. Changing the gears is easy, but it's that whole clutch-gas two-step that always throws me and killing the engine has an almost 60% guarantee when I do that.
That's why I like those "flappy-paddle" gearboxes Top Gear is always thumbing their noses at. I still remember the look on my Mom's face when I told her about my Dad's Porsche:
"Is it manual?"
"Yes, and I can drive it."
0_0 ... "Really?"
"Yeah, it's easy when you take the clutch out of the equation."
0_o ... "It doesn't have a clutch?"
"nope"
"How do you change gears without a clutch?"

 

[ascorbius]

In the UK, manual is the norm.
I've driven automatic, they're boring and there's less control. They're usually heavier and thirstier too.

Real drivers drive manual. (of course until electric cars become the norm and then the concept of gears goes out of the window)

 

[The Lugz]

I'm an engineer, i find any device that needs constant attention such as gear changing to be a lazy design

the reason you change gear is due to the combustion engine having a limited power band
that's fine, but forcing the driver to fix the problem just feels like a workaround to me

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

that will explain the issue, it's simply a matter of engineering it is possible to have an infinitely adjustable gear system that is in the best ratio all the time

I will use automatics when those systems become commonplace in every car because they are better than you, no-matter how hard you try

...until it breaks. CVTs are horrendously fragile, and normal automatic transmissions are easier to break than they should be. There's a damn good reason big trucks still use manual shifters for both gearboxes and differentials. They need them to last more than a couple hundred thousand miles.
As a technician, I prefer manual.

i agree, for now manual but when the technology is fixed automatics will be superior and then i'll use them

 

[loc978]

I'm an engineer, i find any device that needs constant attention such as gear changing to be a lazy design

the reason you change gear is due to the combustion engine having a limited power band
that's fine, but forcing the driver to fix the problem just feels like a workaround to me

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

that will explain the issue, it's simply a matter of engineering it is possible to have an infinitely adjustable gear system that is in the best ratio all the time

I will use automatics when those systems become commonplace in every car because they are better than you, no-matter how hard you try

...until it breaks. CVTs are horrendously fragile, and normal automatic transmissions are easier to break than they should be. There's a damn good reason big trucks still use manual shifters for both gearboxes and differentials. They need them to last more than a couple hundred thousand miles.
As a technician, I prefer manual.

i agree, for now manual but when the technology is fixed automatics will be superior and then i'll use them

Don't count on it with internal combustion engines. Electrics are pretty much the wave of the future, be they powered by hydrogen or batteries... and a well-designed electric doesn't need variable gears at all. A 1:1 where more RPMs=more speed is more than sufficient in most cases.

 

[elwillow]

I have a mention on my license: I can only drive automatic, and I need my prosthetic leg. Thing is I can't press the accelerator without it, so kind of redundant.

 

[Jaeger_CDN]

My personal truck is a manual, my wife car is an automatic (but she wishes it was a manual) and my work truck is an automatic. All the trucks at my work are automatic because people are too lazy/dim-witted to figure out how to drive manual properly. I'd much prefer a manual truck especially when in 4x4 mode when you have much better control over the tires.

Besides electrics are basically only useful in urban settings where they can do the plug in stations, etc. Pretty much anywhere in rural Canada, an electric vehicle is a waste of time and money due to the climate and road conditions for a large portion of the year.

 

[kahlzun]

Australia, Manuals. Mostly motorcycles.

 

[Alpha Maeko]

I like having less complication. I want an automatic, but I have a standard right now.

 

[The Lugz]

Don't count on it with internal combustion engines. Electrics are pretty much the wave of the future, be they powered by hydrogen or batteries... and a well-designed electric doesn't need variable gears at all. A 1:1 where more RPMs=more speed is more than sufficient in most cases.

mass usage of electric cars is still quite far off don't kid yourself batteries don't work yet and hydrogen cars are way too expensive and polluting to run and just unsafe in the hands of the public
both things will be fixed, eventually i predict 10-15 years, but we'll see

but yes, it will solve the gear problem when it happens we'll be stuck with internal combustion for some time yet, possibly the best comprimise will be gas turbine electric cars
http://www.sawfnews.com/Lifestyle/59062.aspx

but they're going to be expensive for now.

 

[Myskomunken]

Automatics are boring. Manuals are alot more fun to play around with.

 

[Hitokiri_Gensai]

ive never once owned a automatic car. i cant stand em

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I drive an automatic, but I know how to drive a manual. The reason I drive an automatic though is because I live in California and driving a manual in traffic on the 405 or the 5 freeway is an easy one way ticket to either road rage and therapy.

If I ever move somewhere a little more open with a lot less traffic I'll buy a car with a manual transmission. Driving a manual just makes me feel more connected to a car.