Poll: Escapist: Can you drive a Manual?

[FPLOON]

Kinda... I mean, the only person I know who drives manual is my grandmother, who decided to surprise me one day by make me drive her manual car to and from her chosen destinations... (Let's just say that I'm so glad we did not decide to go on the freeway at any given moment that day...)

Other than that... I mostly drive automatic, but would usually drive manual during any driving-like simulator since it's something that's cool in its own right... Plus, on the bright side, whenever I got nothing better to do, I ask my grandmother if I could borrow her car for a little bit...

 

[Flames66]

I drive a manual car and do not want to drive an automatic. I didn't like the lack of control in the auto cars I have tried. Manual is the standard in the UK anyway so most used cars are cheap manuals.

I don't get why the rest of the world is so attached to manuals, last time my family was looking at new cars we discovered manual cars weren't really any cheaper than automatics with the same features (in fact, the automatics usually came with more and for the same price). And they only seem to cause trouble. They have a hard time idling and moving in heavy city traffic, and the hills around here are ridiculous, so seeing them stop at intersections on hills is just sad (and a bit frightening if you're right behind them). I really don't understand it at all.

I don't have any problems with city traffic in my local area. I imagine if I were to drive in London it would be a different story, but I would never drive in a crowded city if I could help it.

What sort of "extra features" are we talking about?

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Poll needs an "I'm not American, so of course I drive a manual" option.

Seriously though, UK resident and manual driver here. I think I only know one couple who have an automatic around where I live (Lake District) - the default for driving around here is manual.

 

[Saippua]

Im pretty sure you cant even do a driving test with automatic in my country

 

[rutger5000]

Technically I can operate both manual and automatic cars, but you wouldn't want me in traffic with either of them. Controlling the car is extremely easy, keeping track of what's happening around you darn near freaking impossible for people like me. So I've got to wait for the car that drives itself.
I've always preferred manuals though, they give you far greater control of your speed.

 

[octafish]

Ugh. I hate slush boxes, I actually find them unnerving. So much so that I find them more difficult to drive than an Auto. Plus I keep grabbing for the shifter and pressing the non-existent clutch.

 

[Quellist]

I'm from the UK and myself and must everyone I know drives Manual in fact I only have one friend who cant drive Manual and tbh that's because she's a ditz who failed her test 6 times even in an automatic!

 

[Lieju]

I haven't driven a car in almost ten years, so probably not anymore.
Not that I ever was good at that.

I just didn't drive much.
I have never driven automatic though.

 

[Syntax Error]

I drive stick. Tho when I buy a new car it'll be probably an automatic.

 

[Lilani]

What sort of "extra features" are we talking about?

When my family was looking at cars, the ones with manual transmission usually didn't have power windows or weren't keyless and other little things. The car we ended up getting cost $2000 less than the manual transmission we were looking at, and the car had automatic transmission, keyless entry and ignition, power windows, and the ability to link to a cell phone with Bluetooth so you can make and answer calls without ever touching your phone. And this wasn't the negotiated price, this was the sticker price on the cars, both brand new with a minimum number of miles on them. And I don't remember the model year of the manual, but the automatic we got was the most current model year.

 

[Exterminas]

I learned how to drive in manual and switched to automatic afterwards.

Frankly, I don't get what the appeal of manual is. It just seems like a needless, older piece of technology that managed to stick around for no reason. I mean, once we invented machines to wash our laundry for us, we stopped going down to the river to beat it against rocks, right? So now that we have machines that change gears for us, why the hell do we keep those sticks around?

 

[Alfador_VII]

I'm in the UK, where most cars, at least in the mass market are still manual, and has been pointed out in the thread there is actually a different manual driving test (which allows you to drive both types), if you pass the automatic test, you can't drive manual.

Manuals are cheaper to buy, and nearly always more fuel efficient too, so even if you don't appreciate the extra control which changing your own gears offers, you save money I can't deny that automatics do have advantages at times, especially in slow moving traffic where your left leg takes a lot of abuse in a manual. I still wouldn't specify one in an ordinary car though.

However various forms of automated manual, and dual-clutch are becoming more common in some parts of the market, they almost blur the line between manual and auto, with paddle gearshifts, and the option to hold gears wthout changing up or down. The key thing is they're all 2-pedal systems with no clutch pedal. For an increasing number of performance cars, conventional stick shifts aren't even available as an option now.

 

[fix-the-spade]

If Top Gear is to trusted, Europe doesn't have a single straight road in it (Besides the Autobahn). I suppose if your driving experience was a perpetual turn, being able to shift gears manually instead of riding your breaks every time it gets a bit more curvy would be a step up.

Top Gear is to be trusted, sort of, driving in the US astounded me with how non-twisty your roads are.

There's a minor point that manual cars are generally more fuel efficient than autos as well, provided the driver pays attention to gear selection. When petrol is $2.20 a litre the difference between 30 and 50mpg suddenly seems more important!

 

[Mr Fixit]

I can, I do & I fucking love it. Automatics are just boring, but maybe that's because I learned to drive by drifting around corners on a one lane gravel road. They can be a pain in slow moving, stop & go traffic & a heavy clutch is rough on my bad knees, but I'd still rather have a manual over an automatic any day.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

Frankly, I don't get what the appeal of manual is. It just seems like a needless, older piece of technology that managed to stick around for no reason. I mean, once we invented machines to wash our laundry for us, we stopped going down to the river to beat it against rocks, right? So now that we have machines that change gears for us, why the hell do we keep those sticks around?

For commute purposes an auto is fine if you are stuck a lot in traffic but autos feel so numbing to the driving experience.
The times I have tried manumatics in cars - it and I want to change gear at the same time when doing best possible acceleration, resulted in double changes which results in crap acceleration.
I remember the (American) car site I was a member of was "up in arms" over the, then, new James Bond (Daniel Craig) had to learn how to drive manual in order to performe the part.

 

[Something Amyss]

How do you turn if your hands mirror each other?!

Mostly use one at a time. Which would work for shifting except I'd have to take my other hand off the wheel.

 

[pejhmon]

I can drive a stick shift better than I can an automatic. I'm not exactly race car tier in driving skills, but I haven't had anything bad happen in more than 2 years of driving on the Autobahn, so I must be doing something right.

I'm much the same since I drive manual better than automatic. I think it's because the act of changing gear keeps me more focussed; I get bored not having to change gear in an automatic.

 

[babinro]

Technically, yes.
Safely/Reliably? Not at all.

I've had experience with manual transmission and while I have used a manual truck to driver to and from work it was under ideal conditions. Flat roads, no snow and almost no hills/inclines. Keep in mind I did this for about 1 YEAR.

Even under those conditions I would tend to stall the vehicle at least once per trip. I was never able to start the vehicle on an incline...going as far as having to coast back down the hill in neutral in order to get moving again.

Needless to say, my confidence took a nosedive. You can only fail so many hundreds of times at something others find simple before it really gets to you. My dad tried to teach me and figured I'd learn if he made me use the vehicle but it just never clicked.

This was an early 90's toyota truck. I'm not sure if manual gear shifting technology has been made more forgiving since then. It's entirely possible I'd be better at it now but I have no desire to ever drive one again. I'll certainly never buy one.