manual transmissions losing a benefit over autos

[grove rat]

bored here at work i have been looking at newer dd cars(small 4cyl ecobox) and have noticed that most newer auto get damn near the same(if not better in some cases) mpg than manuals. i knew before that was always a one-up on autos but not anymore

i have put 113k on my daily kia and it has a 5speed manual. sure it can get annoying in traffic but i still would rather have it than an auto. especially since it gives you the ability to push start it if your starter/battery is weak(i have had to push start mine a few times lol). and even though it's just a 'eco shitbox', the manual makes it more fun to dodge and dart through traffic

oh yea and it also amazes me the percentage of guys that cannot drive a manual, WTF is up with that shit?? obviously there won't be many on this site that do not know how seeing that it is a car site, but you'd be surprised how many dont know how

i know this is a pretty random thought/thread but fuck it, i'm bored at work

[JC316]

I will not drive anything but a manual transmission. I hate automatics with a passion. IMO, one of the biggest reasons that manuals have died off is because of cell phones and texting. It's pretty damned hard to talk on a cell and shift at the same. Actually had a guy buy a saturn for his daughter, he wanted nothing but a stick because he wanted her to pay attention to driving, not talking.

Push starting is nice, had to do it to my t-bird twice. On that note, do you have any idea how hard it is to push start a 4K lbs car by yourself?

[momo]

seems a lot of the newer autos are better than the manuals. fast shifts, same number of gears, ability to handle actual power now.

[grove rat]

On that note, do you have any idea how hard it is to push start a 4K lbs car by yourself?

no... but i do know how hard it is to push a 1977 impala 3 1/2 blocks to a gas station when you are 17 years old

[71chevellejohn]

Push starting is nice, had to do it to my t-bird twice. On that note, do you have any idea how hard it is to push start a 4K lbs car by yourself?

Always park at the top of a hill!

[MstangsBware]

This is something I have noticed also....It is a shame as most kids these days do not know or will ever know how to drive a manual car. Hell most havent ever seen a car with manual windows. I picked up my sons first car which is a power nothing 4 speed manual.

[grove rat]

i rock a power nothing 5speed as my daily

i do wish i had at least power locks, having to lock/unlock the door for every person who get in the car gets annoying

[94form2000z]

eh.. I have always had better things to do with my hands. Stalled auto is where it's at anyways..


Who really cares about rowing through the gears? No me.

[white trash wagon]

80% of my cars have been manuals. I realize in current performance cars, that autos are about as fast as the manuals.......but in the end, a true manual is just more fun to drive. I'll choose fun over the last tenth any day.

[Stephen]

I see the pisitives/negatives of both.. I drive a truck so i dont want a stupid long ass stick in the way.. If i had a vette/camaro/mustang/gto/or other sporty sedan/coupe i would want a stick.... I know new autos have improved but a stick is still more fun to drive!!

[Vertnut]

I love my 5 speed, but with the new auto's and programming, they sure seem faster.

[white trash wagon]

I see the pisitives/negatives of both.. I drive a truck so i dont want a stupid long ass stick in the way.. If i had a vette/camaro/mustang/gto/or other sporty sedan/coupe i would want a stick.... I know new autos have improved but a stick is still more fun to drive!!

I LOVE my 5 speed Ranger....shifter doesn't get in the way

[Stephen]

I LOVE my 5 speed Ranger....shifter doesn't get in the way

Yee FUCKIN HAA!

[UserX]

I will not drive anything but a manual transmission. I hate automatics with a passion.

Same here

[yellowstang]

I used to feel the same way, hated auto's. Since we moved to Keller and the fucken traffic is a beat down, I switched. One day was the4 last straw. I was ar Beach and 820, heading North. 6 more miles to get home, and already sat in traffic for almost an hour. I used the clutch 82 times in that 6 miles, either to shift, or come to a stop. Between that and driving 35W sometimes, I was thru shifting gears!