Manual vs Automatic

Why do people still buy manual cars? I mean honestly I sit in traffic etching forward by removing my foot off the brake and/or accelerating while one hand steers and the other hand is holding a take-away latte. I just don't understand this need to hold a stick in your hand and clutch in and out and stuff.

i know someone recently who bought a new car and actually WAITED for a manual version and not because of price, they didn't want the Auto. I just don't understand it lol. Its like buying a washing machine and asking if they have one with a handle you can turn round and round to make it spin...
 
neoprema said:
Why do people still buy manual cars? I mean honestly I sit in traffic etching forward by removing my foot off the brake and/or accelerating while one hand steers and the other hand is holding a take-away latte. I just don't understand this need to hold a stick in your hand and clutch in and out and stuff.

i know someone recently who bought a new car and actually WAITED for a manual version and not because of price, they didn't want the Auto. I just don't understand it lol. Its like buying a washing machine and asking if they have one with a handle you can turn round and round to make it spin...
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A manual car can do a handbrake turn better.
 
When I still had a car with a handbrake I would on occasion use it to do a handbrake turn, however my current manual has an electronic handbrake :confused: My automatic has a handbrake and if you slip it into neutral, I am sure you can do handbrake turns with it.

Why do I have a manual? When I bought my car there was the option to get the automatic version, but I opted for the manual because I do like driving like a tool - regularly - and a manual just lends itself more to that kind of (abusive) behaviour. There is a climb in town just after a set of traffic lights and hitting 130 km/h in 3rd gear with the engine cutting out puts a smile on my face each time.

Sure, it won't last, it's an Alfa gearbox. When I drive my mom's 20 years old C-class with a 5 speed autobox I can also get my kicks from it.

But I just enjoy the more involved feeling my manual has to offer. It does a lot of the things for you, like hill hold and all that, so it is a very easy manual to drive.
 
I'm sure when starter motors started replacing hand cranks there was a group of die hard crankheads who refused to move to the new tech because the crank let them feel the state of the engine so much better than that new fangled button thing...
 
There is no reason to buy a manual transmission these days. Yes, old automatics were slow and clunky, bu modern automatics are light years ahead in terms of performance and functionality. They shift way faster, have far more gears, can be more economical, can change their performance dynamics depending on the driving conditions and driving mode, and can still be controlled in a manual mode if so desired.

It's like Sinbad said. Preferring a manual is like preferring a hand-crank over a starter motor.
 
genetic said:
There is no reason to buy a manual transmission these days. Yes, old automatics were slow and clunky, bu modern automatics are light years ahead in terms of performance and functionality. They shift way faster, have far more gears, can be more economical, can change their performance dynamics depending on the driving conditions and driving mode, and can still be controlled in a manual mode if so desired.

It's like Sinbad said. Preferring a manual is like preferring a hand-crank over a starter motor.
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You're halfway there.

Automatics are a stop gap until we all can drive the ultimate - electric.

So, while we still need to use something as inferior as a transmission, because we are using puny-ass compressed dinosaur corpses as fuel and have such limited torque - I'll use my inferior manual transmission. But at least let me get a sweet sweet taste of that heavenly future when I start my car using electricity.
 
Rouxenator said:
You're halfway there.

Automatics are a stop gap until we all can drive the ultimate - electric.

So, while we still need to use something as inferior as a transmission, because we are using puny-ass compressed dinosaur corpses as fuel and have such limited torque - I'll use my inferior manual transmission. But at least let me get a sweet sweet taste of that heavenly future when I start my car using electricity.
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100% agree.

I was 100% set on manual, because I see myself as a car guy and like to be "in control". Unfortunately I wrote my beloved manual 3.2L V6 Alfa Romeo off last year due to flooding, and had to get a replacement. Was reading a lot about how modern automatics are just so good (well in decent car brands at least), and decided to bite the bullet and only look at automatics. The best decision ever. Beyond the carefree driving, the continual acceleration in the optimum powerband, slick gear shifts, eco or sports mode functionality... it makes no sense to replace all of that with my inferior left hand. I don't miss a manual gearbox at all.
 
If my next car can have no transmission - that'd be great.

But I agree that automatic is superior to manual - especially the newer ones. With driver aides like AEB becoming the norm so too will the self-shifting they rely on.
 
For an everyday car I will never go back to manual.

However I'm strongly considering a fun weekend project car from the 90s, which I couldn't afford because I was in school. It will almost certainly be manual but I don't care...
 
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My S4 is auto. Which is a change from the Cupra I bought off @Sinbad ans drove for 9 years - that was a manual. Nothing wrong with that - but auto is just superior. I’ll never buy another car that is manual.
 
Priapus said:
My S4 is auto. Which is a change from the Cupra I bought off @Sinbad ans drove for 9 years - that was a manual. Nothing wrong with that - but auto is just superior. I’ll never buy another car that is manual.
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Well, some friends say you can change and control gears faster in a manual and thus a manual vs an auto of the same car on a track will result in the manual winning. And i'm just confused, how on Earth can having to clutch, move a lever, de-clutch - no matter how fast you do it, beat an automatic dual clutch or torque-converter that's ready in a split second if not less with the next throw.

Some Googling says that some drivers can get pretty close to shifting almost as fast as torque converter but still not beat it. dual-clutch however just knocks the socks off it completely with some shifting as fast as 8-100ms. You simply cannot move your body that fast.

The only reason i could imagine that an auto/DC (CVT?) loses is if software is not great and doesn't make the right decisions based on your driving style and shifts incorrectly. But I think that's probably a thing of the past in most new cars?
 
neoprema said:
Well, some friends say you can change and control gears faster in a manual and thus a manual vs an auto of the same car on a track will result in the manual winning. And i'm just confused, how on Earth can having to clutch, move a lever, de-clutch - no matter how fast you do it, beat an automatic dual clutch or torque-converter that's ready in a split second if not less with the next throw.
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That's because most automatics prior to the mid 2000's were horrible... slow, long gear ratios and less gears, basic ECU's and a lot of losses in the transmission system - making them less efficient than manual transmissions of their era. It's 2023... That tall tale still hangs around the Boomer generation that hasn't driven a modern automatic. Even CVT transmissions have become so good they're being used in some sports cars.

NO manual transmission beats the performance and efficiency of a modern automatic.
 
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