Poll: To all car drivers - Automatic or Manual
- Thread starter Plinglebob
- Start date
Recommended Videos
As someone else has already pointed out, if after about a couple of months of lessons you have to look at your gear stick, you've no business using a manual transmission. The thing that got me thinking about this was the fact that as I was driving today I was barely registering my gear changes at all because its now become habit/instinct to shift depending on the sound of the engine (never had a rev counter).The Heik said:
I agree with Razormint on this. Fun (and related) fact: In the UK they purposely build motorways as a series of long curves instead of just a straight road to keep people more alert when driving.
Its currently early evening in Europe so more Manual car drivers are likely to be online. As it gets later, I expect it to swing heavily towards Automatic.Marmooset said:
Well, I got my license back home in a car with automatic transmission, but down here I got my license in a manual. So I can drive both. But my current car is an automatic. It was my mom's and she never really learned how.
Deffinately Manual. I admit I would have passed my test 2 months earlier if i tried an automatic but it just gives you so much more control. Also fuel is currently £1.21 a litre in the uk (thats the same as about $6 a gallon I think) so getting more mpg is always a bonus.
Driving a manual is far more fun. My dad has an automatic, which is disappointing.
While having my lessons, I met one or two other students who did occasionally glance that way (and were obviously scolded by the instructor), but they were total beginners. I don't think there are a lot of people who'd look at the shifter who actually have a driver's license. At least in countries where getting a driver's license actually takes some work (not America).
In my first lesson, I spent five minutes getting the feel of the gear shift, while looking straight ahead obviously. Never had to look at the shifter ever.
While having my lessons, I met one or two other students who did occasionally glance that way (and were obviously scolded by the instructor), but they were total beginners. I don't think there are a lot of people who'd look at the shifter who actually have a driver's license. At least in countries where getting a driver's license actually takes some work (not America).
I'm not sure I understand where you're coming from, so let me reiterate my previous statement:snowplow said:
Standard transmissions require the driver to manually shift gears in order to get in the proper RPM range for the appropriate speed/power level. With more inexperienced drivers, they often look at the gear lever to make sure that they're shifting into the right gear, as a wrong gear shift will either stall the car or cause damage to the engine.
Automatic transmissions shift up and down automatically depending on the situation, so one never has to move their concentration away from the road.
I drive a manual, but I really hope you don't stamp on where the clutch should be... I dunno what US Auto is like, but the break pedal is double width in a UK Auto. My mum used to own an Auto, it got written off when a friend of hers borrowed it. She forgot she was driving an auto at high speed, stamped on the "clutch"/break and got shunted. Which leads me onto a tip I got from my dad when I used to drive my mum's Auto-Harley Duke said:I drive an automatic, but I wish it was a manual. I learned on a stick shift, and I loved how driving it was a four-limb job. Even now, when I take somewhat slow turns, my friends all laugh at me because I stomp the floor really hard looking for a clutch pedal that isn't there (I know you normally don't have to stomp a clutch pedal, but I drove a pickup truck that was a couple of years older than I was, and that thing wanted you to step on it like you MEANT it).
What he said.PandyBear said:Plus, whats more exciting to do then change gears in a manual while accelerating heavily?
Tuck your left leg (your clutch foot) under the seat. You'll still twitch when you *should* change gears, but at least you won't stamp on the break.
I consider myself far from a good driver + I just started driving again 2 months ago after not driving for over 2 years. However I haven't looked at the gear lever to shift since my 2nd driving lesson. Gear shifting without looking at anything other than the road is the 2nd thing any decent driving teacher will make you go through till it becomes automatic. Look down at any moment past the first driving lesson and you can expect to have your head chewed on. The first thing you learn is turning on the car of course =PThe Heik said:
I know that gear-shifting eventually becomes natural to the driver, but it doesn't change the fact that there still will be a section of the student's learning period where they will look down. Automatics never have to do that, so it never is an issue.Plinglebob said:
And you point is? I live in a hilly area, and despite driving an automatic I remain perfectly alert because I have to speed up and slow down to compensate for the momentum gained and lost by going up and down. manual gear shifting merely adds another thing to the check list. The only times alertness, or the lack thereof, comes into play is when it is a straight road with a set speed limit, so the gears wouldn't change whether you drove an automatic OR a standard. Unless a standard driver wishes to increase their gas usage.....Plinglebob said:
manual.
I learned on a manual, and recently had the opportunity to try out an automatic. I really didn't like how... fluffy driving with the automatic felt, and for all the mistakes I still make on a manual I'd rather them than the loss of precision I felt. Plus, I know the road conditions, the transmission doesn't, therefore I am more qualified to control when the gears change.
I learned on a manual, and recently had the opportunity to try out an automatic. I really didn't like how... fluffy driving with the automatic felt, and for all the mistakes I still make on a manual I'd rather them than the loss of precision I felt. Plus, I know the road conditions, the transmission doesn't, therefore I am more qualified to control when the gears change.