Poll: To all car drivers - Automatic or Manual

[joshthor]

automatic. ive always had a problem coordinating my feet with my hands. i can play great on 6 or 7 drums and cymbals but throw in a kick i cant keep a rhythm. same problem with manual. i tried to learn it and kept hitting the clutch late or early. anyway. i sucked at it. stalled 12 times in 3 blocks and gave up.

 

[LorChan]

I only drive automatic, but then again, I'm still learning - don't have a license yet. But I'm pretty good at automatic, and the one time I tried on a manual car I hit a pole, so...

 

[Failurebot]

Been driving a manual since I bought my car in June of last year. Obviously, getting the hang of it was a massive *****, but after a week or so, I loved it. At this point, I seriously wouldn't think of ever driving an automatic again, to me it's not nearly as interesting.

 

[Sampsa]

Might be that my drivers licence is fairly fresh but I like switching gears.

 

[Metal Brother]

Plus, whats more exciting to do than change gears in a manual while accelerating heavily?

Skydiving? Wrestling tigers? Fight Club? Ferret legging? The Most Dangerous Game (on the hunted side--the hunter always seems a smarmy bastard)? ....nope, that's all that comes to mind immediately.

Epic quote edit...

 

[Low Key]

I can drive both, but I prefer automatic because I do a lot of city driving. It sucks having a manual when there are tons of traffic lights around. Fortunately, my car has a sports shifter so I can go into manual if I really wanted.

 

[TehCookie]

I drive an automatic and I like it more. When your driving to school in the early morning you care less on how fun it is and just want to get there so you can fall asleep at your desk. However if I'm just going on a joyride or over to a friends I like taking my dad's manual because it is more fun. Except the fact I suck at uphill take-off and always roll backwards but since I live in the middle of nowhere there is usually no one behind me.

 

[Marowit]

manual. I can't think of a reason why you would want an automatic unless you're 90, and paraplegic.

edit: apart from it being more fun you gain so much more control over how much power the wheels get. this is invaluable if you live anywhere where it snows.

 

[xanith02100]

Automatic. I learned to drive on one, and thus that is what I drive. I'm sure I could learn manual if I needed to, but currently I do not know how to drive one.

 

[cerebus23]

Who has to look down to change gears? Seriously i never had to look down, only problem i had when going from a automatic 5 speed taurus with a 3.0 liter engine, to a 5 spd manual probe was figuring out the sweet spot for the clutch and inclines were nerve racking when i was first getting the hang of it, or people riding up right on your bumper at stops.

Anymore i dunno what i would do without a clutch and gearbox, once had to help a buddy pick up his car from the garage and follow him to his house and kept lurching the car cause it was an automatic and i kept trying to find the clutch and gear shift on the first few stops. It really is bizarre when you only drive stick for any length of time and have to switch suddenly, you loose all sense of purpose with your left leg and right hand.

Only time a manual can be a tad annoying is in heavy stop and go city traffic, but most clutches and gearboxes are fairly well designed these days that it does not require much effort.

So yea manual all the way.

 

[Mydnyght]

Automatic. I never bothered to understand a manual transmission. I = FAIL. T^T

 

[Bureacreative]

Driving a standard makes me feel like I'm better than everyone else, so imma stick with it (I really, honestly didn't mean to do that pun. I noticed it like a minute after I wrote it). also standards are just wicked fun to drive.

 

[Necator15]

I can drive either, but usually an automatic (Live in the US)
I think my preference for the automatic came from learning manual on a shitty old Cabriolet (I'm not a fan, and don't understand why my parents keep the damned thing around.)

 

[Jushoops16]

I wish I had a stick but my '93 Honda Accord is automatic

 

[PrimoThePro]

I use automatic, but I wish I could drive a manual. I hear with manual you understand your car better. Is that true?

 

[OmegaXzors]

Manual has you feeling more involved. You also feel more exhilarated when speeding up with the control you feel. At least, that's how I feel. :3

 

[Sirenskye]

I'm a girl and I love driving manual ^^. It was a bit hectic at first trying to get the shifts in but after a lesson or so you know where the gears go so there's no need to look down at all. Your instructor breaks that habit as quickly as they can, and you don't forget about that lesson either.

 

[razormint21]

Manual.

Keeps you alert on the road, practically.

And no it doesn't. See my previous paragraph if you have any arguments

As a driver, you need to know your car. A new driver will most definitely take small steps such as searching for the shift stick everytime he needs to. But as time passes, a person who drives manual will be seasoned enough to know where the shift stick and its sweet spots are.

In my honest opinion, it would be better for a new driver to learn manual before switching to auto. At least during manual, you can encourage new drivers to stick on low gears on suburbs and subdivisions and just let them switch to higher gears on the high-ways. Automatic on the other hand, leaves everything to the feet of the driver, now may i ask you, can a new driver's feet be as trained as a seasoned ones?

AS for my statement, it keeps you alert, well in my case, it does. I do a lot of night driving on dark streets on late nights. If i was driving on auto, i'd be complacent and might be tempted to just lay back, at least the need to shift at every hump and turn keeps me alert. Call it ADD, but it works for me. And i need it to work for me since i have passengers too...


My two cents...

 

[mrdude2010]

manual. i have a car from before automatic was invented and i love the extra control and gas mileage.. zippy little thing too