For me the only reason to drive manual was becase automats used to be less effective. With current generation, the computer with its 12 gears is much more ecological then my macho hand lovingly stroking my cars stick can ever be…
Do you love cars stick? Are you a gay car?
I drive a manual because all through the 90s a manual was a lot more reliable and cheaper to fix than an automatic. I also hated the automatic gear selection. It was always in a gear I didn’t want. I recently had a rental car which was a Ford with a 10-speed automatic and yeah they have come a long way. I’ve only ever owned manuals but I think my next car will be an auto. I hear reliability is good now.
i very recently learned how to drive. Learned manual because it is still the majority of cars on the roads here… Looking forward to the majority of the vehicles being automatic! It makes a lot more sense
My biggest thing is that they make people pay more attention. I dont think better drivers drive stick, i think the stick makes YOU a better driver.
Less eating, drinking, phone holding, texting etc. You have to know speeds and rpms for which gears. It keeps me from speeding knowing this street is a 4th gear street. When i end up driving a auto car, i will often loook down and wonder how i got to the speed i am at, though that may also be due to the fact its not my car and im just not used to the sensation of speed.
On another note, i think on average manual trans are less prone to failure. I know alot of cars that have essentially been junked due to an auto trans problem, but a manual just needs a new clutch every one and a while. Though this might be less common on newer cars compared to 90’s and early 2000’s cars.
And with the rise of EVs auto transmission failures will be a thing of the past. Except for the few sports EVs that for some reason have a multiple gears.
Do you not know how gears work? For some reason? Do you really not understand why they have more gears?
We do
EVs have a single reduction gear and no transmission or gear change. Most are rated for around a million miles and only require a gear oil change every few years or so.
Electric motors have so much torque even at low revs that a gearbox is unnecessary for most people. If you can get enough torque for a fast start in 5th, there’s no reason for the gearbox, you might as well save the extra complexity and keep the car permanently in 5th.
Combustion cars have gearboxes because they only work well at a narrow range of revs. Bicycles have more gears than cars because humans have an even narrower range of revs where they work best at.
EVs still have peak operational variables, things like heat. Having 2 gears solves the danger problems. Quicker acceleration and better efficiency. Just because it’s expensive right now doesn’t mean you won’t continue to see them on high end vehicle and start to trickle into the mid range stuff.
For speed control I wish every car had easy to use cruise control and speed limiting, I hate having to constantly worry I’ve crept above the limit and will get a ticket especially on long boring roads littered with speed cameras.
Imagine just being able to concentrate on what’s around you and where you’re going without needing to be endlessly worrying about engine revs, speed enforcement, and the potential cost of getting either wrong.
i think on average manual trans are less prone to failure.
As far as I’m aware this is still true. They’re also significantly cheaper to repair/replace if need be.
i think the stick makes YOU a better driver.
It doesn’t make me a better driver, it’s a continual distraction. I recently switched from a manual to an automatic car and I now have far more available headspace to pay attention to the world around me.
You just never properly learned it then.
If I was a driver I’d drive an automatic just to spite manual elitists. Cars are cancer anyway.
That would only help us. We can’t be elitist unless the majority lacks the good taste necessary to appreciate what we like.
(I mean, I also think wheels are great but I’m not a wheel elitist because everyone agrees with me.)
All it took for me was a single drive home during Thanksgiving traffic; a trip that normally takes 10min took an hour, I swore off manual transmissions that day.
Driving was a major part of my job when I lived in Boston and I drove manual. Honestly it isn’t very fun being in traffic, but I wouldn’t say it’s much worse than driving an automatic. It becomes old hat. It probably depends a bit more on how stiff the clutch is and other mechanical variables, but I would agree with another commenter here that it does make people better drivers. I would also say manuals aren’t for everybody and that’s ok, but I also think they should be the norm rather than the complacently comforting automatics that make everyone feel like they are in a golf cart rather than a large metal missile.
How?
If only there would be viable alternatives for the mass transit of people. It would free up the road for those who like to or absolutely have to drive.
So often forgotten as an argument. Driving would be great if those who don’t want to are not forced to.
Driving sucks ass no matter how empty the roads are.
lol, another manualoid pretending to be better drivers than a true auto champ
Lol, another guide pretending to be a driver :)
Every car I’ve owned has been manual and I hate my latest decision since 99% of my driving is stop and go. Honestly I’d prefer no cars at all.
I prefer my manual even in stop-and-go traffic. Gives me something to do other than hate the people in front of me.
Hell, in a car, is other drivers.
There’s a game that is called “Hell is others” I got it for free, but haven’t installed it. It seems to be some sort of survival horror game where you attempt to avoid everyone else and escape the city
My car is a stick shift. I love it.
But our pickup and my wife’s car are both automatic. Those are fine, too. Stop and go traffic - I’m gonna want an automatic. The pickup is for towing our trailer, and while I understand theoretically a stick would be better for that purpose, I’m glad to have the automatic and not have to worry about it. Plus then my wife can occasionally drive it as well.
I’ve driven fast automatics, and I’ve driven slow stick shifts. It’s never just ONE thing about a car.
Our pickup, you can push the gear stick left and it becomes basically manual with no clutch. You tell it to change gears and it will except when it says “no” ie high speeds and you ask to change down a gear when it’s high revs in current gear, it beeps at you and won’t change.
We’ve found that more than adequate for towing a 19ft caravan.
Our Mazda has “manual” control of the automatic where you can tell it to shift by clicking a button or moving the gear selector. But like yours it won’t do anything stupid. I’ve played with a few times, but I just can’t get into it.
For towing (or hauling heavy loads in general) - you definitely need to be able to lock out higher gears sometimes in the mountains. If your transmission is hunting between gears, then lock it to a lower one. Our pickup has a tow/haul mode that handles this automatically; the motorhome I had before just had an “overdrive” button that locked out the overdrive gear for the same reason.
I’ll only drive automatic. No desire to work harder at driving in the city.
What, you don’t want to shift gears endlessly while stuck moving between 10 mph and a dead stop on the freeway for three hours?
Just saying, you can stay in 1st gear for 10mph.
Hear me out for a second…
Maybe, just maybe, it’s spending 3 hours in stop and go traffic that’s the problem, not the transmission.
I think cars may have something to do with traffic but not sure.
Burn the witch!
There are correlations sure, but I’m not aware of any studies proving a causal link between cars and traffic.
I could just as plausibly say that 95% of cars in traffic have automatic transmissions. And so, just speculating here, but if they all switched to manual transmissions, we may see a significant reduction in traffic.
Agreed, but having lived it myself with a manual transmission, it’s rough with a manual. It’s one of the few scenarios where I don’t prefer it.
I’m one of the weirdos who wouldn’t mind this. I’ve been dailying my '97 Prelude for most of the summer since I bought it. I didn’t think I’d want to drive it in traffic, but honestly, it’s not the stop and go that ruins the experience for me. It’s the fact that if I get hit by just about any of the trucks on the road, I’m getting a faceful of bumper and best I can hope for is to retain the use of my arms. It’s basically a motorcycle that I can’t lowside.
But I totally get that I’m a fringe case. I completely understand why this would just be too much for someone to want to keep up with in stop and go traffic. Besides, all that starting is bad for clutches. Autos with torque converters handle it a million times better.
Most people aren’t car enthusiasts and enthusiasts need to come to terms with it. Manuals are dying. It’s just the way the world is moving. Let’s enjoy what we have now and appreciate we get to be a part of something we love.
I daily a manual. More people complain about manuals in freeway traffic than there are manual drivers left. Lol
So… Is a manual transmission not the correct solution? should I move so I can drive a manual?
One way or the other. Cars are the real problem there.
Manual transmission or not, yes, I would confidently say that moving or changing jobs is the best solution to address a 3 hour commute. Bonus point being that you will better be able to enjoy your manual transmission.
It’s funny because this is the exact same argument anti-cyclists make. Lol
“Tell someone they should ride a bike and suddenly everyone has to move a fridge”
I ride a bike, idk how those weird car gears work. I guess I’ll learn it soon. Manual bike riding is joy Hopefully it’s same on cars.
Wet clutch (bike) is more fun.
My kid is learning to drive and I wanted to rent/get ahold of a manual to teach that too, but nothing doing. You can’t find one to rent and I’m not buying a whole car for a few weeks’ training.
I can’t tell if this is serious or sarcastic…
serious, but half exaggerating
Then you are the target audience.
I prefer a doctor-guided transmission. I’m not smart enough to balance these meds and read my bloodwork.
💀
I love this meme template, idk why I can’t get enough of these
There aren’t any BEVs with this kind of manual transmissions. They just have 1 gear and are operated like automatics. And I am definitely not going back to DDD fuels (detonating dino diarrhea).
Taycan and likely the 718 both have 2 gears.
I don’t think you get to specify the gears in those, it’s fully automatic. Plus those cars cost $150k.
nah car’s are getting way to much for at home usage for me
Automatic transmissions existed before computers were controlling them. The 3 speed auto in my 68 Ford is entirely hydraulicly operated. No computer control. I can roll-start it no problem in second gear.
sure but they are computer controlled now. just big tech/auto wanting more control over things
Automatic transmissions are essentially hydraulic computers.
