RANT: I HATE Automatic Transmissions.

[OWC Jamie]

I used to enjoy shifting without using the clutch. Really gets you in tune with the machine.

Auto is nice for towing, especially a boat at a ramp. I've hauled out a boat with a manual, not always fun.

[Greg the dogsitter]

billb Wrote:
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> I used to enjoy shifting without using the clutch.
> Really gets you in tune with the machine.

And in touch with your mechanic?

[Paul F.]

I like the simplicity of the automatic..

Two pedals. Go, and Stop.

And I can use my right hand for my diet dew, and not have to shift anything.

[rgG]

There is one other advantage to a manual transmission that no one has mentioned, being able to start the car without jumper cables if your battery has gone dead. Now it depends on where you are parked when the battery goes dead, but knowing how to roll it off and pop the clutch just at the right time can be a life saver.

In city stop and go traffic, a clutch can really be tiring on the knees and legs.

Chip, just be thankful that you have a car to drive at all and if it means that much to you to own a stick shift, then it will be good incentive to work hard to buy that first one. You may find that a free automatic is a lot more fun when you have to pay for the privilge to drive the stick.

[vision63]

Spend a couple of hours on the I-405 in bumper to bumper traffic everyday. Your left foot pumps about 2 thousand times. You'll be glad at that point that they created an invention that eliminates the ridiculous and unnecessary manual shifting of a vehicle.

[Greg the dogsitter]

vision63 Wrote:
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> Spend a couple of hours on the I-405 in bumper to
> bumper traffic everyday. Your left foot pumps
> about 2 thousand times. You'll be glad at that
> point that they created an invention that
> eliminates the ridiculous and unnecessary manual
> shifting of a vehicle.

Maybe...you...should...LEAVE!!

"I"-405?

[incognegro]

kids these days...

[microchip13]

I agree, traffic can be an issue, but there isn't much of that around here.



As you said rgG, that's pretty much what I intend to do. Get a job, and get my own real car.


As from some of the comments here, I warmed up to it, a little bit, only for the sake of it's a car, but PLEASE, in a couple years remind me in case I forget that I love manual transmissions.

[Sam3]

I'm late to this discussion, but both my wife and I are in the middle aged category and we both are stick lovers. Unfortunately no car in our family currently is a manual. The only time I like having the automatic is when we are city stop&go driving. Then it's nice. OK, one other time would be living in a hilly city like Seattle. When we visited there, it was a challenge and a bit unnerving to start from a dead stop while you were on a steep incline with a manual tranny. But otherwise... give me a stick any day. I like the control of ME deciding when to shift. I also think that manual is safer in winter, not auto, as I can determine when I should shift up or down.

[sscutchen]

Sam3 Wrote:
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> OK, one other time would be living in a hilly city like Seattle. When we
> visited there, it was a challenge and a bit unnerving to start from a dead stop while you were
> on a steep incline with a manual tranny.

A good technique if you need it is to hold the car in place with the parking brake, with the button held in.

Then you can manage the throttle and clutch without having to use your foot on the brake. As you start off, just ease off on the parking brake...