Never drove a manual in my life. Maybe one day I'll learn but it isn't at the top of my to-do list. Or even in the middle.
I'll always own an automatic because I of the convenience
I'll always own an automatic because I of the convenience
It's very hilly where I live. When I moved here I owned a car with a stick, and have owned two more since then, but never more. It's just not worth it to me.
Don't worry, they even have that covered these days. Called hill-start assist and helps prevent rollback when starting from a hill. Is it any surprise that self-driving cars are just around the corner?
I never knew Thunder Bay even had heavy rush hour traffic. Must be all those wild Moose hogging the passing lane!
Try to push start an automatic with a dead starter. Or bad solenoid. Or battery that just can't quite get it to turn over. Being stranded out in the middle of nowhere with a vehicle that is perfectly capable of running if you could just START it, kinda sucks. Also, my foot keeps stabbing for a clutch pedal that isnt there, when I stop at a light in a car or truck with an automatic. It is just WRONG. The only time a standard is a PITA to me is very hilly cities like SF or Philly or Portland, where you have stop and go traffic bumper to bumper wih plenty of red lights, combined with steep hills. That will almost have me wishing for an automatic to do the driving for me and I just steer the car, stop it, and go it. But nah.
Used to be, we called them Standard Transmissions. Now, people call them "Manual" transmissions like they are some specialized oddball thing. It is the basic thing, hardly removed from the nitty gritty mechanics of making a car go. We are getting to be a species that totally ignores every aspect of owning a vehicle except for paying for it and going somewhere in it. I got one of my neighbors to admit that he has NEVER EVER even checked his engine oil, much less any other fluids, and he only ever popped the hood once, to get a jump start. I showed him how to check belt tension, look for cracked hoses, check fluids, inspect battery connections, test and replace fuses, look where the car was parked for liquid stuff that doesn't belong, check and inflate tires, measure tread wear, change oil and filters and fuel filters too, all that good stuff and he was gung ho about it for about lets see... a week, maybe. Why? Because cars are going all space shuttley on us and dealers want to sell you on the idea of just mashing the gas pedal and turning the steering wheel and calling it driving. They HATE to sell you a Standard transmission. Or rollup windows. Manual door locks. And forget about fully manual brakes and steering... not that that was ever any fun, but where the rubber meets the road, and all the mechanical and electrical stuff going on between you and it, are this big abstract irrelevant concept these days. Used to be, most any 17yo kid could do a tuneup... a real tuneup. Now, you got grownups who have to call AAA when they get a flat tire.
Automatics are the carts of the car world. Standards are the Straights, or at least the DE's.
Manual transmissions are a dream to use in traffic. While everyone else is stomping on the throttle to slam the brakes on in 5 feet, I slip off the clutch in 1st and just let it idle along.They are a PITA to use in heavy stop and go traffic though.
Just not enough reason for me to use a manual transmission these days.
Bob
I learned to drive with a column mounted 3 speed. Up until quite recently it seems about every 2nd or 3rd truck I owned had M/T. The current Ford Explorer has paddle shifters...never use them.
If I need that old school "run it through the gears" vibe, I'll crack out the Harley.
Odd how automatic transmision motorcycles never caught on. Honda still makes one I think. Never actually saw one up close though.
Some other outfit (Ridley) made an A/T bike as well. They were kind of rare. I believe they're still somewhat available but production is on hold.
Manual transmissions are a dream to use in traffic. While everyone else is stomping on the throttle to slam the brakes on in 5 feet, I slip off the clutch in 1st and just let it idle along.