It is very difficult to find manual transmission in a passenger car in the US now. I would like one but good luck finding what you want used. Even new, very few models have a manual option. And I think it costs more for a manual transmission now. It used to be cheaper.
I’m a car enthusiast and a fan of manual transmission.
But driving in traffic is such a PITA. And in some places like San Francisco it’s nearly impossible to drive manual without changing a clutch every semester, probably.
While I find manual much more engaging and own one, automatic has its undeniable advantages.
And what’s with this keyless ignition bullshit? How am I supposed to leave my car running with the doors locked when the damn FOB needs to be inside the car?
Oh I’ve just driven a few with fobs and in the winter I’ve gone out to start it to warm up and walk back inside and they turn off. Maybe others are different.
Why use a button or key to start your car? Spin the lever like real drivers used to! Why have ABS? Brake without it, like real drivers do! Why wear a seat belt? Drive without one, like real drivers used to do back in the days. Why buy luxury cars with all those safety features and use them, instead of disabling them like real drivers used to? Be a driver, make it as hard as possible to drive a car, but at least you’ll drive. Or use an automatic, it’s way better.
slippery slope fallacy and whataboutism. if youre fine with driving an auto, why not just use a self driving car for everything? just wire your whole with google and alexa for convinience and automation. and please, if youre actually thinking they sound like good ideas, please think about how dystopian that really is.
I agree but… As a shift week commuter I must say I much prefer the automatic in terms of both convenience and comfort. I drive long stretches at a time and having to constantly switch gears manually quickly turns into an annoyance. Also eating food or doing something else with your right hand is so much easier when you have an auto.
But if I once were to buy a leisure car it would be manual without a doubt.
I learned to drive in an automatic… in the 1980s. Pretty common here in Australia. Yes can drive a manual as well but prefer auto as I have arthritis. Many disabled people prefer auto.
As does my mum, who failed her test over ten times in a manual. She just couldn’t get the hang of the clutch. Me, I don’t like automatics, feels like I have less control.
Spent all my life driving manual cars and I am completely comfortable and at ease with their pending demise due to hybrids and full BEVs. I wouldn’t be surprised if some EVs get phony gears and broom broom noises for people who can’t cope with just having to set a direction and push a pedal to make things happen.
“basic traffic noise from highways won’t get perceptibly quieter due to electric cars. Urban road traffic noise below 40 kph likely will, as engine noise starts to dominate at lower speeds. And we can all look forward to fewer and fewer noisy motorcycles and trucks, and no economy cars with broken mufflers.”
Interesting to see if that makes it to production. To me it seems as dumb as someone buying an MP3 player that has a fake turntable, record and needle you need to set down for the music to play.
Hell even automatic ICE vehicles have this. Toyota deliberately makes the transmission less responsive in their vehicles because they found that drivers prefer to feel a bit of lurching.
I went from a inline 6 BMW diesel manual engine I drive for 10 years to my current Mazda 6 2.5L with automatic. Its easier and more luxurious to drive the automatic, but when I going for drive enjoyment I still have the habit of grabbing the shift lever when downshift is needed, and I often miss the feel and control of the manual when I edging it on curvy roads, even when my automatic has shift paddles, its just not the same.
But in a traffic jam in a city, for sure I will any day take an automatic over manual…
wow nearly the same as you I went from a in-line 6 diesel series 5 bmw manual from 1997 (it felt like driving a mix of a bus and tank) to a Corolla hybrid hatchback automatic. I miss shifting gears sometimes but it’s such a relaxing experience especially when in a hybrid. I actually generally prefer driving now and I believe that those two vehicles are actually comparable in the sense that they are both not built for speed but rather comfort/fuel economy and the Toyota beats it in both aspects. (although the seats in the bmw were like sitting in a sofa).
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