Stick shift or automatic?

[Eric]

I'm curious what all of you use for a car transmission.

The car we have now is a manual transmission, and it's the first stick-shift I've ever owned or driven. I wanted to learn, so I figured I may as well just buy one sooner rather than later. It was kind of rough at first, but by now I don't really even think about it. I've had it for about 3 1/2 years.

We will eventually need to replace the car, and the other day I was wondering to myself which type of transmission we'll end up with next. I concluded that it will probably be whatever we can get the best deal on, but I think I'd prefer a manual transmission, if only because they seem to have a lower failure rate than automatics.

So...the point: what type of transmission do you have in your car and why? Do you like it? Why?

[SuperSwede]

We have a automatic gearbox in our VW passat, its a first for us and we both love the simplicity. All cars at my work are automatic so I was pretty used to it, but my wife.. ho ho.. she managed to make a couple of gas/break pedal combos before she learned how to use it properly ;)

[markb]

I drove manuals for 30 years but now it's automatic all the way. I've just bought a cool little Toyota that converts nicely from a boxy wagon to a van when needed. It has a 1.5l VVTI engine that's reasonably powerful but very economical (<8l/100km). I'd be hard put to do better with a manual box.

[bcdon]

I've always had stick shift but my next car (which I hope won't be for many years) will be automatic. I'm getting old.

[sunvalleylaw]

We have both, but i enjoy driving a stick shift more. The automatics are nice and simple, but boring.

[FrankenFretter]

We have manual trannies in both our cars. I love manuals except when I'm in stop and go traffic. I've had several of both over the years, and they both have their advantages. Ideally, it would be nice to have the option to have an automatic for when we drive up to Portland or Seattle.

[vroomery]

My first car was a manual as well as my 3rd. I really enjoy it most of the time. I don't even mind it in super hilly areas. My biggest complaint is the situations where you end up in a traffic jam in the middle of a road trip. It sucks to do the stop and go thing in the city, but its even worse when you combine that with extended driving.

I currently drive an automatic and will probably buy the same next time (hopefully won't be for a good while)

[Tig]

I learned to drive manual transmissions (VW's) as a teen, so I like them the most. I enjoy making a small engined car accelerate as quickly as the same vehicle with a larger engine and an automatic. My old '99 high mileage F-150 5-speed manual with a V-6 is a good example. It moves quickly when needed, but gets much better gas mileage than the equivalent V-8 w/automatic.

That said, many new cars get as good or better mileage with automatics these days, and the cool ones have paddle shifters or at least an auto-stick option. Mrs. Tig likes automatics, so I'll likely go that way on the next vehicle.

I test drove a car with a variable ratio transmission but didn't like it.

[Jimi75]

Stick shift. That's what 95% use here in Germany.

[Tig]

Americans prefer automatics, since sticks get in the way of talking/texting on the cell, putting on makeup, and eating (usually all done at the same time).

[hubberjub]

I love stick shifts, but the automotive world (especially the USA) is moving away from them. I have a Saab 9-3 that I bought about eight years ago that is a 5-speed. It's a blast to drive. I just recently replaced my truck. It was a 1995 Ford Ranger with a stick shift that I drove throughout college. I decided that I wanted a really basic F-150. You know, straight up utilitarian work truck: 2wd, regular cab, long bed, V-6. I was shocked to find out that Ford no longer offers the F-150 with a stick. I ended up with an automatic. It's alright, but I miss the manual.

[Brian Krashpad]

I've never even driven a stick shift, much less owned such a car.

What's one supposed to do with one's beer when driving such a contraption?

[wingsdad]

Drove sticks for years, in the Northeastern US....with NYC and Boston traffic and hilly terrains of the Hudson River Valley and New England. Those driving conditions were hard on a clutch. Eventually I grew weary of them in the stop & go traffic and particulary when having to take off from a stop on an uphill grade. Those situations were no fun...especially if it was the guy in front of me with the stick and he didn't know how to handle it, sliding backwards at me while I prayed the sum***** would let the clutch up....

It used to be there was a significant difference in fuel economy, but that's negligible with today's auto tranny's, some with 6-speed capability. It's even gotten to the point where some cars get better MPG with auto, but those are rare. Every automatic tranny on our cars since 1992 has had an 'overdrive cancel' button on the shifter or similar function that knocks out what would be 5th or 6th gear, even 4th at lower speeds. It effectively gives you the control of a stick to downshift to aid in deceleration, but I find it most useful when getting on a freeway here in CA....to sustain or boost acceleration, like how I remember as a kid in the 60's my dad executing 'kickdown' to do the same with the auto tranny on an Olds '88...a sudden, sharp flooring of the accelerator that would 'boost' the power.

Bottom line to me is if I drove 80-90% freeway, a stick would save gas and not be a hassle. But for me, it's more like 10-20% freeway driving and a stick is just a Royal PIA.

[wingsdad]

I've never even driven a stick shift, much less owned such a car.

What's one supposed to do with one's beer when driving such a contraption?

Invest in one of these:

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b81/wingsdad/beerhelmet.jpg

[marnold]

It's actually remarkably hard to even get a car with a manual anymore, unless it is a performance car. I've only driven a stick once, and that was a Chevy S-10 late at night driving home from college. Once I got on the highway it was fine, before that, well, I think I still owe him a clutch.

[mapka]

I drive stick. The decision was based on two factors. First in my Subaru Outback the manual was better mated to the engine (torque curve). The manual made the car more usable and fun to drive. The second reason is a manual being more a mechanical thing then an electronic controlled box is much much less expensive when and if it needs repair.

[R_of_G]

Both of our current cars are automatics. I've owned several manual transmission vehicles before and would again, though as someone mentioned earlier, in stop-and-go traffic they can become a bit annoying. In the case of our current vehicles, the main car is automatic because my wife cannot drive manual. The other car is automatic, though as we purchased it used, had we found a comparable car for both price and reliablity that was manual, we'd have just as likely bought that one, though it is more convenient to have two cars both of us can drive.

[Bloozcat]

Of 'my' 7 cars I've owned and driven, 6 of them have been sticks - including the one I drive now and the previous 3. I generally keep my vehicles a long time. In the past 28 years I've had 3-Toyota 4WD trucks (2-pickups, 1-4Runner) and all have been 4-cylinder sticks.

I don't know how many different vehicles my wife had before we were married, but since then she's had 5-vehicles with 2 being sticks and 3 automatics including her current RAV 4.

Automatics are easier, I suppose, but I'm so used to a stick that I don't think about it much when I'm driving.

[Eric]

The other car is automatic, though as we purchased it used, had we found a comparable car for both price and reliablity that was manual, we'd have just as likely bought that one
I think that's about where I stand on it. I might like manual a smidge more, but since I never buy cars new (or anything other than very used, to be honest), it's almost sure to be trumped by whatever deal I get.

[deeaa]

I like automatics just fine but they're very rare here.

Automatics are nigh useless in winter at worst, and at best they are still kinda old guy's and housewives' choices. Can't drive sportily or have fun with an automatic, unless we're talking hundreds of hp etc. I liked the automatic on my Chevy Van, suited it very well, although I did have major problems with it in slippery conditions...then I wished for a manual. Having driven in the US and here, the culture is way different, people don't so much drive actively for pleasure in the US but more like use the car for moving around and prefer automatics. And at least in New York the roads didn't much make want to drive actively. Suffices to say I understood why american cars have such loose suspensions and big tires and no
feeling for the road - the roads were pretty bad largely and distances long. Again automatics are fine then. . Here every kid is a wannabe rallye driver and since they're 16 or so all they wanna do is drive rally around in the countryside etc.

When younger, I would have laughed at automatic drivers, but now I'd like one just fine, but the only problem is they don't last nearly as well. Manual trannies practixally never break even after half a million miles or more and just need an oil change every 300.000 or so but automatics tend to need oil changes often plus they often break and are costly to repair, especially I think cold winters are hard for automatics. The most often sold cheap american car here is with a busted tranny nobody can fix here, and a new one costs more than the car.

If I bought a new or almost new a car and knew I'd be selling it off in a few years again, I'd pick an automatic. With old car, or for keeps, definitely manual.

However, I suppose tranny repairs are much easier and commonplace in the us than here, so things could be different.

[Eric]

However, I suppose tranny repairs are much easier and commonplace in the us than here, so things could be different.
Probably slightly cheaper, but by the time a car needs an automatic-transmission rebuild, the price of one is still often close to the value of the car due to depreciation. I've had to scrap at least one car due to a dead automatic tranny, and it's one of the most important things I look for in cars these days -- transmission reliability.

Some car models (like the Ford Taurus) are almost guaranteed to have transmission problems if you were to own one for any length of time. In the past I might not have cared, but knowing what a danger AT failure is now, I would immediately blacklist such a car.

Too bad they're so rare in the U.S. It makes it seem unlikely that my next car will have one, since it's probably going to be slim pickings on the used market.

[marnold]

I just got rid of my Olds Achieva with 260K miles on it and the automatic transmission was just fine, despite never flushing it. Then again, I don't tend to drive in a way that would be the death of a transmission. Having gone out to the Rockies this past summer, if I lived out there I could definitely see the advantage of a manual for frequent transmission braking. You can do it in an automatic too, but I'd imagine that would be very rough on it.

[deeaa]

What I hear is it's indeed the motor braking that can hurt an automatic, as the liquids don't flow as well in forced mode vs. the drive mode, not sure.

Also, I've heard that the best thing to do to lengthen the tranny's life in cold weather is really let it run for a good while, like ten minutes or so, before dropping into gear and slamming it. Someone claimed that if it's -25 and you just crank it in gear the stiff oil in it will cause enormous pressure issues especially with engines with lotsa torque.

Probably quite true. The Chevy Van always was one very popular U.S. car over here but there's a LOT of them around with transmission problems. I never had any, but then again I only had it for like 50k or less, from 150 to 200k about.

[NWBasser]

An automatic is about the only practical setup here with our heavy traffic. I really enjoy driving a stick, but our traffic isn't really so much stop and go as it is stop, stop, creep a bit, stop, stop, creep.

Yeah, you'd burn up a clutch pretty quickly here.

Come to think of it, traipsing along with a walker or cane on the sidewalk would probably be quicker way to get around this area.

[SuperSwede]

In my case, a VW 6-speed DSG automatic gearbox the fuel economy is better than the manual version, and I can also use it to switch gears "manually" if I push it to the right. Its much more smooth to drive than my 5-speed manual Fiat.