Manual. I've had 3 manual and one automatic car. I prefer manual.

PANDURITO said:

Automatic is for sissies and Americans

I swear I thought that all Americans drove automatics!

Someone must have told me that once.

I used to have a semi auto, I loved that car. I miss my Alfa Romeo

fpr7 said:

I used to have a semi auto, I loved that car. I miss my Alfa Romeo

Is that where you have a gearstick, but no clutch?

I always wanted to try one of those.

Lisa10 said:

fpr7 said:

I used to have a semi auto, I loved that car. I miss my Alfa Romeo

Is that where you have a gearstick, but no clutch?

I always wanted to try one of those.

It was an Alfa so they had a fully manual gear box with a Selespeed auto changer. No clutch pedal but a conventional clutch worked by the Selespeed. 2 paddles behind the steering wheel, 1 up and 1 down or you can use the gear stick as s sequetial changer, push forward for up and pull back for down. She came alive in manual mode........

fpr7 said:

Lisa10 said:

Is that where you have a gearstick, but no clutch?

I always wanted to try one of those.

It was an Alfa so they had a fully manual gear box with a Selespeed auto changer. No clutch pedal but a conventional clutch worked by the Selespeed. 2 paddles behind the steering wheel, 1 up and 1 down or you can use the gear stick as s sequetial changer, push forward for up and pull back for down. She came alive in manual mode........

Driving that would fuck with my brain.

Lisa10 said:

fpr7 said:

It was an Alfa so they had a fully manual gear box with a Selespeed auto changer. No clutch pedal but a conventional clutch worked by the Selespeed. 2 paddles behind the steering wheel, 1 up and 1 down or you can use the gear stick as s sequetial changer, push forward for up and pull back for down. She came alive in manual mode........

Driving that would fuck with my brain.

mmmmmmm brainfuck

fpr7 said:

Lisa10 said:

Is that where you have a gearstick, but no clutch?

I always wanted to try one of those.

It was an Alfa so they had a fully manual gear box with a Selespeed auto changer. No clutch pedal but a conventional clutch worked by the Selespeed. 2 paddles behind the steering wheel, 1 up and 1 down or you can use the gear stick as s sequetial changer, push forward for up and pull back for down. She came alive in manual mode........

That's what my Acura has. The last model I had (2007) did it with the gear stick - they switched to the "paddles" this model year.

I can drive both, but I haven't had a manual transmission since I got rid of my 1981 Honda Accord hatchback. I learned on a VW bug. Daddy taught me and gave up after 2 lessons on a hill. Was about 17 years old at the time and he just got too frustrated. No biggie. Since we lived in a small town in New Jersey, I just drove the car to the country and practiced there until I got the hang of it. I haven't driven a stick in years, but it's like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget.

Now I prefer automatic. I don't feel the need to speed and burn rubber, plus shifting is work. I enjoyed downshifting!

I don't own a car, but I can drive both. I grew up on a farm, most of our older tractors are manual. My car was actually an automatic, but I asked my dad to teach me to drive manual in high school, using his big Ford pick-up. I swear, the gear shift was about 3 feet long. I almost drove into a ditch because I was trying to push in the clutch and wrestle with the gear shift.

I'm not great at it (especially if I have to start on an incline) but I can drive manual if necessary -- it came in handy when I lived in Chicago. My ex- bought a 5-speed Audi TT convertible and didn't know how to drive stick; the first night we took it out he kept killing in on major thoroughfares so I convinced him to let me drive it home. OMG, it was fun driving that car. He burned out the clutch in 2 days.

If I lived in a rural area and had a car, I might consider having a manual transmission; but there is no way I would buy one if I lived in a city. I hate driving the way it is - I don't need the added stress of shifting!

.

[Edited 9/24/10 8:33am]

Genesia said:

fpr7 said:

It was an Alfa so they had a fully manual gear box with a Selespeed auto changer. No clutch pedal but a conventional clutch worked by the Selespeed. 2 paddles behind the steering wheel, 1 up and 1 down or you can use the gear stick as s sequetial changer, push forward for up and pull back for down. She came alive in manual mode........

That's what my Acura has. The last model I had (2007) did it with the gear stick - they switched to the "paddles" this model year.

I found the paddles better while "tanking it"

fpr7 said:

Genesia said:

That's what my Acura has. The last model I had (2007) did it with the gear stick - they switched to the "paddles" this model year.

I found the paddles better while "tanking it"

Genesia said:

fpr7 said:

I found the paddles better while "tanking it"

Driving fast.

Genesia said:

Automatic. Why I gotta do everything? Let the damn car shift itself.

PANDURITO said:

Automatic is for sissies and Americans

fpr7 said:

Genesia said:

Driving fast.

Thank you.

CHIC0 said:

Genesia said:

Automatic. Why I gotta do everything? Let the damn car shift itself.

Ya know? I hate a sense of entitlement - and cars are not exempt.

Genesia said:

fpr7 said:

Driving fast.

Thank you.

jone70 said:

I don't own a car, but I can drive both. I grew up on a farm, most of our older tractors are manual. My car was actually an automatic, but I asked my dad to teach me to drive manual in high school, using his pick-up. I'm not great at it (especially if I have to start on an incline) but I can drive manual if necessary -- it came in handy when I lived in Chicago. My ex- bought a 5-speed Audi TT convertible and didn't know how to drive stick; the first night we took it out he kept killing in on major thoroughfares so I convinced him to let me drive it home. OMG, it was fun driving that car. He burned out the clutch in 2 days.

If I lived in a rural area and had a car, I might consider having a manual transmission; but there is no way I would buy one if I lived in a city. I hate driving the way it is - I don't need the added stress of shifting!

.

[Edited 9/24/10 8:25am]

[Edited 9/24/10 8:26am]

2 DAYS?!?!? Dayum! Po puppy. I never understood folk who bought their first cars with sticks and didn't know diddly about how to drive them! I had two friendsgirl (Judge Joe Brown's word ) who did that. I had to teach both of them how to drive their cars.

One of them was stopped on an incline on a busy DC street and kept stalling when she tried to accelerate. She didn't understand why, and traffic was piling up behind her. Finally she said a man approached her and saw what the problem was and told her to get out of the driver seat and he would get the car to level ground.

Genesia said:

CHIC0 said:

Ya know? I hate a sense of entitlement - and cars are not exempt.

RIGHT.

i turned you on...NOW GO!

CHIC0 said:

Genesia said:

Ya know? I hate a sense of entitlement - and cars are not exempt.

RIGHT.

i turned you on...NOW GO!

Damn straight!

I drive both. My first encounter with a manual transmission was a relatives (Veedub) Volkswagen Beetle. But if you want real control get behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler and learn how to shift 8 or 10 gears, etc..

Double clutching, shifting with out using the clutch. Shifting by ear or using your tachometer to shift.

Double post.

[Edited 9/24/10 9:51am]

Shyra said:

jone70 said:

I don't own a car, but I can drive both. I grew up on a farm, most of our older tractors are manual. My car was actually an automatic, but I asked my dad to teach me to drive manual in high school, using his pick-up. I'm not great at it (especially if I have to start on an incline) but I can drive manual if necessary -- it came in handy when I lived in Chicago. My ex- bought a 5-speed Audi TT convertible and didn't know how to drive stick; the first night we took it out he kept killing in on major thoroughfares so I convinced him to let me drive it home. OMG, it was fun driving that car. He burned out the clutch in 2 days.

If I lived in a rural area and had a car, I might consider having a manual transmission; but there is no way I would buy one if I lived in a city. I hate driving the way it is - I don't need the added stress of shifting!

.

[Edited 9/24/10 8:25am]

[Edited 9/24/10 8:26am]

2 DAYS?!?!? Dayum! Po puppy. I never understood folk who bought their first cars with sticks and didn't know diddly about how to drive them! I had two friendsgirl (Judge Joe Brown's word ) who did that. I had to teach both of them how to drive their cars.

One of them was stopped on an incline on a busy DC street and kept stalling when she tried to accelerate. She didn't understand why, and traffic was piling up behind her. Finally she said a man approached her and saw what the problem was and told her to get out of the driver seat and he would get the car to level ground.

Was her gear in 3rd instead of 1st gear? That's what happened to me one time when I first was learning how to drive a manual and I kept stalling at the stop sign. The horns were honking like something crazy, they even drove around me, I was so dern embarrassed. Then I figured out that I thought I was in 1st gear when I wasn't, lol.

[Edited 9/24/10 11:10am]

Lisa10 said:

PANDURITO said:

Automatic is for sissies and Americans

I swear I thought that all Americans drove automatics!

Someone must have told me that once.

Lisa10 said:

fpr7 said:

It was an Alfa so they had a fully manual gear box with a Selespeed auto changer. No clutch pedal but a conventional clutch worked by the Selespeed. 2 paddles behind the steering wheel, 1 up and 1 down or you can use the gear stick as s sequetial changer, push forward for up and pull back for down. She came alive in manual mode........

Driving that would fuck with my brain.

My Yukon is an automatic and my Toyota pickup is a manual.

missfee said:

Shyra said:

2 DAYS?!?!? Dayum! Po puppy. I never understood folk who bought their first cars with sticks and didn't know diddly about how to drive them! I had two friendsgirl (Judge Joe Brown's word ) who did that. I had to teach both of them how to drive their cars.

One of them was stopped on an incline on a busy DC street and kept stalling when she tried to accelerate. She didn't understand why, and traffic was piling up behind her. Finally she said a man approached her and saw what the problem was and told her to get out of the driver seat and he would get the car to level ground.

Was her gear in 3rd instead of 1st gear? That's what happened to me one time when I first was learning how to drive a manual and I kept stalling at the stop sign. The horns were honking like something crazy, they even drove around me, I was so dern embarrassed. Then I figured out that I thought I was in 1st gear when I wasn't, lol.

[Edited 9/24/10 11:10am]

No, I don't think so. He just didn't know what he was doing. Everytime we would have to stop at a red light, he couldn't get the car to move when it turned green. It would do the shaking/convulsion thing, then die. I think he didn't know when/how to let off the clutch and press on the gas at the right moment. He would kill it when shifting gears, too. We were on Pulaski Boulevard, which is a major road, and I was so worried we were going to get into an accident because the car was constantly stopping in the middle of traffic.

I have never really liked driving, but after driving that car with the top down, down the Eisenhower Expressway I totally got how people could like driving. That car was SO fun, and shifting a little 5-speed sports car was completely different (and easier) than trying to shift a huge, 5-speed farm truck!

Genesia said:

CHIC0 said:

Ya know? I hate a sense of entitlement - and cars are not exempt.

Can drive both, but WAY prefer an automatic. I want any extra thinking or moving I have to do while driving to be related to music, coffee and sightseeing.

Glad somebody else mentioned the paddle shifters with no clutch pedal. I'm kind of a Top Gear junkie and some of the best made, fastest cars on Earth are now being designed that way. Not all of them, but some.