Anyone here ever switch to stick from automatic and happy they did?

[Zenmervolt]

I switched about a year ago and even though I commute every day for about an hour in traffic I do not regret it. I can see how it would be an annoyance for some though. I really, really enjoy driving and I like the added control that a manual transmission offers, as well as the increased attention that it requires I pay to driving.

There's nothing "wrong" with an automatic though. Even I will admit that it's more convenient, and 90% of the time a manual doesn't have a real advantage.

ZV

 

[GTaudiophile]

I would only switch to an AT if I wanted to fall asleep behind the wheel...or simply become a less involved, less aware driver.

 

[caboob]

I love driving manual but since 80% of my driving is in gridlock traffic, it is much less stressful driving automatic. Someday, my future "weekend" driver will be a manual.

 

[OutHouse]

ill never own a stick again. riding the clutch in heavy traffic going 1-4mph FTL. I hate stick.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: everman
There's no way I'd use a manual for a daily commuter, it's terrible in bad traffic, and harder to use a cell phone or drink coffee etc.
If I was buying a high powered sports car then yes it would be manual, of course.

Good. Maybe you'll focus on, say, driving?

- M4H

oh please... you mean to say you have never talked on the phone or god forbid took a sip of something to drink while driving?

do you drive with your hands at 10 and 2, the radio off and check your mirrors every 10 seconds?

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: everman
There's no way I'd use a manual for a daily commuter, it's terrible in bad traffic, and harder to use a cell phone or drink coffee etc.
If I was buying a high powered sports car then yes it would be manual, of course.

Good. Maybe you'll focus on, say, driving?

- M4H

oh please... you mean to say you have never talked on the phone or god forbid took a sip of something to drink while driving?

do you drive with your hands at 10 and 2, the radio off and check your mirrors every 10 seconds?

This is ATOT dude, EVERYONE is perfect, duh. 😛

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
I would only switch to an AT if I wanted to fall asleep behind the wheel...or simply become a less involved, less aware driver.

less aware of what? shifing gears? yea you become one with the road when you shift gears....:roll:

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
I would only switch to an AT if I wanted to fall asleep behind the wheel...or simply become a less involved, less aware driver.

less aware of what? shifing gears? yea you become one with the road when you shift gears....:roll:

He's saying that you have to do more while driving a stick shift, which is true. And in doing that, it will keep you awake because you have to switch gears in order to get from point A to point B. I can see what he's saying.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
I would only switch to an AT if I wanted to fall asleep behind the wheel...or simply become a less involved, less aware driver.

less aware of what? shifing gears? yea you become one with the road when you shift gears....:roll:

He's saying that you have to do more while driving a stick shift, which is true. And in doing that, it will keep you awake because you have to switch gears in order to get from point A to point B. I can see what he's saying.

Basically, you HAVE to pay attention (freeway excluded) to drive stick...it's forced upon you. You cant be in top gear when crawling, and you can't be in low gear all the time either, so you're *forced* to pay attention to the road in order to select the proper gear. Even though youre forced primarily for switching gears, you're more aware of your surroundings nonetheless.

 

[Fayd]

dunno, shifting becomes second nature to me, and feels natural and doesnt require thought.

 

[50cent1228]

Originally posted by: Tizyler
I drove a 93Civic for years, it was automatic. I recently switched to a BMW325i which is Manual. I'm sure I would be happy with the car either way, but I'm REALLY glad I chose stick. I honestly prefer stick and I don't see myself going back to automatic for a long long time. Its a lot more interactive... I actual feel like I'm driving.

ps: it doesn't take long at all to learn.

i agree with this post

 

[her209]

Agreed. Imagine my disappointment when I found out Toyota Double Cab Tacomas don't come with manual transmission. Grrr....

 

[animalia]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
My first two cars were autos, my current one's a stick. I'm guessing that I'll swap between the two for the rest of my future cars. There are times I don't like an auto, and times when I wished I had one. The biggest feeling I notice when getting back into an auto car is that they feel like they're trying to drag me through an intersection compared to when I drive a stick, I just feel like I'm on the brake alot more.

<-- has yet to need to replace his brakes on his car. (I do keep an eye on them)

wait? you use the brakes more on a stick?? I use em more on automatics....

 

[gamepad]

first car was stick, then i got automatic. i still miss stick...

 

[Conky]

Being somewhat of a car nut I've had a lot of cars, both stick and auto, and I prefer auto. I lived with high power cars and their required super stiff clutches and manual shifting gets real old, real quick... especially if you have to commute for a job in bad traffic. Plus, being with a date the stick gets in the way of all sorts of things. 😉

Automatic is just easier. I will consider a manual transmission if I decide to purchase a new Shelby Cobra GT-500 Mustang(it's all they come with right now) or if I decide to look at Ferrari's some day but that's it. Give me my auto trans, air, and power windows!!! 😀

 

[OVerLoRDI]

My first car was a minivan that was obviously automatic, my next car was a 1989 Isuzu Trooper, 4 cylinder 5 speed manual. Even though the trooper was the most under powered car ever (100 hp with a 4500 pound car) I would take it just for the stick. You become much more in tune to the car, you have a lot more control over what it does and honestly I find myself driving slower with a stick because you can easily tell how fast you are going by what gear you are in and the sound of the engine. Once you get used to a stick it becomes second nature.

The other benefit of sticks is apparent in your example, you found a sweet deal on a stick. Stick's don't retail for nearly as much as their automatic comrades because most new drivers these days can't drive stick or don't want to.

Driving stick in rush hour totally sucks.

In the end there is nothing like putting your foot down and shifting through the gears or down shifting in turns and accelerating out of them, especially if you car is at all quick 😀 (Wasn't exactly exciting in the Trooper 😛 )

 

[dbk]

I don't really care about cars. As long as it doesn't cause me trouble and has all the usual amenities. Of course, I prefer automatic. I drove manual ('93 Civic) for about a year.

 

[Evadman]

I drive both. I like both.

 

[Thoreau]

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage

Originally posted by: slag
and most of that crowd has never had an accident.

It is possible to pay attention to the road and lift a cup of coffee to your lips or answer the cell phone or whatever.

I'd like to see you back that up.

It states here:

Current records show that most American driver?s will have a near motor vehicle accident 1 to 3 times per month and will be in a collision of some type on the average of every 5 to 8 years

I would venture a guess that nearly everyone here who has been driving >5 years has been involved in some kind of accident.

Now, I'm not saying there is a direct relationship there, I'm just saying that you can't argue the fact that talking/eating/drinking while you are driving causes an impairment. Maybe not as much as knocking back a few beers, but it is still an impairment.

Having said that, it will always be statistically better to pay attention to the road with no distractions then to have a cell phone conversation or a meal while you are driving.

Why wouldn't you make that choice?

People with low IQ's are also impaired... let's just make sure they don't drive either. Wait, your state apparently doesn't follow that logic either!

 

[Thoreau]

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage

Originally posted by: purbeast0
Wow so it went from simply talking on the phone when I have a call to arguing hysterically with my girlfriend ... way to exaggerate.

I think you have to look at the edge cases. Can you say that you will never have any type of heated exchange on the phone while you are driving? Obviously, doing so presents a larger danger then talking about what you want for dinner.

If I drive with one hand as is, how is holding a drink to my mouth to sip it out of a bottle or straw, all while paying attention to the road, going to affect my driving significantly enough to make me get in an accident?

What happens when you have to look down to put your cup in the cupholder? What happens when you look down at your phone to see who is calling you? What happens when you look at your phone to scroll through your phonebook?

Do you see what I'm getting at here?

Also how is holding a phone to my head for a minute or two and talking any different than talking to someone in the car while driving with one hand?

If anything the cell phone would be LESS distracting because I wouldn't be inclined to turn my head and look at the person I'm talking to.

Talking with someone in your presence and talking to someone on a phone are drastically different. It takes a lot more effort to have a phone conversation than to have a face to face talk.

That aside, I won't argue that talking to a person sitting next to you in the car is also a marginally distracting activity.

You really are taking extreme cases here. I didn't say I was eating a hot dog while drinking a 2 gallon jug of soda while screaming at my girlfriend on the phone. I simply said taking phone calls or sipping on a drink.

Obviously, I am trying to present the outer limit cases here because it is those types of situations that generate accidents.

Aside from the exaggerations though, if someone slams on their brakes and swerves in front of you, you will always be safer having both hands on the wheel and your full attention on the road at the moment that it happens. If you are looking somewhere else when that happens, you will have less of a chance of avoiding the accident.

I guess I'm just biased. I take driving very seriously, and yet I see women putting on makeup and I see people reading the paper strewn across their steering wheel. I see people gabbing on cell phones, texting, and thumbing their blackberry's. That's just stupid in my book.

Let's see, where to start?

First point: How hard is it to simply hang up when you get annoyed with the person on the other end of the call?

Second point: Why would I need to look for my cup holder? It's in the same place it's always been. Looking at caller ID is equally as irrelevant as any person who I would answer a call from while driving has a custom ringtone. What's more, I don't need to scroll through any phone book. Voice activate dialing.

Third point: Okay, no more chatting with your passenger... ever. =)

Fourth point: I don't care too much if someone does slam on their brakes. I won't be rear ending anybody. EBD, ABS and VDC are three very nice acronyms to have. Unfortunately, my car's stopping distance is roughly 15 feet shorter than the majority of the vehicles on the road, so I'm the one who will get rear ended anyway. Gap insurance, and every other form of insurance ROCK!

I will, however, fully agree on the utter stupidity of putting on makeup, reading the paper, texting, and using a BlackBerry. Having had a BlackBerry for work off and on for the last three years, I quickly realized that it simply is not something that mixes with driving except when parked.

Oh, and on topic, I drive an auto. I do truly love the thrill of dropping the clutch in 1st gear at 4500 RPMs in a 350z (ask the salesman, hehe) but Phoenix driving is almost always stop and go, be it highway or surface streets. That, and the only driving I've done in a manual has been test driving cars (a bit of a pasttime/hobby of mine, just for fun) so I haven't really fallen into the comfort zone just yet. I did manage to go from a dead stop on an uphill climb for an off ramp while test driving a manual RSX Type S and didn't stall, stutter, grind, or anything. That was probably the only truly smooth shifting I've ever done in my life. Stalled my friend's Z, and an Ion Redline on a test drive, more than I care to remember tho. =)