MANUAL vs AUTO (I promise it's not a repost)

[PHEOX]

Originally Posted by Revo1

Personally I only need one speed

Flinstones is the way it will all be done one day, we won't have to worry about gas or anything, just make sure you don't trip!

[PQ]

Originally Posted by NicksVSix

I'm not challenging you here, but I'd like to to explain those points you made further if you could, because I don't understand wjat you mean.

A few weeks ago I visited my dad and brought my new Camaro (M6) to show him. We took it for a drive, he tried it and he really liked it. Then we took his car, a 1962 Porsche 356B out for a spin. I was able to shift just as easily as I can in my Camaro. I didn't notice a single difference, other then when the clutch engages and how far the stick has to move from one gear to another.

But in all other regards, the 1962 car was no harder to shift than the 2010.

How is it that 2010 Camaros are easier to shift than their predecessors?

Ok, now go back about 30 even further than that.

And my point is that for the guys who say it's 'Old School', and 'Trditional', and 'True driving whithout letting the car drive you' , those guys are the ones I'm talking about. Makes me laugh. Because to a guy who's driven the onld 30 and 40s cars, the manual transmisions today are basically an automatic. OR take a truck driver. For him (and I drove trucks for years) to hear someone talk about needing skill to drive a manual tranny is a joke. 99% of manual transmision drivers would not be able to get into an 18 wheeler and shift gears. Not without being trained on how to do so.

That's what I'm refering to. 'Yesteryear' in this case can be longer than 50 years.

[PQ]

It simply makes me laugh at the guys who talk about it as if it's hard to do. It's so freaking easy it's not funny and yet some of these guys wear it as a badge of honor or something. They should try getting into an old model T or a modern 18 wheeler and shift gears. They couldn't do it. They'd have to learn how to 'truly' shift gears. Because these pansy assed tyrannies meshed with the synchronized sissy gear boxes are a joke. So for me to drive an auto instead of a manual is like the same thing. To me they are both automatic. I drove trucks for years.


I'd just as soon keep my A6 instead of fake it with an M6.

[NicksVSix]

Originally Posted by PQ

It simply makes me laugh at the guys who talk about it as if it's hard to do. It's so freaking easy it's not funny and yet some of these guys wear it as a badge of honor or something.

It may not be "hard" but it certainly more of a challenge than driving an auto. I mean all you have to do when driving an auto is slam the accelerator to the mat. That's it.

Please note I am not slamming automatics or those who prefer them. They certainly have their charms and I find myself, on occasion, regretting not having gone with an automatic for my Camaro.

But please don't say that driving a manual these days is just as easy as driving an auto. It isn't. Thats why I miss an auto at times, I find myself thinking "Jesus, this would be easier in an auto!"

[NicksVSix]

Originally Posted by PQ

Ok, now go back about 30 even further than that.

And my point is that for the guys who say it's 'Old School', and 'Trditional', and 'True driving whithout letting the car drive you' , those guys are the ones I'm talking about. Makes me laugh. Because to a guy who's driven the onld 30 and 40s cars, the manual transmisions today are basically an automatic. OR take a truck driver. For him (and I drove trucks for years) to hear someone talk about needing skill to drive a manual tranny is a joke. 99% of manual transmision drivers would not be able to get into an 18 wheeler and shift gears. Not without being trained on how to do so.

That's what I'm refering to. 'Yesteryear' in this case can be longer than 50 years.

Why are we comparing cars made today to cars made more than 50 years ago?
Of course things are going to be better/easier. EVERYTHING is better/easier than it was over 50 years ago.

If anything, we should just be comparing Camaros of today to Camaros of yesterday, or just pony cars in general.

Were the 1st gen Camaros easier to shift than cars made 30 - 40 years previous? Probably. Are 5th gen Camaros easier to shift than 1st gen Camaros? Probably not in any noticeable way.

Are manuals still more of a challenge to drive than autos? Of course. They were then and they are now.

[NicksVSix]

Originally Posted by PQ

I'd just as soon keep my A6 instead of fake it with an M6.

How many times do you think A6 drivers have stalled their vehicles?
None, right?

I've stalled my M6 a few times, as I'm sure many M6 drivers have.
There *is* a bit more to driving a manual than there is an auto.

[coolcamaroZ28]

Just more fun. When I drive my Dad's 99 Vette (auto), my thought always is 'too bad it's not a stick' Much more control over the vehicle than an auto. I had the chance to drive an automatic 2010 and I found working the tapshift to be a challenge far beyond the clutch in the M6, LOL.

[skuttduck]

I still am not sure what to make of some of the comments. Yes I've lurked and read the threads.

I had automatic for the last 10 years. My Camry is great, however I had more control on the snow and ice with my 1989 Toyota Corolla All Trac wagon because it was manual.

That being said I know to turn off the overdrive if I am driving in slippery conditions. In the manual I just adjust and downshift if needed.

Now if this truely was like PQ seems to say, and you just slide the lever to shift I would have gotten auto, as it would have been just like the 3 wheeler we had. You had to change gears but there was no clutch. Plus i've stalled my car every now and then.

I bought a Camaro, if I wanted to just press the gas pedal to make it go, I would have bought probably another Camry.

I still don't understand the real appeal of the V8 automatic. Most people will raz you about not having the V8 when you have the V6, but doing the research shows you that you paid more for less of a car. Isn't the whole point of giving someone grief about NO V8 the horsepower. If it is, then you are insecure, and fail.

Now if you enjoy the car and stop saying what you car do, and stop spouting off how much better it can do because you've done these mods, or on paper it can do this around the track, and you got these numbers by strapping it to the dyno... Then you are the type of person I can talk to reasonably about the car.

Now as for the v6. I like the underdog!

I also like the fact that I don't get people asking me to drive my car because it is a manual, and it frightens people.

[Rip]

A6 drivers are sissies. I drove a Model T backwards to school in the snow up a hill holding my lunch box both ways.

Er, something like that.

[JClay]

Manual vs. Auto have some similar aspects of V8 vs. V6, especially when the argument of “What real men drive!” scenario.

You can see that the demographic for SS are 40+ in age, and the LT is for 21 and up. People who brought the SS with a Manual most likely use to manuals. It will be a rare occasion for someone to buy a manual with no prior experience with one.

With the younger generation you will see them choose automatics because that is what there is accustomed to.

One reason NASCAR doesn't use automatics because that would take out the skill of the driver. Not saying skills is based on shifting but it is a major part of it.

[ketel0ne]

Try driving a manual 54 miles each way to work, with the last 12 miles in stop and go traffic, that averages 25mph. After the 100th time you push the clutch in, the A6 looks real good. I stopped driving my M6 Vette to work because of those 12 miles.

[ketel0ne]

Originally Posted by Blackbean

I'm puzzled, if automatics are so superior to manual transmissions,why don't INDY, Formula 1, Nascar, Usac,and Nhra cars use them to a greater advantage? I bet Harleys with automatics would sell like crazy.
Could it be that to properly keep the engine at the peak of the torque curve,under varying road conditions,a manual has some benefit,not to mention saving the brakes by downshifting.Then there is the gallons of atf that must be cooled and the weight of the auto versus the manual.
There are people who are not really performance centered and enjoy the point and shoot operation of an automatic.Lexus, Infinity,Audi,Benz,and Acura have sporty cars that come with automatics,and are really fast but few are manual shift.They know their demographics,and they are different than Camaro's.

I have never driven a INDY, Formula 1, Nascar, Usac,and Nhra car to work either. I guess I just don't see the advantage they would provide me on the toll road.

[Huck1974]

I love the auto in my tahoe.
I have driven about anything with wheels, including trucks.
I prefer to shift in a sports oriented car.
It is not dying. The manual tranny will be alive for longer than I will. A lot of us would quit bying the cars if it is not offered.
I think that you should buy whatever you want and not be given a hard time for your choice. They are all nice cars although I could not drive the junior version of anything I have purchased. They still look the part though.
Some of us do not find shifting to be work.
Im not real sure about the analogy on old cars. I have owned a 69 rs ss that was not any more difficult to shift.

[soniccj7]

I have been driving stick for 20 years(wow that long?!?) and just bought an automatic pickup 3 years ago. In my opinion it is preference. Today's automatics are worlds better than 5-10 years ago.

Going back to how today;s standards are much better, I agree. My daily driver is a 1982 CJ-7 with a 4 speed transmission form a 1970 Ford F250 with a granny first gear. I still use first due to gearing and have to double clutch when going from 1st to 2nd. So when driving my Camaro it is much much easier, but I love them both.