Standard or Automatic?

[21pro]

I love standards as I love driving... though i think the clutching and shifting has caused me to have lower back problems. since going with the Tundra w/ automatic that includes controlled shifting i have the best of both worlds... and my back is feeling alot better than when i drove my standards in the past...

 

[Aardvark154]

It depends a great deal on the type of driving one does - mostly rural and/or highway, or stop and go. Also on the vehicle - hybrid vehicles would defeat their purpose with a standard transmission.

 

[KBear]

Have owned several cars with automatic or standard transmissions, and was thinking for go back to standard at one point, but it will likely never happen. The fun, and novelty of the standard transmission quickly wears off in stop and go traffic and the automatic transmissions are more efficient now then standard.

My current car has the controlled shifting, but I hardly ever use it. With the continuously variable transmissions coming out now, the controlled shifting will also likely be a thing of the past.

 

[JohnHenry]

Automatic.

Try driving a standard in stop and go traffic on a hill, you have to work the clutch overtime being careful that you don't stall or roll into someone. How is that more control?

Guess you get about a month out of a clutch.
Try using the parking brake, and releasing the parking brake, as you let the clutch out.

 

[Gentle Ben]

Automatics are for girls!

Is that why your car is automatic then Anon?

for me,everyday card automatic all the way , for a fun car, standard.

 

[hunter001]

Yup, you're wrong.

If your battery is stone cold dead, there is no power to fire the electronic ignition. No power, no sprk (or glow plug for a diesel).

And if your battery is almost dead and below 10 volts DC (IIRC) your alternator won't charge even if you do get the car running. The alternator needs to "see" a certain amount of elelctrical curtent before it can start "alternating" and producing elelctrical current. The old direct current generator (not around since the fifties) would produce electricity completely on its own and how much was dependent on it's speed.

However, in real world conditions where your battery is just dead enough to click-click the starter relay but not turn over the engine... a push start with a manual transmission will most likely start the car.

Well I have seen it work. Never really got itnto why... Thanks.

 

[Hornet]

Under normal driving conditions, standard. At traffic jams, definitelly automatic.

Agreed. Standard is so much more fun to drive but in gridlock or on regular busy city streets with many traffic lights it's more of a pain than anything else.

 

[K Douglas]

I've had 6 cars in my life and 5 have been standard. I took my driving lessons on a standard vehicle. For pure driving pleasure its much better than automatic. That said in traffic I hate it.
I'm looking at a Jeep Grand Cherokee as my next vehicle, guess I got to go automatic for the 2nd time.

 

[TRX]

all the cars that I had are standard and more fun to drive

 

[fuji]

It used to be that automatic sucked and anyone who know what they were doing could save gas and wear and improve performance by learning standard.

Not so anymore.

Modern automatics are much better than all but the best drivers, and even then, perform as well as the best drivers ever ordinary situation.

Most people who think that they are somehow cooler for driving standard, or doing a better job than the automatic, are just idiots fooling themselves.

 

[S.C. Joe]

It used to be that automatic sucked and anyone who know what they were doing could save gas and wear and improve performance by learning standard.

Not so anymore.

Modern automatics are much better than all but the best drivers, and even then, perform as well as the best drivers ever ordinary situation.

Most people who think that they are somehow cooler for driving standard, or doing a better job than the automatic, are just idiots fooling themselves.

True, look at police cars, they are all autos. When you are chasing somebody, the last thing the driver needs to remember is what gear the trans is in

I believe auto trans cars are safer too. Theres too much happening on the road for a driver today to think about shifting gears.

But I like to see motorcycles get ban from the roads too. Both are not going to happen.

 

[C Dick]

I used to love standard, most of my cars have been standard, but my latest truck is automatic, and it is really good. It does not shift inappropriately or hunt on hills or anything like they used to. I doubt I will buy another standard sports car, most likely I will buy a Lincoln instead.

 

[a 1 player]

One can't reaaly drive until they are able to smoke a cigarette, drink a coffee, talk on the cell phone and drive a standard at the same time. Come to think of it, that should be the standard Ontario test.

 

[canucklehead]

I have a Triptronic on my Audi .... but i do prefer standard....

 

[blackdog]

Manual transmission is the only way to drive. People who complain about starting in hills dont know how to drive. My last car had the flappy paddles, i hated them. My new car has a stick and thats the way i like it. More control, use less gas, better in snow, more fun, less wear on brakes. Manuel wins.

 

[shakenbake]

Actually, if your battery is stone dead, you can not start it anyway, anyhow.

No battery = no power = no spark = no go.

The gererator provides the power while the engine is running. The battery is there only to start the car, and to buffer the varying power output from the generator. So, if you have a dead battery, the car can still run. Starting the car would require a rolling start, which could be done more easily with at clutch-type transmission (aka, standard). It has been done before.

 

[shakenbake]

Better in snow. How? Less brake wear. How? Fun maybe, but I not sure how many donuts, peels, hand brake u-turns and wheelies you do in a day but....

I wonder if anyone who uses automatic actually take it out of overdrive in bad conditions or in the city for that matter. You'd be amazed at the improved driving control you have.

In the winter, many, many times, I have been able to move with my stickshift, while others around me with an automatic were stranded, spinning their wheels and could not get the car rolling.

 

[bigdik]

Guess you get about a month out of a clutch.
Try using the parking brake, and releasing the parking brake, as you let the clutch out.

Or just learn to drive. Parking brakes are for parking.
And donuts.

A sportscar with an automatic is like seeing an SP without oral. Still gets you where you want to go, but not nearly as enjoyable.

 

[shakenbake]

Then others around you don't know how to drive. I've not been stuck for long yet, knock on wood, and have help others get out of trouble just by using the AT more effectively. It's a case of not thinking AT does it all and using you head.

Good point. However, a clutch allows you to better control the power delivered to the driving wheels. I have driven both in my nearly 30 years of driving, and can attest to the superiroity of the manual transmission in the winter.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

I hate standard I can't even drink a coffee with it.

Plus being in a busy parking lot in a mall is a real bitch