Guest baseball Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I driven a manual since i got my license, never driven an automatic and don't want to either. From what i can tell they'd be boring as fuck to drive and whenever i've been in one with my parents the acceleration seems really sluggish. I say get a manual and just drive it for a couple of weeks, you'll never want to drive automatic again! In fairness you can get good automatics that you can really get to do what you want with your pedal foot. And now they have those tiptronic or paddle automatics allowing you to shift without having to deal with a clutch. I rented a car with that. It was too weird, I couldn't stand it. Automatics are boring to drive regardless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theambulancereview Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 How come no-ones mentioned the biggest point, automatics are fucking boring to drive. And, takes like a day and a half to be good at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgoodcore Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 In fairness you can get good automatics that you can really get to do what you want with your pedal foot. And now they have those tiptronic or paddle automatics allowing you to shift without having to deal with a clutch. I rented a car with that. It was too weird, I couldn't stand it. Automatics are boring to drive regardless. I'm not sure the traffic situation elsewhere but in LA traffic sometimes autos are a god-send. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mediocore Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 If you live in an area with a lot of traffic (stop-and-go, etc.), I'd go with an automatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeian Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I'm not sure the traffic situation elsewhere but in LA traffic sometimes autos are a god-send. i've gotten used to it.. it's not a big deal.. only thing for me that sucks when driving an manual is on the rare occasions that i get drive thru, i have small cup holders so if the cup is too big, it's a bitch to deal with.. that and eating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgoodcore Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I'm not sure the traffic situation elsewhere but in LA traffic sometimes autos are a god-send. i've gotten used to it.. it's not a big deal.. only thing for me that sucks when driving an manual is on the rare occasions that i get drive thru, i have small cup holders so if the cup is too big, it's a bitch to deal with.. that and eating Sure you get used to it but its not fun. I'd much rather drive an auto in traffic than a manual, especially when its down and dirty LAX-traffic-for-a-solid-hour type traffic. I mean I've been driving in and out of traffic for the better part of my almost 12 years of driving. I used to haul it to the Forum for Kings' games and now haul it to Staples in downtown almost once a week. All in my MINI Cooper S w/ a standard but sometimes I'd like to give me clutch leg a rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I'm not sure the traffic situation elsewhere but in LA traffic sometimes autos are a god-send. The one time I went to LA was for Coachella and my gf and I rented a manual car b/c that's what we both always drove. Well we landed at LAX around 4pm on a weekday and spent the next four hours in bumper to bumper traffic. It is a massive pain in the ass to have a stick-shift in those circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theambulancereview Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I'm not sure the traffic situation elsewhere but in LA traffic sometimes autos are a god-send. i've gotten used to it.. it's not a big deal.. only thing for me that sucks when driving an manual is on the rare occasions that i get drive thru, i have small cup holders so if the cup is too big, it's a bitch to deal with.. that and eating Haha, this is really the only problem I have with my manual car too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
translatingthename Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 it's not too hard to learn and once you do you'll never go back to automatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steventangent Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I agree with the general concensus here. My dad taught me how to drive stick before I even got my license and it's like riding a bike. It's bumpy at first but you'll get it. I actually owned nothing but manual transmissions until I got married almost 4 years ago. It was like poetry in motion driving to class every morning in my car, with no cup holder, drinking coffee and shifting. That's a good memory. My wife still can't drive a manual transmission. But she can shift a motorcycle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest baseball Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I rented a car with that. It was too weird, I couldn't stand it. Automatics are boring to drive regardless. I'm not sure the traffic situation elsewhere but in LA traffic sometimes autos are a god-send. Good point, wasn't thinking about traffic. I live in the city but work north of it so I'm driving away from traffic usually. Everyone is coming toward the city when I'm going away from it and vice versa, thankfully. Nothing worse than getting stuck in stop and go traffic for a couple hours with a clutch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theambulancereview Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 you are supposed to get better gas mileage with a stick too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cptchaos Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I learned to drive stick at Mitchell International Airport. A friend needed me to watch her car and house for a week, so she left me at the airport with her shitty 4-speed Chevy. What really worked for me was having to drive it alone. I had tried before with people instructing me, and it leaves you thinking too much about what they're saying. Have someone give you the basics, then drive around on your own. It's been mentioned here before, the trickiest part is engaging first gear from a stop. Just takes a little practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaps Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Get a 5 speed. Its not hard, have your friend who knows how teach you. Throw the car into neutral anytime you go down a hill. You will never go back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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