Quote:
Originally Posted by joey
Well, in contrast to most folks in this thread, I unabashedly prefer auto transmissions. I had the chance to drive a manual recently, and while I got the hang of it soon enough, I didn't fancy the extra attention I needed to pay toward shifting whenever approaching (or departing) stops. I got interested in manuals for the FE advantage, but it's no longer worth it to me. I'd rather lose a few MPG and maintain a much more enjoyable driving experience than gain the MPG and devote any more brainpower to managing the vehicle than necessary. Especially when in stop-and-go traffic (e.g., city driving), driving a manual quickly becomes a chore (at least for me). I can drive less to make up the difference, but when I do drive, I don't want to battle the car. YMMV.
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Understood, and nicely put. Christ's comments hold true; here's some other things. A LOT of hypermiler types take the manual for the ability to drop it in N and shut down (FAS) or install some sort of injector kill-switch knowing that there isn't any worry about transmission damage, whether or not they are "flat-towable," etc. It's stuff like this that allows one man to take his 2007 Honda Fit Sport with a 5-speed into 65+ MPG territory. Another thing is that folks can swap out lower gears and get better ratios - not possible on autos.
I will agree about the extra brainpower, with one caveat - time. If you have a desire to learn manual, and work hard at it, I'd say it takes a good 3 months before your brain is fully trained on it. At that point shifting isn't something you *do,* it's something that just happens.