Why do you drive an automatic (unless you don't)?
 

I've been wondering for a while what people's reasoning is for getting a car with an automatic, so I thought I'd start a poll. I think I've thought of all the general reasons, obviously explaining more in a reply is even better :)

As for my family's Sonata, we weren't able to get a used one with a manual in our price range. At first I hated the auto (first I'd ever driven), but it's growing on me. A DSG gearbox would be nicer, as it gets a bit annoying having to pay so much attention to keep the TC locked up as much as possible while going up inclines on the highway. And gas mileage in the city is rubbish.

In DFW, manuals are hard to find. I got an auto because out of all the vehicles I test drove, the one I found had the most will to survive and it happened to be a 3 speed automatic (bah never again!). I bought it with 134,000 miles, it has 200,000 now.

I got an automatic so I could drink while driving (coffee!). Seriously though, when I bought my car mileage didn't matter to me as my fuel is cheap and the mileage is already very good. Automatics are convenient in stop & go driving. I regret that now, as VW automatics are unreliable and expensive to repair. When my transmission fails I will most likely be swapping a manual.

I don't like the idea of rolling into the guy behind me at a stop light while on a hill.
I tried to learn to drive a manual car as a teen and completely failed. Now as an adult, I don't see how that i could just go buy a car with a manual and drive home without first getting comfortable with it.
I'd end up stalling at every light, or miss a gear. I have enough to worry about while driving without worrying about what gear i need to be in.

...although we've driven sticks for years & years, here recently, a bum left knee has reduced the wife to driving only automatics.

...and, that's why *we* drive automatics.

Because automatics get more chicks.

All of the cars and the truck at work are automatic and I would ever buy one, they are harder to control, they get worse mileage and make the vehicles all feel sluggish.
I've taught a handful of people how to drive a manual and it tends to take me an hour from the time we first start before I can have them doing a hill starts smoothly without using the hand brake.

I couldn't find my car in a manual.

I know what you mean about the control thing, until I got in the habit of using manual-mode to engine brake before corners, it felt like I was driving around corners in neutral.

The sluggish thing is interesting, I find that our Sonata is amazingly quick from 0-40mph, but after that it really wants a stronger lockup so it doesn't have to rev so high to get up to speed (as in, lockup and then accelerate).

I've never bothered to learn to do hill starts without the handbrake, but now that I've heard it talked about twice on here in the last day, I'm going to have to teach myself.

Learned to do hill starts in a 66 Catalina with a 3 on the tree. Talk about roll back.

My car at this time is an auto it was my fathers car. My wife's car is a 5 speed. If i were going out to buy a car I would be looking for a stick. Always liked the feeling of control especially when coming down a mountain road.

This is contingent on the type of driving you do. We live in citified environs (suburbia). I once owned a car that I bought new that was a manual and I enjoyed it, but the clutch was shot by 40K miles. Not that I don't know how to clutch, (believe me, I DO). But realize that when you drive almost exclusively in city traffic you cannot avoid needing to clutch and shift a lot, a great deal more than if you are in a rural environment doing mostly highway driving.

So for us having automatic transmissions is a 'must'. And changing the automatic tranny fluid helps too. So far none of my vehicles have needed transmission repair with over 100K miles on each, whereas one with a manual clutch would have worn out and needed replacement several times by now.

one of each, the E-350 turbo diesel van is an auto. it's good for towing, i've heard the sticks burn clutches really fast with a 10,000# trailer. the civic vx is a five speed, i don't really care either way, i will eoc an auto and drink coffee in a five speed. they each have their trade offs. i will say when i have a broken leg (twice in the last 3 years) i have gotten really good at clutchless shifting and timing lights, but you still need the clutch once in a while, hurts like crazy

Old Tele man -

I have the manual and my wife has the automatic. She also has a bum knee. But, my Mom is in her 80's and she *prefers* a manual, which she only learned to drive about 15 years ago.

CarloSW2

The poll is missing an option.

"I couldn't get the car I wanted with a manual because TOWMBO can't drive stick and said no."

Driven both type easily over 100 k miles over the last 44 years. At 60 years I prefer an auto, but I do ride a motorcycle that gets over 80 MPG.

The 08 Altima CVT is quite nice and the wife has a 09 Rogue with the same engine and transmission. Nissan extended the warranty on their CVTs to 10 years and 120k miles.

On my car the torque converter locks up at 15 MPH when you accelerate slowly. It can go to 50 MPH and never exceed 1500 RPM.

As you get older, living in a very congested area, where traffic jams can catch you in a 3mile one hour crawl, driving a manual can be very frustrating.

When I coast in neutral in the Altima and shift back into gear, the car is amazing, at 45 MPH the RPMs stay at 1k for a couple of seconds before the TC locks back up, which with the CVT is basical a direct mechanical connection like a manual.

ON cruise control the RPMs doe not change when you climb a grade, as long as it is not severe they stay the same, unlike most automatics.

I prefer to concentrate on my situtional awareness over having to add thinking about shifting and other in car duties. To many stipid drivers around me all the time here.

If I lived out in the boonies, I would probably drive a stick, but the wife can't stand to be that far away from a $^&*() Wall Mart.

regards
Mech

I'm thinking I should've added "I'm spoiled and have a DSG or CVT" because while they are automatic, they are nowhere near as crap.

Maybe one day someone will make a CVT with an automatic clutch instead of a TC, I'd almost certainly take one over a manual.

Pretty sure the original Honda Insight had that configuration.

Nice thing about the TC in the Altima is they use it like a clutch, with lockup at very low speeds to minimize the losses, but I don't have to worry about replacement of a clutch. I love the idea of a 6 speed dual clutch automated manual transmission. It follows my philosophy of the best of both worlds, especially when you consider the vast majority of drivers choose autos.

The old slush boxes are another thing altogether. I would never own another one of those, but many have more serious financial considerations, and my hat is off to them for working to get decent mileage.

regards
Mech

They should add stick shift to drivers ed, The US is probably the only country where most people buy automatics. Other countries only teach stick, since any chimp can figure out an automatic, and would probably be appalled to drive one having learned stick :)

Of the seven vehicles I've owned, five were manuals, including my last two. I find I can get much better fuel economy with a manual.

I live in an urban setting (Tampa Bay) and have no problems with sticks. The only vehicle I ever had any transmission problems with was an automatic, which cost a fortune to fix.

The S10 crew cab I drive didn't come with manual. This truck meets mine and my family's needs pretty well, so I can't complain too much.:o

BUT...if I had the money to, I would swap it over to manual in a heartbeat. :)

Well, because it's the only $2000 VW Tdi i've seen. For ~42mpg, I can live with it, although it happens to have several of my least favorite car features:
It's red
It's automatic
Its aerodynamics are a lie (it looks like it'd be good, but i think my old e30 bmw flying brick actually cuts the wind better)
It's foreign, in so many ways.
It's expensive to fix major systems

This poll is missing an option: "I have driven both and prefer a manual."

That is the assumption if you are selecting anything other than preferring autos or only driven autos. I'm assuming (possibly stupidly so) that virtually all people who drive a manual have also driven an auto at some stage.

Ideally the poll would ask which transmissions you have driven/which you prefer, which your current car has, and if the preferred and current don't match, why it ended up that way. Unfortunately VBs polls are not advanced enough to cover all the options without having a massive list of combinations.

The Focus was originally my grandpas and it had an automatic. So when I got the car it had an automatic. I wish it was manual though. Maybe i'll swap the transmission some day.

New Zealand and Australia both have more automatics than manuals, at least in new car sales (and for NZ, freshly imported used Japanese cars).

NZ has an automatic-only restriction for the 'restricted' (no passengers or late night driving without a supervisor) license if you don't take the test in a manual, but there is no transmission restriction on a full license. A lot of people in NZ decide to go with the auto-only restricted license according to a driving instructor I was talking to, so much so that few driving instructors offer lessons in a manual.

Australia will only allow you to drive a manual if you sat your driving test in a manual, so if you take your full license in an auto, you'd have to have a supervisor with you if you were going to drive a manual.

Personally, I think that everyone should drive a manual unless they have a physical condition preventing them from doing so, as having to pay some attention to your car makes it harder to text, eat, sleep, drink, talk, and play monopoly with your kids while you drive.

On the bright side, many of our carjackers are so ignorant that they can't drive a stick car away. :rolleyes:

LOL, I got my learners permit at 15 years 8 months. Took the test in a 1958 VW. The clutch was slipping so bad I thought I would not be able to get the car moving when the 300 pound State Trooper got into the passengers seat.
It might have well been an automatic HeHe. The next thought was "Oh God I hope he doesn't go through that rusty floor!"

He only marked me down for parallel parking, but a lot of that was because I really couldn't see very well around him!

No outside right mirror didn't help either.

How about making them get their license on a motorcycle ;).

regards
Mech

bnmorgan -

I've also heard that Ferrets aren't too good at manual. That's what I've heard, anyway.

CarloSW2

Old Mechanic -

I did my test in a 1972 VW Karmann Ghia stickshift. It never really occurred to me to do it any other way. We also had a 1971 Chevy Impala with automatic. That would have been a disaster to parallel park. Later on I got my motorcycle license in a 1972 Honda CB 350F. 374 lbs isn't heavy for a lot of you, but it made the test *very* interesting for me at 130 lbs.

On another note, the driving tests weren't very hard. I'd never have passed the Finland tests, then and probably not now.

CarloSW2

I drive an automatic mostly because I have a bad knee and ankle (on both legs actually, the gas peddle is slightly painful). Driving a manual is physically painful for me. Also I bought used, and this was the best deal I could find. Used cars are expensive chicagoland, for nearly new. I bought still under warranty.

Angelus359 -

Sorry to hear that. What would happen if your right leg was the bum knee? Would you learn to drive with your left leg? I think that would be like driving a UK stickshift for me.

CarloSW2

When I had to drive a slushbox-equipped fleet car, I drove switchfoot to alleviate the boredom. It's amazing how much worse the fine motor control in my left ankle was. The biggest problem is where to put your right leg.

I heard on NPR that GM used to sell pedal relocation kits for Saturns for people with bum right legs. If they don't make one for your car, that's what DIY is for.

Angelus: May I recommend an auxiliary hand-throttle?

I drove an automatic only once. I had to tie my left foot to the seat to keep it from workin';)

First time I drove an auto (which was only 5 months ago), I was fine as I was thinking about it. Now that I use both cars regularly, if I have only driven one for a while and change, I'll make stupid mistakes like hitting the brake in an attempt to use the clutch, or forgetting that you have to press the clutch when you come to a stop.

Out of curiosity, roughly how many cars have you driven? The idea of being somewhere where autos aren't commonplace is crazy (in a good way) as someone who has relatively few peers that have learned to drive a manual.

Let's see, in Europe: Škoda Felicia, Opel Corsa, Peugeot 206, Peugeot 307 (not counting one-timers), all manuals. In the US: Mazda 626 and Honda Civic, both manual, plus a rental automatic (can't remember make).

If you just want to get in and go, then an auto is good, but if you want any control over what is going on, then a manual (or extended hypermiling schooling) is a must. Some people believe that in Europe driving students should first learn to drive an automatic, since it's easier, and then learn to shift when they get their own car. My opinion is that using a stick shift should be taught from the beginning, before it's too late.

I agree with the learning in a manual first. For one thing, you can't go 50km/h straight away, you have to learn how things work first. Before I drove on a road with traffic, I'd already had a few hours practice with starting, stopping, turning, reversing etc. The way lots of younger people drive on the road (and fail at parking), it is obvious they learned to drive by just getting in and going for it.

In Europe is it normal to go to a driving school before you can drive on the roads, or can you learn with your parents/other adult?

Cars I have driven would number in the thousands.

DeTomaso Pantera
Jag XKE
59 Corvette
Every Nissan imaginable
several VWs
Owned 6 Plymouth Valiants
1937 Ford
Alfa Romeo 73 GTV
72 BMW 2002
Rebuilt around 200 salvage vehicles and drove every one of them at least 1000 miles.
2X59 Austin Healey Sprites
67 383 Formula S Barracuda
340 Duster the day after it was sold new in 1970.
Every Chrysler muscle car from 1966 to 1973
Sectioned and channeled 49 Plymouth businessman's coupe on a Nissan truck frame with a 240Z engine
98 MB 230 SLK
Toyota truck, Corolla, and a Scion XB.
66 Chevy Van, the first vehicle I rebuilt in 1973.
ETC,etc,etc.

One of the reasons I like to drive automatics is my thumb joints are just about worn out, along with a lot of other joints that were subjected to a lot of stress over the last 60 years.

Sometimes even typing can be uncomfortable, and on occasion painful.

Plus a bunch of different motorcycles.

Work on vehicles for a living for 30 years and drive them for pleasure for 44 years and you loose count of the miles and number, over 700k miles possibly much more.

regards
Mech

I drive an auto by choice because working the clutch irritated my lower back and the Dr. suggested getting away from the clutch.

I'm thinking that I should have split "prefer auto" into two, one for medical reasons and one for other reasons.

I drive the truck (manual) when I can and my wife drives the car (auto).
I wish I could get a manual in the car. It is nuts having to stick with an auto.
The 4T60E tranny won't let me do the lockup conversion from what I have been told.:confused::( I wish it would.