Oh, yeah yeah... I wasn't meaning to say that I chose a manual over an auto strictly because of past mechanical problems. (Although they may have influenced my decision a little bit.) I just don't trust a computer to control my shifting... call it a phobia...

My last car was a '98 Prelude Type SH, which is only available in a 5-speed... and kicked ***, BTW. Before the MR2 and the 300ZX, I had four VW Sciroccos, all of which had manual transmissions. The only problems I ever had with those was a burnt clutch plate in the '81 "S", and a snapped clutch cable in the '86 16V.

No, I definately picked the 5-speed in my Protege ES for the fun & control factors above all else.


~OMW

 

Oh ok.. that's alright then.. ..

As for the computer control thing.. a lot of people here seem to feel that way.. so I'm obviously out of the norm (which is fine, I usually am anyways).. but I trust my car to handle the brakes.. airbags.. lighting explosive gasoline on fire a few feet from my body.. etc.. I sure as heck trust it to switch gears

 

I drive a auto for two reasons:


I was very VERY sick the day I bought my P5 and my father was with me. Under my weakened state I let him talk me into the auto. (I don't even know how I got home I was so out of it.)

Cause my P5 is just my daily driver around town the auto is fine for me. It's paid off a few times like when my mom's Thunderbird died out on her for a week and she had to drive my car to work.


Anyway, if I get an RX-7 it'll be stick. If I get a Grand National it'll be auto.

 

Auto all the way plus in a race....if your racing aginst a manual and they miss a gear that auto will win everytime...and I get good gas mieage with my auto 27-31 MPG depending on how i drive it....and these tranmissions are intellgent...they shift on how your driving..

 

you're mistaken dude...
with a manual you control the engine and the revs..in an auto the car does that for you so you dont have the same degree of control.
in a manual you have to become more skilled driver and you have to be constantly aware of your road conditions to be able to shift properly.
no rally driver drives an automatic. in any racing driving you need to control the engine/car with downshifting and upshifting, you can shift into the best gear to get optimum results while an automatic needs to sense you intentions so it's much slower to respond.

 

I wouldn't rely on that if I were you.

 

Highly unlikely. Automatics usually only have 4 gears, which means they are taller and therefor it actually takes longer for the engine to get the car up through the gear(s), or at least up into the sweet spot in the power band. (Especially first gear from a dead stop.) Like I mentioned before, I had a 300ZX auto that was never able to keep up with 5-speed 300ZX's. (non-turbo cars) And I lost count of all the Beretta GT's, Cavalier Z24's, Probe GT's and even V6 Camaros I stomped the snot out of with my '98 5-speed Honda Prelude. Those cars that had manual trannys gave me good close runs (sometimes), but the autos... sheesh... excuse me while I yawn going across the finish line. I was usually topping out second gear before they even realized the light had turned green. Granted, there are other factors to consider besides just the transmission type, but my point is that thier automatics were anything but an advantage.

An auto may not miss gears, but unless you have some cojones (i.e. torque) under the hood, it's certainly not a guaranteed win.


~OMW

 

manuals are better for racing on low powered cars. High powered race cars can and will do better with a well built automatic.

 

High powered drag racing cars use purpose built drag racing automatic transmissions.

High powered cars in any other kind of racing are better off with a manual tranny. CART, AutoX, Touring, etc..... all use manual tranny and most of these cars are at 500+ hp.

 

I was referring to drag racing.

 

Is that when you wear a dress, make-up and a wig? I think you'd have to have an auto because it would be most difficult to shift in high heels!

 

I think he wears his runners when going to the "show"....you know what i mean the drag show

 

my P5 is a manual - way more fun to zip around with the manual. didn't even test drive an auto.

now, the P5 is my first manual car. i didn't know how to drive stick when i bought it. leap of faith that payed off although the test drive was an embarrassing experience.

my mustang 5.0 is an auto. which kinda sucks but kinda doesn't. it's my cruising convertible. it weights a ton and has a soft suspension (relative to the P5 anyway). in other words, it's big, slow and handles poorly. a manual wouldn't help anything.

 

my 95DX was an auto and I liked it in that it was easy to drive in traffic....etc so thought I wanted to get a new Prot. in auto. Test drove the Protege5 in auto and then in manual.....no contest. Manual was way more fun. Then decided I wanted the lighter sedan.....but just had to get a manual.....car is just too much fun with the manual!

 

manual, i would not be caught dead in a automatic.

along with everything yall have said, it also weighs quite a few pounds more too.

i also like to do tricks... i dunno how i would do tricks w/o a manual tranny.

only way i'd get auto is on a lumina er a buick er something that doesn't come in standard form.

manual DOES suck in traffic however. commute in an automatic car for a week and switch back... see?

i ride motorcycles so i want my car to be comfy and nice. still i would fall asleep if it wern't for a shift-it-yourselfer.