Stick or automatic?

[B-O-B'03]

I have owned and driven both over the years.
My current fleet is 25% stick.

1999 Mustang GT - Auto - used to be the wife's, now is my crappy weather car.
2003 SVT Mustang Cobra - stick, 409 HP at the tires, ordered in May and delivered in September of 2002, still brings a huge smile every time I start it
2006 Cadillac DTS - auto, inherited from my FIL
2013 F150 - auto, wife's daily and camper hauler

I replaced the clutch in the Cobra at around 75K miles, considering how it is driven, no complaints. I love this car and when I die my kids can fight over it. Lots of tire roasting fun for sure.

-Brian

 

[Dave Schwaab]

I get a kick out of people who think driving a manual transmission is some big deal accomplishment.

It's not so much that it is such an achievement, it's really not all that hard, it's how it connects you to the whole process of driving, and making the car do exactly what you want it to do, not unlike the feeling of putting your shot right on target or sticking your landing in an aircraft.

 

[fiasconva]

One of our family cars had a stick when my kids were learning to drive. I made sure both of them learned to drive a stick before I would let them get their license. They both laugh at their friends who cannot drive one. My son still prefers the stick while my daughter prefers the automatic transmissions.

 

[Durango Dave]

I prefer manual transmissions. They are more fun, especially when driving a sports car which are made to be fun.
Now when driving a work truck, maybe a tow vehicle I'd settle for an automatic. Otherwise give me a stick and a clutch. Not just a paddle to switch gears for an automatic.

 

[Mike J]

I get a kick out of people who think driving a manual transmission is some big deal accomplishment.

I don't think it is an accomplishment so much as a skill that is being lost. Stick shifts used to give you a lot more control than an automatic. I believe that is less true now.
They were also less expensive to repair & a lot more fun to drive. I don't believe I would enjoy driving a stick as much now as I did in mid 80's but I also don't push the envelope very much these days. I liked to keep things on edge back then.

 

[RSIno1]

Everything is auto - except my Model A and the racecar. The Model A has been upgraded with a 39 trans so 2nd & 3rd are syncro. The racecar has a 5 speed that has been converted to a dog box so I usually never need to use the clutch once it's rolling. https://www.google.com/search?q=tre...#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:c50c587a,vid:rjL1wDEkjYY

 

[Fox Mike]

I have owned and driven both over the years.
My current fleet is 25% stick.

1999 Mustang GT - Auto - used to be the wife's, now is my crappy weather car.
2003 SVT Mustang Cobra - stick, 409 HP at the tires, ordered in May and delivered in September of 2002, still brings a huge smile every time I start it
2006 Cadillac DTS - auto, inherited from my FIL
2013 F150 - auto, wife's daily and camper hauler

I replaced the clutch in the Cobra at around 75K miles, considering how it is driven, no complaints. I love this car and when I die my kids can fight over it. Lots of tire roasting fun for sure.

-Brian

What did you do to the SVT's engine. Factory is saying 390 at the wheels.

 

[RC44Mag]

What did you do to the SVT's engine. Factory is saying 390 at the wheels.

Actually they’re 390 at the crank which is the way the manufacturers rate the cars. At the wheel hp is about 15%-18% less, give or take.

 

[Lt Choate]

A couple of "twenty-somethings" have a mobile vehicle detailing business and they do a good job at good price. So.... I scheduled for them to come to farm and do some vehicles. One was my old '97 Ford F-350 with manual tranny. I pulled it over close to where they were set up. They were very polite and approached their business with good attitude. As I was walking back to house, I told the leader that if they wanted to move the truck I left the key in it and just make it convenient for them. He told me "Sir, we will probably have to call you as neither of us can drive a stick shift."

Unbelievable.........

 

[pyth0n]

Until I read the first post, I thought, by the title & this being a gun place, the discussion was about bolt actions vs automatic firearms.
Drove stick most of my life. Now automatic. Nothing to prove.
But I have thought if we switch all cars to manual, we'd cut down on drive by shootings & high speed chases (stuck in 1st).

 

[pyth0n]

My Harley has a standard transmission, does that count?

Yes. Since there are now auto trans MCs.

 

[Gary Lee]

I might be a bit rusty, but I can drive a vehicle equipped with a manual transmission. However, I much prefer the convenience of automatic transmissions.

 

[Watertender]

My 2020 Chevy Colorado Work Truck has an automatic transmission and a 4 cylinder engine. It's 2wd and is the nicest vehicle that I have ever had. I can carry 4 foot pipe wrenches in the side boxes and there is plenty of room for anything I need toolwise.
I learned to drive on farm trucks when I was probably 8. They had blocks taped to the pedals and I had a board with a phone book on top to see over the steering wheel. One was a 1947 International KB6 with a 5 speed and 2 speed axle. The other was a 1948 Ford F5 with a 4 speed "growler" transmission. Both were 6 cylinder with the Ford being a flatbed and the International having a dump hoist. I could split shift with no problem and double clutch in my sleep. I miss driving them but they were scrapped many years ago.

 

[Jack Ryan]

It's not so much that it is such an achievement, it's really not all that hard, it's how it connects you to the whole process of driving, and making the car do exactly what you want it to do, not unlike the feeling of putting your shot right on target or sticking your landing in an aircraft.

May be it is for you. It is nothing like that for ME. It is just driving. It is a bare minimum "skill". It is what you do to "go", none of that other hyperbole. If you can't drive a "stick" you can't drive that is all. I never owned an automatic until some time in the 90's and there is nothing new you are going to tell me about using a clutch, I've driven them all and owned half of them. From a Honda trail 70 to Harley Davidson and a dozen in between. Model A's to Chevrolets. 40 Ford trucks to delivery trucks and VW to drag race hot rods. They all have their little quirks but if you can drive one, you can drive them all.

Nothing mystical about any of it. All it takes is someone to slap the "I can't" out of some of these whiney people.

 

[eveled]

driving a standard is easy, really not much of an accomplishment. It is a life skill, like swimming. (Google search indicates 18% of American drivers can drive with manual transmissions)

Teaching someone else to drive a standard? Now that is an accomplishment! Some people just don’t get it.

 

[Dave Schwaab]

May be it is for you. It is nothing like that for ME. It is just driving. It is a bare minimum "skill". It is what you do to "go", none of that other hyperbole. If you can't drive a "stick" you can't drive that is all. I never owned an automatic until some time in the 90's and there is nothing new you are going to tell me about using a clutch, I've driven them all and owned half of them. From a Honda trail 70 to Harley Davidson and a dozen in between. Model A's to Chevrolets. 40 Ford trucks to delivery trucks and VW to drag race hot rods. They all have their little quirks but if you can drive one, you can drive them all.

Nothing mystical about any of it. All it takes is someone to slap the "I can't" out of some of these whiney people.

Fine. So driving is just a chore for you. Something that needs to be done to get you from one place to another. No problem. People DO need to get from one place to another and however you do it is okay.

I'm just saying that some of us actually ENJOY driving. That freedom to be able to get into our car and go wherever we want, whenever we want. To feel the car respond to our every input and become one with the road as we feel it rise, fall, twist and turn under our wheels.

I no longer race sports cars, as I did when I was younger, but I still like the feeling of just DRIVING. Others, I'm sure, feel much the same about other things that they do, like flying, sailing, skiing, riding (horses or bikes), playing a good round of golf or just having a good day at the range.

 

[B-O-B'03]

What did you do to the SVT's engine. Factory is saying 390 at the wheels.

Actually, the factory rating was at the crank, but, they were way under rated (possibly to make up for the, non-supercharged, 1999 version that missed the HP mark and had to be recalled).
The only modification I made was adding a full, from the manifolds back, Magnaflow exhaust. I put it on a dyno, after the exhaust was installed and it made 409 HP/392 FT-LP TRQ at the wheels.
I will have had the car 21 years this September and still love driving it, having put 84K miles on it so far. Top down + Mgnaflow humming = big fun.

-Brian

 

[Bob Wright]

I learned to like automatics early on. I didn't have to turn loose of Nita's hand to shift gears.

Bob Wright

 

[mikeyr]

I have been driving since the mid-70s, stick then and still stick now. My daughter also drives a stick and still does, she went to buy a new car in 2021 but ended up with a 2020 because it was the last year they made that model in stick. My wife is the only one with an auto.

 

[375hh1973]

I remember dog sitting once for my aunt and uncle when they went on vacation to Scotland for 3 weeks.

They filled up the fridge with food and beer, left some cash on the counter and told me to drive their cars to save wear and tear on mine.

Sweet!

Went to the garage and saw both were sticks.

Dang.

 

[Tensaw]

I still drive my 2005 BMW 330i with manual 6 speed. Took in to BMW service for airbag recall. Four out of five service personnel could not drive a manual transmission.

 

[nvbirdman]

My car doesn't even let you choose gears. Just forward, neutral, and reverse.

 

[Topfueler1]

I drive both, stick and auto. How about a youngster now driving a 3 speed on the column, they can't even drive a shifter on the floor. Last column shift I drove was a collector car '61 Chevy Impala about five years ago.

 

[NC FNS]

Was always a stick guy, but had the occasional auto. But, age and a torn acl have discouraged me from getting another stick since trading in my ‘13 Mustang with the 3.7 and 6-speed stick.
I remember talking to a Honda salesman in 2004, and he said the ratio of automatic vs manual Accords sold had gone from 50-50 to about 98-2.

 

[Ablediver]

Here's my $.02:

I started on my brother's Powerglide auto in 1970. I drove sticks' of my own from 1974 to 1998. Autos intermittently throughout to the present. Commercially, I started driving semi's in the yard when I was 17. Learned how to drive a 'two-stick' ( 5 main, 2 aux.) the right way, with one hand! For the next 20 years, drove every manual, electric shift and, air-shift rear axle / transmission known. I never had a blown clutch, trans, (gotta be careful with that these days), rear -end or engine. Never, had a runaway and I did a lot of heavy weight in the Northeast mountains.

These days, I drive an auto. With a prosthetic in each leg, 38 screws, and a pelvic plate, it limits my ability for right arm rowing and double-clutching. However, it does limit my necessity for some dive weights (LOL)

Ablediver out

 

[caryc]

Just saw a news report stating why are all Americans driving an auto, instead of a stick?
When I was a teen, my father who was a truck driver bought a large flatbed truck with not only a 4-speed stick, but it also had a red button on the side which required the truck to be double clutched. My father showed me how to drive it and was amazed at how well coordinated I was driving it.
Years later, wife and I bought a 1969 Toyota Corona for $2300 with a stick. During the last five years I owned it, I would screw up the clutch, because I used to "ride" the clutch pedal and have to get a new clutch every year, $150! Thereafter, every car/truck I have owned has been an automatic. Currently have an 2001 Chevy S-10, X-Cab, I bought used for $6K with only 88K mi. on it in 2008. Currently only has 144K miles on it. Whenever I have bought a used vehicle, I consider myself ahead, if I only have to spend $1000/yr on any major updates/repairs. Right now, I am breaking even.
So, what do you drive? Stick or Auto?

Why would you ride the clutch pedal? It seems a weird thing to do.

 

[Ranger]

Have both. Manual in sports car. Auto in everything else. Auto is more practical for most people and especially those drive through windows or stop lights on a slope. Manual is nice when you don't just want to pass; but to see some serious mirror shrinkage after you pass.

 

[Ranger]

There can be a tendency to ride the clutch on uphill slopes to help hold your spot.

 

[caryc]

There can be a tendency to ride the clutch on uphill slopes to help hold your spot.

Sorry, I don't understand that. I drove a 5 speed toyota carolla for many years and can't figure out what you mean.

 

[Ranger]

If idling on an uphill slope (like at stoplight or some fast food drive through), it will roll backwards (unless has anti roll feature or shift to neutral and hold brake or... keep the clutch engaged just enough to hold the vehicle in place).

The manual transmission vehicle will also tend to roll back when first moving forward again. That is why you should never be too close behind a vehicle on an incline at a stoplight or drive through.

The Toyota may have the anti roll feature. My 6 speed Trans Am does not and I've seen a lot of others roll back at stoplights.