Topic: Manual transmission or Automatic?

[tpl]

It has always struck me as dumb that such a huge country has such low speed limits.  But I do realize that if they were to be higher it would be prudent to have a far more serious driving test and certainly an annual safety inspection with some teeth. The general public would consider either a "tax grab" so it will never happen.

[Erik]

For the first time in years, I don't own a manual. Really miss it. Yes, I have looked into converting the 300c to a stick. Not impossible to do!

[dr_spock]

My daily stuck in rush hour traffic driver is a manual.  It's not bad with my current 2.slow engine, gearing, and light clutch combo.  Before I had a manual Altima with a heavy clutch, it was not enjoyable in bumper to bumper traffic. 

My spouse can drive both auto and manual.  So transmission type is not a limiting factor on what kind of vehicle we can get.   Probably will have the kids learn manual when they are ready to drive.  Although, if I get my fun manual car by then, maybe they shouldn't know how to drive manual... 

[ktm525]

For me it depends on the vehicle. While I have had manual trucks before including a 318 V8 Dakota 5 speed I do prefer these in auto. Smaller sporty cars I prefer manual.

[erich]

"set the cruise to just under 100 kph, which most cops have the human decency to respect.  This can only be accomplished with an automatic."
My SAAB is manual and I can set the cruise control anywhere above 80 km/h.

[gord_boyd]

The Porsche 911 Turbo 1985 is 4MT and a lot of fun.  (5MT came the next year but there is so much torque, it does not matter).
My next family sports-like sedan choice would preferably be 6MT TL SHAWD 2012 as I write this.  But then TL gets a 3 MPG improvement
over previous 5AT in the new 6AT and they make mention of improved torque converter being significant.

One of the factors in sticking with these sedan choices are improved driving dynamics of BMW 1X-series which as I understand
it will come in auto only when it gets here.  When you consider number of SUV's and Trucks, somewhat better visibility
from sitting higher and the ease of getting in and out from a slightly raised vehicle are something I'm wrestling with.
Apparently family sedans are a dyeing breed. 

[Schmengie]

I learned to drive on a manual in the mid-70s and almost every car I've had since then was a manual. We can only afford to run one vehicle and since my wife began having hip problems we had to go with an AT. The Versa's an excellent car for what it is, but somehow rowing the gears in an econobox with no sporting pretensions whatsoever doesn't make the experience that much better. That said, if it was up to me, (and it isn't ) it would be a manual every time.

[CanuckS2K]

I learned to drive on a manual in the mid-70s and almost every car I've had since then was a manual. We can only afford to run one vehicle and since my wife began having hip problems we had to go with an AT. The Versa's an excellent car for what it is, but somehow rowing the gears in an econobox with no sporting pretensions whatsoever doesn't make the experience that much better. That said, if it was up to me, (and it isn't ) it would be a manual every time.

^ I actually enjoyed the 6spd in the Versa quite a bit after a number of test drives.  Though the Versa is a non-sporty econobox like you mentioned, I do think the 6spd suits the car much better than the auto.   

[ArticSteve]

I believe the limited change before metric came in , I REMEMBER SEEING SIGNS AT 70 mph and then dropping to 60 mph along the 400

You misunderstand.    Certainly regional changes of the speed limit were present for decades, but when Canada went METRIC all the speed signs in Ontario converted in 1977.

How did they get away with this?

1.  Generally the citizenry are stupid, so, and just like today, it always makes for a good platform to do something really ignorant by government.  Consequently, when the idea was floated many ppl thought that the metric limits were actually faster.    What those very stunned citizens didn't realize, before their fate were sealed, was that 80 kph was actually 49.9 mph, an absurdly slow speed limit to drive around most of Ontario.

2.  Fateful timing; oil shortage in the USA during the entire 70s.  The lower speeds limits were sold as helping the "oil crisis".  


The One Two Punch

  
The moment gasoline sales were converted to metric the Trudeau Libs slapped at huge tax on the pump price.  Again, ppl were too stunned/complacent to do the calculations into standard and realize just how much per gallon the increase actually represented.  This "liter" BS haunts us to this very day.

In 1990 gas would increase a few cents per liter and Canadians would just shrug and accept it.  In 1990, a bad economic time in the USA, I was in Lakeland, Florida, and over night gas went up 5 cents to reach one dollar a gallon all over the state.  It was huge news; papers and TV.  The next day every gas station in Lakeland had an armed employee standing outside with a shot gun.

The only way I'd vote for that scurvey dog Harponi is if he decreed (he's good at that) that all gasoline be sold in US gallons.  Consequently, stunned Canadians would then see 5 BUCKS per gallon rather than the measly $1.25 per liter and maybe, just maybe, WAKE UP!.

Same with the speed limits; back to mph.  

[Schmengie]

I learned to drive on a manual in the mid-70s and almost every car I've had since then was a manual. We can only afford to run one vehicle and since my wife began having hip problems we had to go with an AT. The Versa's an excellent car for what it is, but somehow rowing the gears in an econobox with no sporting pretensions whatsoever doesn't make the experience that much better. That said, if it was up to me, (and it isn't ) it would be a manual every time.

^ I actually enjoyed the 6spd in the Versa quite a bit after a number of test drives.  Though the Versa is a non-sporty econobox like you mentioned, I do think the 6spd suits the car much better than the auto.   

 I test-drove a 6-speed as well and found it somewhat on the vague side and the throws just a bit long. Maybe it was just the demo I drove, but the clutch was grabby and hard to modulate as well. The 5-speed manual on my 2000 Neon was far better, and that car was a lot more fun to drive. Definitely on the rough-and-ready side, but much more entertaining.

[Gamefreak]

The divided 4 lane highways in Alberta have a speed limit of 110km/h, so blame the provincial government, not the federal one.
I also drive only a manual.

[ArticSteve]

"set the cruise to just under 100 kph, which most cops have the human decency to respect.  This can only be accomplished with an automatic."
My SAAB is manual and I can set the cruise control anywhere above 80 km/h.

Sorry, not presenting my thoughts clearly.

What I am trying to express is that because the highway limits in Ontario (I'm not referring to 4 lane expressways) are so slow, a manual is tedious; a constant reminder.  Certainly cruise works on either manual or auto, but in my manual I can't keep it below 100 kph without getting annoyed so for trips down into the belly of the GTA I always opt for the automatic.  

[PJungnitsch]

For me it depends on the vehicle. While I have had manual trucks before including a 318 V8 Dakota 5 speed I do prefer these in auto. Smaller sporty cars I prefer manual.

That's true, it does depend on the vehicle a fair bit. My Mazda has a light clutch and gearbox and is actually pretty good, even in traffic. The Vibe on the other hand has a nice gearbox but a tall and heavy clutch and it's not that much fun.

On full size trucks, the domestics could never seem to put together anything decent, tall heavy clutches and long throw agricultural transmissions were the norm. Standard autos were the best things that ever happened to them.

[ArticSteve]

but somehow rowing the gears in an econobox with no sporting pretensions whatsoever doesn't make the experience that much better.

I'd agree with that.  I drove a Cube (essentially a Versa) back from Welland on a dealer trade with the CVT and thought it was infinity better than rowing the 6spd in the Versa.  Gas mileage is better in the CVT which is usually one of the main points in buying such a car.

[ArticSteve]

On full size trucks, the domestics could never seem to put together anything decent, tall heavy clutches and long throw agricultural transmissions were the norm. Standard autos were the best things that ever happened to them.

True, but I had one exception, being a 1988 Ford 150 (heavy half) straight 6 with a 5 speed Mazda manual.  Fantastic driving experience.

[toolatecrew]

Every car my wife and I have purchased has been a manual up till now.

Now we have an Auto Maxima (bought from a family member) and the GTI DSG. I would prefer a manual but the GTI was used. I wasn't even sure I could deal with not having a stick when I test drove it but it was too good a deal to pass up. I have to admit I don't mind it in traffic. If I had my choice I'd buy manual again.

[Jaeger]

But again though, without the third pedal it doesn't matter to me.  It might shift "like" a manual, but it's still not a manual.  I've driven a DSG and thoroughly enjoyed it, however my personal preference is still to have a third pedal.  To each their own.   

Agree completely.  DSG's are very quick, and newer manually-shiftable autos are getting even better in this regard - the Elantra I test drove recently was surprisingly good.  But there is NO EQUIVALENCE between tapping a stick or pulling a flappy paddle and working three pedals in conjunction with a true manual gearshift.

As for the old saw about manuals being a pain in bumper-to-bumper traffic - I find that a collossal pain regardless of the nature of the transmission.  An auto may make it marginally more tolerable, but that's all, and that's not nearly enough to offset how much I prefer drving a stick the rest of the time.

Jaeger

[tpl]

After driving a DSG for 3 years I think that I prefer a manual in stop and go traffic. Doubly so if it is slippery.
Note tho' that I have never had any injuries to ankles,knees, lower back or hip joints and that is part of why I have never had any problem with 1000 gearchanges per mile or some huge number of clutch actuations. A lot of my early driving experience was in and around central London in old cars with no synchromesh on 1st gear and not that much on the rest.

[No H2O]

I had an automatic...once.

It was on a winter beater that I was only going to own one winter.

It took a while to figure out the P R N D.

P: stands for Prepare
R: stands for Race
N: stands for Not Now
D: stands for Dash

Never again.

[Scarecrow]

All three cars (plus one motorcycle) in our current fleet are manuals.

Every car I've ever bought was a manual.

I never tire of rowing the gears.

When we shop for new vehicles, the first screen we use to filter choices is the availability of a manual transmission.  It narrows the selection in a hurry, these days.