Manual or Automatic?

Manual all the way.

Pros

• More fun
• Most cars are cheaper if you go manual
• Can control your RPMs which may lead to more MPG
• Can start your car if the battery is dead.
• People who don't know how to drive manual can't drive your car
• Cheaper to change the transmission fluid

Cons

• There are none.

I learnt to drive using auto, so when it came it time for learning to ride a motorbike I had a pretty difficult time. I'm getting better at it, but I kinda wish motorbikes were auto.

It kind of depends. More often then not I go automatic because I just don't need a manual and an automatic is easier to live with day to day. I live in an area with a lot of hills, I don't race my car, and often I'm eating and drinking on the road and dealing with a manual would be a bitch while doing. It's just easier for a car that I don't need to be anything other then a good, reliable car that I don't have to think about. If I were racing or towing something or had a big payload in a truck I'd want a manual. But, in my life currently, neither of those things happen.

I only know how to drive automatic, but I would like to learn manual. Driving becomes a whole body deal at that point. Right now, I can drive with my right hand on the wheel and my left hand sitting idly on my lap.

This is also a con.

Anyone that doesnt enjoy having a car change gears for you is either a pro race driver or a masochist.

Not if you don't want people to drive your car. It's 50/50. Even if we call it even and remove it from being a pro, there are still no cons.

I enjoy technological advancements that make things easier. Thus i prefer automatic cars. I'm not one of those tools that acts like being able to drive a manual makes me a better person.

If it wasn't for this outdated ego-trip that manuals are better then they wouldnt really be made anymore.

Technology, advancement and innovation ftw.

I'm not sure how it is in the US but in the UK almost everyone learns to drive a manual. I'm not sure I could live with an auto, I think I would just find it boring.

Manual. I feel more in control of this hurtling mass of steel when I can also decide the gear ratio. Manual zealots are super weird though. Lots of people like automatics for pretty obvious reasons, I just prefer manual.

Why pay attention that 2 tons of mass you have in motion when you could just hold on and chow the fuck down! Yeah! Yes I'm being an ass but that shit pisses me off.

I feel way more connected to the car and the entire driving experience with a manual.

I'm one of those jerks who thinks manual is the only way to go. For me, driving a stickshift is incredibly enjoyable while driving an automatic is a chore. The quality of the car doesn't even matter; I drive an early '90s Sentra and there's just something about slipping it into gear...

Cue car porn music:

You have driven a manual in heavy stop and go traffic right? ..... that shit is annoying and tedious. WAY more than any of your "pros" count for. BY FAR. Also all your "cost benefits" are non-existant or minimal at best.

Do you also enjoy rotary phones? VCR's?

Aside from specialized vehicles and equipment that require manual transmissions theres really no real reason for them anymore aside from personal preference.

Oh and its also way easier to blow your transmission with a manual too. I had a buddy working as a mechanic, he constantly had to fix manuals because people suck at shifting.

If you prefer manual, thats fine, but don't act like they're objectively better because they're not.

Automatic. Cause I'm ever too lazy to learn how to drive a manual clutch.

I love the feel of manual but automatic for sheer convenience.

I live in a city with stoplights everywhere. Having to flip around between first, second and third every 30 seconds would be incredibly tedious. Unless you take your car to a professional race circuit there is no need to drive stick in a city. At this point modern automatic gear shifts are almost as fuel efficient as manuals and probably even more so if you're a hothead trying to race every soccer mom at a red light when driving stick.

Driving stick is kinda like over clocking your computer - the enthusiast will get a kick out of it but a majority of PC users can live just fine without it.

What the fuck is up with all the weird hatred in this thread? Jesus Christ....

I just said there were no cons and there really aren't. Sorry if I don't have problems handling a manual in traffic. I did delivery for 3 years with a manual in rush hour. It's not that big of a deal.

The cost difference is there. Automatics cost anywhere from $1,000 - $2,000 extra when you buy a car that had the option for a manual transmission.

Okay, so your buddy is a mechanic, he will see the most fucked up shit that people do to their car. Only people learning to drive stick or screwing around have a chance of destroying the transmission. Anyone who knows how to drive stick will not have an entire transmission get destroyed unless there was already something going wrong with it. A clutch will go out before the transmission and at 88,000 miles on my car, it is still working just fine. When I bought the car it had 4 miles if that means anything.

I wasn't saying automatics are a piece of shit. Automatics are perfectly fine.

I swear this thread has a lot of anger for no reason.

I like both for different reasons, but prefer manual overall.

EDIT: to fit in. you all suck.

Everybody play nice now

Shut your whore mouth

@tycobb: What weird hatred? No one is spazzing or insulting anyone. I was merely disagreeing.

Auto, We've spent millions of years evolving. (Depending on what your beliefs are). I enbrazzer the technology and drown in the utter convenience of the AUTOMATIC stick shift.

Girl, when you know how to use it, it don't matter.

It's cause people are the most dickish when they drive.

bwahahaha

Then again, I don't own a car, and probably the cost factors weigh heavily in favor of manual.

But to say there are no cons... if I could choose between a manual or auto and the cost and upkeep cost of both cars the same.. I would choose auto.

Driving is a lot of hassle as it is, you want your full attention on the road, and all around you. Not on the stick.

I've never driven an automatic, so manual it is.

I live in Ireland, everyone drives manual, same as in the UK.

you want a scooter, not a motorcycle

Automatic. It represents an advancement in technology for the sake of making human locomotion easier. While it may hurt the human race developmentally in the long run it makes driving less of a chore than it already is. We should be driving electric cars anyway so whatever.

I'm sorry but you obviously have never driven a stick, it's fun

He has a point, put down the cheeseburger and chocolate shake while you drive, what the hell man it can wait

Manual. More control. And working with the engine braking effect, rather than the actual brakes, is so much more elegant and fun.

It could be argued that having to be aware of gear changes requires the driver to be fully engaged in driving, while an automatic transmission allows for multi-tasking.

Someone previously mentioned that they may be eating or drinking something while driving, which isn't all that bad, but talking on a phone or much worse texting is commonplace, all of the above are much more difficult to do with a manual gear box.

I've been driving Manual since I got my license but I really couldn't stand it at first.
The more I've driven, the more accustomed to it I've gotten but I'd say it's a toss up.

I'm glad I know how to drive manual though, and being able to start it on a dead battery is pretty cool.
I'm not really a 'car guy' though, anyway. As a college student I'm just happy if my car runs in the first place.

Manual. I feel like I control the car and the car is not controlling me when I can decide the time I want to change gears. When you speed up with an automatic and you get the urge to switch to a bigger gear, automatic keeps going with the lower gear too long for my tastes.

No man, he's saying it's both a pro and a con. A pron, if you will, I learned all about them on 4chan.

@tycobb: All the cons for a manual transmission are associated with human error.

Driving in traffic can be not only a nuisance but physically taxing after a while. I'm sure you are fine with going 1-2-1-2 every few minutes but after an hour of that I don't care how awesome anyone is at driving stick it will definitely be more annoying than if you're just feathering your brake pedal once in a while.

You are a lot more liable to damage your own car through spotty shifting, unlike an automatic where it's literally impossible to damage the transmission on your own accord. Once again mileage may vary depending on the driver. You may be skilled at shifting, but not everyone will be even if they think they are and will eventually wear out the clutch because they thought they knew when to change gears best.

Objectively (ho hum) it is much safer to drive with both hands on the steering wheel at all times and only having to concentrate on gas and brake. After a while anyone used to shifting will tell you it's second nature and they don't even think about it - but you are having to fiddle with pedals and the shifter every once in a while which while giving you more control over the acceleration of your vehicle is also taking away a small degree of mobility from being able to steer.

Depending on where you live a manual would simply be a bad choice to have. San Francisco is extremely hilly and not the best place for manuals. You are a pro driver and can start from a dead stop on a sharp incline no problem but it is still more problematic than an automatic.

Overall the con is that you are doing a lot more manual labor to drive your motor vehicle. The trade-off for every day transportation in an urban environment is negligible as how important is it really that you shift from 2nd to 3rd at the perfect moment when there is a red light coming right up, or a school zone, or any other city based element that make fast acceleration pointless. Instead of driving the car you are concentrating a lot more on making the car function which is superfluous for regular commute to work. If you are an ice road trucker and need to really control your differentials because you can slip off the road and die then I fully agree - but when you're driving 5 miles to the office and stopping at a red light every minute, dood who cares.

Manual.

I don't even drive.

Basically, are you American or European?

I actually prefer manual because it forces me to pay attention and drive defensively. It's way to easy for me to get distracted in auto. Plus I live in a town of about 60,000, so I don't really have to deal with bumper to bumper traffic.

Learned both, prefer manual, but I drive an automatic.

The main con to a manual is that it affects their resale value. The results of this thread aside, the vast majority of drivers want automatic, and it can be hard to get rid of a manual for a fair price. It's also hard to eat Taco Bell and drive stick at the same time.

Most of the time Automatic. Manual is a son of bitch in places like the city if you get stuck in stop and go traffic, or if you live in a place with lots of steep hills.

I live in the UK so I learnt on a manual as did most other people.

On the European markets roughly 80% of all new cars are manual, and for good reasons. You have so much more active control over your car, especially when shifting gears with the braking effect in mind, it's like night and day. It's so much easier to always have your wheels put traction on the tarmac both speeding up and slowing down with manual than otherwise. As far as I'm concerned, a rolling car is a street hazard.

On the US market roughly 80% of all new cars are automatic. Dunno how you can stand it. I feel like automatics are death traps. I for one flipped mine into the woods on a icy rural road, and I'd say it being an automatic had no little part in that. I was just so much more prone to let it roll. Never again.

Granted, that's just my personal non-empirical experience, but no matter what the statistics say, for an easily distracted person like me, driving manual helps keeping my mind on the road - and it is a genuine pleasure to put traction on the road at all times, economic fuel efficient driving be damned.

It depends on what kind of driving I'm doing. I almost always prefer driving a manual-transmission car but automatics can be nice when crawling in city traffic.

But manuals ARE better.

Okay, I'm gunna have to call you out on this one. First of all, he admitted he was being a bit of an ass, but you successfully went the whole hog and turned into an absolute douche. Secondly, he was pointing out how what you admitted to doing is both dangerous and irresponsible, and your response is that? You might has well have said "Yeah I enjoy putting other people's lives in danger" for all its worth.

Disgusting.

FUCK ALL CARS.

The only people who automatics here are people physically unable to operate a clutch, so take that as you will.

I enjoy driving, so I enjoy a manual gearbox. Having full control over your car is good, and it's also much better for fuel economy. Ain't no getting 60mpg out of your typical American automatic monster.

Also you can impress people by accidentally doing a hill start in 2nd gear.

Also shuffling forward in traffic is so much easier once you have good clutch control.