The worst part is when you stomp your left foot on the floorboard before turning the ignition. "Oops, forgot I don't do that in this car."
Or when you stop and turn off the car, engage the parking brake, then try to remove the key, but can't! "What the heck!? Why is the freakin' key stuck?! .... Aw, bloody... *puts it in park* Stupid automatics!"
I agree about being in control. I have resolved to never buy a car with an automatic transmission, even if it has the "manual mode" to let you tell it when to shift. I don't want the computer trying to decide what gear it needs to be in for the conditions or messing with where the power is. I know how the car works, and I can handle it just fine on my own!
Yeah, I wouldn't say that driving a stick makes you a better driver. Agree with ya there. But I DO think that all student drivers should be taught how to drive a stick shift in Driver's Ed. It is important to know how to drive a standard transmission, even if you prefer not to.
And as for the rest of it... our cars don't have ABS. It was an option for each of the models, but never included. Oh wait, maybe dad's new truck has it (the Titan), but none of the other ones we've ever owned.
Power steering is nice, but I started on a car that didn't have it. I really liked that Sentra. It didn't have power ANYthing. Brakes, steering, windows, locks—nothing. The truck I drove in high school and college had only P/B and P/S. I don't see P/S and P/B as taking away because it just means you don't have to use as much strength, but the driver still has to do all the work. Traction control starts taking control away from the driver, though, because it starts making decisions for you.
Yeah, increased awareness. You see a light
y up ahead that's yellow, just put the clutch in and coast for a while and it may be green when you get there. You can squeeze a lot more efficiency out of a standard transmission by playing nicely with hills, coasting, and so forth, if you're exercising good situational awareness.
Hey, it's tough! See what mk2ja said above:How is it that for racing autos are better? Maybe for bracket style drag racing. But FYI two years in a row, first time out for the year I brought home the first place trophy in the Wed night Trophy race at Muncie Dragway in the street tire class, and guess what it was with a manual in a bracket raceMost cars are faster with a manual as long as they have a decent driver, plus they normally get better mileage as well. Also look at any 90% or more of the cars at a road course, SCCA autocross event, or basically any racing event other than maybe drag racing. And you're gonna find manual transmissions in the cars.
I definitely think you can get more performance out of the standards. For instance, by making it wait longer before shifting up (mimicked by some "sport modes", yes). Or trying to take a quick turn? Downshifting keeps the RPMs up, slows the car down, and sets you up perfectly to take off out of the turn on the other side with minimal braking. I'm sorry, but you just can't do that in an automatic! You've gotta use the brakes a lot more, which messes up the engine speed for the quick take-off.
An automatic may be able to keep up with, or in some cases beat, an otherwise identical car with a stick shift off the line in straight acceleration, but there is a lot more to driving than just taking off from a standstill. I always like the increased responsiveness of a stick shift when I need to pass somebody on a highway, too. Takes too long when you floor the automatic for it to downshift and give you the power you need. I find myself waiting for it to kick in, but in a standard transmission, I tell it when I want the power, and I get it RIGHT THEN.
Oh they were ugly! I think Dad paid $250.00 for it. But, it is what we had and it ran forever. It was a work car for Dad and a good one for my brother and I to learn how to drive the stick. As for the economic situation, eh! I'm just getting lazy in my experienced years.
Your "experienced years"! Haha, rep inbound if I have any left to give. (ETA - nope, out of rep for these 24 hours
)Attagirl!
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I was glad this was a stick, as the electrical system got screwed up and I had to drive it for 2 months by push starting it.
Another great benefit of the standards! I've had to push start a few times. Very handy. Sometimes if I was in a real hurry, I'd hop in the truck, release the parking break so it'd start rolling down the driveway while I put on my seatbelt, then when I was ready, I'd be about to the street, so I'd just pop the clutch and be on my way! It was like a self-push-start.
I have driven many a stick on the floor and on the column. I used to like them but as I get older I like the convenience of the automatic. I must admit I had plenty of fun learning to drive a stick which was the first way I was taught to drive.
