Heres a question. If you own a vehicle, do you have a manual or an automatic transmission? If you own multiple vehicles with a variety of manual or auto, choose the daily driver or the one you prefer or whatever you prefer I guess I'll open with a bog standard 5 speed manual.
I drive a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire with a 5 Speed manual. I used to drive an automatic Suburban. Overall, I like manual transmissions. Its just fun to drive. It feels awesome to shift through the gears and get the RPM's up. Also you can get better gas mileage by driving in higher gears at lower speeds. I can do 30MPH in 4th gear and I only go up to 1400RPM's.
Most vehicles over here are stick (obvious exception for bikes). Auto's aren't rare though. In order to gain a full UK drivers license you must pass your test on stick. You can take an automatic only test, but then you are only ever allowed to drive an auto whereas the full license of course allows both. Statistically accident rates among auto only drivers are also higher so insurers increase your premiums accordingly just for having an automatic only license. Some countries take this even further and there is no auto only option, you absolutely must pass your test in a manual in order to be licensed.
I have a Renault Clio 1,2l with a 5-speed manual gearbox. Previously i had a Bmw e39 520i with a 5-speed manual. I have always prefered a manual gearbox. Its just much more fun to drive.
That is actually a really good idea, to separate the license, though it sounds quite odd as an american. Funnily enough I never even had to take a physical driving test to get my license. At 16 the DMV here allows you to submit a form saying your parents have driven with you for X amount of hours, and you have to pass a written test that is multiple choice. Haha very lax in comparison!
I can drive a stick and it is actually quite fun, but I haven't done it enough to get really good at it. I'd rather drive auto just because I am lazy and don't like concentrating on more than one thing at a time. I'm sure I'd get used to a stick and it would seem like second nature to me over time.
Don't own a car and have never driven a manual but I hope to get my dad's 6 speed manual 2004 Maxima when I get my license (It has over 160k miles now and my dad wants a new car sometime.)
It isn't really confusing. It is just more difficult to get used to. When ~90% of cars in America are automatic, the chances of needing to ever drive a stick is slim. It isn't something you learn unless you want to.
All in my sig, I love to drive my Honda, however the paddles in the saab are pretty cool, I only ever owned Stick cars until I bought the saab, then the truck. Cant get the stick in the Tacoma TRD crew cab/long bed configuration. of course. It gives me a sense of coolness mixed with being green mixed with beating mothafuckkas off the line with a 4500rpm clutch drop lol even in my 115hp 1.7 civic, I beat a lot of cars off the line cuz they don't expect it lol
Manual transmissions are really easy to figure out. It's all about the timing. Basically when you push down the Clutch, the engine "Lets Go" of the wheels. It's kinda like being in neutral. While holding it down, you shift it into first gear. Then you ease off the clutch and on to the gas so the engine can then "Grab" the wheels making them spin. I seriously learned how to drive manual in 2 days. And that was without a person in the car... I just did enough online learning to pick it up pretty easily. After the 2nd day, I still didn't even leave the parking lot. But I just kept practicing and now manual is very easy.
I drive a Fiat Seicento 1.1 (54hp) with a 5-speed manual. The gearbox sucks and it's sometimes difficult to get it in gears but still I wouldn't want to drive an automatic. I have to say though that I never drove an automatic before, so I might change my mind if I ever do, but it just seems boring to me.
