Manual (stick) or Automatic

I find this thread amusing, in Europe almost every car (about 95%) are manual and only a tiny minority are automatic..

Driving a manual isn't hard if you know how, and it becomes second nature quickly. You can do it without a rev counter or speedometer if you know the car or what you're doing just by listening to the engine and having a tiny bit of awareness of the engineering behind it.

Also it gives you much more control and is a lot more fun imho :D

Finally, it stops you from breaking cars gear-boxes when you go on holiday and the rental place only has manual cars (sorry to say it but americans have a reputation for doing this!) and learning on a manual means you can drive both. I see no reason not to learn manual over automatic?

P.S. just be grateful we no longer have to double clutch like the old cars did, that was a hassle!
 
Finally, it stops you from breaking cars gear-boxes when you go on holiday and the rental place only has manual cars (sorry to say it but americans have a reputation for doing this!) and learning on a manual means you can drive both. I see no reason not to learn manual over automatic?

P.S. just be grateful we no longer have to double clutch like the old cars did, that was a hassle!
That is why we buy insurance on those rentals- its ridiculous, for the $15 a day I could completely trash that rental car.
 
ive driven both. auto is nice if you are lazy but stick is enjoyable. i think they both have ups and downs. like you cant do as much when you drive stick like talk on the phone or change out cds. but with auto it can get boring just working the accelerator and brake. just depends on what you want.
 
ive driven both. auto is nice if you are lazy but stick is enjoyable. i think they both have ups and downs. like you cant do as much when you drive stick like talk on the phone or change out cds. but with auto it can get boring just working the accelerator and brake. just depends on what you want.

Anyone who drove in the 60's and even the 70's will tell you that you aren't cool unless you can drink, fix eight-tracks, and pass things between cars at stop lights while using a manual transmission.
 
I learned how to drive a stick a little while ago, and it's a little hard at first starting from a stop, but slowing down and shifting while driving are so simple. I personally don't really have a preference, but i would like to drive a flappy paddle shift transmission thought
 
I won't drive an automatic. Unless it has manual mode. But that's borderline.
 
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