104 Manual Vs Automatic

[Arch Stanton]

In 1986 Margaret Thatcher (allegedly) once proclaimed:




Which to be honest sounds like a load of old cobblers to me, especially as you can browse and interact with minder.org on your phone whilst sat on a bus and not driving.
Failure? Yeah right Maggie, not in this life time.
.................But anyway this weeks Death Match, as suggested by jno, asks which is best: Automatic or Manual?

[Arch Stanton]

I've voted but never actually driven an automatic car. I have however driven automatic and manual two wheelers.

Also I fondly remember TVs that you manually searched for television stations on.

[flyingsquad]

I'm a failure as I use buses and I'm over 26.  Is the Manual/Automatic question just for cars or for anything? I prefer Automatic scan for finding TV stations.

[jno]

I assumed this was for cars as it was my suggestion.

Granted there are some downside for driving and automatic car in terms of fuel consumption and initial purchase price - however, most people I know who have driven an automatic car will NEVER return to gear/shift stick again.

I am one such lazy get.   NOTHING wrong with a gear stick, but automatic all the way!

[Arch Stanton]

The death match is manual Vs automatic.

I think the majority will think cars but you don't have to.. 

[Arch Stanton]

Sept 21, 2017 9:33:10 GMT flyingsquad said:

I'm a failure as I use buses and I'm over 26.  

Me too!
I use buses, trains, cars, aeroplanes, a motorbike, my feet.... all sorts.
I'm a right transport slag.

Personally I'm not sure what Maggie had against buses, or why using them at 26 would make you a failure any more than say 25 or 27.
A very bizarre statement.

[Arch Stanton]

Sept 21, 2017 10:49:06 GMT jno said:

I assumed this was for cars as it was my suggestion. 

Nope. Wrong.
That's why I didn't put gearbox or cars in the title.
Predominantly people will think cars and I did steer (pun intended) it in that direction, especially with the Thatcher quote, but it doesn't just have to be cars.
Manual Vs Automatic could equally be about toothbrushes I suppose.

[jno]

Not cars?

The utter filth that gets through on this forum is incredible - double entendres everywhere.

[thecraftyleek]

I've driven both. The Middle East is mainly automatic, which means manual cars are often cheaper as they can't sell them.

Many Arabs don't actually know how to drive manual cars. Saying that, having done a bit of dune bashing in my time, automatics often get you out of trouble in the sand.

Manuals give much better handling. End of.

The Thatcher quote is all part of her right-wing drivel. The reality is that if everybody owned a car and drove most days to work, the world would be a polluted dustbin.

[felixdeburgh]

I haven't voted as I own both and can see the merits of both so I need a fence-sitting option. My wife's car is a manual and there's something to be said for nailing a series of bends in the right gear but I do like the effortless cruise of my Japanese Mercedes so it's a tactical abstention from me.

[ltd]

Sept 21, 2017 8:24:02 GMT Arch Stanton said:

In 1986 Margaret Thatcher (allegedly) once proclaimed:




Which to be honest sounds like a load of old cobblers to me, especially as you can browse and interact with minder.org on your phone whilst sat on a bus and not driving.
Failure? Yeah right Maggie, not in this life time.

There's also the Fatima Mansions song "Only Losers Take the Bus" which may, or may not be, ironic. I do use public transport although it mainly tends to be the train. When I'm in London the bus services strike me as quite good - certainly preferable to driving.

Anyway as to the poll I went with manual on the grounds I don't know any different. Never even seen a manual car, let alone driven one. It's like that out here in the country.

[barrythebook]

As far as I'm concerned, a big engine that doesn't have to work too hard is well matched to an automatic gearbox whilst a smaller engine is better suited to a manual. I say this having run both types.

As a driver of larger vehicles in my work, i'd say that manual gearboxes were preferential all day long. Automatic gearboxes in goods vehicles operate according to the vehicles roadspeed but cannot read the road ahead like a driver can. Knowing/seeing the terrain infront of you, allows the driver to select the correct gear in advance which makes for more efficient driving.

[chopper]

If I was to buy a new,or newer car today & with much improved modern automatic boxes,I’d definitely take an auto.
Stop/start driving these days & me getting older,I’d take the auto _ every time. Although,as mentioned by barrythebook,the type of vehicle yr driving. Having said that - even modern small engined cars have fine CVT boxes now.

[barrythebook]

Sept 24, 2017 14:30:58 GMT chopper said:

If I was to buy a new,or newer car today & with much improved modern automatic boxes

They've certainly come on a long way.
Back in the 70s and 80s, Autos were regarded as sluggish and heavier on fuel but those issues seem to have been addressed.

[ace5150]

Manual was great in Fawlty Towers, I don't recall Automatic.

Seriously, both have their place. My electric toothbrush (classed as automatic?) is a godsend at 5am when I'm concentrating trying to pi$$ in the toilet whilst still half asleep.

[jno]

Sept 24, 2017 20:36:02 GMT ace5150 said:

Seriously, both have their place. My electric toothbrush (classed as automatic?) is a godsend at 5am when I'm concentrating trying to pi$$ in the toilet whilst still half asleep.

Too much information there ace5150.

[bensonrad]

I always vowed I would never use an automatic, but as we were car less for a couple of years, we passed down an Automatic Toyota, and to be honest its rather good and easy to drive, so now longer against them at all. I do sometimes miss those quick gear changes though and better acceleration from a manual though.

[plasticpenguin]

Deffo manual. Having said all that, I have driven a new Alfa Giulia with flappy paddles, so I suppose that's semi-auto. It made me feel like Nigel Mansell, minus the huge salary and big, bushy tash.

*EDIT* One area in which autos are better is in towns and cities. When you stop/go all the time and having change gear every so many yards is a pain. With the auto box you use the 'creeper' gear...

For open roads, though, a manual gearbox is certainly better.

[Terry]

My Mondeo is a torque converter automatic and its the best there is.....much superior to fumbly manual gearshift and also much superior to those crappy, expensive and difficult-to-maintain modern double clutch boxes....

So, for me its autobox al the way.

[yoyopickles]

I voted for manual, after 23 years of driving petrol manual hatchbacks, I bought my first automatic diesel saloon ( x type jaguar) back in February and although I like it very much, i think I will go back to a manual next time, as it is a great car to drive and doe not require much work, but i find you don't find you are completely in control of the car, like you do with a manual.

[thewoodster]

I prefer automatic to manual.
Since 1993 I've drove Jaguars and daimlers and most have been auto.
At present I drive a X type which is manual but miss the auto box,especially for kick-down.

[billyfarmer]

I voted Automatic, I hope to ride an Automatic Motorcycle, this year.

Louise (a friend of mine, who takes me out), drives an Automatic Car.

[ltd]

Work has recently acquired half-a-dozen or so "pool cars" which we are required to drive when out on business. Nothing wrong with that I'd rather be using my employer's motor than my own, but they're a very strange collection of vehicles including a trio of automatic Yaris's and a hideously ugly saloon-SUV hybrid (Tio? Kio?). Didn't much care for the automatics on first drive, they seemed to wallow at low speed and with the car being slow to respond to the accelerator. The hybrid is a vile beast that's even more tardy and has a bizarre "parking brake" where the clutch would be in a normal car that was so reluctant to release,I had to resort to kicking it. There's also a couple of manual Fiestas one of which has that funny ring under the gear knob to make it go into reverse, but the other one doesn't. I suspect the Council being the half-wits that they are have been mugged off with the motors other customers didn't want.

Anyway, having tried an automatic it's manual all the way for me I think.

[mybodyguard]

Do they still make manual transmissions? Haven't used one since the 90s.

They are all but obsolete here in America, and no one knows how to drive them any longer.

In 2018, vehicle sales in the US were 98% automatic compared to 2% manual transmission cars.

[Arch Stanton]

Aug 27, 2019 21:19:04 GMT mybodyguard said:

Do they still make manual transmissions? Haven't used one since the 90s.

They are all but obsolete here in America, and no one knows how to drive them any longer.

In 2018, vehicle sales in the US were 98% automatic compared to 2% manual transmission cars.

Wow. that makes sense but seems bizarre to me. In the uk I would estimate less than 10% are automatic.

[Arch Stanton]

Aug 27, 2019 18:13:16 GMT billyfarmer said:

I voted Automatic, I hope to ride an Automatic Motorcycle, this year.

Louise (a friend of mine, who takes me out), drives an Automatic Car.

You need to be bloody careful on a twist and go Billy.
Make sure you wear the right gear and have eyes in the back of your head. Ride defensively but not so other vehicles think they can bully you. Coz on a twist and go a lot of car drivers think you’re a muppet and lower than them in the food chain.

You will come off it, I’ll promise you that. And whenever you do it ****ing smarts, I promise you that an all. Every motorcyclist I know has come off their motorbike/ped at some point.

[mybodyguard]

Aug 28, 2019 8:51:33 GMT Arch Stanton said:

Aug 27, 2019 21:19:04 GMT mybodyguard said:

Do they still make manual transmissions? Haven't used one since the 90s.

They are all but obsolete here in America, and no one knows how to drive them any longer.

In 2018, vehicle sales in the US were 98% automatic compared to 2% manual transmission cars.

Wow. that makes sense but seems bizarre to me. In the uk I would estimate less than 10% are automatic.

Interesting, I didn't know that it was quite the opposite there. Sounds like that's changing every year for you, though. I just read that automatics were at 26% in 2008 in the UK, 38% in 2017, and 40% in 2018. I suspect it will rise every year until manual is phased out.

Automatic transmissions have just about equaled their manual transmission counterparts in gas mileage now. That was the main advantage of manual. My car has the option to switch to manual and to shift with finger controls on my steering wheel, so no more clumsy gear stick or foot clutch. I always hated the extra use of your hand and other foot, anyway. For safety, automatics allow you to keep both hands on the wheel at all times, and no threat of rolling backwards on large hills. Also, one less maintenance expense as you never have a clutch to replace.

[Arch Stanton]

Aug 28, 2019 11:45:53 GMT mybodyguard said:

Aug 28, 2019 8:51:33 GMT Arch Stanton said:

Wow. that makes sense but seems bizarre to me. In the uk I would estimate less than 10% are automatic.

Interesting, I didn't know that it was quite the opposite there. Sounds like that's changing every year for you, though. I just read that automatics were at 26% in 2008 in the UK, 38% in 2017, and 40% in 2018. I suspect it will rise every year until manual is phased out.

Automatic transmissions have just about equaled their manual transmission counterparts in gas mileage now. That was the main advantage of manual. My car has the option to switch to manual and to shift with finger controls on my steering wheel, so no more clumsy gear stick or foot clutch. I always hated the extra use of your hand and other foot, anyway. For safety, automatics allow you to keep both hands on the wheel at all times, and no threat of rolling backwards on large hills. Also, one less maintenance expense as you never have a clutch to replace.

I’m amazed the percentages are that high.

[mybodyguard]

Aug 28, 2019 12:10:25 GMT Arch Stanton said:

Aug 28, 2019 11:45:53 GMT mybodyguard said:

Interesting, I didn't know that it was quite the opposite there. Sounds like that's changing every year for you, though. I just read that automatics were at 26% in 2008 in the UK, 38% in 2017, and 40% in 2018. I suspect it will rise every year until manual is phased out.

Automatic transmissions have just about equaled their manual transmission counterparts in gas mileage now. That was the main advantage of manual. My car has the option to switch to manual and to shift with finger controls on my steering wheel, so no more clumsy gear stick or foot clutch. I always hated the extra use of your hand and other foot, anyway. For safety, automatics allow you to keep both hands on the wheel at all times, and no threat of rolling backwards on large hills. Also, one less maintenance expense as you never have a clutch to replace.

I’m amazed the percentages are that high.

I believe those are manufactured numbers, so the actual sold vehicles would be slightly lower. Also, it will take a while for those sold vehicles to bring the on the road percentages up. It does look like it's growing every year, though.

[chopper]

Further to my post back in 2017, I have owned an auto (DSG) VW Golf, since tha start of the year, and would be very reluctant to go back to a manual now...
7 speeds, seamless gear changes, so relaxing and, as opposed to years ago - quicker off the mark and through the gears than a manual. Depending on the engine, up to half a second quicker from 0-60 mph