What's the deal on people from the US and 'stick-shift'/manual?
60 replies, posted
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Inspiration taken from this post:
[QUOTE=PacManPrince;29472760]When I was learning how to drive a manual and I stalled at a light on an uphill and the person behind me honks for like 20 seconds and quickly swerves around me because they don't know what a stick shift is because I'm in the US. Well excuse me princess for trying to be part of the driving experience and trying to challenge myself.[/QUOTE]
Just how rare is the manual transmission over there? It vexes me so. I rarely see an automatic car here in the UK (Except for the one my parents have...heh, an inconvenient coincidence), but that's all I ever see, really. Every car I've had so far has been a manual.
:psyduck:
Gotta love the Psyduck emot.
I can't say for sure how rare they are, seeing as I don't go around looking into people's cars.
But they are a lot less common than Automatic cars, which seem to be the standard.
Americans are lazy and automatics are easier drive
I don't understand the whole automatic / manual debate personally.
To me manual transmission just seems like another distraction, just one more thing you have to pay attention to while you drive.
dude, at least 35%-40% of cars where I live have stick shift.
also 35%-40% of the cars were I live are old Toyota 4runners. btw I live in the California coast redwoods/bay area.
[editline]29th April 2011[/editline]
also it sounds like the person in the quote had a run-in with an average asshole, and made a stereotype out of it. I'm sure the asshole American was also fat and had poor manners?
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;29521896]I don't understand the whole automatic / manual debate personally.
To me manual transmission just seems like another distraction, just one more thing you have to pay attention to while you drive.[/QUOTE]
Manuals gives you greater control over your vehicle's speed and torque. They are very common in Australia
[editline]30th April 2011[/editline]
For example: If you put the peddle to the floor in an auto it would accelerate until it reaches its top speed. With a manual in first it might max out at 20km/h, in second 45km/h, third 60km/h etc
So you can control the speed more easily
I'll put i this way. I think I've seen less than 20 manuals in my lifetime in person.
I've driven a standard car all my life, I hopped into an automatic the other day and freaked out cause I couldn't find the clutch.
It's probably 70% automatics where I live in Canada, luckily my mom refuses to buy anything but manual transmission vehicles.
every single car here is automatic except sports cars and such pretty much. this is in my area
I drive automatic because the car that I got from my dad after he bought himself a truck happened to be automatic. As far as the post in the OP, has he never been on the road before? It's pretty well known that everyone on the road is impatient and will honk even after only 3 seconds. 20 seconds is a long time when you've got somewhere to be.
I have a stick shift, and I'm from the US, so I guess that's the deal with me.
[QUOTE=pupetman64;29521889]Americans are lazy and automatics are easier drive[/QUOTE]
WHAT.
Most of my friends drive manual, it's far safer than an automatic because you can slow yourself by gearing down AND you have far more control.
Anyone who enjoys driving over here drives a stick. If you own a vehicle purely to commute, it makes more sense to own an automatic.
Not a lot of people in america I know own a manual car. I have a manual honda civic.
I think everyone should learn to drive a stick shift. Honestly, it keeps me more alert while I drive and prevents me from using my phone.
Manuals are [b]by far[/b] more common here than automatics. I only know one person who owns an automatic. That said, I think automatics are becoming slightly more popular.
I've ony driven manuals so far, I don't know anything else. From my point of view, you have alot more control over your car with manual shifts.
In Australia, all of the expensive cars and pretty much all 4x4s are manual. Cheap cars are usually auto
In England every car is basically a Manual, because Automatics have less fuel economy and petrol costs a fuckton over here anyway. You can lose several miles to a gallon if you use an Automatic, but Americans never seemed to give much of a toss about wasting petrol.
3/4 of the cars my family owns and the greater, greater majority of all people I meet would drive automatic, with me being from North Carolina. I see the occasional standard but they are incredibly rare.
The one we have that is a stick-shift is a little Miata...my favorite car to drive ever. When I'm home I generally adopt that one.
Better control, definitely, but driving stick is just so much more fun. Automatic is boring as hell.
[QUOTE=ChaosUnleash;29525567]In England every car is basically a Manual, because Automatics have less fuel economy and petrol costs a fuckton over here anyway. You can lose several miles to a gallon if you use an Automatic, but Americans never seemed to give much of a toss about wasting petrol.[/QUOTE]
Probably better in English peak hour traffic
[QUOTE=ksenior;29525915]Probably better in English peak hour traffic[/QUOTE]
I don't know. What I can tell you is that you do NOT want a manual in L.A. traffic (80 to 0 nonstop) and as for San Fransisco, I don't know, but my friend greg drives a old toyota pickup truck and it looked hard to drive city style with a stick (city style: swerve, stomp on gas, hard breaking.)
Manual is something you should drive then you are starting to get into driving because it teaches multitasking ALOT,
When you've been driving for several years it's acually pretty comfy to switch to automatic to skip pulling on that stick all the time !
Around here people prefer stick-shift. When I ask them why, they say that it makes driving more interesting. That's a reasonable excuse...
[QUOTE=ChaosUnleash;29525567]In England every car is basically a Manual, because Automatics have less fuel economy and petrol costs a fuckton over here anyway. You can lose several miles to a gallon if you use an Automatic, but Americans never seemed to give much of a toss about wasting petrol.[/QUOTE]
This was true decades ago, today your average automatic differs only negligibly from your average manual in fuel economy.
Anyway, I drive an automatic, and my family drives automatics, but my cousins' family drive a lot of manuals, and the trouble is they're all bad at it. Every gear shift is sickeningly palpable and it makes for a jerky-as-hell ride.
I like an automatic for the sake of not having to clutch/handbrake, especially in the context of heavy traffic which happens seemingly at random in my town. I would like to own a manual car, because I think it would be more fun to drive recreationally, but I'd probably hesitate to use it for daily commuting.
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;29521896]
To me manual transmission just seems like another distraction, just one more thing you have to pay attention to while you drive.[/QUOTE]
Maybe if you're a brand new driver. But if you drive a vehicle with a manual transmission on a daily basis, you don't even think about.
I personally won't be purchasing a vehicle with an automatic transmission until the vehicles I want no longer include that option. MT is the way to go.
Personally, I don't see the point in having a manual in a slow car. New Automatics shift faster than most people so having one for speed isn't a valid answer anymore. New Autos are way more fuel efficient than manuals since 6 speeds are in Economy cars, 8 speeds are in luxury. The more gears, the better fuel efficiency and ability to put the power down, but from what I've read. 8 speed is the highest they should go since more gears does nothing for a car.
Most people nowadays don't drive stick, it's less common, and possibly costs more to get it put in because of that. Nonetheless, I still see people driving 'em occasionally, hell my cousin let me drive his Tacoma (which was a stick) for my second time out.... Uhh let's just say I'll need more practice with MTs. Not the driving part though.
I don't know anyone who drives a manual transmission, or anyone who knows how to drive one. And Ive never even been in anything other than an automatic transmission vehicle.
[QUOTE=Killerelf12;29529662]Most people nowadays don't drive stick, it's less common, and possibly costs more to get it put in because of that.[/QUOTE]
If you want to put a manual transmission in a car that already has an automatic, it can get pretty pricey - putting a manual in my car gets crazy even when you do it yourself - but I actually know a number of people who have gotten great prices on cars because they're manuals. Last year my cousin haggled a car priced at $19,000 down to like $14,900 on account of it being manual and the dealership being unable to sell it.
Psh, I just fall asleep while driving if it's not a manual :v:
[QUOTE=Second-gear-of-mgear;29529643]Personally, I don't see the point in having a manual in a slow car. New Automatics shift faster than most people so having one for speed isn't a valid answer anymore. [/QUOTE]
It's still a lot more fun than having the transmission shift for you. I don't care if autos shift faster. For me it just adds to the overall experience while behind the wheel...even if the car doesn't have a high-output engine under the hood.
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