OOOOOOOO Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 HeyI was wondering why in most parts of the world cars are manual instead of automatic. I mean I know manual allows a bit better speed/accelaration and use to be cheaper than automatic but other than that automatic is better as it is one less thing you have to worry about when driving. Driving an automatic is BORING! I like gears :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Let's face it..... drivers are uber distracted as it is.... getting a manual just adds to that distraction, i believe. Distracted by what, if not the driving? Talking on the cell phone, putting on makeup, what? What else besides driving should they be doing while DRIVING? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Actually, joel brings up a good point. If you're driving a manual, it is so hard to eat, put on makeup, talk on a cell, ect. that it is LESS distracting driving a manual if you aren't used to it. If you are used to it, it's not distracting at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouldy Punk Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Let's face it..... drivers are uber distracted as it is.... getting a manual just adds to that distraction, i believe. Let's face it...breathing is distracting. Unfortunately, my point (and yours) are daft. Driving manual becomes second nature once you get the hang of it. I've only ever driven an auto once, and I found the fact I had nothing to do with my left foot distracting. I found that not having to manually change gear distracting. A couple of times, I actually reached for the gear stick only to find that it wasn't there :p Driving stick isn't distracting once you get used to it. Just like driving auto wouldn't be distracting for me (or any other manual-driver) once we/they got used to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGM Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Actually, joel brings up a good point. If you're driving a manual, it is so hard to eat, put on makeup, talk on a cell, ect. that it is LESS distracting driving a manual if you aren't used to it. If you are used to it, it's not distracting at all. is this a joke post? you should never be doing any of those things when driving... ever! before i clicked on this thread i just knew it would be a fight about what is 'better' and to add my two cents, Semi-Auto is the way forward and it will be on my next car for sure so, in response to the original question i would imagine it be due to the fact that when cars were first made they all came manual shifters and people got used to it... except obviously in north america where the lazy majority populous wanted to shift automatically. but obviously this is a guess and not fact. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 is this a joke post? you should never be doing any of those things when driving... ever!before i clicked on this thread i just knew it would be a fight about what is 'better' and to add my two cents, Semi-Auto is the way forward and it will be on my next car for sure so, in response to the original question i would imagine it be due to the fact that when cars were first made they all came manual shifters and people got used to it... except obviously in north america where the lazy majority populous wanted to shift automatically. but obviously this is a guess and not fact. :) My present car's an automatic, and I eat and drink and talk on the cell all the time. I did none of that stuff in my manual vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitlam Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Personal preference is auto. I've owned both manual and auto. 4 cyl cars seem better suited to manual and full sized cars (6 & V8) to auto. Most full sized cars are auto - not very often you'd see a manual Commodore or Falcon. Most mid sized cars are also (Camry, Magna) mainly auto. Current car is a V6 - it was an auto only model - a modern 5 speed that is really excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGM Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 My present car's an automatic, and I eat and drink and talk on the cell all the time. I did none of that stuff in my manual vehicles. yeah but i think you'll agree it's quite dangerous to do all of that the law in the uk for eating/drinking/using a mobile is there for a reason (yes police can pull you over for the eating and drinking part. fact.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rathefeare Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 yeah but i think you'll agree it's quite dangerous to do all of thatthe law in the uk for eating/drinking/using a mobile is there for a reason (yes police can pull you over for the eating and drinking part. fact.) I'm normally the last person to be in favor of more laws, but this is a law we need in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicane-UK Veteran Posted January 20, 2009 Veteran Share Posted January 20, 2009 Automatic is fine if you just want to pootle along slowly but manual is just far better for most other scenario's. I hate the slowness of automatics to react (pulling away, and if you need to apply a quick burst of speed) but I can't help but think that gearboxes like VW's DSG will ultimately take over from manuals in all but the most budget cars simply because they do away with many of the negative aspects of automatics.. they're quick, elegant, and you can manually override them with paddle controls. I'm not in a hurry to lose manual gearboxes though. I like driving an automatic from time to time when I just want to cruise.. but for any other scenario, I love the manual gearbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neufuse Veteran Posted January 20, 2009 Veteran Share Posted January 20, 2009 Automatics use more petrol than manuals. Plus they're simply no fun whatsoever to drive. You're really not going to like when electric takes over then... electric is looking nice there are prototype cars out now that can go 140 Miles on a single charge and pull 240+ HP and have a gasoline backup generator if your battery runs out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mouldy Punk Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I'm normally the last person to be in favor of more laws, but this is a law we need in the US. You probably already have one. In the UK, we've driving without due care and attention. Then they went and made another law about not being able to use your mobiles while driving, when the old law covered that anyway. I'd be amazed if the US doesn't have a law similar to driving without due care and attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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