Learning to drive a manual car, 7 hours in - considering automatic

[Brian M. Veteran]

I've completely abandoned manual cars in favour of automatic. It reduces the steps required to drive and allows you to focus fully on the important things, which means it not only increases comfort and conveniece but also safety.

If you enjoy driving sporty and breaking the speed limits or drive on race tracks, and possibly if you're a bush whacker, go for manual.

If your car is a means of transport there's no reason to go manual.

Automatics are not inherently safer than manuals, and any increase in focus would be negated by the fact that in a manual, you have greater control of the car (if I need to drop from 6th to 2nd to get away quickly I can).

How about things such as fuel economy?

[Hardcore Til I Die]

I've completely abandoned manual cars in favour of automatic. It reduces the steps required to drive and allows you to focus fully on the important things, which means it not only increases comfort and conveniece but also safety.

If you enjoy driving sporty and breaking the speed limits or drive on race tracks, and possibly if you're a bush whacker, go for manual.

If your car is a means of transport there's no reason to go manual.

 

Allows people to focus fully on the important things... like their mobile phone? :P

 

I'm playing devil's advocate, of course, but for some people I think having to make them concentrate on the gears is a good thing. 

[adrynalyne]

Automatics are not inherently safer than manuals, and any increase in focus would be negated by the fact that in a manual, you have greater control of the car (if I need to drop from 6th to 2nd to get away quickly I can).

How about things such as fuel economy?

These days manuals are less economical than autos in most cases I've seen.

Allows people to focus fully on the important things... like their mobile phone? :p

 

I'm playing devil's advocate, of course, but for some people I think having to make them concentrate on the gears is a good thing. 

Not everyone has trouble doing more than one thing at a time ;)  I'd say if you stumble while walking and chewing gum at the same time, manuals might not be for you.

 

Does being a touch typist make you less accurate than if you just look at the keys and then type them?

[TruckWEB]

Do you want to drive, or do you want to commute?

 

If you want to/have:

- be lazy

- not care

- eat a hamburger while talking on your cellphone

- be ignorant of how vehicles respond to input, and fully put faith in electronic systems

- be more likely to ignore or break laws

 

get an auto and commute everywhere, but please, stay out of the fast lane and learn to pass trucks.

 

Wow...  I'm speechless...

 

Yeah, I drive an auto, but I'm far from being lazy, don't eat while driving and I don't break the law...  How stupid are you to make those assumptions?

 

I know how to drive a manual car, drove many times and I did not felt any kind of special reward doing so.  I prefer auto, let me enjoy everything else that can be enjoyed on the road other than shifting.  And with the trafic and all, once you get older or if you're having back problems, shifting is a f*ing chore.

 

From what I can see, sport car enthusiast do prefer manual (and I can understand that) but I also see them SPEED on the road, breaking said laws, and not care at all...

[Hardcore Til I Die]

Not everyone has trouble doing more than one thing at a time ;)  I'd say if you stumble while walking and chewing gum at the same time, manuals might not be for you.

 

Does being a touch typist make you less accurate than if you just look at the keys and then type them?

 

If you're suggesting that it's possible to be able to use a mobile phone safely while driving, I wholeheartedly disagree with that.

 

If you've ever had to perform an emergency stop, imagine you had been using your phone at the time and think about what would have happened. 

[tmorris1]

Just pray that this guy never gets his license or he will kill someone.

[adrynalyne]

If you're suggesting that it's possible to be able to use a mobile phone safely while driving, I wholeheartedly disagree with that.

 

If you've ever had to perform an emergency stop, imagine you had been using your phone at the time and think about what would have happened. 

I never mentioned cell phone.

 

I was referring to your manual comment.

 

 

I don't even see how you could think I was suggesting cell phone usage.

[Slammers]

Theres nothing to understand to with manual car. Once you get the hang of the clutch the rest is easy. Just change gears when you can hear that the car is either having trouble or its reving to high. I learnt how to drive in a few hours and that was with my dad not even an instructor. Once you can control the clutch and find the biting point rest is easy.

 

Exactly. All anyone needs is to just drive a manual round back streets for an hour or two straight. Even if you still shaky youll be fine to drive safely. It really is easy and once youve done it for a while it becomes second nature. The claim that auto is safer because you can focus more on the road is absolute ######. 

[Hardcore Til I Die]

I never mentioned cell phone.

 

I was referring to your manual comment.

 

 

I don't even see how you could think I was suggesting cell phone usage.

 

I said:

 

"Allows people to focus fully on the important things... like their mobile phone?  :p

 

I'm playing devil's advocate, of course, but for some people I think having to make them concentrate on the gears is a good thing. "

 

Then you said:

 

"These days manuals are less economical than autos in most cases I've seen.

 

Not everyone has trouble doing more than one thing at a time  ;)  I'd say if you stumble while walking and chewing gum at the same time, manuals might not be for you.

 

Does being a touch typist make you less accurate than if you just look at the keys and then type them?"

 

I thought that you saying "Not everyone has trouble doing more than one thing at a time ;)" meant that some people can use their phone and drive at the same time. 

You further went on about touch typers and I thought you were suggesting that people can concentrate on the road and use their phone without looking at it. 

It's fairly obvious why I thought you were talking about phones, given the context of our two posts, but I accept you didn't explicitly mention them. 

 

My previous post was making the point that it might be a good thing to make people concentrate on changing gears if it keeps them off their mobile phone :P I was not suggesting that people can't drive manual cars and concentrate at the same time.

[adrynalyne]

I said:

 

"Allows people to focus fully on the important things... like their mobile phone?  :p

 

I'm playing devil's advocate, of course, but for some people I think having to make them concentrate on the gears is a good thing. "

 

Then you said:

 

"These days manuals are less economical than autos in most cases I've seen.

 

Not everyone has trouble doing more than one thing at a time  ;)  I'd say if you stumble while walking and chewing gum at the same time, manuals might not be for you.

 

Does being a touch typist make you less accurate than if you just look at the keys and then type them?"

 

I thought that you saying "Not everyone has trouble doing more than one thing at a time ;)" meant that some people can use their phone and drive at the same time. 

You further went on about touch typers and I thought you were suggesting that people can concentrate on the road and use their phone without looking at it. 

It's fairly obvious why I thought you were talking about phones, given the context of our two posts, but I accept you didn't explicitly mention them. 

 

My previous post was making the point that it might be a good thing to make people concentrate on changing gears if it keeps them off their mobile phone :p I was not suggesting that people can't drive manual cars and concentrate at the same time.

My mistake then; I misread what you said.

 

My comment regarding touch typing was referring to computer usage where people do things with their hands but stay focused on the screen, not unlike manual drivers focusing on the road.  People who use their cellphone outside of headsets and BT systems while driving are idiots regardless of transmission type.

[tsupersonic]

Automatics are not inherently safer than manuals, and any increase in focus would be negated by the fact that in a manual, you have greater control of the car (if I need to drop from 6th to 2nd to get away quickly I can).

How about things such as fuel economy?

These days automatics are more efficient than manuals. Cars are focusing on fuel economy and manufacturers are using clever tactics like Auto Start Stop (commonly called ASS) or something similar that stops the engine while at a traffic light, and starts up when you lift off the brake pedal. We're also starting to see 9-10 speed automatic transmissions... Also, automatics can shift pretty smoothly. In high performance cars, autos can shift in <250 milliseconds. According to wiki, average manual shift happens in 500ms - 1s. ###### (censored - but initials for Volkswagen Auto Group) cars have DSG gearboxes that are capable of 8ms shifts. Hell even my car with the ZF 8 speed automatic up/downshifts rapidly. It can shift down a few gears when kickdown is engaged (typically goes from 8th to 3rd or 4th, even 2nd if conditions permit). 

[SierraSonic]

Wow...  I'm speechless...

 

Yeah, I drive an auto, but I'm far from being lazy, don't eat while driving and I don't break the law...  How stupid are you to make those assumptions?

 

I know how to drive a manual car, drove many times and I did not felt any kind of special reward doing so.  I prefer auto, let me enjoy everything else that can be enjoyed on the road other than shifting.  And with the trafic and all, once you get older or if you're having back problems, shifting is a f*ing chore.

 

From what I can see, sport car enthusiast do prefer manual (and I can understand that) but I also see them SPEED on the road, breaking said laws, and not care at all...

See thats why I use the terms "want to/have" see people prefer automatics, because they are more lazy. "I don't like to shift, too much work, etc". Also just because YOU don't doesn't mean 95% of others aren't doing their make up, eating, and talking on their cellphones, so... yea. :P

 

See as you get older you tend to "not care" about driving, and just getting from place to place pain free. :P

 

By saying be more likely, I actually meant you are far more likely to do them with an extra free hand, and you obviously don't know how to drive manual well if you cannot enjoy everything related to driving that doesn't involve doing something distracting with one hand. You can do everything an automatic commuter in a stick shift car except be lazy. :P

 

These days automatics are more efficient than manuals. Cars are focusing on fuel economy and manufacturers are using clever tactics like Auto Start Stop (commonly called ASS) or something similar that stops the engine while at a traffic light, and starts up when you lift off the brake pedal. We're also starting to see 9-10 speed automatic transmissions... Also, automatics can shift pretty smoothly. In high performance cars, autos can shift in <250 milliseconds. According to wiki, average manual shift happens in 500ms - 1s. ###### (censored - but initials for Volkswagen Auto Group) cars have DSG gearboxes that are capable of 8ms shifts. Hell even my car with the ZF 8 speed automatic up/downshifts rapidly. It can shift down a few gears when kickdown is engaged (typically goes from 8th to 3rd or 4th, even 2nd if conditions permit). 

Either way, people who want fast cars get automatics, people who want to drive fast cars get manual.

 

Yes, automatics are starting to even out with manuals on the city mileage, and some even are matching on highway. ASS is available to stick shift cars too, just is based more on the clutch than brake.

 

I know technology will make life easier for people who don't care about driving to commute, but even with all these fantastic gizmos, people still manage to crash. I want people to be more involved with driving so they have less distractions.

[sc302 Veteran]

Depending on the style driving you are doing, automatics are faster and more accurate than a manual. 1/4 mile track requires not only speed but precision, everyone on the 8sec and under club has an automatic. The fastest manual that I know of is in the low 9s.

[adrynalyne]

See thats why I use the terms "want to/have" see people prefer automatics, because they are more lazy. "I don't like to shift, too much work, etc". Also just because YOU don't doesn't mean 95% of others aren't doing their make up, eating, and talking on their cellphones, so... yea. :p

 

See as you get older you tend to "not care" about driving, and just getting from place to place pain free. :p

 

By saying be more likely, I actually meant you are far more likely to do them with an extra free hand, and you obviously don't know how to drive manual well if you cannot enjoy everything related to driving that doesn't involve doing something distracting with one hand. You can do everything an automatic commuter in a stick shift car except be lazy. :p

 

Either way, people who want fast cars get automatics, people who want to drive fast cars get manual.

 

Yes, automatics are starting to even out with manuals on the city mileage, and some even are matching on highway. ASS is available to stick shift cars too, just is based more on the clutch than brake.

 

I know technology will make life easier for people who don't care about driving to commute, but even with all these fantastic gizmos, people still manage to crash. I want people to be more involved with driving so they have less distractions.

I wouldn't say starting to even out, its been this way for the last 10 years.  

 

Some cars fare better with autos anyway.

[tsupersonic]

Either way, people who want fast cars get automatics, people who want to drive fast cars get manual.

 

Yes, automatics are starting to even out with manuals on the city mileage, and some even are matching on highway. ASS is available to stick shift cars too, just is based more on the clutch than brake.

 

I know technology will make life easier for people who don't care about driving to commute, but even with all these fantastic gizmos, people still manage to crash. I want people to be more involved with driving so they have less distractions.

Starting to even out? Nope, autos have been as efficient if not more efficient than manuals for quite some time. I never said ASS wasn't available to manual cars - just saying emphasis these days is being placed in fuel economy, thus implementing clever tactics like ASS. 

[SierraSonic]

I wouldn't say starting to even out, its been this way for the last 10 years.  

 

Some cars fare better with autos anyway.

 

Starting to even out? Nope, autos have been as efficient if not more efficient than manuals for quite some time. I never said ASS wasn't available to manual cars - just saying emphasis these days is being placed in fuel economy, thus implementing clever tactics like ASS. 

Yes, starting to, as in within the last one or two car generations in mainstream high volume cars, not luxury market cars or as high cost options. Ten years ago it was used in Honda scooters and the insight. Not mainstream until 3-5 years ago.

 

Automatics didn't get comparable city gas mileage until recently, highway they caught up a while ago.

[GotBored]

I think you should just go to a large open space and practice taking off and stopping with a manual car with your parents car or something.

 

I don't think you should just skip the manual and get an auto license because having a manual license also gives you an auto license. Once you learn manual it makes it easier to ride a motorbike also.

 

Lots of people have trouble learning to drive manual and most of those people will probably lie and say they nailed it in the first try.

Just keep practicing and eventually you'll get it, also it sounds like your instructor skipped some of the basics which is why you are having issues now.

Just practice the take off and stopping with a manual, once your happy with that then try it on a hill where you can have roll back and need slightly more gas for takeoff.

After that its just changing gears while driving, you'll probably have to look at the rev range to start off with but eventually you'll just know by sound and then feel of when the car needs to change gears and it becomes second nature.

 

The way the auto industry is going I don't think you'll really ever need a manual license unless you want to be a truck driver or something (which requires a separate license but manual license will give you a head start there). But in Australia its mostly women who will get an auto license and if as a guy you don't get a manual license you'll get bagged out for it, you also don't limit yourself to only a auto license if you get manual and it gives you a skill that can be used on other vehicles (Motorcycles, heavy vehicles, etc).

 

Also I got a manual license, but I drive a semi-auto car because the car I wanted they only make it in automatic/semi-auto now. But having a manual license has come in handy every once in a while.

[tsupersonic]

Yes, starting to, as in within the last one or two car generations in mainstream high volume cars, not luxury market cars or as high cost options. Ten years ago it was used in Honda scooters and the insight. Not mainstream until 3-5 years ago.

 

Automatics didn't get comparable city gas mileage until recently, highway they caught up a while ago.

Well, I would say more like at least 6-9+ years, but depends on make/model, and for some cars, it is 3-5+ years. Take a look at cars like '06 Honda Civic, '05 Acura TL, '05 Acura TSX. I'd consider these mainstream. 

[abecedarian paradoxious]

I learned to drive in a stick. Was really embarrassing the first time I went to drive an auto after that- stabbed the brake pedal (instead of the clutch) thinking I had to shift.

 

Still, if you can't get your head around the simple fact you have to change gears, maybe you shouldn't be driving.

 

You made the transition from being fed in a high chair to feeding yourself, no?

[Dinggus]

It's simple; release the clutch until you feel your car wanting to move forward, then start pressing the gas while fully releasing the clutch. You want to do it evenly.

[adrynalyne]

Yes, starting to, as in within the last one or two car generations in mainstream high volume cars, not luxury market cars or as high cost options. Ten years ago it was used in Honda scooters and the insight. Not mainstream until 3-5 years ago.

 

Automatics didn't get comparable city gas mileage until recently, highway they caught up a while ago.

 

My 2004 Accord was mainstream, and it was similar gas mileage than the 6 speed manual option.

 

 

http://www.edmunds.com/honda/accord/2004/?style=100346469#specs-pod-anchor

 

 

Play with the options, look at specs, and you will see I am right.

 

By my count, that is 10 years and there have been three generations since, not one or two.   In my mind, that is not just starting out. 

 

With CVT, manuals are being left behind in regards to fuel efficiency.

[SierraSonic]

Well, I would say more like at least 6-9+ years, but depends on make/model, and for some cars, it is 3-5+ years. Take a look at cars like '06 Honda Civic, '05 Acura TL, '05 Acura TSX. I'd consider these mainstream. 

 

 

My 2004 Accord was mainstream, and it was similar gas mileage than the 6 speed manual option.

 

 

http://www.edmunds.com/honda/accord/2004/?style=100346469#specs-pod-anchor

 

 

Play with the options, look at specs, and you will see I am right.

 

By my count, that is 10 years and there have been three generations since, not one or two.   In my mind, that is not just starting out. 

 

With CVT, manuals are being left behind in regards to fuel efficiency.

In the cars before 3-5 years ago, it was an expensive option on select vehicles, only recently is it standard on cars. 

 

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=20869&id=20870&id=20867&id=20868

 

Heres a comparison on the 2005 accord: on bigger motors, automatics gain in city and highway by 1 each, but remove some displacement and manuals gain a huge advantage as much as 2 mpg combined.

 

I'm not saying the trend isn't there, but if you go with a select few cars, you are correct, but if you go with the complete mainstream market, they are JUST starting to catch up in recent years.

[adrynalyne]

In the cars before 3-5 years ago, it was an expensive option on select vehicles, only recently is it standard on cars. 

 

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=20869&id=20870&id=20867&id=20868

 

Heres a comparison on the 2005 accord: on bigger motors, automatics gain in city and highway by 1 each, but remove some displacement and manuals gain a huge advantage as much as 2 mpg combined.

 

I'm not saying the trend isn't there, but if you go with a select few cars, you are correct, but if you go with the complete mainstream market, they are JUST starting to catch up in recent years.

Move goalposts much?

 

First its, just recently, then its just luxury, then its gotta be all mainstream vehicles?

[anthdci]

For me there is a big advantage in being able to drive a manual car. It is that if needs be you can jump in another car and drive. If you have a manual license, but don't like it then you can still drive an automatic. If you have an automatic and need to loan a friend of family members car for whatever reason and their car is a manual (like the majority in the UK are) then you stuck.

 

I definitely feel more in control driving a manual.

[Dick Montage]

So this SierraSonic sure does post some BS to justify his arguments...