How many people here got stuck with an Auto because they couldn't get the 6 speed? Who likes auto?

 

D) Auto, afraid of 6MT tranny problems.

 

wanted a 6mt...got a 6mt.

--randy

 

enjoyed the X, and I am very happy with 5AT. The car still hauls butt and I enjoy not shifting.

 

I need the X where I live. Would have liked to have the option of 6mt, but I'm not complaining as I still love the car with auto.

 

Over the last 35 years I have owned one car with an automatic and I hated it. Nothing beats executing a perfect downshift, diving hard into a corner, and blasting out again.

Shifting a manual transmission is one of the few things in life that hasn't been legislated or subject to political correctness.

 

I've always had a stick car.. aside from driving my parent's Camry in high school before I got my own car (1980 Toyota Celica for $425).. all three cars after that were stick too.. I thought I'd "stick" with "stick".. but then my 30 minute commute (each way) really started to grind on me.. about 70% city, 30% freeway each way.. so I got an IS300 with the 5AT.. I only had it for 3 months before I got "shipped off".. but what I enjoyed about driving the auto was that its simple.. stop and go.. smooth consistent acceleration.. it sounds lame, but I really was able to just relax in the car.. sure, there were times I missed having a manual trannie (and for weeks afterwards, I always went to step on the imaginary clutch to start the car) but frankly, my commutes dont really give me a chance to really enjoy driving a manual transmission.. I will concede that "flooring" an automatic versus slamming the gears is a big difference.. flooring an automatic its like counting the seconds.. with a manual trannie, you got to focus on your shift point, getting off a clean shift, trying to get rubber in 2nd, etc

That, plus my wife can't drive stick and she wanted me to get an automatic.. so I used that as a bargaining chip to procure funds to finish my life (thus far) long project car which is a stick

 

Drove a 5sp GT Mustang for four years--that was enough for manual. Getting stuck in bumper-bumper traffic is torture--I feel good about having manual mode--so I can atleast tach it up--but I don't miss clutching it. If you just go to work and back maybe, but I have field work and there is no way I am clutching it all dammmned day.

That said, I would not mind a c6 zo6 for the weekend but that is a lottery dream right now--They are said to be around 80-85grand by motor trend.

 

This debate will live on forever with no clear winner as it’s a matter of preference. I bought a 6MT because that is what I wanted. I have had both autos and sticks in the past and they each have their benefits.

I don’t have a heavy commute but even if I did, I wouldn’t mind having a stick. I can’t stand how an auto up shifts to 2nd gear at about 15mph when you’re in traffic. Picture this, you cruising along; traffic starts to move and the transmission up shifts to 2nd and right about that time the cars in front of you start to break. That shift into 2nd increases your speed slightly then you have to apply the brakes and slow it back down. You’re constantly going back and forth between 1st and 2nd and it’s annoying. With a 6MT you just keep it in 1st or 2nd and let the engine slow you down after you let off the gas.

People can delude their selves into thinking the manumatic is just as good but really it’s a cheap gimmick. When I get a loaner I play with it for about 5 minutes then leave it in D.

 

I don't think most auto drivers think manual mode is just as good, it is better than not having a manual mode option--we can hold a gear and tach it up to pass and all that good stuff--drive your manual--brotha, it's all good.

 

shodog, this was not to open debate, just wondering what everyones driving. Interesting why some like auto and some like stick.

I must admit I always feel safer in a stick then auto, especially in stop and go traffic. Also I'm young so driving in stop and go traffic doesnt bother me. I drive about 18,000 miles a year, half and half. I always loved the feel of the stick and I realized how much I missed it when I had an auto maxima.

 

I traded in my '03 5AT for an '04 6MT. A few of my friends thought I had lost my mind for doing that, but I don't regret it at all. I liked the 5AT and it accelerated well, but I left it in 'D' almost all the time. What I really wanted the best sports car I could get and that necessitates a manual. Once you get used to it again, even in traffic your brain goes into shifting auto-mode - manaul is never that bad unless you're driving a Hyundai Accent. When you're not in traffic, there is nothing like it. I love running through the gears.

 

Have the 5AT and love it. In my 25 years of driving, I've owned only MT cars, with one brief exception twenty years ago. Enough already. Yeah, it'd be fun to blast around in one of these with the 6MT, but I'm over it. Stop 'n go traffic, hills in Seattle (on top of the lousy traffic), drinking coffee, doing business on the phone in the car (with headset only, btw, which I do feel makes a difference and is safer, despite some findings to contrary...), are just a few of the things that finally brought me to the dark side. It'll be awhile before I go back, if ever.

AT all the way!

Btw, been lurking here since I bought my G a month ago and like the forum. A ton of useful info. Thanks, folks!

Andy

 

Congrats on the new purchase and welcome to the club. It's great, isn't it?

 

If you enjoy really controlling a car as you drive, as I do, you need a stick. A stick doesn't bother me at all in traffic as most of the time as I slow down to stop I don't use the clutch and just feature it out of gear. The other times are all automatic and I don't think about it.