Manual v Auto
- Thread starter Nazbit
- Start date
What's with this 'Complete control' rubbish? It only decides when to change gear, it doesn't actually drive the car for you.
Yeah, and tbh once you have got used to it you can choose when to change gear, which gear to change to, how quick to change, etc via throttle manipulation anyway.
What's with this 'Complete control' rubbish? It only decides when to change gear, it doesn't actually drive the car for you
I think it's more social stigma than anything. People don't like to be thought of as auto drivers, like it's less manly.
Yes, lots of people drve their card for fun where a manual makes sense, others though, the really don't need manuals. The joy of preference and all that though...
'. So what?
I used to share the same irrational aversion to autos as most british seem to (judging by numbers of autos compared to manuals in 'everyday' cars. That was until I decided to build a toy car for proper fun and decided the normal car should therefore be a comfy luxo-barge, and it was an auto.
I'm now a fully paid up auto convert for any sort of normal driving, to such an extent that I find our obsession with changing our own gears in boring cars used primarily/entirely for shopping/commuting (which isn't shared by many other countries, particularly in Asia and America) a bit wierd. We've gladly let go of double declutching, operating manual chokes, etc etc, so why are we under some sort of illusion of 'enjoying the involvement' of changing gears when we're in a Ford Focus in a traffic jam?
Auto all the way for me now for anything other than a proper sports car.
I'm also an old git now which may well have something to do with my opinion.
I'm now a fully paid up auto convert for any sort of normal driving, to such an extent that I find our obsession with changing our own gears in boring cars used primarily/entirely for shopping/commuting (which isn't shared by many other countries, particularly in Asia and America) a bit wierd. We've gladly let go of double declutching, operating manual chokes, etc etc, so why are we under some sort of illusion of 'enjoying the involvement' of changing gears when we're in a Ford Focus in a traffic jam?
Auto all the way for me now for anything other than a proper sports car.I'm also an old git now which may well have something to do with my opinion.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Not at all - you were simply wrong. There are not loads of automatic Focus and Mondeo at all. They are, comparatively speaking, particularly rare in this country. It is unusual to find a Focus with an automatic gearbox, more often than not it will be manual.
For example, there are currently 15,000 Ford Focus listed for sale on Autotrader. Of this, only 1649 have an automatic gearbox. Thats roughly 10%.
9 out of every 10 Focus has a manual box. Yet you think me pointing out that autos are not rare was 'pointless'?
Arguably auto is the way to go and the modern 'manual' based autos like the DSG/DCT are fantastic in my opinion.
In this day and age where we have put a man on the moon (I was going to say where we can put a man on the moon, but I guess at the moment we can't) we still go around pushing pedals and pulling levers to manually change gears
In this day and age where we have put a man on the moon (I was going to say where we can put a man on the moon, but I guess at the moment we can't
) we still go around pushing pedals and pulling levers to manually change gears Precisely. We don't go around washing clothes by hand anymore. Why? Because we have machines that can do it quicker and better than we can ourselves.
If you met a man who washed all of his clothes by hand in his bath because he wanted 'Complete Control' over how his clothes were washed you'd think he was utterly bonkers.
If you met a man who washed all of his clothes by hand in his bath because he wanted 'Complete Control' over how his clothes were washed you'd think he was utterly bonkers.
Bit irrelevent really, as last time I checked, people didn't list washing clothes as a hobby.
[TW]Fox;19389899 said:
You pointing out that in manual v auto numbers manuals win is pointless. We ALL know that there are lots more manual cars.
10% is plenty. They are not rare.
There are 20,000 auto hatchbacks on AT, that's lots of cars, all over the country.
There are 200,000 hatchbacks in total on AT. Context is EVERYTHING when describing how rare something is!
9 out of every 10 hatchbacks have a manual box.
Pfft, you're all on about syncromesh wet sump manuals with hydraulic clutches. They may as well be automatics!
Give me a dry sump 'box with a mechanical clutch any day of the week. That will put hairs on your chest! (and several pounds of muscle density on your left leg).
Give me a dry sump 'box with a mechanical clutch any day of the week. That will put hairs on your chest! (and several pounds of muscle density on your left leg).
Caporegime
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[TW]Fox;19390140 said:
Rare in camparison to a manual but they are not rare. If you want an auto you can find one easily, there are plenty about.
Out of all the cars on AT how many are autos?
For once I agree with robbie, this is a pointless argument, one that fox is clearly wanting to win though.
Soldato
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If 10% of a group of cars you're looking at are autos it's 9 times harder to find a good auto than it is to find a good manual... This can mean anything from "9 times harder than pole vaulting the Firth of Forth" to "9 times harder than weeing in the shower".
I love a manual 99% of the time, it's fun. But 1% of the time I'm in stop start traffic and it's the worst thing in the world. If I had to travel on motorways in rush hour I'd get an auto.
I love a manual 99% of the time, it's fun. But 1% of the time I'm in stop start traffic and it's the worst thing in the world. If I had to travel on motorways in rush hour I'd get an auto.
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What else would you be comparing them too, a hole in the floor for you to run through Fred Flinstone style
[TW]Fox;19390315 said:What else would you be comparing them too, a hole in the floor for you to run through Fred Flinstone style
I wasn't comparing to anything. I was saying there are loads of auto cars on the market. You were the one comparing.
If someone wants an auto they will not struggle to find one. As an auto owner and only ever looking at auto cars to buy, I do not struggle to find cars to look at. They are simply not rare.