Current Events > Probably the worst thing about living in the UK is manual transmission cars.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have an automatic and it's the fucking spanish inquisition from my male colleagues any time someone discovers this fact.

"Why would you get an automatic?"
"You know those accelerate slower?"
"It's not as fuel efficient you know?"
"When your gearbox goes that's going to be expensive"
"Do you even have a man card? If so can you return it please?"

And I'm looking to get a new car and automatics are so hard to find.

There are a lot of weird things that CE likes to fixate on about UK culture - CCTV surveillance, needing a loicense for everything, the fun police, no pornography, etc and so on - But above all of that, really why are we stuck in the stone ages with automobiles?

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You can blame Top Gear?
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I looked at a tutorial video on how to drive stick because the car I wanted at the time was only made manual.

A few minutes into the video and I threw my arms up and said, "Fuck it, I give up," and looked for automatic cars instead.
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People that worship manual cars baffle me.

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Kitt posted...

I looked at a tutorial video on how to drive stick because the car I wanted at the time was only made manual.

A few minutes into the video and I threw my arms up and said, "Fuck it, I give up," and looked for automatic cars instead.

It's true that eventually it's as easy and instinctive as walking, but it's still more physical movement and hassle, and on my particular commute a royal pain in the ass.


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pinky0926 posted...

"You know those accelerate slower?"
"It's not as fuel efficient you know?"
"When your gearbox goes that's going to be expensive"

Modern automatics are built well enough for that to be a bunch of bullshit.

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If it's any consolidation, I have no idea on how to drive automatic. I tried it but it just doesn't click for me.

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ALIEN_WORK2HOP posted...

Modern automatics are built well enough for that to be a bunch of bullshit.

I know, trust me. It's just the weird usual machismo nonsense, which is quite funny because every woman in the UK drives a manual too

evilpresident posted...

If it's any consolidation, I have no idea on how to drive automatic. I tried it but it just doesn't click for me.

I mean, it's just point and go. Press the pedal to move, press the other one to stop.

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evilpresident posted...

If it's any consolidation, I have no idea on how to drive automatic. I tried it but it just doesn't click for me.

That literally makes no sense.... Lol
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pinky0926 posted...

It's true that eventually it's as easy and instinctive as walking, but it's still more physical movement and hassle, and on my particular commute a royal pain in the ass.

Even with automatics I'm pretty bad at driving. I'm still practicing, but I have habits of freezing up and getting really nervous when I don't know what to do.

Now I'm looking at all this stuff revolving around the clutch pedal and how it'll make your car stall if you don't know what you're doing and an entire technique for it to start your car. Yeah, I'm nowhere near that level yet.
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pinky0926 posted...

But above all of that, really why are we stuck in the stone ages with automobiles?

Because manuals are more fun to drive.

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Crazy how these "enthusiasts" don't realize semi-auto's are better in every way at this point, but you do you I guess.

Meet you wherever were going in 5 minutes.

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Similar thing in Australia, car nuts will treat you like the world's biggest moron and/or pussy if you drive an automatic.

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Stick worship is so goddamn stupid. Might as well call people who don't get out and hand crank their motors pussies.

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Taharqa_ posted...

Because manuals are more fun to drive.

I mean maybe if it's a sunny afternoon and I'm heading up the applecross path but certainly not on my dreary tuesday morning traffic jam

MrMallard posted...

Similar thing in Australia, car nuts will treat you like the world's biggest moron and/or pussy if you drive an automatic.

I always laughed at that kind of comment when I lived in australia and told them that every woman in the UK from 16 year old Kelcy to 64 year old Francis can drive a stick

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The only good argument for manual is that its more fun, which it most definitely is. All other reasons listed are just bullshit. But having a manual commuter car has its downsides too. Often times I'm juggling several things in my hand and manual is just that much harder when ur multitasking.

DanHaren2019 posted...

The only good argument for manual is that its more fun, which it most definitely is. All other reasons listed are just bullshit. But having a manual commuter car has its downsides too. Often times I'm juggling several things in my hand and manual is just that much harder when ur multitasking.

Why are you trying to multitask when driving? Are you messing with your phone?

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Taharqa_ posted...

Why are you trying to multitask when driving? Are you messing with your phone?

Things like finding the phone charger, finding a napkin from the middle console, all while holding ur phone and ur breakfast.

Like, I've spent the last 8 years abstaining from driving out of anxiety. I'm not the most alert, I get distracted easily and I don't want to die a painful, horrible death - nor do I want to be a danger to my passengers or any other drivers on the road.

If driving an auto will get me from point A to point B without hurting, killing or maiming anyone - if it makes the act of driving that much more accessible, that I can now provide travel for myself and people around me, with a layer of difficulty removed - then that's a good thing, and y'all stick shift purists can jam your gear stick up to the prostate and rotate.

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Kitt posted...

I looked at a tutorial video on how to drive stick because the car I wanted at the time was only made manual.

A few minutes into the video and I threw my arms up and said, "Fuck it, I give up," and looked for automatic cars instead.

ok that's just sad, and i say that as someone who hates the obsession with manuals

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DanHaren2019 posted...

The only good argument for manual is that its more fun, which it most definitely is.

until you're stuck in stop-and-go traffic

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Choco posted...

ok that's just sad, and i say that as someone who hates the obsession with manuals

Yep. The guy in the video was like:

Okay so what you need to do is turn the car on, put your foot on the clutch, then put a little pressure on the gas pedal, take your foot off the clutch then press down on it again, now press on the breaks and let go during the apex, change gears, then press down on both the clutch and the accelerator simultaneously, then ease up on the clutch and that's how you pull out of a parking spot...

And I was just like, "Fuck this".
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Pinky is trying to come to terms with the fact that he is American at heart

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Tbh it's extremely easy to drive manual and automatics are so rare outside of america that I don't really see any reason to not learn to do it.

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When you manage the perfect shift into gear

hnnnnggggg
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NinjaBreakfast posted...

Tbh it's extremely easy to drive manual and automatics are so rare outside of america that I don't really see any reason to not learn to do it.

wat

it's easy enough to find an auto in Australia


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it seems weird to act like that was some massively common piece of knowledge I should have known

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i enjoy driving stick so much i go out of my way to make other daily activities harder than necessary, so i can feel better than other people

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NinjaBreakfast posted...

it seems weird to act like that was some massively common piece of knowledge I should have known

Maybe you shouldn't just go "autos are such a rare oddity outside of America" if you don't know if other countries have automatic, or to what degree automatics are being driven outside of the US. It's a shit take with barely any backing behind it.

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Knowing tc is from the UK I made a quick and easy comparison for simplicitys sake, sorry I don't know every country where automatic cars are the norm!

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Having been in a large amount of countries

Manuals are the norm in the overwhelming majority of them
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I like the control the clutch gives me on hills in a manual.

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If you drive the luxury brands like Audi, Mercedes and BMW they are mostly automatic.

I feel like if I were to get a merc, it must be automatic. But if I get a subaru, it must be manual. If I get a lexus, it must be automatic.

You guys get the pattern?

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evilpresident posted...

If it's any consolidation, I have no idea on how to drive automatic. I tried it but it just doesn't click for me.

Um how could you have no idea? Its literally just moving the gear stick forward or backwards then using the accelerator peddle. @evilpresident

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UK didn't ban porn.

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Manual is way more fun for me and makes me more attentive.

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Sad_Face posted...

Manual is way more fun for me and makes me more attentive.

If you need a manual transmission to help you be more attentive to driving, you're doing it wrong.
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Manual transmissions are nice in areas with lots of hills

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Paragon21XX posted...

If you need a manual transmission to help you be more attentive to driving, you're doing it wrong.

After a massive meal and driving in the dark on the motorway, I nearly fell asleep a few times.

But once I get back into the A roads, I rev my engine and shift gears, driving on those empty roads is fun and I never want to fall asleep on those.

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If youre almost falling asleep then you shouldnt be fucking driving ffs.

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Until not that long ago, the best argument for a manual transmission was that they got better fuel economy: the direct mechanical connection was more efficient than a torque converter ("slushbox"). The difference was never huge, but with the high fuel prices in Europe, it would add up to a lot of money over time, so it's not hard to understand why manuals have been so much more popular there. The other argument, and I guess the best in the case of performance cars, was that manual cars were quicker than automatics, again due to the direct mechanical connection rather than a slushbox between power and load.

With modern automatic transmissions, though, neither reason is really true anymore. Manufacturers use enough tricks with them that you don't take a fuel economy hit, and it's actually getting harder and harder to find performance cars with a stick, because modern dual-clutch automatics can shift way faster than even the most talented driver. That really just leaves two arguments for the stick: 1. The upfront cost is still cheaper, because manual transmissions are simpler, and 2. For people who enjoy driving, manuals are fun.

#2 is what some people get all hipster-ish about, because it's the more traditional and "pure" way to drive a car, but you don't have to listen to them. I mean, I bought a GTI with a stick because I don't have a long commute and I live in East Tennessee where I can just about pick any direction and hit an amazing road, but that doesn't mean I would recommend a manual for most people in most other situations, because I wouldn't.

You do realize that you, and most people in this topic, are shitting on manuals just as much as you claim people that like manuals shit on automatics?

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I think manuals are fun for say.. a weekend road trip. Day after day in a busy commute with lots of traffic? Not so much.

Also, sometimes I just want to relax and not think about too much (although still obviously focused on the road and my surroundings).

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gmims44 posted...

Until not that long ago, the best argument for a manual transmission was that they got better fuel economy: the direct mechanical connection was more efficient than a torque converter ("slushbox"). The difference was never huge, but with the high fuel prices in Europe, it would add up to a lot of money over time, so it's not hard to understand why manuals have been so much more popular there. The other argument, and I guess the best in the case of performance cars, was that manual cars were quicker than automatics, again due to the direct mechanical connection rather than a slushbox between power and load.

With modern automatic transmissions, though, neither reason is really true anymore. Manufacturers use enough tricks with them that you don't take a fuel economy hit, and it's actually getting harder and harder to find performance cars with a stick, because modern dual-clutch automatics can shift way faster than even the most talented driver. That really just leaves two arguments for the stick: 1. The upfront cost is still cheaper, because manual transmissions are simpler, and 2. For people who enjoy driving, manuals are fun.

#2 is what some people get all hipster-ish about, because it's the more traditional and "pure" way to drive a car, but you don't have to listen to them. I mean, I bought a GTI with a stick because I don't have a long commute and I live in East Tennessee where I can just about pick any direction and hit an amazing road, but that doesn't mean I would recommend a manual for most people in most other situations, because I wouldn't.

Good post

codey posted...

You do realize that you, and most people in this topic, are shitting on manuals just as much as you claim people that like manuals shit on automatics?

No actually, I am not

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pinky0926 posted...

"You know those accelerate slower?"
"It's not as fuel efficient you know?"
"Do you even have a man card? If so can you return it please?"

Lol are these people stuck in 2005?

I can't imagine how annoyed I would be in city traffic with constant stops and shifting.

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evilpresident posted...

If it's any consolidation, I have no idea on how to drive automatic. I tried it but it just doesn't click for me.

You literally just drive and stop. With no steps to get to either other than the brake and gas pedals. What's not clicking?

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Extreme_light posted...

Lol are these people stuck in 2005?

I can't imagine how annoyed I would be in city traffic with constant stops and shifting.

It doesn't bother me. The length of some commutes is more troublesome to me.

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my dad has an auto mercedes c-class estate car - i like it as it is easy to drive and that particular auto box is a very good one

my car is manual its a sub-compact called a KA

auto is better for people who drive long distances all the time - manual is better for town driving and shorter distances at least IMHO

manual gives people a better sense of control i guess

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American cars are like one and half times bigger than British cars so I dont see why they think a leas advanced transmission is that big a deal.

Tiny little matchbook cars.

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Manuals aren't too bad to learn overall and can be more fun at times than automatic. I don't, however, get the superiority complex that surrounds them. If I ever bought a manual transmission vehicle, it would likely not be a daily driver (I do primarily city driving).

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