Anyone use manual as daily driver?

V_Eight

Founding Member

Sep 5, 2002

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ATL

May 12, 2004

#21

• May 12, 2004

• #21

I've had four cars, three of which were manual. When I had the auto, I dreamt of a manual. I have yet to want an auto, even in the WORST of traffic.

Andrew

 

R

RICKS

New Member

Jun 5, 2003

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Ocala, FL

May 12, 2004

#22

• May 12, 2004

• #22

It depends on the type of vehicle. My truck is an auto, and it's fine that way, it's a truck. Same for my Lincoln LS, 'cause it's a luxo-cruiser. An automatic in a Mustang? Man, that's a pony car, a sporting car, a car you buy because you think that a car should be MORE than just a tool, just an appliance. It should be an experience. Bottom line, for us pro-manual people, driving a standard shift car is FUN. Even on a daily basis, it's fun. You don't think of the shifting as being "work", 'cause it's not work at all for us, it's fun, it's an enhancement of the driving experience! It makes my daily commute to work something more interesting than plopping my butt in a seat and aiming a steering wheel and nodding-off from the boredom. If you don't have fun driving a stick V8 Mustang, well, I personally just don't get it, I'd be checking your pulse. But don't hate me for praising the joys of shifting! Maybe you've become more of a "point A to point B" kind of driver with age. Maybe you're also the guy in the McDonalds driverthru waiting in a 12-car-long line for crappy unhealthy food to eat in one hand while the car shifts itself. But maybe not, I don't know, you may have perfectly great reasons. But I don't need to understand your lack of motivation to shift, just as you don't need to agree with my opinion that shifting is about as much work as twiddling thumbs. There's no need to be defensive or grumpy about it, either way. If you don't like shifting, fine with me. Myself, I can't imagine how something as simple and easy and barely qualifying as effort being considered a "chore" or unappealing. But then again, some people wear velcro sneakers 'cause tying laces is a chore to them. That said, I can understand and respect totally if a physical problem, or aging joints, makes shifting difficult or uncomfortable, but otherwise, I'm at a loss. If I were in LA, I can again see the point. But then again, I'd sooner chew on a shotgun barrel than live in that kind of congestion day-in day-out.

 

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Z28x

New Member

Sep 19, 2003

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Albany NY

May 12, 2004

#23

• May 12, 2004

• #23

I have a Manual for a daily driver, somedays I love it some days I hate it. I think my next car is going to be an automatic (hopfully 5 or 6 speed with paddle shifters)

 

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Phoenix00GT

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Apr 26, 2004

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Bay Area, CA

May 12, 2004

#24

• May 12, 2004

• #24

it's all about where you live and your personal preferences...

I've had very high traffic commutes and was glad that at the time I had an auto that I could fall back on to get to and from work

I don't like dealing with the manual in traffic because I am constantly thinking about how soon I'm going to have to replace the damn clutch...on the plus side it builds your left quad and calf like a muther and you can shoot gaps in traffic a lot better than in an auto

 

downsouthman1

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Dec 16, 2003

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Texas

May 12, 2004

#25

• May 12, 2004

• #25

Out of the 4 cars I've had, 3 in my name, 3 were manual. I've commuted in Austin, TX for 2 years back & forth to where I live in a manual. That car was slow, so I hated having a manual. I live in the DFW Metroplex for 2 years w/ a Manual 2K GT for 1.5 years of that time & it didn't bother me. It has been said already but it's much easier in traffic w/ a manual IMHO because when you need to decelarate you just take your feet off all the pedals. In an auto you don't hit the clutch, but you hit the brake. If you have to hit a pedal anyway, why not have it be a clutch, so you can have fun driving? From the autos I've driven in my life I've learned that in the Auto I'd be on the brake & in the manual I'd be on the clutch to downshift, then nothing. So I decided that since with either car I need one pedal or the other, I chose the standard. Much more fun than a Boromatic.

 

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Brokecobra

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Aug 14, 2003

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May 12, 2004

#26

• May 12, 2004

• #26

I have had 6 cars of which 5 where manual. The only auto was my 97 Mustang GT, I didnt know any better, which was very nice in bumper to bumper traffic. But after I got my Cobra and found out how nice a manual is I havent owned another Auto. Sometimes in bumper to bumper the clutch action can get old but when you drive your car on a good road and have the option of instant throttle response it is worth all the trouble in the world.

I will eventually get another automatic in a cruiser family car but in my mind a Mustang screams for a manual.

 

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MustangSteve007

New Member

Mar 17, 2004

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May 12, 2004

#27

• May 12, 2004

• #27

I have an Auto stang... and cant wait to get the 2005 manual.. at least i wont be made fun of anymore..

 

90_Red_LX

Member

Sep 29, 2003

668

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Asheboro, NC

May 12, 2004

#28

• May 12, 2004

• #28

Manual....driven 3 manual cars, and only a few autos. Been in bumper to bumper traffic with my stang (road paving on a highway they just paved last year...grrr) and while my leg did get tired, it wasn't exhausted, and for the abiility to be able to slam through the gears vrs *click* drive, I consider my manual a god send.

 

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sajawebb

New Member

Apr 4, 2004

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May 12, 2004

#29

• May 12, 2004

• #29

Ok you manual drivers are making good sense, but how is insurance? More with a stick???

 

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Z28x

New Member

Sep 19, 2003

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Albany NY

May 12, 2004

#30

• May 12, 2004

• #30

sajawebb said:

Ok you manual drivers are making good sense, but how is insurance? More with a stick???

Click to expand...

I beleive it is the same.

Most people like what they were raised on are used to.

 

S

scottie1113

Founding Member

Mar 14, 2002

1,398

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Grass Valley CA

May 12, 2004

#31

• May 12, 2004

• #31

Yes, I think it's the same. I have been driving since 1964 and I have never been asked by any insurance company what kind of transmission my cars have had.

 

R

RICKS

New Member

Jun 5, 2003

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Ocala, FL

May 13, 2004

#32

• May 13, 2004

• #32

I think the insurance companies consider it a wash:

On one side, you could say that manual drivers are more performance-oriented, therefore more risky....

On the other side, you could say that manual drivers are more engaged drivers, paying more attention to the ACT of driving, always having to process what's going on around them in order to anticipate gear changes and clutch engagement, and being a more involved and enthusiastic driver. Those drivers probably take the whole act of driving more seriously than your average zoned-out, can't-drive, can't walk and chew gum at the same time, disconnected drone that thinks of driving as that pain-in-the-rear thing you gotta do between the mall and home.

So on average, big picture, they likely did a bunch of studies and discovered it's six of one, half dozen of the other.

 

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Toney C

New Member

Jan 23, 2004

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Texas

May 13, 2004

#33

• May 13, 2004

• #33

Good quote for the driver who perfers the manual transmission:

To the orderd logic of the A-to-B driver, the 5 gear journey may seem impractical.

But to the enthusiast, faced with endless winding road, it's crazy to have anything less.

 

Play Fast

New Member

Nov 19, 2002

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Virginia

May 13, 2004

#34

• May 13, 2004

• #34

I drive a manual and although it can get annoying in traffic, I would not have it any other way!

 

admdavs

New Member

Feb 25, 2004

369

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Chicago

May 13, 2004

#35

• May 13, 2004

• #35

I agree entirely- having driven an automatic for the past five years- I am itching to drive manual soooo bad. I have even rented from Enterprise for a week just to get behind a manual again last year. My next car has to be manual or I won't make the purchase.

 

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FNG 2001

Founding Member

Sep 5, 2001

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Hawthorne, CA

May 13, 2004

#36

• May 13, 2004

• #36

In 12 years of driving in L.A. traffic, I only had an auto for about a year (a BMW 5.25i. The whole time I had that car, I wished it was stick... even in traffiic. Manuals are for real driving enthusiasts. Anything less, and I feel like I am at "Autotopia" at Disneyland. I like to do more than steer. The only time it really sucks to have a stick is when you are stuck on an inclined metered on-ramp behind a line of cars. It gets hard not to burn the clutch at least a little.

 

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5iveL173r

New Member

Mar 1, 2004

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May 14, 2004

#37

• May 14, 2004

• #37

um...yes, and ALOT of people do, ****.

 

RJC_Pony99

Founding Member

Oct 26, 2002

293

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New Hyde Park, NY

May 14, 2004

#38

• May 14, 2004

• #38

I'll Chime in.

I have driven my 99GT for 100k miles in NYC traffic. Bumper to Bumper traffic is bad, but I really enjoy the early morning commute when the roads are almost empty.

I am currently looking for a new daily driver and will probably get an automatic (My wife can share the car then). I will save the Stang for occasional fun.

Matter of preference.

 

TheDamned

"I am Canadian and Damned for it!"

Jul 22, 2003

457

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48

Montréal, Québec, Canada

May 14, 2004

#39

• May 14, 2004

• #39

Cobra18 said:

Anyone use manual as daily driver? Is it really as annoying as some say?

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Not at all, this is my first car and i only drove manual cars so far (mom's car, dad's car...) so i have no problem with it... I guess it's more fun then auto cars, you can 'feel' the car more.

 

R

RICKS

New Member

Jun 5, 2003

580

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Ocala, FL

May 14, 2004

#40

• May 14, 2004

• #40

My wife can share the car then

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You should really teach your wife to learn how to drive a stick, I consider it a safety issue. I wouldn't leave the house in my stick-shift with my wife in the passenger seat, if I didn't know that she could drive it for me if something were to happen to me out in the middle of nowhere.... Everybody should at least KNOW how to drive a stick, even if they prefer auto. Unless, of course, there's a physical problem like bad knees, etc.etc... It's not like it's difficult.