Fluff time: when driving do you prefer to drive a stick or automatic transmission, and why?

I used to drive a stick shift because it got better gas mileage. That was many years ago. My current car is an automatic, because the auto makers have been able to make automatics have much better gas mileage than they did in the past. Stick shifts are a pain in the arse.

I definitely prefer a stick because I used to drive by the tachometer, not the speedometer. If I like the car I want to drive stick. But about once every year I’d get a gout attack in the knees and was very sorry I owned a stick. I couldn’t lift my legs from the floor to the pedal without pulling them up by the pant-leg. It was a real pain, literally.

Now I drive an automatic because I live in a fairly densely populated high gridlock area.
I drove a stick for decades, I prefer it, I feel like have a more subtle and complete control of the car while driving a stick.
Ah, well. <sigh> At least I don’t have to put my coffee down at every Stop sign.

I learned to drive on a stick, really enjoyed it and my first few cars were manual. I never used the tachometer and just went by how the car felt (not by how it sounded as the radio was always up high). I liked it because with the manual transmission, the car had more power, even if it was only 4 cylinders. Manual was not good for city driving and traffic jams, both of which I experience a lot. If you have to do anything else while driving, like pick up a drink (drink like coffee or soda LOL), it wasn’t convenient. Once I started purchasing automatics, I never looked back.

I always say it’s good for every driver to know how to drive manual transmission, in case of emergency, for example if the only vehicle available is a manual transmission, you can drive it away, or if you need to borrow a car and only manual is available, you have that car available to you.

Stick, never owned an automatic.

i drove a stick and liked it – for about 2 weeks. But I truly enjoy using an automatic. I can relax, and let it do the bull work. If I need to do something out of the ordinary I can override it but for 98% of the time it does exactly what I would have done.
My Subaru has a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). It is like having an infinite number of gears. I am truly amazed at how well it works. Maybe there will be durability problems down the road. Who knows.

At this time my car is an automatic but I prefer a standard transmission. I used to tell people it was because of better gas mileage or because it gave me more control but in truth it was just because I enjoyed the shifting. It gave me the feeling of being more involved with the operation of the vehicle. I prefer a shifter on the floor over one on the column; just something more ergonomically pleasing.
I have a friend who wanted a F350 4×4 with a standard transmission and, because he could not find one closer, ended up going all the way from Texas to Montana in order to purchase one.

I use a teleporter.

I drove a stick for years. Now I have an automatic.

Stick was great when I was driving long distances on the freeway to work. Stick is not so much fun in city traffic at rush hour.

I’m with @LuckyGuy – let the automatic transmission deal with it.

One day, during my stint in college, I found myself riding with several other people in a large jacked-up 4wd supercab pickup that looked like it had been cobbled together from several other unrelated vehicles, off road in one of the deserts in Northern Mexico . In addition the the multi-colored exterior, dingle balled interior decorations with Mary and several assorted saints glued to the dashboard and hand-crafted camper shell designed to capture as much dust as the truck could kick up, it had a four speed shift on the floor that had been added by the vehicle owner when a new transmission had been installed
Fred, the owner of the vehicle, drove these “roads” with a beer in one hand, a spit can in the other, a chaw of tobacco between his cheek and gums and a cigarette hanging from between his lips. While somehow remembering which was the spit can and which was the beer he managed to steer and shift up and down as necessitated by the rough terrain being traversed. Shifting was a somewhat complicated affair in which Fred violently stomped a recalcitrant clutch to the floor with both feet and lurched over to the right for the four speed while holding the beer upright without spilling. As Fred reached over, grabbed the chrome skull shaped shifter knob and jammed it back and forth as hard as he could to ensure it ground into the proper gear tt also meant that DeDe had spread her legs a little wider which meant Freds eyes were no longer on the road. DeDe, a cute little redhead who had decided to travel in what later came to be called Daisy Duke shorts, had been selected to ride in middle, next to Fred, by Fred and this position required she straddle the shifter.
It was not like he did not have enough to do piloting the truck but at random times during the expedition Fred would also slam the shifter on the column up or down for no apparent reason and with no apparent effect on the vehicle. When questioned about why he did this he said he had left it in when he had replaced the transmission so that he could shift when he felt like it but really didn’t need to.
A man after my own heart.

I prefer helicopters

I drove a stick for years, but my knee is kind of a mess now, so I drive an automatic.
The thing I loved about driving a stick was the feel of control when driving. Driving an automatic just feels like pointing the car.

I prefer to shift gears and always bought cars with manual transmissions. I recently purchased a Prius, however, so that’s the end of my clutching-shifting days. Hybrids don’t come in 5-speed.

Manual but those cars are getting too rare to rent.

When I got my current car, I wanted something with attitude and test drove the new Camaro….POS. Then I headed over to Ford and test drove the Mustang GT and it had a stick and serious attitude as that car absolutely flew! It had almost too much power and the tires let loose more than a few times. When I returned to the dealer….there was a car that caught my eye….it was a stylin silver Taurus SHO with the top of the line power package, It is an automatic with paddle shifters that when you drive in sport mode that car had every bit of speed as the Mustang GT and a ton more fun to drive. Twin turbos will get that car from 0–60 in 5.1 secs. What a fun fun fun car to drive!

My first car had a manual on the steering column. Then I got a fourth gear with a VW.Today it is pretty nice. My wife’s Civic has an automatic and we enjoy it very much. My Miata has a manual and I enjoy it very much. But the car is worthless on ice and snow because of it’s tendency to lose traction on gear shifts (probably driver error) For winter, my old Diesel Mercedes with the automatic is a fine winter beast. I’ve never tried a side by side enjoyment test using the same vehicle with each transmission to determine my true preference. I will say in congested traffic an automatic takes at least one frustration away.

I learned to drive in a 1959 VW Bug—need I add it was a stick?—and didn’t transition to automatic for several years. Even then, I drove stick cars on and off for years and I still can, though I haven’t owned one since the ‘70s. But I’m glad I learned “the old fashioned way,” for the same reason I’m glad I learned DOS before icon-based OS’s became the norm. Stick driving gave me a good, basic feel for cars, just as DOS gave me a good, basic understanding of computers.

I prefer manual transmissions, makes me feel more in tune with the vehicle and pay better attention to driving.
Mrs Squeeky though will only drive an automatic so we have both,but I prefer the stick though her SUV is almost new so we take that on any long treks,and when we do I miss my stick shift.
An old guy was telling me the other day,all vehicles should still be manuals,the manufacturers are making the vehicles so damn easy to drive these days,he was saying in his opinion that is why so many feel they can text, use the cell phone,play on the computer and so forth while driving,hence all the distracted driving if all the vehicles were manual people would be forced to pay better attention to their driving instead of their gadgets,I couldn’t help but agree.

A stick shift can be fun but it’s nice to have a hand free (with automatic trans.) when I’m on a date.

In heavy never-ending stop-and-go freeway traffic (very common around here) a manual transmission can become very tedious. But that’s what I drive. But I can dig an automatic.

I like manual in a sports car. I don’t enjoy manual when it’s very mountainous and primarily local driving, especially in America where no one follows the “rules” and they stop behind you too close to your back bumper. Get back! When I start up I might roll backwards. Lol. Now, many manual cars have a catch where it holds the car from rolling backwards.

Automatic I prefer in a sedan during regular commuting and daily errands. Even long trips it’s more brainless and more relaxing.

After writing all that out I guess I prefer automatic mostly, and love stick when I’m in the mood to feel the road and focus on the fun of driving.

@SQUEEKY2 I say all teens should drive a stick so they don’t, eat, drink or text, while driving. Although, in another way I think learning in a stick requires more concentration on the function of the car, and I want as much attention as possible in the road and hoping their reaction time is at optimum. Worrying about changing gears and not stalling can be a distraction.

I remember when I learned to drive – my mom taught me on a stick. We lived in a “rural city” and we practiced in an empty parking lot. First, second, third, neutral. Just getting the feel of it. Then once we went on the street, it was having to concentrate on the gears, the feel of the car (like I said previously, I didn’t learn with the tach, I learned by the feel), plus signaling, plus finding a good song on the radio, etc. It was a lot to concentrate on, but once you know it, you know it forever.

Yep, @jca remember having to learn how to feather the clutch to start on an incline and how terrifying it was at first, especially with another car behind you?

@rojo: Oh yeah, I have fond memories of my mom yelling “Give it gas, give it gas!” Then I’d get nervous and the car would stall. We lived in a place with many steep hills. Great place to learn, though.

I have good friends who purchased some standard shift vehicles, and the husband tried to teach my friend how to drive. He taught her to shift too low. She’d barely be out of the driveway, and according to his instructions, she’d already be in 4th gear. I told her she was shifting too low. The car barely had any power. Their clutches all gave out way too soon. I blamed it on the way he taught her. He taught her by the tach, not by the feel. It wouldn’t rev and she’d be shifting, because of the way he taught.

Another downside of standard shift is the cost of replacing the clutch. I have had several automatic transmissions and none have needed new trannies, but almost all the standard shift cars I had needed new clutches at one time or another. Lots of money for that.

Yeah, I learned to shift by ear. When that old VW got wound up, it was time to shift.

@rojo: Roooom, roooom!

Manual, preferably German. I think of automatic transmissions as “uncontrollable transmissions”. I prefer the connection and control over what the transmission is doing. I feel more engaged with what’s going on, and more capable of getting a specific amount of force when I need it, and for cornering, etc. I don’t like to learn (or more often, not really know, and have to guess and make do with) what an auto will do in response to speed/gas/gravity and then be stuck with that.

My cons for manual are the need for more hands and feet, which can be less convenient for long trips and when tired. Or for an unfamiliar car. Some manual transmissions can be quite tricky.

@Zaku Now it’s getting more and more difficult even to get a manual on German cars. Even Porsche makes some cars not available in a manual, because the performance is better in their “automatic.”

I prefer a manual. I have more control with it. I didn’t get my first automatic transmission until was about 40 years old, and then only because I couldn’t find a Pontiac with a manual.
When I was a kid (16+) I had a manual shift Vega. Several boys admiringly told me that I shifted so smoothly it was like an automatic.

We had a 63 Beetle for a time in the last couple of years. The first time I drove it my husband was all primed to tell the pretty little lady how to drive a stick. He shut up pretty quick, though! I drove it better than he did.

@Dutchess_III You rock, girl!

I’ve only owned manual transmission vehicles, but I’ve driven both plenty. Generally I prefer manual because it affords a more pleasurable and immersive experience; it creates a nice rhythm of body movements while you’re driving.

I don’t have problems driving automatics, though, and prefer them when driving large box trucks, which I have some work experience with. Manual transmission in these cases is a good bit less friendly.

I’ve been eyeing the Honda NC700X (a motorcycle) for a couple of years, and it offers an automatic transmission. I’m more curious about that than I’d like to admit.

@canidmajor Now I drive an automatic because I live in a fairly densely populated high gridlock area.
@elbanditoroso Stick is not so much fun in city traffic at rush hour.
@majorrich I will say in congested traffic an automatic takes at least one frustration away.
@gondwanalon In heavy never-ending stop-and-go freeway traffic (very common around here) a manual transmission can become very tedious. But that’s what I drive.
I never found it a pain to drive in stop-n-go traffic, because I never had to use the brake (well, very seldom) when I was driving a stick. I would just bump the clutch and nudge myself behind the person in front of me. They were braking and hitting the gas, braking and hitting the gas, and I was just bump, glide, bump, glide, then when it picked up, out with the clutch and hit the gas, I was able to punch the holes quicker. Even the hills of San Fran did not give me any trouble less one time.

@jca I learned to drive on a stick, really enjoyed it and my first few cars were manual. I never used the tachometer and just went by how the car felt (not by how it sounded as the radio was always up high).
I used the trifecta of engine sound, tach, and speedometer. If your tach is down, the engine speed is up but there is no power, it spoke clutch slip to me.

Another downside of standard shift is the cost of replacing the clutch. I have had several automatic transmissions and none have needed new trannies, but almost all the standard shift cars I had needed new clutches at one time or another. Lots of money for that.
Of all the sticks I ever owned I have never had a gearbox problem, it might have been a linkage problem, a couple of clutches, some slave master cylinders, and one shifter arm, but never the gears. I have had too many automatics go south, slips, won’t go into a certain gear, something grinding down internally sending shavings to clog up the filter, bad modulator valves, won’t back up, won’t get out of 1st, and none of that was cheap. You can’t even really guess what most of it is you have to have it tested at the transmission shop before you even know what you are in for. With a stick, I pretty much knew where my problems were, won’t shift when the shifter moves, throw out bearing, slave cylinder, or linkage. Shifts but doesn’t have power, clutch, throw out bearing busted splines, etc. There were only so many things that could go wrong so troubleshooting was way better, and if you had skills and time, a clutch on most vehicles are not too hard to do.

@SQUEEKY2 An old guy was telling me the other day,all vehicles should still be manuals,the manufacturers are making the vehicles so damn easy to drive these days,he was saying in his opinion that is why so many feel they can text, use the cell phone,play on the computer and so forth while driving,hence all the distracted driving if all the vehicles were manual people would be forced to pay better attention to their driving instead of their gadgets,I couldn’t help but agree.
For the most part I agree, when driving a stick I am more piloting the vehicle so I have to be in tuned to hills, stops, curves, engine draw, etc. but when you become so good at it that it is almost second nature, you can get distracted. I was able to do an adult motor route, look at the route book for the addresses, toss the paper where they had to go, insert the papers on the fly, and roll them, plus sip my soda all while shifting down the route, the freeway was more easier to get distracted because you did not have to do any real clutching if the traffic was flowing. I do think it would be harder to text while shifting a lot.

Well, @Hypocrisy_Central, lucky you, then. The gridlock I experienced when I moved to the NYC metro area is different than other metro areas I’d lived, and I was glad to switch to automatic, with which, BTW, I don’t seem to have the problems you describe. Just a different way of driving.
I’d love to still have a stick for non-gridlock driving, but two cars at this time would be ridiculous.

I agree with @canidmajor that unless you’ve driven in a city like NYC, you’ve not really driven in extreme density traffic. There are “cities” elsewhere where I live, and they’re nothing like the stop and go, sit sit sit traffic of NYC. Then, with a manual transmission, it’s a dance of first, neutral, brake and clutch to where it gets tiring quickly.

My grandparents have a farm and when I was growing up, I helped out in the fields on the tractors from about the age of 13 on. So I learned to drive a stick at an early age. I drove a stick for 15 years before I ever drove an automatic. When I first drove an automatic, I had the problem of slamming on the breaks because I forgot the car had no clutch. That only lasted a few days. But. For years, I’d reach for the gear shift that didn’t exist every now and then.

I’ll drive either with no preference, except that I really like that I can let other people drive my car on long drives or when I’m tired. So many people, including my husband, have no idea how to drive a stick. My husband wanted me to teach him, but I didn’t want him to burn out my clutch. That always seems to happen when an adult learns to drive a stick.

@keobooks: That thing with the brakes/clutch made me nuts, too, in the beginning. And I still, if distracted, sometimes slap my right thigh when I need to downshift. I guess it never goes away! :-)