Standard vs. automatic

[MaximRecoil]

Most Chargers were automatics (something like 75% of them I believe), and most passenger vehicles in general are automatics (in the United States at least), to the point that no new full-size pickup trucks from the Big Three are even available with a standard anymore (that's what I heard anyway, correct me if I'm wrong). According to Jay Leno, even some European sports cars have eliminated the manual transmission as an option.

When talking to people (guys at least), it seems that there are far more of them that claim to prefer standards than there are that actually own standards.

So maybe women are largely responsible for the death of the standard, after all, they account for about half of the population, and most of them prefer automatics and aren't ashamed to admit it. However, even vehicles which are predominately owned by men, such as pickup trucks and muscle cars, are mostly automatics.

Personally, I prefer a standard, and I've always gone out of my way to own one. My '69 Charger is unfortunately an automatic, but that was a case of "beggars can't be choosers". Eventually I want to convert my car to a standard though. That would actually make it fun to drive, even though it doesn't have much of an engine.

My Dodge Dakota is a 5-speed. It needs a new clutch though, and has since I bought it, so its current chattering clutch sucks the fun out of driving it.

[burnout.dawg]

Yes, manual is fun to drive...but living in a city where it seems every other corner has a traffic light...automatic trumps manual. Does this make me a woman driver?

[6spd68]

I think standard transmissions for most guys is like "hair on the chest", gives them that "OH I KNOW HOW TO DRIVE STICK" statement, when in reality they suck at it.  Hence why as you said \/

When talking to people (guys at least), it seems that there are far more of them that claim to prefer standards than there are that actually own standards.

Much like how many guys will claim to be car guys while knowing SFA about them.

For me, I live in the heart of downtown Toronto (A big Canadian City).  Think Chicago with a waterfront.  Driving around there during the day?  No question in my mind I'd want an automatic.  Now at night or driving somewhere with less traffic, I'll take standard hands down.  I prefer driving standard when it's ideal to do so.  The last thing I want to do is sit in bumper to bumper traffic for an hour going clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch, clutch.

That being said though, if I'm driving a 5-ton or another big utility truck, give me a 6-speed all day.  (Used to for work)

I grew up in the suburbs, and for the last 8 years, I've always owned two cars.  My T-bird (5-Speed) for fun.  And my G-body Bonneville's (automatic) to get me around and run errands with.  Standard is more fun for spirited driving and really feeling the car, the road, and just an overall sense of control over the situation.  Automatic is more of a simple, get there, from A-to-B type drive.  Now that I live downtown, I only need one car, hence 68 Dodge Charger.  Being as it will serve me as a fun car, it will be a 6-speed.  For anything else, I can either walk, or hop on a streetcar.

Based on my experience, I come to my personal conclusion that most people just don't have a fun car on the side anymore, and just drive automatic for the convenience factor.  Plus it's an easy pass to say "I'd rather drive stick", and make it look like you've got some hair on your nuts when around manly men.

I still remember when I first got the T-bird I have now(Circa 2006).  I'd had my complete driveline out of the T-bird I had prior (Built 302 + TKO600) ready to drop in over the winter, but for the fall I drove around with the 2.3 turbo and 5-speed.  A couple times I had friends like that, the "I LOVE STANDARD! I HATE THAT MY CAR'S AN AUTO!" crowd.  Hand'em the keys, cause hey, not like they'll brake anything important.  Keep in mind, this is a 87 Turbo coupe w/ 90K miles on it (Mustang SVO tranny that shifted like butter).  Car starts, 1st gear (Almost stalls), 2nd gear (Loud synchro rev correction), 3rd gear (ASKJDHASJKDH IASHDKLSAHDLKJSABHDJK).

^this happened more then once with slightly different outcomes.  Needless to say I do not let anyone drive my car now that it has the 347...

Therefor, I think the claims hold little to no warrant without actually having a vehicle to back it up.  Much like when you get that friend who claims they can drink, and 5 beers deep you find them praying to the porcelain gods.

I'd say most true DRIVERS prefer standard, commuters and everyone else can have auto.

[maxwellwedge]

Chicago has a fantastic waterfront - Toronto could learn a lot from them on what they should do with theirs...

Yes - A stick is brutal in bumper to bumper traffic....but great anytime else. I have a combo of auto's and sticks....they are what they are seeing how they are all on 40+ year back-order! 

But - A stick screams musclecar more-so than an automatic.

[6spd68]

Chicago has a fantastic waterfront - Toronto could learn a lot from them on what they should do with theirs...

Indeed,

They're working on it though...  I have to live with the construction until 2015 

[Tilar]

I'm torn on this very decision on my 68. Albeit a 3 speed on the column, it was originally a standard transmission car so changing it to a 4 speed would be very easy, plus fun to drive around here. That being said I have a 518 3 wire transmission that I've thought real serious about rebuilding and using because that would make it easier on gas on a road trip... and I like to travel. 

[6spd68]

Here's how you've gotta look at it.  When do you plan on driving the car the most?  What is your true "Free" moment in the car where you're one with it?  If that's when you're out alone at night in low traffic, go stick.  If you'd rather do long road-trips where you may run into insane highway traffic jams, or if you plan to just putt around in the car and take it to car shows, auto may be a better friend to you. 

[maxwellwedge]

Chicago has a fantastic waterfront - Toronto could learn a lot from them on what they should do with theirs...

Indeed,

P.S. I was born in and have lived in Toronto all of my life.....I wish we would do something "organized looking" with our waterfront....it could kick ass....but our politicians would take 50 years thinking about it.  

But I digress......

[bull]

I prefer the four speed to auto in my Charger. Lots more fun. But I wouldn't really want one in a commuter car, even though my commute is mostly freeway.

Went for a drive with the wife in the Charger the other day on a long, two-lane highway with no stop signs or lights. I got very bored and took a different route home just so I could hit some stop lights and do some shifting.

[chargd72]

Manuals are more fun to drive but autos are faster in the 1/4.

[MaximRecoil]

Yes, manual is fun to drive...but living in a city where it seems every other corner has a traffic light...automatic trumps manual. Does this make me a woman driver?

I live in a small town, and the nearest cities are small (Bangor, Maine is the biggest one within an hour's drive), but I lived and worked in Tuscon, Arizona for almost a year (about the same population as the entire state of Maine), and had a 4-speed '79 Toyota 4WD pickup, and I never thought twice about it in traffic.

Now if it had been my father's old 1980 4-speed (L, 1, 2, 3) Chevrolet K10, I would have had an issue with it. That thing had a ridiculously stiff clutch for whatever reason, plus something wasn't right with it, i.e., even with the seat as far forward as it would go, it was still a stretch to push in the clutch pedal all the way (and I'm 6' 2"), so city driving in that old beast would have sucked. For that matter, driving it anywhere wasn't much fun, though when he first got it it liked to backfire through the exhaust if you wound it up in low and quickly hit the clutch, which I thought was hilarious (though Dad didn't).

Manuals are more fun to drive but autos are faster in the 1/4.

Not necessarily, especially if your name is Ronnie Sox. But regardless of that, I've never been on a drag strip, so I've never worried about tenths of seconds. And even if I did take a street car to a drag strip from time to time, 99.99% of driving would still be on the road, where with a standard you have more fun (or at least less boredom), plus more power to the wheels and better gas mileage to boot. Also, being able to push-start my vehicles has come in handy quite a few times over the years.

[6spd68]

Also, being able to push-start my vehicles has come in handy quite a few times over the years.

Starter gone?  Bump that!  Finally get it fixed 2 months later when you're sick of findind a hill to park on, or that night you get blocked in on a side street. 

[MaximRecoil]

Starter gone?  Bump that!  Finally get it fixed 2 months later when you're sick of findind a hill to park on, or that night you get blocked in on a side street. 

My mechanic friend's neighbor drove a 5-speed Ranger around for about 2 years with a starter that didn't work. I only ever saw him coming and going from his driveway and into my friend's garage driveway, both of which are hills, but I don't know what he did when he went to e.g. the local grocery store, which has a flat parking lot. Either he left it running or got a good workout every time.

I had an '83 Ford F100, 3-speed on the column, that I had to push-start every now and then because it would refuse to start via the key. Once you forced it to wake up by push-starting it, it would run rough for a few minutes and then come out of it, and be fine for the next several months, or even a year.

[Homerr]

I would rather drive a Toyota Corolla with a manual than a Porsche 911 with an auto.  No really.  I sold my old Charger I restored because it was an auto.

I get that an auto is good for the consistency for drag racing.  An auto with a V8 might be acceptable for some for daily driving.  But I've been living in the auto + 4-cylinder world the last couple of years.

I think autos suck in traffic.  I've been driving a stupid auto the last 2 years (wife's car since mine was stolen, we decided to drop to one car).  It's a 4 cylinder Impreza, or 'NotSoImpreza'.  In stop and go traffic I find that the auto just wants to go at one speed based on what gear it picks.  The problem is that that speed is almost never what speed the car in front of me is piddling along at.  The auto has very poor engine braking, if at all.  More than likely if I am on a slight downward grade the car will accelerate and even upshift with the foot off the gas.  For around town here we have 30mph arterial speeds.  The dumb autobox likes to shift in to its top gear at 31mph under light throttle, so it's constantly clunking in and out of top gear.  Any throttle input beyond tooling along it then needs to downshift to get out of its own way.  Or I have to just 'get beyond' the shift point and drive 35 in the 30.

Freeway on-ramps.  This Impreza, and several auto rental cars that I have had, are all just unsafe compared to a manual.  Rolling on the throttle to accelerate to merge at 60+ but starting at 40+ mph means the dumb thing is already in its top gear and it wants to stay there even if the throttle is mashed to the floor.  So it accelerates like it is towing a 5th wheel for a couple of seconds and then, bam! it downshifts and revs go from 2,000 to 3,500 but its not going any faster, then another second and bam! it downshifts again and climbs to 4,500 rpm for 0.5 seconds and pulls itself up to 50mph.  I have a shorter, slightly uphill on-ramp I deal with this everyday on and manual shifting the auto does nothing, repeat nothing.  It finds what gear it wants despite my 'suggestion' with the shifter.  The timing of this BS while its raining, I'm full-throttle, mirror/signal/headcheck, traffic is still going 5mph faster than me, and then a transmission that is like a Kato surprise judo attack.

I now understand that on an on-ramp me giving a shitbox car 100% yields about 5% better results than some old lady giving 30% throttle in her Camry.  I'm merging at 52mph and she's merging at 46mph.  Both suck.

At least with all of the above in a manual car I have some control over what is happening.  I can accelerate where I want to on an on-ramp (not the last 50' of it), I can engine brake on hills, I can drive without some stupid computer profile clunking shifts up and down over 1mph.


TLDR:  autos are utter crap.

[MaximRecoil]

I would rather drive a Toyota Corolla with a manual than a Porsche 911 with an auto.  No really.  I sold my old Charger I restored because it was an auto.

I'm the same way, though I wouldn't go so far as to sell my Charger; it would be too much of a headache and expense to get another one. I console myself with the idea that I'll convert it to a standard one of these days.

TLDR:  autos are utter crap.

I read it all; funny post, and I agree with it. I live in a very hilly town, and my Charger loves to stay in 2nd gear when I make a 90 degree turn onto an uphill street, which always reminds me of where the term "bogamatic" came from (doesn't help that it is only a tired 318 under the hood and 2.71:1 gears in the back). I can either floor it to get a fairly instant response to shift to first or I can lightly increase the throttle and sometimes it will decide to shift to first and sometimes it won't. I can also manually shift to first, which isn't particularly natural when driving a column-shift automatic. When driving my Dakota, or any other standard, I shift it into the correct gear as I'm turning the wheel to head up a hill (usually second, which is of course a lot different than second gear in an automatic).

[chargd72]

Manuals are more fun to drive but autos are faster in the 1/4.

Not necessarily, especially if your name is Ronnie Sox.
[/quote]

Ronnie was definitely the man and owned the strip.  But that was some time ago.  In stock form, a manual can be faster depending of the driver.  But a fully built race auto will out perform a fully built race manual.  But, like you said, 99% will most likely never need to put that to the test.  Personally, I prefer full manual but my Charger is getting a manual valve body.

[charger_fan_4ever]

3 of my 4 vehicules are stick.

I like them as they are more bullet proof no sensors to go awol on you and not shift/downshift.
More economical than a slush box.
Way less to repair "if" you ever need to dig into one to fix it.

I have had 4 cummins diesel trucks. 2 autos and 2 sticks. Witht he same gear ratio the stick trucks out pull a load a lot easier than a slushbox hands down. A built auto for a diesel is $4k plus to get it to perform somewhat like a stick truck.

I thought the Rams were still available with a stick ?
Gm and ford are all autos for awhile now.

I personally think that not enough $$ is/was made on stick vehicules via repair. It seems that vehicules are not as reliable the more we go away from the tried and true mechanical way.

[MaximRecoil]

I thought the Rams were still available with a stick ?

I don't think the 1500 is, which is the most common size for the average Joe pickup truck buyer. The 2500 and 3500 are both available with a 6-speed manual transmission.

[myk]

Manuals are more fun to drive but autos are faster in the 1/4.

Not necessarily, especially if your name is Ronnie Sox.

Ronnie was definitely the man and owned the strip.  But that was some time ago.  In stock form, a manual can be faster depending of the driver.  But a fully built race auto will out perform a fully built race manual.  But, like you said, 99% will most likely never need to put that to the test.  Personally, I prefer full manual but my Charger is getting a manual valve body.
[/quote]

Manual valve body-there you go!

[MaximRecoil]

Manual valve body-there you go!

I wonder if a clutch could be rigged up to a Torqueflite with a full-manual valve body. Then you'd have something like a Lenco (clutch only used to start off, clutchless shifts thereafter). I still prefer an H-pattern shifter though, and to use a clutch to regulate power back to the wheels after every gear shift.

[Cooter]

It was called something like a 'clutchflite' and a lot of explosions..4500rpm clutch dumps are for cast iron, NOT aluminum.ask any die hard Chevy guy about modding a Chrysler 833 to take the place of the weaker Muncie M22.

Straight gear till I'm too old to depress the clutch.

[ACUDANUT]

Rodney and Ponch are both here. 

[charger_fan_4ever]

I thought the Rams were still available with a stick ?

I don't think the 1500 is, which is the most common size for the average Joe pickup truck buyer. The 2500 and 3500 are both available with a 6-speed manual transmission.

Yup true enough don't recall the last model 1500 that came with a stick.

Even more ridiculous is the ford and gm 2500/3500 diesel trucks being auto only. I mean come on they were made to work.

[F8-4life]

As much as I want a 4 sp, 6 screws & a bracket in my right shoulder tell me automatic.

[John_Kunkel]

For a daily driver the standard is a PITA but I prefer them for all other cars. IMHO, the demise of the stick is due, in general,  to a laziness (or malaise) in the people as a whole. (Let George do it)

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Ive only owned one manual trans car.  My '99 Mustang GT convertible.  Fun to drive but NO WAY would I want to have to drive it as a daily in NYC traffic

My Charger has a RMVB which is also a blast to drive but again not daily....

Im in the automatic lazy group   LOL

[jaak]

I don't know it its age (37), or because for years my daily drivers were manual... I just as soon have an automatic these days. I had a pistol grip 4 speed rallye Charger a few years back, it was cool for a while, but it wore off. There is no way I'd convert an auto to 4 speed.

Jason

[MaximRecoil]

Fun to drive but NO WAY would I want to have to drive it as a daily in NYC traffic

I wouldn't want to drive anything in NYC traffic. I don't know how you guys stand it.

[ws23rt]

My pref. is for the standard in cars that are driven for the fun of driving.
When I decided I wanted the new challenger I had to wait until the manual trans. was available.

In a freeway back up that was 5 to 15 mph for an hour is the only time I wished it was auto. However the pedal effort in that car is easy compared to the stock B bodys we play with. And the hill hold feature is handy

[odcics2]

Manuals are more fun to drive but autos are faster in the 1/4.

Tell that to Ronnie Sox!   

[MaximRecoil]

I don't know it its age (37), or because for years my daily drivers were manual... I just as soon have an automatic these days. I had a pistol grip 4 speed rallye Charger a few years back, it was cool for a while, but it wore off. There is no way I'd convert an auto to 4 speed.

Jason

I'm 38, and all of my vehicles I've owned have been standards except for my Charger and a $250 rusted-out '79 Impala that I bought on the spur of the moment because my truck had just died, it was for sale down the street, and I needed to get to work. That car got replaced several months later with an '86 5-speed Nissan 4WD pickup.

I don't think I'll ever come around to automatics, no matter how old I get. My grandfather never did. He's been driving Toyota pickups with standard transmissions since the '70s. The first one he had, a '78 I think, went about a half million miles (he had it until about '89 or '90), and he has sworn by them ever since.

And the hill hold feature is handy

I've heard of a hill hold feature, but I've never seen one before. I don't even know how they work. But I learned to drive a standard in Dexter, Maine, which is the hilliest town I know of. It is centered in a narrow valley, with very steep hills on both sides. So I quickly got used to starting on a hill with a standard.

[Ghoste]

Manuals are more fun to drive but autos are faster in the 1/4.

Tell that to Ronnie Sox!   

In spite of what we all think though, there are very few people who can shift like Ronnie Sox.

[Cooter]

The hill holder on my old Subaru was simple and genius. Had a clutch cable to move tge fork along with an opposing cable to pull the E brake which happened to be on the front wheels. You release the clutch, the other cable released the e brake.

[Cooter]

Manuals are more fun to drive but autos are faster in the 1/4.

Tell that to Ronnie Sox!   

In spite of what we all think though, there are very few people who can shift like Ronnie Sox.

And even less that had massivly moddified 4 speeds sitting in a truck provided by Chrysler for free in case you broke somethin.
Not hard to do bonzai shifts when your not paying the bill....
I've driven and been in the car when 'crashboxes' were put through the paces, and while the shifts sound like shotgun blasts, things break when put under that kinda stress.

[XH29N0G]

In a freeway back up that was 5 to 15 mph for an hour is the only time I wished it was auto. However the pedal effort in that car is easy compared to the stock B bodys we play with. And the hill hold feature is handy

I like standards, I know they are slower and I am sure I can't shift right, but that is what I have driven mostly.  I also found an advantage to steeper gears I didn't anticipate.  Easier in traffic (can drive along very slowly) and easier to start on hills. 

[MaximRecoil]

Is there any class of drag racing anywhere in the world that is restricted to manual transmissions? Probably not, but that would be something I'd be interested in following. That alone would add more of the driver skill element, i.e., a bigger chance of a technically inferior car winning due to the superiority of the driver. Maybe even the next Ronnie Sox would emerge.

I also found an advantage to steeper gears I didn't anticipate.  Easier in traffic (can drive along very slowly) and easier to start on hills.  

Definitely. In fact, with low enough gears you don't even need the gas pedal to get going, not even on a hill. When the gears get low enough they become next to impossible to stall, even if you pop the clutch from a standstill on a fairly steep hill without touching the gas. This is easily demonstrated with a 4WD truck in low range, especially one like my father's old 1980 Chevy which had a 6.68:1 "granny low" 1st gear (NP-435 transmission).

4WD trucks in low range are a good tool for teaching people to drive a standard too; lets them get a feel for clutch engagement and whatnot without any chance of stalling it and getting frustrated.

[ws23rt]

Manuals are more fun to drive but autos are faster in the 1/4.

Tell that to Ronnie Sox!   

In spite of what we all think though, there are very few people who can shift like Ronnie Sox.

And even less that had massivly moddified 4 speeds sitting in a truck provided by Chrysler for free in case you broke somethin.
Not hard to do bonzai shifts when your not paying the bill....
I've driven and been in the car when 'crashboxes' were put through the paces, and while the shifts sound like shotgun blasts, things break when put under that kinda stress.

I haven't raced at the drags---just fun on the street---
I friend told me how to power shift when I was 18--In my 69 Bee 383---  
He said get speed in 1st gear than with full gas pound the clutch and pull the shifter hard and fast at the same time.
I replaced synchros in the trans and the clutch three times on warranty  

[RECHRGD]

There are many advantages to a manual transmission that have already been addressed not the least of which is the fun factor.  In my younger years I loved both drag and road racing.  I can still pull off a decent speed shift and remember the heel/toe braking and double clutching downshifts of the past.  When I got my charger, it had a manual valve body and I thought I would love it.  However the Charger had no cup holders or other civilized amenities.  I soon found that I really appreciated the use of a free hand while cruising in traffic these days.  When the tranny blew shortly after getting the car on the road, I rebuilt it back to fully automatic and haven't regretted it since. 

[Baldwinvette77]

i like manual, which is strange cause i have very little experience with it, only drove a stick shift car all of 15 minutes  every car i've owned, or had a chance to drive was an auto, i cant really go around asking to borrow a stick shift to practice on, and rentals aren't avalible.. so im on my own, cant wait till my charger runs 

[MaximRecoil]

i like manual, which is strange cause i have very little experience with it, only drove a stick shift car all of 15 minutes  every car i've owned, or had a chance to drive was an auto, i cant really go around asking to borrow a stick shift to practice on, and rentals aren't avalible.. so im on my own, cant wait till my charger runs 

When I was a kid I tried to get everyone I knew with a standard to let me try to drive it, but no one would. When I was about 10 years old (1985), my older sister had a boyfriend named Jim who had an Opel station wagon, 4-speed. It was small and ugly, late '60s or early '70s probably, some sort of partnership with Buick if I remember right. Well he let me sit in it and pretend to drive and I sat there shifting through all the gears for quite a while. Then he took the parking brake off and let me roll it down the driveway. He'd drive it back up, get out, and I'd roll it down the driveway again. When he was tired of playing that game, I started walking toward my house, when the thing started rolling down the hill. He jumped up like his pants were on fire, but I ran to the car and got there first, opened the door and got my foot on the brake, bringing it to a skidding stop about a foot before it would have gone over a 6 foot dropoff, crossed the street, and slammed into the neighbor's house. He tried to blame me, but he was the last person at the wheel, not me.

About 5 years later, same driveway, I finally got a chance to drive a standard for real. It was my mother's '84 Ford Escort, 2-door, 5-speed. My older brother and his drop-dead gorgeous Filipino-American girlfriend were home for a visit. I asked her to teach me to drive a standard, and Mom said it was okay, so she did. That also became my first car after I got my license about a year after that (and I drove it a lot before that when I had my permit). Mom sold it to me for $400. That thing was unusually powerful for an Escort too. It had a replacement engine in it (it had been replaced just before Mom bought it in the late '80s), but I don't know what it was. It would roast the tires in first and second gear without even trying. Since I didn't know any better, I thought that was normal, until I drove some other Escorts, both standards and automatics, and they were all complete dogs.

[Baldwinvette77]

Neat story  .... i need a stick shift... 

[polywideblock]

here in oz there are more manual V8 's than auto  ones .back in the day 4 speed was the standard trans and auto was an option . I have and auto in the daily drive but even that has "sport " mode where you shift manually guess where the shifter is most of the time    both my real cars are 4 speed   

[MaximRecoil]

back in the day 4 speed was the standard trans and auto was an option .

That was the case here in the United States too for most cars for a long time, which is how manual transmissions in general came to be known as a "standard shift", or simply, a "standard". In many cases the actual standard transmission was a 3-speed manual though, with a 4-speed becoming a popular option in the '60s. The small Japanese imports that started becoming popular in the 1970s usually had a 4-speed as the standard transmission, and in some case, the only transmission available. In the 1980s most of them started coming with a 5-speed manual transmission as standard equipment.

I don't know what the standard transmission for the second generation Charger was. It wouldn't surprise me if it was a 3-speed manual with a column shifter though. That was a common standard transmission on many American vehicles right up through the '70s, and even into the '80s on pickup trucks (the 1986 Ford F-series was the last American vehicle to have it as the standard transmission I believe). Even though they were common as the standard transmission in theory (meaning if you ordered a total barebones vehicle, that's what you would get), in practice they were rather rare by the 1970s, because new car dealers hardly ever ordered them that way, and customers didn't order many that way either (even fleet customers usually went with an automatic or a 4- or 5-speed on the floor).

My 1983 Ford F100 with a "three on the tree" was highly unusual. I bought it in 1994 when I was 19, and none of my friends had ever even seen a 3-speed on the column, much less knew how to drive one. It was the first one I'd ever driven, though my uncle had an early '70s 3-speed on the column Chevy pickup when I was a kid, so I'd seen one before. The night before I bought it I asked my father how to drive it (they were far more popular when he was younger, and he'd taken his driving test in one). He drew a quick diagram on a napkin, and I said, "Oh, it is just an H-pattern, but on the column." I drove it away the next day, first try, with no issues whatsoever.

[Lord Warlock]

Standards today are a far cry from what they were in the old days, even the high powered cars have an easy clutch similar to driving a small import instead of riding a bronco beast that would try to drive in two directions at once, forward to left, rear out to the right.  While I've preferred standard for my cars for 30 years, the auto I have now offers just as much spirit as the 5 or 6 speeds I've had before.  There is no way i'd want to shift a 440 powered charger around in the traffic we have around here.  Standards are great for winding two lane roads through the woods or medium hills/mountains, you can really feel the difference there, especially if you aren't afraid to work the clutch to get the best rpm band.  Unfortunately, I don't live near any mountains, hills or even many twisty deserted roads, just long 6 lane highways encircling a metro downtown which I will avoid in any car, not just the manual shifted ones,  we don't even have hills here, just a crapload of pine trees that block the views ahead. (Florida is flat except in one spot in the state)

I got used to an auto in my first car, it wasn't bad, and it could usually outperform anyone that enjoyed shifting manually, never faced a hemi, but got to try pretty much every other make and body style of the late 60s and 70s.   Today as I got older, and realize driving for fun like I'd prefer isn't likely much around here,  an auto makes much more sense.  then again i'm not talking about driving an unimprezza, or even the wife's 4cyl Nissan.  With the right amount of power behind it, the auto can and does function better than 80% of the enthusiast drivers on the road.  The new challenger crowd often ask the same question, the auto's are known to be a little faster at the track, the manuals get better mileage on the highway.  I can slap shift it manually and power through the entire on ramp just like a si speed can, or I can downshift before my gas foot even gets to the floor, if it doesn't pull hard enough its as easy as another slap to the left and I have launch anytime anywhere.  There are times I miss having a stickshift, but I can get it out of my system easy enough by driving one of my stickshift toys then go back to my cushy stab and steer car that doesn't make me lame on trips to and from the office.

[el dub]

Maybe it's becausepeople cant talk on the phone and shift.

[JB400]

Direct Drive                                                                                                               

[oldcarnut]

I'm 53 and decided to go back to auto.  Stick was fun when it was an occasional driver for sport but daily driving in traffic not for me anymore.  Off-roading a different story.  Other than constantly working the leg,  my size 15W shoes just don't have the room for the extra pedal in newer cars  .

[Chargerguy74]

4 of my Chargers are factory D21 cars (I sold number 5 last year). My daily driver is a 6 speed manual and mostly sees just highway driving. There were a couple times I would have preferred an auto, but even in those situations I wouldn't have traded for one. Manual transmissions are just my cup of tea.

[charger_fan_4ever]

Is there any class of drag racing anywhere in the world that is restricted to manual transmissions? Probably not, but that would be something I'd be interested in following. That alone would add more of the driver skill element, i.e., a bigger chance of a technically inferior car winning due to the superiority of the driver. Maybe even the next Ronnie Sox would emerge.

I'm pretty sure in the NMRA series
(national mustang racing association) there is a stick only class. Will have to dig threw some of my magazines.

[tan top]

 stick    having said that manual trans  is annoying  , ive driven hundreds of thousands of miles in  manual daily drivers , over the last 24 plus years   , hundereds & hundreds of different makes of cars due to work etc, switched to auto v6 daily drivers for a few years  but then , went super economical with a tiny engine & manual trans again , still hate them , but good on fuel        auto is the way    ,
but ,  when I think of a  Daytona or C500 , think four speed !! prolly due to the grandnationL stock cars !! hemi & a four speed  
 sort of the same when I see a  challenger or cuda AAR , or TA , think road racing  ,  manual trans .
for 99 percent of driving  its a auto is the best choice   &  deffinatly in a big ole charger or muscle car , just roll around down the street  with little or no effort in drive at 12 hundred rpm ( depending on what rear gears   )   , but then there is that 1 percent of the time , you want to give the motor a hiding  nailing the gas in every gear , till you run out of road , gear / motor  or nerve   .

 I vote for a auto   although would like to convert the charger to a manual one day
  either a original OEM four speed set up ,  or a 5 speed    

[ACUDANUT]

Auto's are better. You can dip your chewing tobacco, drink a beer and talk on the phone without the pain of shifting...I learned to hate shifting while in Calipornia...My left leg was got to be 5 times bigger lol.  In and out, in and out....my gosh I hated bumper to bumper crawl.  

[MaximRecoil]

I'm a smoker and a Coca-Cola addict, but shuffling stuff around in order to free my right hand when I need to shift gears became second nature to me long ago; I don't even think about it.

[6spd68]

I'm a smoker and a Coca-Cola addict, but shuffling stuff around in order to free my right hand when I need to shift gears became second nature to me long ago; I don't even think about it.

Have you taught yourself the 'hold something plus the steering wheel with your left hand' technique?  Worked good for me back when I smoked.

[toocheaptosmoke]

Every vehicle  I've owned thus far, minus two, have been manuals.  One was a free car that my mom currently drives (1984 oldsmobile 98), and the other a $200 pontiac gran damn.  If that gran damn had a 5 speed behind the old 3.3 it would have been one heck of a fun car!  Primary DD is a 5 speed ram 2500 gasser, secondary DD a 4 speed jeep CJ-8.  Previous DD was a 5 speed 1984 toyota pickup.  Couple off-road yotas are also manuals.  Converted my charger over to a 5 speed.

Just kind of grew into it, my dad was a standard transmission fan, so that's what I learned to drive in.  Luckily I don't have to commute through heavy traffic on a regular basis, but I'm a die-hard standard transmission guy.  One of the biggest problems now is the lack of other people who can't drive standards.   Most of my friends do, but it can be a problem on long trips or if someone else needs to use the car but can't drive it...  Oh well, usually their problem not mine.   

[Chargerguy74]

Auto's are better. You can dip your chewing tobacco, drink a beer and talk on the phone without the pain of shifting...I learned to hate shifting while in Calipornia...My left leg was got to be 5 times bigger lol.  In and out, in and out....my gosh I hated bumper to bumper crawl.  

It's really not that hard to steer, hold a spitter, and shift without spilling the drink between your legs. Making a call is pretty easy too, unless you're in the middle of watching a movie.

[Troy]

Nearly every car I've ever owned has been a stick shift - with the exception of mostly tow vehicles. I don't care if I can get outrun at the drag strip by an automatic. I've never had a car on the strip! It does really suck in traffic but I don't generally drive in heavy traffic any way.

Troy

[Dino]

I like the build quality of my 727.  That thing is near bulletproof.  I like it a lot in traffic...but I'm on 55 mph country roads much of the time and I so miss having a manual trans.  As nice as the auto is, it will be replaced with a T56.  It won't be soon, my focus needs to be on school, but one day I'll make the swap.  My wife can't wait.  She has a t56 in the T/A so she knows what to expect.

My daily however...As much as I bitch about the auto trans sometimes, I don't think I 'd want to go back to a stick shift in town.  I never had an auto in Europe, except for a week or two, and apart from traffic jams never really had anything negative to say about it, but I'm not sure that would hold true today.