Should I consider a car with a manual transmission?
Let’s say that, at some crucial, life-or-death moment, you realize that you need to suddenly accelerate. OK, let’s say that. Here’s the process. Automatic — See problem. Determine problem requires rapid acceleration. Slam on accelerator. Delay. Accelerate. Manual — See problem. Determine problem requires rapid acceleration. Slam on clutch (disengaging whatever engine acceleration you had). Choose a gear. Find the gear (note: you may choose the wrong one). Release clutch. Slam on accelerator. Accelerate (or not; you may have chosen the wrong gear, or you may pop the clutch in your haste to get going). I fail to see how using a manual in this process is always better than an automatic for anyone not named “Earnhardt” or “Andretti.” There are plenty of good reasons to choose a manual over an automatic. “Safety” is not one of them.
On the off chance that you read this, let me say that while I do have a strong preference for a manual transmission, I find cruise control much more important. Even if you don’t drive long distances on open highways now, you never know what the future will hold. Past about 2 hours, the lack of cruise control gets very tiring. Before that, it’s not so bad. As far as considering a car with a manual transmission, you certainly should! 🙂 I’ve driven both, and in fact have one of each right now. I prefer driving the manual, but don’t as much because it has over 200,000 miles on it, while the auto has about 75,000 on it. I much, much prefer the manual in the snow, thanks to the vastly increased control over the amount of torque being transmitted through the tires, and prefer the interactivity of acceleration and deceleration (even at sedate speeds) one gets with a manual. I save my hatred not for automatics, but for SUVs. Give me a station wagon any day.
On the off chance that you read this, let me say that while I do have a strong preference for a manual transmission, I find cruise control much more important. Even if you don’t drive long distances on open highways now, you never know what the future will hold. Past about 2 hours, the lack of cruise control gets very tiring. Before that, it’s not so bad. As far as considering a car with a manual transmission, you certainly should! 🙂 I’ve driven both, and in fact have one of each right now. I prefer driving the manual, but don’t as much because it has over 200,000 miles on it, while the auto has about 75,000 on it. I much, much prefer the manual in the snow, thanks to the vastly increased control over the amount of torque being transmitted through the tires, and prefer the interactivity of acceleration and deceleration (even at sedate speeds) one gets with a manual. I save my hatred not for automatics, but for SUVs. Give me a station wagon any day. 😉 BTW, I recently had to have the c
