# 5-Speed or Automatic? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2010, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142 "2010-04-06T14:01:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/41 "2010-04-06T20:59:59Z")
It entirely depends upon the car. And where, for example, would the OP place DSG 'boxes? I have both automatics and manuals and believe they both have their place. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/42 "2010-04-06T21:52:04Z")
Dunno about the OP, but the way I see it, Unless the transmission has a foot operated clutch pedal, it’s an automatic… DSG=automatic (manumatic) CVT= automatic paddle-shifter=automatic ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/43 "2010-04-06T22:14:52Z")
I do not have a car and if I did, it would be an auto (the car I usually drive is an auto). I love a stick. I like how it feels. I like how it shifts. I like being involved in the driving process. But, I also have double tennis elbow and when it’s flaring, just driving a manual is painful enough. If the pain gets bad enough again (surgery on left and cortisone on right are keeping it in check), not only would I NOT be able to shift, I wouldn’t even be able to drive one-handed. So, being a somewhat rational person, if I had to buy a car, I’d get auto. That said, my fiance and I both want a Jeep Wrangler and have for years. If he decides to get one, he will get a stick. This means, of course, that I’ll have to teach him to drive it. The good thing about that is that I can drive his Accent when my arms hurt and his Jeep when they don’t. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/44 "2010-04-06T22:22:58Z")
> [@congodwarf](#): > > just driving a manual is painful enough. An automatic. Not a manual. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/45 "2010-04-06T22:26:03Z")
I enjoy driving both. I prefer a stick for a sports car and an automatic for around town driving. I’d prefer a 6 speed for both. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/46 "2010-04-06T22:41:56Z")
I was taught to drive with a stick-shift under the theory that ‘if you can drive a manual, it’ll be easy to learn an automatic.’ I’m planning to do the same with my own kids. I’m very glad a can drive a manual well, and I’ve had several stick-shift cars. However, I’m a middle-aged soccer-mom type who drives a mini-can. I’m not kidding anyone that’s I’m a cool roadster. I take the easy route at the moment, I drive an automatic. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/47 "2010-04-07T00:50:42Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Anyways, I seriously don’t understand the complaints of “traffic and hills”–if you’re getting tired driving a stick, I might think your technique may need improvement. Physically tired? Very occasionally. But mostly annoyed. Shifting every few feet in stop and go traffic got really old. I learned to drive on a manual Peugeot and my first two cars ( covering ten years ) were manuals. You do get used to SF hills ( eventually - the first couple of times were…interesting ) and it truly isn’t a big deal. But driving automatics at work eventually seduced me. They’re so much _easier_. And the difference in the “fun” factor is only a small one. I admit sticks are kinda fun in a performance car on windy roads. But I mostly drive for the scenery, rather than the driving experience per se. And do like to drive - just got back from a short half-day trip to the Tule Elk preserve at Tomales Point and I’m off to Fort Bragg tomorrow :). The older I get the more I tend to pursue the path of least resistance. And I truly don’t care about the minor extra cost, which seems to be decreasing every day ( in terms of issues like gas mileage, if not in cost of replacing transmissions ). > [@](#): > > I honestly couldn’t imagine ever driving an automatic as my primary vehicle. Eh, each to their own. I don’t quite get the intense preferences for manuals, really. It seems to me a bit like having a fervent passion for blueberries over grapes. They’re both fine, though I do prefer blueberries. But not by very much ;). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/48 "2010-04-07T00:53:39Z")
I left my clutch in San Francisco High on a hill, it rolls on down. To be where drunken leather bears Grind halfway through the gears! The burning smoke may cloud the air I don’t care! My tranny is there in San Francisco I love the red zones, you see When I come home to you, San Francisco, Your shifting skills will stall me! Automatic for me. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/49 "2010-04-07T02:00:38Z")
After two failed attempts to learn how to drive a stick in high school, I refused a third attempt for years. I finally gave in and am sort of learning now. I suck at it, a lot. There’s no way in hell I’d ever buy a manual, but I’m learning now in case anything happens when I’m with either parent who both drive manuals - just so I can drive in an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/50 "2010-04-07T03:59:43Z")
Stick shift, Baby, Yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/51 "2010-04-07T04:32:57Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > …I shudder whenever I see someone driving a performance car like a Mustang or BWM M-Series that has automatic transmission. You might as well be driving a Taurus!.. The only think more ridiculous than an automatic sports care is an automatic Jeep. Yes, I know the OP has one. I guess there must me a whole line of pussy Jeeps these days with automatics, jeeps that dare not go farther off road than the shoulder. Jeeps with sticks kicked Hitler’s and Tojo’s asses. These days solders get an automatic Hummer. Enough said. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/52 "2010-04-07T07:13:22Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Physically tired? Very occasionally. But mostly annoyed. Shifting every few feet in stop and go traffic got really old.. Hmm, odd. It’s completely second nature to me–I notice shifting no more than I do applying the gas or turning the wheel. But different strokes. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/53 "2010-04-07T07:57:13Z")
I drive a stick. I love driving a stick. I must be weird in one respect though because I’ve never heard anyone else complain of this but… When I drive an automatic for any length of time, it makes my right knee hurt. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/54 "2010-04-07T12:01:00Z")
I drove a stick for most of my life, enjoying it for the most part. As others have mentioned, it gets old when you are in hours of stop-and-go traffic. Back in the Seventies, when [Easy Rider](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easy_rider) was popular, a friend of mine and his buddy worked on their motorcycles all summer, converting them into full-out choppers, with [ape-hanger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ape_Hanglers.jpg) handlebars, just like in the movie. When they were all done, they went out for a cruise. After a while, his buddy commented on the handlebars, saying, “It ain’t that comfortable, is it…” My friend responded, “Nope, but we sure look Good!” That’s how I sometimes categorize a manual transmission. It is usually fun to use, sometimes annoying, but always cool. When I bought my new car, I wanted my wife to be able to drive it, so I opted for the [six-speed DSG](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-Shift_Gearbox)(Direct Shift Gearbox) from VW. Boy is that a slick transmission, and my left foot doesn’t get tired! ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/55 "2010-04-07T12:15:00Z")
Stick shift for me. I really enjoy driving, so an automatic takes away a big chunk of that. However, I currently have a Prius, so continuously variable transmission is what I drive now. Yeah, it’s boring, but it’s a really good car. I borrow a stick every now and then when the weather is nice and I’m itching for real driving. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/56 "2010-04-07T13:32:24Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > And I truly don’t care about the minor extra cost, which seems to be decreasing every day ( in terms of issues like gas mileage, if not in cost of replacing transmissions ). Recently test drove a Subaru Outback on which the auto advertised better mileage than the manual. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/57 "2010-04-07T13:54:20Z")
> [@Red\_Barchetta](#): > > Anyways, I seriously don’t understand the complaints of “traffic and hills”–if you’re getting tired driving a stick, I might think your technique may need improvement. I did a paper route (in town; very frequent stops, starts and reverses and the houses were just a little bit too spaced out for me to walk it. I averaged 15 miles a night) for a few weeks with my car. I was sore from shifting and clutching all the time. Concern for my car’s well-being made me stop. Holy crap that was tiring. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/58 "2010-04-07T14:05:28Z")
I think this type of thread/poll self selects for people who like stick (I’m one of them, and I voted). In my experience, those of us who enjoy driving manuals feel pretty strongly about it; we love to drive and automatics suck, and we’re a little bit proud of ourselves for not being one of those pussies who doesn’t know how to drive a \*real \*car. Automatic owners, for the most part, aren’t really all that interested in the subject, or cars in general. (I know this is a sweeping generalization, but the people I know that drive stick are “car people” to a much greater extent than those who chose automatics. I’m sure there are plenty of exceptions.) They don’t have much motivation to even open a thread like this, because the subject isn’t compelling to them…thus, results like the poll has produced, despite the fact that clearly automatics vastly outnumber the manuals on the road today. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/59 "2010-04-07T14:16:07Z")
I own a stick Jeep. I’ve only ever owned sticks (Bronco, Wrangler, Contour, now Liberty). I’ve never driven an automatic regularly, as I went from a Mustang to an MG to the Bronco. But the next car I buy will be an automatic. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Lurker\_Above](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Lurker\_Above](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Lurker_Above)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142/60 "2010-04-07T15:20:27Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > In my experience, those of us who enjoy driving manuals feel pretty strongly about it; we love to drive and automatics suck, and we’re a little bit proud of ourselves for not being one of those pussies who doesn’t know how to drive a \*real \*car. Or, like me, are cheap bastards who didn’t want to pay an extra grand or two for automatic (plus any fuel efficency differneces) when I’m perfectly able to shift myself. Though as mentioned elsewhere in the thread the fuel efficency of autos have gotten much, much better lately. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-speed-or-automatic/535142.md?page=4)