I’ve always had a manual. Heck I can barely drive an automatic.
Well, “weekend driving” is the driving you don’t do during the week. Okay, not too helpful. During the week, many people commute, and needs vary from person to person. Some people want to focus exclusively on economy, so they’ll drive the most inexpensive, stripped-down econobox that they can. For the same commute, other people just want to be damned comfortable during a stressful time, and they’ll have large, comfortable vehicles. Then there are all kinds of in-between. But come the weekend, now, all of those considerations can be thrown aside. You’re not driving 60 miles round-trip five days a week. Maybe you’re going camping. Maybe you’re taking the boat to the lake. Maybe you’re going on a road trip. Maybe you just want to drive fast through the mountains. Or more practical things: you want to go to the mall and then pick up groceries. If you’re reasonably middle-class and higher, you often have a separate vehicle for weekend activities.
When home, I’m a perfect example: I drive a comfortable, reasonably-economic, full-sized car for commuting, and have a full-sized SUV for weekend stuff. Although I plan to eventually replace the full-sized car with a B-sized car, I’ll never be without a weekend SUV. Observing the majority of my neighbors and other neighborhoods of my economic class (mid-middle class), a good bulk of them seem to have the same or similar characteristics, the chief variable being the type of cars.
It depends if you want to drive the car or you wants the car to drive you. I have an automatic now but alternate a lot. Automatics are so boring.
There are just times on an open stretch of road that I want to put the pedal to the metal. There is just something extremely satisfying with going through the gear sequence and trying to get every ounce of speed out of each gear.
So it’s about drag racing? 
Where are you driving and how fast do you go?
I was wondering about “weekend driving” within the context of this thread on manual vs. automatic transmission.
Does your weekday car have automatic transmission and your SUV has manual?
Depending on what kind of off-roading you do, an automatic might be better. I’m thinking of rock crawling where it gets hectic trying to use all three pedals at one time. I’ve never used an automatic off-road though, so I’m going off of what other people have said.
I voted stick, but it really depends on the application:
Hauling the kids around in the minivan? Automatic is fine–frees up my right hand for knocking people out in the second row.
Commuting? I don’t much care either way but it’s easier to drink my coffee with an automatic.
Sports car? Manual, hands down. I can’t be waiting for my transmission to decide what I’m trying to do when I stomp the gas pedal coming out of a corner. For the same reason I can’t stand turbo chargers–give me raw power or a supercharger, but spare me the lag of a turbo or an automatic. Plus high revs going into a 30 mph turn at 60 make me cream my jeans.
Okay, a few more questions and then I’ll back away.
Where is the corner that you are coming out of, and why are you stomping the gas? Are roads and highways the place for racing? When are speed limits irrelevant? When does fast driving become reckless driving? (Is it when someone else is doing it? ;))
Also, you do realize that many sports cars have automatic transmissions that still allow you choose the gear? Okay, on lower-end cars there’s going be a bit of a lag but why is that important if you’re on a road and not on a track? And on high-end cars, the difference is practically non-existent.
Yup, it’s about testosterone. Yeah, that’s the ticket …
I’ve never been rock crawling - too expensive to outfit the rig, and too expensive to re-outfit the rig when you break stuff. My off-roading is pretty much limited to trails, fire roads and fording the occassional stream or shallow river. Pretty light stuff.
Adrenaline, actually.
I don’t let someone else pick my speed or direction; why would I let them pick my gear? Different relatives have tried automatics and they always seemed to have higher maintenance costs and other problems I’ve managed to avoid. Sticks have always worked better for me the different times I’ve needed a car; especially in the snow.
Depends upon where you’re generally driving.
If you are commuting through heavy stop & go city traffic every day - Automatic
If you are generally tooling around in the country/open roads - Stick
Stick for me, ever since I first drove one. Makes me feel like I’m driving the car rather than just riding in it. Of course, it is a pain in heavy traffic and/or hills and I do sometimes have to put down my coffee mug or cellphone, just for a second.
The last car I bought, in 2001, there were limited choices for a stick. I also wanted hand cranked windows and those are gone as far as I can tell.
I’m the opposite. I want to just ride rather than drive. I dream of cars that drive themselves so I can read or sleep or watch a movie on the way. Automatic for me.
I picked auto in the polls because you answered your own question. If you want an auto get an auto.
Manuals are for racing and offroading. Racing because you don’t want to be accelerating out of a corner at the edge of traction and have the tranny downshift on you - pushing you over that edge.
Off roading involves alot of control over torque and wheelspin - both of which are tough to do with an auto.
But, if you want a car to cruise on roads - get the auto. They used to be less efficient and get worse fuel mileage, but they’re pretty much on par with manuals anymore.
I like driving manuals. But, my wife never learned how to handle a standard, and my commute is rarely less than an hour through traffic. I’d rather have a car she can drive and that doesn’t focus my attention even more on the fact that I’m spending ten hours or more a week creeping along 128.
I always drove a stick, up until about maybe 8 years ago or so. I was looking for a used car, and couldn’t find the one I wanted in a stick, so I bought an automatic. Turned out I was very glad I did…a nagging back injury I’d had for a long time almost completely cleared up within about a month after I bought it. I had no idea that working the clutch was aggravating it so badly. I’d love to go back to a stick, but for practicality’s sake, I probably won’t.
Actually, you said “cream my jeans”. Doesn’t that mean that you are ejaculating? (Figuratively, of course.) Technically, that’s not a direct result of testosterone but it’s definitely not a direct result of adrenaline.
My point was that it’s a macho reaction. (Hmmm … some women do ejaculate during orgasm. I wonder if the percentage of woman who do is similar to the percentage of women who prefer driving with a manual transmission. And, I’m not saying that they are necessarily the same women …)
I see that you didn’t answer any of my questions. I guess you thought they were confrontational and not really requests for information. Too bad. Anyway, this isn’t GD so I’ll let it go.
Oops! When I said “let it go”, I didn’t mean that you did something wrong and that I’m big enough to just “let it go”.
I meant that I won’t ask you any more questions about your preference for driving a stick.
I dream of those cars too, especially when I am stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Unfortunately, it’s hard for me to get used to an automatic. I tend to hit the brake while looking for the missing clutch and I don’t know what to do with my right arm. Sometimes, when I drive my son’s automatic, I will shift out of drive 'cause, well, it’s time to shift. It’s too late for me to change.
I think you should re-evaluate your username. 
I’ve driven manuals in heavy traffic. Didn’t like it. I’ve also driven them on open roads, and had lots of fun. I live where heavy traffic is the norm, so I’ll go with an automatic.