Have had both, I really don’t care.
I love driving a manual and have done so for the better part of 30 years. But I’m driving an automated manual with paddle shifters now and I’m a convert. With high powered cars, I think a DSG type transmission is the best option. With little sports cars that are more about handling and getting the most out of a lower output engine, I still prefer to row my own.
For what is the real question.
For pure driving enjoyment the Getrag 7-speed dual clutch in my 812 Superfast is hands down the best transmission I’ve ever used. It’s the most fun too, more so than a manual (of which I’ve owned many).
But in my Jeep there is an 8 speed automatic that’s pretty great and works quite well for those kinds of applications like towing.
Voted manual. Thought I’d better come in and say that I’ve never driven an “automated manual” so have no idea whether I’d like it. Will also note that I don’t often drive in cities; if most of my driving were stop-and-go I might change my opinion.
I’ve been driving for (checks calculator) 23 years now and every daily driver I’ve ever owned has been a manual, and that’s been a lot. Had one old truck that was an automatic, but it wasn’t driven much.
I get really bored in an automatic. Plan on buying manuals as long as I’m physically able to drive them and they keep selling them…at some point, I’m sure I’ll have to have a “classic” car to scratch that itch, as it will be impossible to buy a new one.
I specifically chose my car because it doesn’t have CVT in a segment that most cars have it. I know the concept of how to drive manual but no daily experience so while it’s good in theory it’s not practical. Besides, to get manual in my car I’d need to go to the bottom trim and 2WD. Selection of new(ish) manual cars just don’t have options in the US and the older used market dries up slowly.
I’m sure it’s different in every car. In my Insight, any time you touch one of the paddles behind the steering wheel, it goes into ‘manual’ mode. I’m sure there’s a correct way to get it back to automatic, but I’d usually just drop it into neutral and back to drive. Still a bit unnerving when you don’t realize it happened.
My mom’s Jeep Cherokee has a shifter that looks like this (except, ya know, connected to a car). When in Drive, you rock the shifter left or right to up/down shift. Since I tend to drive with my hand on, or near the shifter, I have a habit of bumping it, especially while going around a turn.
In any case, I really don’t like them.
I prefer a manual because it’s fun. It doesn’t seem like there will be many new drivers who will want one, or cars that will have one.
People who have a preferred transmission prefer manuals.
People who don’t care about transmissions buy automatics.
Huh? That makes no sense. Our household has both and I’m comfortable with both, but I definitely prefer automatic.
Though at this point, I think all my car purchases in the future will be electric or at least PHEV.
Nonsense. I drove a manual most of my adult life because at the time it best served my needs. Now, automatics are better for nearly every use so I drive an automatic. I care about my transmission, I just don’t care about shifting anymore.
Every one of my daily drivers over the years (MGB, Fiat 124, Mustang GT, Contour, Mazdaspeed3, Focus ST) has been a manual. I enjoy driving a manual on the local rural roads. If I was in stop-and-go traffic regularly I may change my daily driver preference to automatic.
I picked manual because I do find shifting kind of fun, especially in a sporty car. I’m lucky that while my commute has a lot of traffic lights it’s never bumper to bumper stop and go traffic (which the freeway typically is).
What I would say is car people have preferred transmissions, to the level of granularity given in this poll. People who aren’t into cars probably don’t care if it’s a torque converter auto, dual clutch automated manual, or CVT, just as long as they don’t have to shift.
I suspect the respondents to this poll is heavily skewed towards “car people”.
Now that Summer’s here, I’m having fun driving the MGB. It’s a '66, so there’s no synchromesh between 2nd and 1st. I’m getting in some double-clutching. 
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I only drove manual transmissions for years and seriously looked into buying a weekend sports car to get one again. Couldn’t justify the expense to myself or my better half.
My new car is a Tesla Model 3, so it has a 1-speed transmission.
I used to drive a manual and still in some sense prefer it. But with the stop sign forests the so-called traffic engineers here seem to love so it is just too painful and I gave up and got the plain old automatic.
My son just bought a new Subaru and got it with manual. But to do that he had to give up the possibility of any trim option. since only the basic car is sold with manual and even that had to be special ordered.
Never had a CVT other than in my Prius but I prefer it since it’s fastest off the light without having to wait for the auto fluid to kick in or to shift or de-clutch.
Previous to this, I preferred a standard due to its price, mileage, and ease of maintainability, but now that they’re similar in at least 2 out of the 3 versus ordinary automatic, I can’t say I prefer either of them.
I definitely prefer manuals, but I’ve just started the search for a possible new car (to be purchased sometime in the first quarter of 2020) and I’m finding that several of the vehicles I’m interested in don’t come in a plain ol’ stick anymore. I like small and fast, and so far my best options for a traditional manual are a Mazda Miata or a BMW M2401i. Even with BMW, upgrading to the M2 means a DSG. The Audi TT means a DSG. A Lexus RC means a DSG.
The “MANUAL OR DIE” part of me wants to ignore everything other than the Miata or M240i, but I think I’m going to wind up test driving at least one of the DSGs. sigh
Everybody realizes at some level how non-representative of real life internet discussions can be but this topic particularly reinforces it whenever it comes up. 2/3’s say manual is their favorite, a feature offered on low single digit % of new cars sold in North America where most posters seem to originate (and contrary to some popular belief, automatics dominate in many other markets outside Europe, North America is not the outlier). Car co’s ignoring consumer will in a huge way, or huge selection bias in poll/thread?
I voted DCT just for the hell of it. My current No. 1 car (BMW M2) has one. It’s pretty cool, ‘drive’ mode like an automatic or paddle shift, a more solid and ‘raw’ feel than a torque converter automatic. And, a three pedal ‘real’ manual would make the car not drivable by my wife, and honestly not worth the hassle driving in traffic near home for me either. Even on open winding roads I’d rather concentrate on other things as I have fun. Shifting with a clutch isn’t a lot of fun to me now, though I drove manuals for a long time. Besides which the car is simply faster with the DCT than manual (M2’s do come manual, did in my model year anyway), as is the case with almost every fast car now you can get with either. The DCT is smarter than you are.
But if (or when I believe it is) BMW goes to automatics on all the M’s that won’t be a reason for me not to eventually buy another one. The automatic on my 328i is very well matched to the engine, albeit as part of a much softer overall personality of that car compared to the M2.
I prefer automatic transmissions. I also prefer cars with automatic chokes instead of manual chokes, radios with digital tuning instead of a slide scale, electric starters instead of crank starts, and electric headlights instead of kerosene lamps you have to light, so why would I want an old fashioned car that makes you shift gears when you can buy a car that does if for you?