# Which cars perform better; manual or automatic? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 10, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-cars-perform-better-manual-or-automatic/279123 "2004-12-10T14:45:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-cars-perform-better-manual-or-automatic/279123/81 "2004-12-16T01:23:17Z")
My Nissan manual tells me to use the ‘Ds’ (ie ‘2’) option for steep descents, and for limited traction. And yes, I experimented, and it seems to lock it into the second (of four) ratios. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-cars-perform-better-manual-or-automatic/279123/82 "2004-12-16T04:07:04Z")
> [@Unintentionally Blank](#): > > Speaking as an _ **owner** _ of a couple of Corvettes I’d say you were full of it. A properly maintained Corvette tranny has every chance of outliving the motor, and the motor has every chance of going 150-200,000 miles. > Automatic transmissions do not fail because they run out of clutch material. They fail because the fluid isn’t changed at the recommended service intervals. As the fluid ages, bits of clutch material get suspended in the fluid when it overheats. A _late_ fluid change replaces the fluid (which it providing part of the friction in clutch application) with new fluid and new detergents. Those detergents wash out the varnish and accumulated crap that wasn’t collected by a newer tranny filter, causing them to plug the valves in the valve body. > > Changing the fluid every 50,000 miles (35,000 under severe duty loads) will make it last a LONG time. > > Fail to catch a broken TV cable (the TV cable tells the transmission how much pressure to use to hold the clutches) and the tranny will fail in an afternoon. By the same token, ride the clutch in a standard transmission and you’ll be changing it 20,000 miles too soon. > > A standard transmission (in a Corvette application at least) is capable of handling more horsepower in a power-adder situation. But when you start throwing THAT into the mix, all bets on longevity are off. You’re disagreeing with me and then you’re agreeing with me? A Corvette represents the pinnacle of GM automatics. Nobody uses them to race with. They use older style Turbo Hydromatics for their reliability. For sport driving on the street a manual is the more reliable (cheaper) transmission to use. LoganF posted the question as a 20 something person learning to drive. The criteria for rating transmissions was power and fuel economy. The assumption is that it is going to be driven on the street. A 2005 Mustang 4.6L 5 speed is going to be cheaper to maintain than a comparable automatic and deliver upwards of 30 mpg on the highway. It will also deliver more power to the road. You can expect a 7% loss of power through a manual and probably double that through an automatic. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-cars-perform-better-manual-or-automatic/279123/83 "2004-12-16T16:21:58Z")
For someone who takes the time and interest to use a manaul properly, they can expect to enjoy the performance and benefits of the manual. In the real world, you can expect that the overhwhelming majority of drivers are better off driving an automatic. So, if you concern yourself with the way the world SHOULD work, everyone SHOULD gravitate to, and enjoy the benefits of, a manual tranny. However, if you want to deal with the way the world REALLY is, then one can apprecaite how automatics are inherently better. If you are an ‘enthusiast’, you will probably have a ‘no brainer’ chouice in about 95% of your vehicle purchases: MANUAL, please! Damn, if I could just find the link to a study done by AAA, which basically outlined some patterns among vehicle accidents. In brief,m it goes something like this: Manual tranny equipped cars account for a disproportionate number of accidents. The second criteria was two-door cars, which are involved in alot more accidents and even car rollovers versus four door cars. Now, I ain’t claiming a causal relationship, but all the so-called enthusiasts (and I am one) as a whole ain’t helping insurance rates with their cool brakes, better mileage and extended tranny life. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-cars-perform-better-manual-or-automatic/279123/84 "2004-12-17T01:17:53Z")
I drove a clutch for better than 30 years. An automatic as a daily driver was certainly a nice change of pace. There are many variables to the choice. If daily driving involves traffic that is backed up for miles or the metro area has a lot of hills, I would recomend an automatic for every day use. Even if it compromised performance. It gets old REALLY quick if you have to inch your way through traffic with a clutch on a daily basis. I would also add that some people NEVER learn to drive a manual transmission correctly. You can go through a clutch or a throw-out bearing pretty quick if you don’t know what you’re doing. Even though a manual is better suited for sports cars I want LoganF to be realistic when choosing a manual transmission without ever having driven one. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-cars-perform-better-manual-or-automatic/279123/85 "2004-12-17T03:59:53Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It gets old REALLY quick if you have to inch your way through traffic with a clutch on a daily basis. Back in the bad old days of the '50’s a friend of mine tried out a European car with a small engine and a manual transmission. His description? “You don’t drive that car, you row it.” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-cars-perform-better-manual-or-automatic/279123/86 "2004-12-17T04:11:29Z")
> [@David Simmons](#): > > Back in the bad old days of the '50’s a friend of mine tried out a European car with a small engine and a manual transmission. His description? “You don’t drive that car, you row it.” Yah, that would probably describe a 50’s MG. “I know there’s a gear in there SOMEWHERE”… grind, whirrrr, grind, whirrrr… tink/thunk. “There it is”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-cars-perform-better-manual-or-automatic/279123.md?page=4)