"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
04/07/2014 at 12:54 • Filed to: mini rant
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"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
04/07/2014 at 12:54 • Filed to: mini rant | 7
| 16 |
In the Auto Vs Manual battle there is usually little compromise for Jalops:
*paddles aren't better
You drive an auto! You must not be a man, or have rocks in your head, or clams in your pants or something! you should have got a manual. SAVE THE MANUALS!
Can I submit a second point of view?
What if you look at the car as a whole instead of a list of features?
I love manuals, I have save the manuals fridge magnets, every car I've ever owned has been a manual but when It was time to sell my forester I wanted to go another route and buy a real land crushing machine to explore the over-landing itch that had been forming in my soul. When all my requirements, needs and wants were tallied I ended up buying 1997 FZJ80 Toyota Land Cruiser....4 speed auto.
This is literally the first automatic car I've ever owned. Do I miss a manual? yes. Do I wish the US versions had a manual option? yes. Have I looked into what it would take to swap in a manual? Yup. Is this a bad car because its an automatic? No.
Sometimes in order to get the car you want...its got to be an auto. Here, in descending order of acceptability, are reasons to get an automatic transmission:
1. Not an option
2. Missing a limb, or the use of a limb
3. Pain to use (bad knee/back/elbow)
4. Difficult or impossible to find
5. The manual option is rubbish (rare, but certainly exists)
6. Spouse considerations (can't/wont drive stick)
7. Paddles are faster around a track...and you ACTUALLY TRACK YOUR VEHICLE! (drag racing fits here too)
8. I just need a daily driver to deal with traffic, its not my fun car.
9. More economical, if you are doing lots of freeway miles, a manual with less mileage isn't doing you any favors.
10. Other considerations won out over rowing my own, but when presented with 3 choices (man/dgs/auto) I went for the one with the most fun in it.
11. My interest in cars is limited to being pinned back in my seat and grabbing attention (its less noble but its still a thing)
12. Cheaper, especially with dealer incentives
13. My interest in cars is getting attention
14. Paddles are faster around a track...and let me tell you all about it in a forum or on youtube....track? No I haven't been, why do you ask?
15. My interest in cars is as an appliance.
**DSG's and SMG's and CVT are considered "auto" for the argument of this rant
Point is its not a defined line, its more a spectrum and we should consider the scale before we automatically bin someone who buys an auto in a non-Jalop category.
offroadkarter
> HammerheadFistpunch
04/07/2014 at 12:57 |
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You forgot one, which is the boat I'm in
All the cars I bought had no option for a manual, at all
No panthers came factory with manuals
the bronco would only have a manual if I bought a 5.0L XL, and I'd have a "medium duty" M50D mazda trans from a ranger. The 351W / Eddie bauer did not have a manual option
the 745i never had a manual option, I would need a 735i or under and I'd lose the 252hp turbo I6 if I did that.
BrtStlnd
> HammerheadFistpunch
04/07/2014 at 13:00 |
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Where is the "I just don't want to DD a manual" option, because that's what I'd check, and I don't have any interest in hearing about how my choice isn't acceptable to some 17 year old on the internet.
Victorious Secret
> HammerheadFistpunch
04/07/2014 at 13:01 |
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Nope. Sorry.
Automatics are for douchebags. Manuals are best. You aren't a man if you don't buy a manual. You are an idiot if you pick the auto. You fail as a enthusiast. Since I picked the manual, I get to lord over you with a smug attitude as if I know better.
Did I cover all the tropes or am I missing anything?
I don't really care what people pick. Auto, manual, potato; whatever makes you happy.
Its those on either side that have a perverse need to justify their purchase or their position and make themselves feel good about it.
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HammerheadFistpunch
> offroadkarter
04/07/2014 at 13:04 |
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thats #1
Textured Soy Protein
> HammerheadFistpunch
04/07/2014 at 13:05 |
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I have a 135is DCT.
The only thing on your list that was a consideration for me was #6, in that my gf can't drive stick and I wanted to have a fun car, where on longer road trips we'd be able to switch off driving. I tried to teach her stick on my old MS6 and she wasn't having it. No sense trying to push the issue.
But mostly I was just tired of shifting all the time and the the DCT has zero performance penalty aside from the lack of satisfaction derived from nailing a heel-toe downshift. It makes all kinds of fun noises which is a nice consolation.
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Victorious Secret
> BrtStlnd
04/07/2014 at 13:06 |
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Yea, but to those 17 year olds the manual is literally the shit.
When you grow up, even a little, you realize that a manual DD might actually be a step backwards in a DD.
That, shocker, sometimes the auto is the better choice for the car. Individually you might like the manual, on the whole it would make no sense.
But, its the internet. MANELS FTMFW
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> BrtStlnd
04/07/2014 at 13:07 |
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It all comes down to where one DDs, I'd say. There are definitely commutes where a stick would absolutely blow. OTOH, I really wish *my* DD *was* a manual (reasonable, not very stop-and-go commute), because my time spent with weekend cars is desperately not enough, and I can feel my stick fluency withering on the vine. I loved my time DDing a manual in previous years.
Also, your choice isn't acceptable to some 18 year olds, either. You're going to have to expand your culling list age-wise.
crowmolly
> HammerheadFistpunch
04/07/2014 at 13:14 |
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Anybody who does not look at the entire use-case for the vehicle when selecting the transmission style has their head in the sand. My "fun" car is a manual because it's my fun car and if I blow it up during a 6500 RPM powershift I can still get to work. My daily is a DSG and I wouldn't have it any other way.
My reasons:
1.) I drive 80+ miles per day and the threat of heavy traffic is always there.
2.) My wife can drive stick but not well enough for me to hand over my keys.
3.) If I act like my avatar and get hammered somebody sober can drive me and my car home.
4.) I did not want to wait months for a manual as my DD was going south super fast.
Opposite Locksmith
> offroadkarter
04/07/2014 at 13:29 |
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how did you miss #1
vorspringing
> HammerheadFistpunch
04/07/2014 at 13:47 |
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I bought dual-clutch flappy paddle, by choice - 90 percent of the time I'm sitting in traffic. When I'm not, I can drop into manual or sport mode and shift to my heart's content.
Also, I managed to eff up my left knee last week, and the TT is my daily driver - without the paddle shift I would have been completely screwed.
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HammerheadFistpunch
> BrtStlnd
04/07/2014 at 13:57 |
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added a few choices, I think would would either fit in #8 or #10. You are getting into the range of auto by choice, but still good choices.
Stef Schrader
> HammerheadFistpunch
04/07/2014 at 14:33 |
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CVT, bro. Stays pegged at optimum revs, bro. (Sometimes. When it wants to.) Got my CVT for the trackday, bro. (Uh, let's not discuss how it falls out of its happy rev range at T11 at COTA.)
Bro
Bro
Bro
BRO
Seriously, though, when looking at towbeasts, I probably want to keep it as simple as possible because I'm not used to driving around with a giant tail made of hooptie. Slushboxes are fine for this.
The rallycross beater I borrow all the time? That's an automatic, too. It's also a Subaru, so the Cadillac-grade super-long steering rack keeps me plenty busy. I'm in this for the lulz. It's the lulziest option of all the rent-a-beaters. It also just happens to have an automatic.
Also, I'm in the "manual is more fun on track" camp, but yeah. Don't make the track argument if it's only going to Cars & Coffee. If you wanted the auto because it's easier or whatever, drop the Flat Out Guy act and say that instead. Own thy choice and respect others' different ones.
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Stef Schrader
> Victorious Secret
04/07/2014 at 14:36 |
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Yeah, but I'm a woman. Let me show you my knob.
MPA
> HammerheadFistpunch
04/07/2014 at 14:47 |
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When I bought my '13 Honda Fit, I wanted to like the paddles so much. But they just sucked. It was nowhere near the same as driving a stick, and the car felt much more alive (as alive as 117hp can feel) with a real 5spd. Maybve with a lot of the expensive cars the experience with flappy paddles is similar to driving a manual, but with cheap cars it's just not.
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HammerheadFistpunch
> MPA
04/07/2014 at 14:51 |
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if I could make a definitive statement it would be:
Expensive cars have paddles because 95% of them were being sold as automatics and it wasn't cost effective anymore to sell a manual along side the auto, but the 5% minority is a very vocal minority. i.e. Paddles = compromise between keeping people happy and making money.
Paddles in cheaper cars are mostly a trickle down effect that you would get from a fancy feature finding its way to the masses (i.e. button start) or that dsg's have a distinct economy advantage.
Manuals are better at making use of meager hp, torque converter autos (of the same gear count) are better at making the most of meager torque numbers.
NaturallyAspirated
> Stef Schrader
04/07/2014 at 18:34 |
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"A giant tail made of hooptie" made me laugh. Thanks for that.