this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2023
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23, US. Yes, but I find them pointless for daily driver cars. Modern automatics are more fuel efficient and just make more sense because they're much easier to operate and less annoying in stop and go traffic.
They're great for off-roading and racing, but outside of those use cases automatics are just better.
I'm almost 30, living US and don't know how to drive a manual.
I just don't understand the purpose of learning or the superiority complex around those that drive manual. In my region of the world, the vast majority of cars are automatic to the point where you might have to straight up custom order a vehicle to get manual.
Sure, if I'm outside of the US, manual might be the standard in some areas...but I have no interest in attempting to drive a vehicle in a foreign country where I don't know their local laws of the road. I'd rather take public transport or use services like taxis, Ubers, Lifts, etc.
It's the year 2023. Automatic cars nowadays are more efficient than manuals in a majority of cases.
If you want to drive a manual or you prefer manuals, that's great! More the power to you and I'm glad you like it! But to have a superiority complex about it is just odd.
It's like some boomer making fun of a gen Z kid for not knowing how to use a VCR. So what? You don't to learn how to use a VCR in 2023.
Again, this is in terms of my region. I get that manuals are common in other regions. But again, I have no interest in driving in a region where I don't know the local rules of the road.
Any spirited drive is better with a manual.
That's true of course, but most people don't drive in "spirited" way.
5-speeds are definitely a pain in the ass in stop and go traffic, but the benefits of driving a manual transmission goes beyond use cases. For example, manual transmissions will always be cheaper to repair and easier to diagnose than automatic ones. Similarly, basic 4-cylinder engines will always be easier to diagnose and repair than the highly complicated CVT engines in all the new automatic cars.
Note too that a 5-speed Honda civic made 20 years ago will easily get 45 mpg, simply because by the time you get to third gear, the car is light enough that you can just ride the clutch for the next 1,000 feet. My 05 manual civic ex gets around 40 mpg combined easily, and I'll never have to worry about potentially paying a third of the car's out the door price if the engine ever decides to self destruct. I know we're discussing transmission and not engines, but since you brought up the newer fuel efficient automatics, it seems worth noting.
It's all preference at the end of the day, though. I personally like how connected to the car you feel with manual transmissions, use cases/utility arguments aside. I also kinda wonder if manual drivers are less likely to crash, since it's difficult if not impossible to be on your phone while driving.
CVT is just the transmission, it has no bearing on the engine design. OEMs use the same engine with both MT and CVT.
I mostly agree except I drive older vehicles out of warranty. Manuals last longer and are cheaper to fix so depending on what vehicle I'm buying I may look specifically for a manual if it's a known "weak spot" for that particular vehicle.
honestly i don't understand what makes them better for racing. can the auto not be tuned differently to prioritize speed and acceleration over fuel efficiency?
Automatic gearboxes canβt predict the road ahead, they can only react to the current RPM and speed.
Edit: just realised this posted on a completely different comment to the one I was replying to
It's not just about speed and acceleration. It's also about control. Racing drivers face an infinite number of different conditions out on the track and it would be impossible to tune the transmission in such a way that it does exactly what the driver wants 100% of the time. And it really has to be perfect. 99.9% isn't good enough because the other 0.1% can wreck the car if it does something unexpected while driving at the limit.
Modern, high end race cars are automatics. Low end or lighter cars will be manual.
No, they're sequential manuals*. Unless you're talking about drag racing, where automatics are common.
*Edit: Or they can also be sequential semi-automatics if you want to be extra pedantic. But personally I'd classify a transmission based on whether the driver has to select the desired gear, or if the computer selects the appropriate gear without driver input, because that's the thing that matters in the end.
Okay that makes some sense to me.
Follow-up question: why don't modern commuter cars use the paddle shifters? Why keep the cumbersome clutch-and-stick system?
It's cheap and reliable.