And of course all shit electric cars are all automatic. It's part of the NWO agenda. They want to force us all into electric, automatic cars, Over my dead body! A car that does not produce smelly fumes when driving is not a real car. What I am supposed to smell when walking in the city? Air? Fucking dumb. On top of that they make no sound! There's nothing to tune up to make my car sound like a racing machine. How I'm supposed to let everyone know I have a small dick if I can't rev my engine all the time? Not to mention electric cars don't emit CO2 so I can't lock myself in a garage with the engine running and kill myself when I realize that no one is impressed by my car and my dick is still tiny. Absurd!
I had a car with push button start and a CVT. After putting the first 50 miles on the car, the brake light switch died. Nissan, in their ultimate wisdom, used the brake light switch to tell the computer if you are pressing the brake when starting the car. Well, no brake light switch, no starting the engine. Had to get it towed back to the dealership to get fixed.
I actually was a real advocate for gears, then I drove my wife's new car for some time. Modern automatic isn't only comfortable, it's actually more (fuel) efficient, especially in the city. Now I'm an automatic guy. And - the circle of life - my daughter, looking for her first car this year: "No, I want gears!" Now she's got gears. In a car that weighs less than my phone, but hey, what do I old 🥔 potato know.
Or the car will be like "You're creeping forward with your driver's door open? I'm going to slam in to park without even asking first then all my dash lights will be going full xmas mode while I beep incessantly. Because fuck you, that's why."
CARS are not just about driving, they're about mastering the ART of machinery!
Want to feel alive on a steep hill? Forget simplicity, EMBRACE the handbrake juggle and the dance of the clutch pedal!
"I could simply shift to D, but where's the thrill in that?" - A call to arms by the Connoisseurs of Complexity.
DEFEND your right to a gearbox that requires three limbs and a keen sense of timing to operate!
CELEBRATE MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS
(These are the cryptic contraptions deciphered only by the Worthy)
ZIGZAG MAZE? - Challenge accepted!
VOLUME KNOB? - Twist and shout your way through the gears!
???????? - Only the true driver knows!
"Please engage the starter motor." - "Certainly, after I adjust the choke and check the distributor!"
"I fear no hill start, for I have the power of the clutch and the arcane knowledge of the gearbox!"
Join the ranks of those who drive not for convenience, but for the pure, unadulterated challenge."
As someone studying tech, yes please, give me the dummest most rudimentary car with no computer or servos. I don't want general motors to gather my biometrics or a script kiddy to disable my steering. Dumb technology is best always. Fuck that android auto bs or whatever abomination the manufacturer adds. Just want a speaker with an aux cord so I can listen to my flacs
Most of not-North-America drive around in manual vehicles. Have to wonder what the allure is of something which is kind of mundane and boring. When I'm driving a manual I'm not thinking I'm Steve McQueen, instead I'm just constantly shifting gears between sets of traffic lights. If people really want to connect with a car, then buy an EV. Instant torque and responsiveness without screwing around with extra sticks and pedals or suffering the rubber banding in some automatics.
Maybe I'm kidding myself but I feel like even if I won the lottery I still wouldn't replace my -07 Nissan Pickup. I'd probably have the thing entirely rebuilt but it's basically my dream car as it is so other than customizing it even more there's nothing newer trucks have that I wish mine did too. The only downside to older vehicles is the increased need for maintenance though I'm much rather fixing a 15 year old truck today than 2023 truck in 2038.
Someone bring this sniveling fool to me! I grew up on a farm and when I learned to drive, I started with a 5x3 manual double stick and then "graduated" to a 15 speed. I will have this fool crying in his pablum within a mile.
I'm all for automatics. What transmission you drive does not lessen the driving experience.
manuals were great when you could actually drive. but now there is a light posted up at every intersection. the stop and go of it all makes manual a real chore shifting up then back down...i used to prefer manual, yes. you and the car become one like a mecha suit so it has an allure. but now that automatics have more driving mode features its almost moot.
My favorite car ever was my 1986 Toyota Corolla manual. It was my mom's first and then I inherited it in the late 90s. The tire rod snapped one day and it slammed into a parked car. I was more devastated about losing the car than I was what it would cost me in damages.
I drive an automatic now. A Prius. I don't regret it because it's a really good car and was a really good investment in terms of savings on gas, but I do miss that Corolla and I really miss the feeling of control I had when I drove a manual.
I had a Datsun 280zx that I roll started for about a year before it rolled as far down the hill as it would go one time without starting. The car is still sitting at that spot 20-something years later.
Oh how I love my manual Honda Accord. Before that, had the Civic, the Geo Prism, the Chevy Nova (not the muscle car one, the wee economy car) all with manual transmission. Before that a 1960s mustang with a ridiculously hard to use 3 speed transmission, not hydraulic. Manual transmission is the one thing that makes an otherwise unremarkable car fun to drive. Even one of my kids is converted now, always wants to drive my car not the automatic.
Yes, automatic transmission is more efficient but if the clutch fails it's a $500 repair not a $5,000 repair. I'll probably never again have a gas powered car but want this one as long as I can keep it running.
Unless you have Nascar-level skills, a modern automatic is going to be more efficient and better at successfully changing gears as needed than you are. The only reason to have a manual transmission these days is ego.
These are valid criticisms but you approached this conversation in the worst way possible. If you are trying to get people on your side, this ain't it bro.
You don't need high capacity assault style sporting features on a car. Manual transmissions are sporting features. Any car with two or more sporting features is a sports car and no civilian needs to own something like that for transportation.