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Tyyr wrote:The thing is that for many people a car is nothing more than a way to get from point A to point B. They don't really care about taking direct control of the machine. Leather seats, looking good, how much stuff can you pack into it, all these are far more important to them than being personally in charge of how the machine handles. So for these people an automatic is perfect. They didn't care about being able to shift before so why bother buying one?

That's me. My car is simply a vehicle to get me to work and a few other places. I can drive a manual, but I'm not too good at it.

I can't wait till I'm living someplace where I don't need a car at all.

Royal_Foxx wrote:I can't wait till I'm living in Manhattan.

You might as well have just said it directly.

Where I grew up my folks had enough property where I could drive around it and started driving when I was about 10 or 11. I first learn to drive Dad's long bed chevy with three on the tree. Most of the cars I have owned were manual. The house commander won't drive a manual so for most part I've resigned to driving automatics since then.

But when I see sports cars with automatic transmissions I have the same reaction as one would when fingernails are scratching a chalkboard.

I drove an 18-wheeler for the first time when I was about 14. Gears? Yeah, they've got plenty.

Love the av, BTW, Jethro. Good stuff.

Capt. Jethro wrote: But when I see sports cars with automatic transmissions I have the same reaction as one would when fingernails are scratching a chalkboard.

Well, I could understand that for "traditional" automatics with a performance robbing hydraulic torque converter.

But between the different varieties of sequentials, paddle types, and CVT varients I think it may already be getting hard to find sports cars that use a proper foot operated clutch as it now is both inconvenient AND offers worse performance.

And I doubt there are any race cars these days where you have to use a traditional clutch unless it's required by some rule.

Personal preference does have a factor, and for the few people I know that are rich enough to own a sports care, they have a standard manual purely because they like it.

Tsukiyumi wrote:I drove an 18-wheeler for the first time when I was about 14. Gears? Yeah, they've got plenty.

Were you playing 'Convoy' on the 8 track?

Tsukiyumi wrote:Love the av, BTW, Jethro. Good stuff.

Thanks!

sunnyside wrote:And I doubt there are any race cars these days where you have to use a traditional clutch unless it's required by some rule.

Yeah, I'm sure the rules have been relaxed since Danika Patrick entered the race scene.

Capt. Jethro wrote:

Tsukiyumi wrote:I drove an 18-wheeler for the first time when I was about 14. Gears? Yeah, they've got plenty.

Were you playing 'Convoy' on the 8 track?

Nice.

No, but that would've ruled.

I used to keep a Molly Hatchet disc with me for whenever I had to transport trucks.

Mikey wrote:I used to keep a Molly Hatchet disc with me for whenever I had to transport trucks.

"Flirtin' with Disaster" and other songs! Man, that's some gooooood Southern Rock.