Unpopular opinion: the automatic shift is a completely unnecessary waste of money

I've driven both quite extensively but definitely more manual and I like aspects of both. I like the control of a manual and I like the ease of an automatic. The automatic is easier in heavy traffic, particularly if going uphill in heavy traffic. The manual gives you better options in snow and other inclement weather. It's pluses and minuses. Lazy me likes auto, but manual is the true driving experience.

I've just remembered.... When I was hitch-hiking a lot in the 1970s I once got a lift in a Porsche 911 - I was fascinated by the gear change because there was an electric clutch on the gear lever. The driver told me that he nearly wrecked the gearbox on his wife's Mini because he forgot it didn't declutch when he put his hand on the gearstick 😂🤣🤗

I swore when I was young that I would never have an automatic - but then I started driving my boss's huge Volvo estate which had everything power-assisted. In London traffic it was an absolute beauty, and I had a number of automatics after that. I never really got used to the cruise control on this one - that was laziness taken too far lol!

I don't think there's a simple generalization to be made at the moment about automatic vs manual transmission.

For example, VW is convinced that their dual clutch automatic is faster and smoother than any human driver. There's one clutch for the odd number gears; a different for the evens, so there's no good way for a human to control it manually.

For efficiency, nothing beats Toyota's hybrid + power split device. It enables a more efficient Atkinson cycle engine, with a narrower power band and high efficiency in that band. Also very few moving parts so lower maintenance.

If we go back a generation and compare typical 5-speed manuals to 4-speed automatics, the manuals were uniformly better. As for myself, I drove manuals from 1980 to 2005 when we got a Prius, and when renting in Europe manuals are cheaper so we get them. Rented a 6-speed manual in Spain 3 years ago and it was fun but didn't bring back nostalgia.

In some ways automatic is still manual as the computer or whatever that controls it can't decide what gear it wants to be in.

Try pushing it all the way down when your starting from zero mph and it works great but lets say your going 25 and trying to pass someone so you push it all the way down, now it thinks for 1 to 3 seconds which may be messing up that small passing window to decide, then it suddenly jumps to a gear too low and your rpms are going 5000 over the redline then it switches a few more times so now it takes 5 to 10 seconds for it to figure out what it needed to be.

OR I can manually control it by not stepping so hard and letting it shift at a different pace, which then really means it's manual anyways.

Personally I hit it all the way every single time, so that taking it casual ain't going to happen.

I think a manual would be nice that way I can put it in what I want to keep it from jumping all over the place due to my driving style.

A) here in the states it actually costs extra to get a manual because no one wants them here. ( a crime imho when it comes to sport cars)

B) automatic transmissions have actually become far more fuel efficient than manual shifts, so in the long run you’re not only saving your left knee the extra wear and tear, but saving money as well.

I have never driven manual so I can't say. I have never had a problem with my gears in automatic cars.

In some States of Australia if you obtain your car license in an automatic you only get a limited licence and can not legally drive a manual car.

Nevertheless I can drive a four on the floor or three on the tree....and an automatic. Unrestricted Bike Licence and Heavy Truck.

I did consider getting one at one time to save my clutch knee. I hardly ever drive now though and possibly will do without a car when the current one packs in.

yeah but it's harder to text while driving with a manual.

In the old days, manual transmissions were more efficient than automatics and also more "sporty". But now, the state of the art in automatic transmissions has gotten so advanced, the computer can more efficiently manage gear changes than a human. Eventually, manuals were options then have been replaced by an large by paddle shifters.

I have recently test-driven some all-electric cars including an F-150 pickup truck that was fully electric. I don't typically drive a car nor a p/u truck because I ride a motorcycle for 8 months of the year, but the test-drive opportunity presented itself as a public relations venture, so I went for it.

The all-electric, AWD car (not a Tesla) was impressive from the transmission standpoint in that there is NO transmission and NO engine to complain about in the first place. Instead, there are 4 electric motors with one motor attached to each wheel.

Driving a pure EV is like sitting at a sewing machine with a treadle control on the floor with a wire connected to it... the further you push the treadle down with your foot, the faster the sewing machine goes. An all-electric car works exactly the same way as a sewing machine in that regard and I loved it!

I have a really unpopular opinion.
But in the interest of fairness, I'll ask q question. Here goes:

I wouldn't mind driving a manual. I just never learned how.

I’m American 😭 I have never driven a stick shift and I’m almost 30

Not many manual shift vehicles being produced now with the exception of big trucks and even those are coming with automatics more frequently

I've got another question. Why is the transmission so unnecessarily complicated in the first place? It seems to me in this modern age, we could completely redesign it so that gears and transmissions are not necessary.

Isn't this moot with our EV present and future, the dchotomy you describe just an artifact of fossil fuel burning internal combustion engines that are on the verge of extinction (and rightly so)?

My car has a continuously variable transmission.

Nowadays you can only get a manual transmission on a performance car here in the United States.

The automatic shift allows one to drink a cup of coffee while simultaneously texting with the other hand while steering the car in slow traffic with one's upper thigh. Why would one even consider a manual transmission in that case?

People are lazy

🤷‍♀

Yes

what is the benefit of manual vs automatic?