Manual VS Auto

[americanv8]

I moved a lot as a kid, lived in a lot of different countries. Manual is pretty much the default everywhere else and that is mainly due to road conditions and the higher costs of automatics. Only in the US do you have losers who like to strut about something as basic as driving a stick shift. I have both manual and auto, and if I could only have one, it would absolutely be an auto based on my daily driving. Drive whatever makes you happy.

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[WildHorse]

no matter how much your HPDE instructor loves them

Wrong again. He uses Porsches.

 

[Racer329]

First Car turning 16 was a 2006 GT Black in Black with the 5 Speed manual garage queen. Daily drove a 1984 Corvette with the rare Doug Nash 4+3 Manual with overdrive gears. Picked up a 2001 GT Auto with a few blown out plugs and a blown intake which became my next DD. Next garage queen car was a 2003 Z06 6 Speed which competed for my attention with the 2006 GT 5pd on nice days. Had a 2015 Explorer Sport for two years and a 2016 F-150 Platinum for 3 years until buying my 2019 GT PP1 with a 10Spd Auto a few weeks ago.

With that background and given all of the vehicles I have ever had, I would not have even considered an Automatic mustang again. Given the pandemic and my F-150, lease being up I bought the 2019 GT as a daily driver l. I went one step crazier and bought the automatic without a test drive.

1000 miles in I can’t even begin to explain how impressed I am with this car in automatic . It is far superior to my 2006 GT and 2003 Z06 which I never thought I would say that. I come from a racing family and I grew up racing Stock Cars and this car truly blew me away in multiple categories and I plan to put many miles on it.

Automatic GT500 in 5-6 years for sure.

 

[Twin Turbo]

What was the original question being asked in this thread?


Here's a little sidebar some might find interesting. Here in the UK automatics were, up until about 20 years ago, pretty much only found in big luxury saloons. Take BMW for instance, the 3 and 5 series would usually be found with a manual, it was only once you got to the big 'ol 7 series that you'd find an auto. Our roads are smaller, so smaller cars have been the most popular, and most small cars only come with a manual (think Fiesta/Focus/Mondeo). Autos were available, but I'd be less than 10% of buyers opted for the 2 pedals.

So, here at least, there's no stigma around an auto being the "easy choice". If anything, the auto was seen as being the luxury choice.

I think it was probably in the late 90s when BMWs 5-speed with its Steptronic manual override showed an auto could perform as well as a manual. The 6-speed ZF auto was deemed as very, very good. Once the ZF 8-speed came along, it really was deemed superb. Autos have come a LONG way in the last 15 years. No 9 out of 10 BMWs, whether 3, 5-Series, will be auto. But I'd still bet 8 out of 10 Fiestas/Focus bought here will still be manual.

Here in the UK there are two types of driving licence. If you take your test in an automatic car, you are only licensed to drive an auto (and can be fined/banned if you're caught). If you pass your test in a manual car, you then have the choice of driving either a manual or an automatic. So, mos 17 year old girls here, if they choose to learn to drive, will be proficient with a manual 'box, so we don't get too much "willy-waving" about the subject here

 

[marks]

So, here at least, there's no stigma around an auto being the "easy choice". If anything, the auto was seen as being the luxury choice.

Like you say auto was seen as the "luxury" choice maybe 15-20 years ago, but never the sporty choice. For example, no one in their right mind would have chosen the auto BMW E36 M3 over the manual version, and that has shown in the residuals for other older performance cars as well. Now the auto is not seen as luxury or sporty, as low end cars have them, and it is just seen as an easy driving car if you live in an area with a lot of traffic or just see a car as something to get you from A to B. The premium brands such as Porsche, BMW and Aston Martin have retained or increased their manual range because they realise the gimmick of the flappy paddle has now passed many in the premium market and some want more of an experience than just mashing the accelerator. I posted this video recently but I'll post if again, sums it up perfectly. And this is up against the Porsche PDK, best in the business, not an A10 thing.

 

[Twin Turbo]

And yet the new 7-speed manual in the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage was described by Carfection as "not the best". And I bet they sell 9 autos for every 1 manual. I get it though, for that nth degree of driver satisfaction, I'd agree a manual gives more engagement than an auto. I've driven my S197 on Continental road trips. For the boring drive just getting there, I wished it was an auto (5 minutes on the M25 will do that!)....but once I'm at my destination, with good driving roads, I'm glad it's a manual. But I honestly think the latest autos are that good, it narrows the difference in enjoyment down a significant degree.

But this thread isn't about whether manuals are better than autos......the OP asked whether those that drive an auto Mustang do so because they can't drive a manual

 

[Burkey]

Auto guys will be the first to adopt autonomous vehicles.
Manual guys will resist to the last breath.

 

[Vlad Soare]

When the S550 came to Europe our local dealer gave me a manual Ecoboost for a test drive for a whole day. I picked up the car in the morning and took it back in the evening. During the day I drove it in all kinds of traffic - urban, stop&go, motorway, etc. I loved it. Going back to a manual gearbox was awesome. However, that car tired the hell out of me, and at the end of the day, after parking it at the dealer's and getting out of it, I heaved a sigh of relief as I headed back to my boring automatic Mondeo saloon.
The Mustang had been tremendous fun, but now all I wanted was a comfortable car what would take me home in perfect silence, with minimal input from me.
Fast-forward four years, and here I am, having ordered an S550 with a manual transmission. I know I will enjoy it enormously when I'm in the mood for having fun. But I also know I won't always be in the mood. There will be days when I will be tired and will long for a big, comfortable, automatic saloon that can drive itself. And on such days I will kick myself for having gone the manual route.

 

[marks]

But this thread isn't about whether manuals are better than autos......the OP asked whether those that drive an auto Mustang do so because they can't drive a manual

I thought he asked if people drive a manual because they can't drive an auto. I'm assuming it was tongue in cheek!

 

[marks]

When the S550 came to Europe our local dealer gave me a manual Ecoboost for a test drive for a whole day. I picked up the car in the morning and took it back in the evening. During the day I drove it in all kinds of traffic - urban, stop&go, motorway, etc. I loved it. Going back to a manual gearbox was awesome. However, that car tired the hell out of me, and at the end of the day, after parking it at the dealer's and getting out of it, I heaved a sigh of relief as I headed back to my old boring automatic Mondeo saloon.
The Mustang had been tremendous fun, but now all I wanted was a comfortable car what would take me home in perfect silence, with minimal input from me.
Fast-forward four years, and here I am, having ordered an S550 with a manual transmission. I know I will enjoy it enormously when I'm in the mood for having fun. But I also know I won't always be in the mood. There will be days when I will be tired and will long for a big, comfortable, automatic saloon that can drive itself. And on such days I will kick myself for having gone the manual route.

Many people have the Mustang as their weekend car, not as a daily cruiser. The Mustang is not designed to be comfy, quiet and subtle but an event - that is its niche. Not sure you can criticise it for this.

 

[Twin Turbo]

I thought he asked if people drive a manual because they can't drive an auto. I'm assuming it was tongue in cheek!

I completely misread his original question!

 

[Vlad Soare]

Many people have the Mustang as their weekend car, not as a daily cruiser. The Mustang is not designed to be comfy, quiet and subtle but an event - that is its niche. Not sure you can criticise it for this.

No, you're right. I'm not criticizing it. It is what it is, and we're free to take it or leave it.
I'm just saying we sometimes need to make choices, and neither option is inherently better than the other in all respects. Whatever we choose, there will always be moments when we'll wish we had chosen differently.
So, manual or automatic? Doesn't matter. They're both great in some respects and nasty in others. Neither will be perfect all the time.

 

[Bikeman315]

The Mustang is not designed to be comfy, quiet and subtle but an event.

I would disagree with you, at least with the S550. I find it supremely comfortable and quiet when I want it to be. A true GT. As far as being subtle, OK, I’ll agree with you there.

 

[Bikeman315]

Auto guys will be the first to adopt autonomous vehicles.
Manual guys will resist to the last breath.

At some point, neither of us will have a choice. Until then I’ll keep the steering wheel in my hands. Along with all of the other Mustang owners.

 

[Jmtoast]

I drive an Auto so I can take pics for my instagram page or hold my cafe latte rumchata with my right hand..

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