SDPZX3,Dec 30 2005, 06:18 PM Wrote:also it doesn't make a difference if u have a child or not i mean i have a 3.5 year old and i find it better to have a standard cuz he can start the wife's car anytime cuz its an automatic but i don't think he realizes that he has to push in the clutch to start mine cuz its a standard
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Can you explain to me how a 3.5 year old can reach the pedals anyhow...be it stick or auto??
Not to mention that your 3.5 year old shouldnt have access to keys or be allowed to play with the car...
To me it's a matter of choice really and driving habbits really, I can say I am one of the few people here to have had both an auto and a 5 speed focus.
I think people are overly stupid thinking they have to get a minivan when they have One or two kids, Um hello that's why there are wagons if you need the space and don't want to have 4 extra seats if your not using them.... not to mention Minivans are way to over priced to familys on the lower income scale, unless it's been overly used.
Really Any car can be a kid / family friendly even a 5 speed, I think the only cars that are not are 2 door, 2 seat, sports cars. People call pick up trucks family friendly I don't see why there is a mind set against having a fun car, when concidering a new car for their family. Europe is a prime example of that, almost every car in Europe has a 4 or 5 even 6 speed tranny options, and if they have the option of Automaitc they choose not to have it because of the costs down the road to have it repaird.
I can say I've owned more Auto's then stick, and it's I can say the manual tranny beats out auto everytime, because an auto will bog down at some point not to mention they tend to have little driving excitement, and a plus to having a 5 speed is they have been proven to last longer then auto, not to mention better fuel milage.
I'm 26 now, and thinking of my needs and my family's and I'm drawn to get a maybe another Focus, but a Wagon next time round for the extra storage space, and yeah it would be a 5 speed.
I've had both an auto and a manual, both had their strong points. I like the manual much more, but yeah in bad 2h traffic to work you begin to rethink some things :P
But all that changes when the road opens up....
As for minivan I think i'd rather have a wagon, definetly whatever I do buy is going to be used. The focus was my first new car, and depreciation is so rediculous on them its much better just to buy used.
Here is my answer.
I've got a manual ZX3 and an Auto ZTS.
I love my stick no matter where i am. Sometimes it gets a pain in traffic but 99.9% i don't really get stuck in traffic. Most times i enjoy driving my car compared to the ZTS. Here is what could be different.
I dont recommend getting a 4cyl. Auto, but if i would buy anything with 6 or 8 cyl. i would go with Auto. I would figure there is enough power with those that a stick is not really required. This is only incase of family cars and 4drs. If i would buy a sports car, then i would still stick with my manual.
Fate never gave me the chance to drive a manual, but considering that most of my driving is done in the city at low speed or crusing on the highway, I couldn't see any real advantage to a stick anyways.
NefCanuck
Auto : 33
Super high-performance - stick.
Then again, I've been in some STUPID fast autos. The 78 Thunderchicken that smoked a Grand Nat one day... auto.
My Dad's old 1970 1/4 ton Dodge P/U with the 440 Roadrunner mill bored and stroked to 492CID... auto.
My first V8 - 1986 Monte Carlo, 305CID, 4bbl carb, full dual exhaust with no crosspipes - auto.
My truck for the first week it ran right - 1987 Ranger, 289CID V8, A4OD with a level 2 shift kit and a B+M Z-gate slapshifter.
I dunno. I've driven a lot of slow manuals and autos. Unless there was a screaming need for a stickshift, I'd rather have a reworked and upgraded auto.
Age: 28.
My wife and I were looking at a bigger family car it was auto and would keeep with most sticks the car was the 300c SRT-8 awesome car some have run in teh 12's STOCK. At the end of the day we will just wait out my lease and maybe get a sport ute like the porsche or the srt-8 jeep.
who knows what the future holds but I know that my work truck is auto and its easly and relaxing to drive maybe I am just getting old.
Age 28
Owned both auto and stick. Auto was first car, driven lotsa auto's. Learned stick on my Focus. Have to say right now will keep wiht stick, unless something changes in the future.
Age 21
Driven both auto and stick....
Call me crazy, but i prefer my Manual in traffic too, it doesnt matter. i just seem to pay more attention with the man-tran.
that being said, theres nothing better than rowing through the gearbox on a cool summer morning...
but i guess the getrag just inspires shifting. :D
Oh ya.... I'm 21
I'm 29 (turning 30 soon enough)...
It's a tough question... I personally want my cars to be manual. It gives me something to do in traffic, and occasionally, it's a great workout.... but mainly it keeps me from being bored.
But every once in a while, I hope in a rental car and marvel at how much easier I find it to toss around. everything, including left-foot braking seems to be just that much easier. And i think the biggest thing is to get into the habbit of being in the right gears at the right times with the manual.
My current problem while performance driving is that I'm not keeping track of my current gear and which gear I need to be in... and I'm working on it. It's as simple as making sure I'm in the right gear before turning a corner on the street.
Overall, manual is just more fun.. I had to drive to work for about a year with a 45-1hour commute in traffic, and when I get tired of traffic, I don't blame the car, I just go into work earlier. :P
Now, if I ever owned an SUV or a Truck, I'd be stupid to not get an auto.... and as automatic transmissions improve, I'll be made obsolete and be forced into an ATX.
Every single one of my cars was stick. Everytime I get into my GF's accord I slap my left foot down....hitting the floor. :lol:
EVERYTIME!! I've been driving it for almost 3 years now and till this day, I hop in and look for a clutch.
And my GF will always give me s**t for putting the handbrake on. haha, its automatic for me, but she never uses it so when she sees that light on, it gets her going. :rolleyes:
Plus the fact that the Auto's that my family did buy were ususally s**t. They were always being fixed or replaced, so I think that plays a role in my thinking also....I just think Autos are less reliable. Im sure its not true, but experience plays a factor here.
My father traded in his last stick Jetta TDI for an Auto TDI with Triptronic. He got it because my mother was sick of driving it....he barely drives the TDI anymore and I think its cuz its Auto (He loved driving his Stick Jetta @ 40 000km/year). He drives the BMW as much as he can now....which is stick.
Age: 25
scoobasteve,Jan 11 2006, 11:07 AM Wrote:Driven both auto and stick....
Call me crazy, but i prefer my Manual in traffic too, it doesnt matter. i just seem to pay more attention with the man-tran.
that being said, theres nothing better than rowing through the gearbox on a cool summer morning...
but i guess the getrag just inspires shifting. :D
Oh ya.... I'm 21
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AGREED!
Manual every day, no problems...the best part? The GF can't drive stick! I've promised to teach her but thats been on the back burner for over year. I truely enjoy driving a manual car, and I almost never have to sit in rush hour bumper to bumper stop and go traffic so it not an issue. Maybe with the newer 5 and 6 speed autos coming out I'd change my tune, but until they build an auto that accelerates faster than I can with a manual, I'll keep driving stick.
Age:26
SVT ZX3,Jan 11 2006, 07:45 PM Wrote:scoobasteve,Jan 11 2006, 11:07 AM Wrote:Driven both auto and stick....
Call me crazy, but i prefer my Manual in traffic too, it doesnt matter. i just seem to pay more attention with the man-tran.
that being said, theres nothing better than rowing through the gearbox on a cool summer morning...
but i guess the getrag just inspires shifting. :D
Oh ya.... I'm 21
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AGREED!
Manual every day, no problems...the best part? The GF can't drive stick! I've promised to teach her but thats been on the back burner for over year. I truely enjoy driving a manual car, and I almost never have to sit in rush hour bumper to bumper stop and go traffic so it not an issue. Maybe with the newer 5 and 6 speed autos coming out I'd change my tune, but until they build an auto that accelerates faster than I can with a manual, I'll keep driving stick.
Age:26
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Good luck teaching her, mine fails everytime. She lieks to pop the clutch when the car gets moving :blink: