And where are you from? And how old? Not "do you" but just if you know how.
I'm in the US, mid 30s and can (and do) drive a manual transmission.
31,Sweden
Yes, and I prefer a manual car to an automatic. It keeps me a lot more dialed in while driving.
35, living in Europe, I had to re-learn manual. I had only automatics in Latin America. It is certainly more fun and I feel I'm actually driving.
23, US. Yes, but I find them pointless for daily driver cars. Modern automatics are more fuel efficient and just make more sense because they're much easier to operate and less annoying in stop and go traffic.
They're great for off-roading and racing, but outside of those use cases automatics are just better.
They're great for off-roading and racing, but outside of those use cases automatics are just better.
5-speeds are definitely a pain in the ass in stop and go traffic, but the benefits of driving a manual transmission goes beyond use cases. For example, manual transmissions will always be cheaper to repair and easier to diagnose than automatic ones. Similarly, basic 4-cylinder engines will always be easier to diagnose and repair than the highly complicated CVT engines in all the new automatic cars.
Note too that a 5-speed Honda civic made 20 years ago will easily get 45 mpg, simply because by the time you get to third gear, the car is light enough that you can just ride the clutch for the next 1,000 feet. My 05 manual civic ex gets around 40 mpg combined easily, and I'll never have to worry about potentially paying a third of the car's out the door price if the engine ever decides to self destruct. I know we're discussing transmission and not engines, but since you brought up the newer fuel efficient automatics, it seems worth noting.
It's all preference at the end of the day, though. I personally like how connected to the car you feel with manual transmissions, use cases/utility arguments aside. I also kinda wonder if manual drivers are less likely to crash, since it's difficult if not impossible to be on your phone while driving.
Similarly, basic 4-cylinder engines will always be easier to diagnose and repair than the highly complicated CVT engines in all the new automatic cars.
CVT is just the transmission, it has no bearing on the engine design. OEMs use the same engine with both MT and CVT.
I mostly agree except I drive older vehicles out of warranty. Manuals last longer and are cheaper to fix so depending on what vehicle I'm buying I may look specifically for a manual if it's a known "weak spot" for that particular vehicle.
When getting your driving license, you are supposed to know 3 so called 'special manoeuvres'. Hill start, backwards turn and parallel parking. During your test you have to perform 2 of these (chosen by the examiner). Everyone always hopes that one of these two will be the hill start because it's by far the easiest one.
My car has a manual transmission. I learned to drive on a manual transmission. I prefer it. When I drive a car with automatic transmission, I step on its nonexistent clutch.
Least american centric lemmy thread.
Poland. It comes by default.
Early 50s, USA - you bet! And I could also roll up a window, light a cigarette from the lighter, set an AM station by pulling the tuner knob and pushing the desired station button, and burn my ass on a hot vinyl bench seat! Good times!
Of course, 28, French. 99,99% of people here drive manual (or at least know how to).
I'm in my 40s and live in Europe (NL), and in my country, if you don't take your driving exam in a manual transmission car, you receive a restriction on your license that prevents you from driving manual transmission vehicles. As a result, both I and nearly everyone I know can drive a manual. Automatics are also a fair bit more expensive, so most people don't opt for them. Tho I expect this will change with the rising popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles.
i dont even know what manual transmission means if that tells you anything about me.
Yep. 27, Finland. I learned on a manual (in the EU, if you learn on an automatic, you're restricted to automatics only until you pass the driving exam in a manual) and drove manuals until a few years ago when my late grandma's health started declining and her car got passed down to us because she could no longer drive.
I'm Italian and it's mandatory to learn how to drive stick in order to get a license. This could explain why we think driving at 16 is absurd: it would probably be difficult for a 16 years old to learn stick.
Yes, but only on motorcycles. That's because there's no such thing as an automatic motorcycle[1][2][3][4][5], so you have to learn manual if you want to ride one. Unfortunately this skill doesn't transfer well to manual driving because on bikes you operate the clutch with your hand and the shift with your foot. I'm not terribly worried about that, though... I've literally never even been on the inside of a manual drive car before!
For context: I'm mid-20s from the American south.
I don't think I could ride a dct anyway. It feels like you would need superhuman throttle control. Maybe honda inveted some magic for that too?
