Dream Car thread - Manual or automatic?

[gardenmom5]

To me - a "manual" requires knowing how to use a clutch.   cars that you can "switch" between automatic and "manual" - aren't manual transmissions.  (I add that because I once had a conversation with someone who thought the latter was a manual, and was clueless about a clutch.)

It's harder to find manuals today, and they generally tend to be lower end.    We test drove some on cars we liked (30 years ago) - and they were always the very bottom entry trim level and their handling was poor.  (we bought automatic versions of those cars. or didn't buy those cars at all.)

I made my kids learn to drive on a manual - it was "the super cheap basic kid car".  Then 1ds totaled it when it was 20 years old.  (didn't take much.)  we debated fixing it so dudeling could learn to drive on it.  (I don't foresee him learning to drive anytime soon.)

None of them have a manual - but they all know how to drive one.   

My friend's fil would give each of the grandkids a car when they went off to college.  He has access to wholesale prices on the secondary market.  So, they were used cars and he'd buy a good car that came up- he wasn't shopping for particular models, and they certainly weren't always0 something an 18 yo would be strutting around driving.  There were kids who refused them - until it became too inconvenient to not have a car.  It was a very good lesson for them to not overvalue the importance of a vehicle.

[gardenmom5]

5 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

Me too. I love driving manuals. Now that the kids are grown and have their own cars, I'm dreaming of a fun manual for me!  Anybody have some good suggestions? 🚘

I learned to drive on a 77 toyota celica 5sp manual.  it was fun.   I haven't looked at sporty manuals (which are fun to drive), as they tend to be too close to the road for me.  I want to be up high where I can see.

dh had a 5sp miata for years.  I hated it.  I felt like a bug about to be squished, handled well, lacked get up and go.  many days I had to remind him my van didn't corner like the miata - but it had a lot of punch.  all the wannabe sports cars used to annoy me when they'd rush to get in front of me, and they lacked the guts to go up the hill at a decent speed.  we have a lot of hills here.  my van was not underpowered.

Edited April 29, 2021 by gardenmom5

[Indigo Blue]

One son drives a Dodge Challenger TA and the other has my old CRV. The Challenger is one of the most comfortable-riding cars I’ve ever been in. It has supportive, comfy seats and it feels like it’s floating above the road when you ride. So I would say that a more basic model in an automatic would be my dream car. My son’s is manual, loud, and fast. He loves it. 

I also love Volvos. They age well and look cool.

But I’m perfectly happy with my CRV, although it’s nowhere near the comfort level of the Challenger. 

If money were no object, I’d just have them make me a Cobra Kai Challenger with an automatic transmission.

[KungFuPanda]

4 hours ago, Spy Car said:

I remember one of the first times I drove an automatic I almost caused an accident, I was so used to manuals (and needing to clutch) that I mashed on the brake out of pure reflex.

Let's say that my (then) girlfriend, whose car I was driving, was not amused.

Bill 

I did that driving a Humvee full of soldiers.  I don't even think we had seatbelts. I must have been twenty.  Nobody was hurt but it I took me forever to live that one down.

I learned to drive a stick on my first car; a Renault Alliance.  This would have been in 88.  I don't even remember what year that car was.

Edited April 30, 2021 by KungFuPanda

[wathe]

10 hours ago, Spy Car said:

 

Every car I've ever purchased/driven for myself my whole life has had a manual transmission. I love manuals and will be very sad when electric cars make them obsolete.

 

Me too.  I love them!

10 hours ago, PaxEtLux said:

 

It is a bit of a joke, but around here, people say that a manual transmission is the most effective theft prevention device you can have on car.

DH says the same thing - "millennial anti-theft device"

10 hours ago, Lori D. said:

 

Manual is obviously more fun, but it also has an advantage if you have a dead battery -- you can push-start a manual, as you only need to get it going 5-10mph and pop the clutch. An automatic is much more difficult to push-start, as it needs to get up to 30mph.

 

When DH and I started dating way long ago, he drove an ancient Sentra that had to be push started more often than not.  Always backed into parking spaces, preferably at the ends of aisles, pointing down hill.

 

[Frances]

I generally don’t care about cars at all and rarely drive, but we’ve always had small, manual VWs. I think they are more fun to drive.

[bibiche]

6 hours ago, Indigo Blue said:

I also love Volvos. They age well and look cool.

Oh, I’m with you there! I used to have a P1800. Gosh, how I loved that thing. ❤️ I’m not sure the current Volvos will age well though - they look like every other car.

[Arcadia]

7 hours ago, Soror said:

I'm not 100% certain what car I want yet, likely a Toyota or Honda, probably bigger than the Civic as I'll still have 2 kids. I like the idea of electric but don't think I'm ready for that in my rural area, we'll see how I feel in a couple of years.

We were thinking of a Toyota Highlander Hybrid as our next family car. Toyota Camry or Honda Accord would be bigger than the Honda Civic without being really big. 

[Soror]

3 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

We were thinking of a Toyota Highlander Hybrid as our next family car. Toyota Camry or Honda Accord would be bigger than the Honda Civic without being really big. 

I've been looking at the Accord and Camry both. The Highlander is bigger than I want. From the reviews I've read the Accord came out on top more often but I'm leaning towards Toyota. 

[Arcadia]

14 minutes ago, Soror said:

I've been looking at the Accord and Camry both. The Highlander is bigger than I want. From the reviews I've read the Accord came out on top more often but I'm leaning towards Toyota. 

I am also biased towards Toyota for sedans. Both Honda Accord and Toyota Camry have hybrid models. My husband doesn’t mind driving for six hours, more than 300 miles without stopping so he prefers hybrid over an electric car for our next car. 

[Indigo Blue]

7 hours ago, Soror said:

I've been looking at the Accord and Camry both. The Highlander is bigger than I want. From the reviews I've read the Accord came out on top more often but I'm leaning towards Toyota. 

Toyota Camry is a far far far more comfortable ride, everything else being pretty equal. This tips the scale for me.

[TechWife]

City or rural/highway driving? Manuals are a pain in cities. 
 

Although, electric. My next vehicle will be a VW ID.4 - 260 mile range.  I may hold out for the Buzz, but they haven’t given a US date for that yet so I don’t know. 

Edited April 30, 2021 by TechWife