Right.........That is why race cars are all autotragics.

 

I do believe that there are times for an autotragic such as health problems or stop and go driving. If your car is a weekend warrior and you have an auto that is just sad.

 

There are a lot of dual clutch automatic transmissions in race cars now.

Even years ago one of the most successful group 7 cars, Jim Hall's Chaparrals, were all automatics.

Dave

 

Is that double clutch transmission what you are driving? MMmmmm sorry its not so no comparison.

 

No, It'a a high performance Aisin 6 speed automatic! A premium addition to the option package on my MINI!

Dave

 

I think that sales people say some pretty ill-informed things sometimes or just outright lie. Don't know what the motivation is here, but typically it's in service to making a sale.

- Mark

 

I prefer manuals. Automatics are soooooo boring.

 

Been in annoying traffic plenty times, nearly every day at my school, plenty of times on the highway, and more than enough times in new york city. The pressing of a clutch pedal in NO WAY aggravates me anywhere near as much as the traffic itself does. So for me that argument is completely irrelevant.

 

Only time a manual bothers me in traffic is when it really is the go 2 feet and stop. With a OS Giken clutch it gets tedious but that is the only time. As I have said for a long time the MINI auto sucks. It sucks because it feels like it drags out a clutch go from 1st to 2nd and it shifts too slow and way too hard for an autotragic.

 

I just saw a recent figure on the uptake of manuals in the US - it's crazy-low, like down to 5% these days.

I've been driving since 1973, and have owned about 20-25 cars in my lifetime. Not a single one has been a slush box. Yet.

 

I own a manual and wouldn't buy an auto, but I don't get the rabid hate for others choice in transmission. It's just a personal preference, no one is preventing you from having a stick shift. Take a breath.

 

I drive and love driving manual trans vehicles even when I worked in Manhattan. Traffic has never bothered me. I used to own a 1976 Volare station wagon with a 4 speed manual while working a repair route that included Manhattan north of 60th Street and all of the Bronx. I live in Queens and sat in traffic for about four hours a day. I put 50,000 miles on that wagon in two years driving like that.
I now have 2007 Jeep Wrangler 4 dr with a 6 speed manual and my new to me 2008 MCSc 6 speed.
I don't mind driving an auto I just prefer a manual.

 

Manuals are way more fun, and that was reason enough for me to get one. Automatics have some advantages on paper just like a Chevy Malibu will beat a MINI Cooper by-the-numbers in some categories, but in terms of fun factor, they are not even close if you ask me.

Still, I know sticks are slowly disappearing in the U.S., with take rates in the single digits for new car sales. MINI's are supposedly bucking the trend with 34% manual sales nationwide and 50% in New England. Who knows why that one dealer is lower - maybe regional biases or any number of factors.

I don't care what other people buy, but I hope sticks manage to survive so I can keep getting them without having to move to Italy :-)

 

Yeah, we noticed how long you've been saying that...ad nauseum in every transmission thread... However, I'm wondering if the autos you've had experience with may have had problems, because the autos I've driven don't experience any of the symptoms that you're fabricating.

One thing I've never mentioned is how much I respect your bravery and service to our country, but unfortunately, your consistently combative nature doesn't translate to NAM as well as you'd like.

 

It has been everyone I have driven. I have been behind the wheel of and R50, R52,R53, R56, and R60 all with the same feel of the transmission. ANd yeah I say it a lot because it is the truth.

 

Maybe you're guilty of "premature shifting"?

 

President of MINI USA.

 

Oh yeah sure I take it to like idle and shft. The best preformance you can get right there.

 

So what's your point? It in no way aggravates you, do you suddenly speak for everyone? I guess I missed that memo. I wasn't making any argument, I was stating that my personal preference, because of the traffic I drive in, it makes more sense to me to have an automatic. You essentially made my own point. Thank you.

I don't get the hate for automatics, specifically because it all comes from manual owners. The crazy thing is you don't see automatic owners coming out saying how much better their cars are, all you see is manual owners coming out saying how bad they are. Give it a rest, it's their money, their car, simple as that. It makes you look pathetic rambling on and on about "autotragics" and how inferior they are. Seriously, it's just a car, grow up.

 

Mmmm dual clutch!

 

These threads are the reason why I dislike online automotive communities.

 

Ahhh lerd.....

I said I am a stick shift snob. My Snobbery knows no bounds. The reason I think the way I do about automatics is because I feel that it causes people to be inattentive behind the wheel and oblivous to their surroundings. Most automatic drivers(not necessarily MINI owners) do not know how to handle a car. The automatic takes away a little bit more of the control of a car and slowly but surely their ability to drive. A lot of the distracted driver complaints that you seen could be mitigated if more people drove manual transmissions. If you like driving your automatic and it fits you lifestyle then stick with it but for me controlability, gas mileage, power transfer, and driving fun cause me to drive to drive a manual transmission.

 

Vice President Simply because there is no President. He is indeed the top dog. He and his wife are friends of ours!

 

my weekend car is an s2000. it has the smoothest clutch and a short six speed gear box that makes cutting warm butter with a steak knife feel like a chore. comparatively, the mini's manual gearbox is akin to a 60's model beetle. i drive an automatic mini.

 

Hey, I'll be the first to agree with you that a manual car is more responsive, quicker between shifts, and allows the driver to be more connected to the car. I say that because I've owned numerous manuals in my day (including an IMPOSSIBLE to drive 91 Toyota pickup). They are great fun to drive. That said, MINI makes a great automatic. More than that, MINI makes a great car that isn't hindered by the gearbox. Fact is, having an automatic doesn't make you a bad driver and owning a manual doesn't make you a good driver. More often the bad driver is driving an automatic, but I've seen plenty of people run through clutches like water. The driver matters more than the gearbox, and I've seen plenty of automatics run circles aren't manuals.

Fact remains, I'm just happy people are buying MINIs, automatic or manual. The manuals are fantastic and the automatics are equally fantastic. If you can't get behind that than maybe you need to rethink your car selection. I heard their are plenty of Civic forums that just love talking about their 4" fart cans.