Most motorist here says Amercians loves autos and the British loves manual I wonder is it true? & thats the reasons I write in to hear some of your views.
In our country,majority are moving to autos cause its convience to drive due to high volumne of traffice during peak hours on the expressways and in the city and also their wives loves auto and lastly a better re-sale value and its easier to look for a buyer . My wife and myself are die hard manual and its quite difficult to opt for manual. Lately we test drive the VW Golf 1.6 & 2.0 liter FSI auto ( no manual available ). we awanted a manual but VW told us that they will not bring in any manuals for they are promoting autos like all others cars dealers. So autoars will be the 'In-thing' in our country. Later we went to Mini Habitat showroom , we will ofered CVT unit for tested drive for mini cooper and the MCS for there is no manual except a show piece of the mc.After tested drive both minis we pot for manual and was told we have to wait aleast 4-5months. Off cousre we will wait for the manual as we intended to wait till the new 2007 mini . ( Currently, I am driving a 1.6 2-door manual).
Much appreciate if u could share a thought.
Cheers

 

Everybody has their preferences, and their reasons for it.

That being said, if you ARE big fans of manual transmissions, as you've said... don't hesitate on the MINI just because you can't get a good test drive with the stick. It's a blast... and there are many, many MINIacs here on NAM who chose the stick and will tell you it's a GREAT implementation of a manual transmission.

 

I must have some British blood in there somewhere. Simply don't buy an auto unless it's for the wife. I would rather do the rowing.

 

Auto's are easier in the City traffic, but I wouldn't of bought the Mini if I couldn't get it in manual.

 

Automatic transmissions became popular in North America in the 1950's. The driving philosophy essentially is different here from anywhere else in the world. Americans (At large) see the act of driving as mere necessity to get from point A to Point B and in doing so, they don't want to be bothered with manual transmissions and clutch pedals. Americans don't quite connect the concept of driving with that of passion. But ironically, Americans continue to have a love affair with the automobile but with a different perspective from Europeans who are seemingly more into it.

American driving enthusiasts and manual transmission advocates are an inmense minority. But I am very proud to belong to that "elite" group of people who enjoy good road machines and seek for higher performance and handling demeanors in their cars.

 

Try somewhere else... You can do better than a 4-5 month wait

 

The traffic in London, as in most European capitals, is horrible. I see a reason why most people may be migrating to automatics and not necessarily for reasons of pure sheer driving enjoyment.

The way I see it, the manual transmission will become extinct within the next 10-15 years as SMG and automatic transmission technology continues to improve in terms of performance and efficiency.

Even Sir Alec Issigonis, creator of the original 1959 Mini, called the manual transmission "The barbaric stick" and in an interview in 1980 he envisioned the Mini of the future with a clutchless and gearless automatic transmission (Sounds familiar, eh?). Issigonis died in 1988, so he never got to see his "ideal" Mini, but in 2002 the MINI Cooper CVT became available. Believe it or not, the current Cooper CVT would have been the vehicle of choice of Alec Issigonis.

 

The original poster is located in England. I am not familiar with the factory wait times there as his is a completely different market from ours.

 

Perhaps there is a correlation between the size of the vehicles and statistics relating to the transmissions? More bigger trucks, vans and cars with auto tranny's in the American population increasing the proportionate numbers of those transmissions overall in the 50s to now? Could be that the general greater sales and acceptance of the auto transmission (often considered a luxury option) in the past in the US lead to more and more sales of the auto as people only had that in the household to teach their kids on (not to mention that driving schools and many rental places don't offer manual transmissions). Then there is the resale issue, ease of use in traffic, with cell phones, and doing all that other stuff people do while in the car, etc.. So maybe the same reasons - increased car size, more traffic, better auto gearboxes, aging population w/families, and all that are making the tranny more desireable in the UK, and other countries formerly dominted by manual cars, as well...

Just speculatin'

In any case, the wait will be worth it

 

I actually prefer driving a stick in traffic - keeps me from getting too bored. Or maybe I've just lost a few too many of my marbles?

All joking aside, my commute is an hour+ each way in bumper to bumper NY rush hour traffic and I switched from driving auto back to stick about 8 years ago and couldn't imagine buying an auto ever again. While I do have several friends that also drive stick, the majority don't and even though I've offered to teach them, they always decline.

I don't like the trend either that more and more new cars don't even have a m/t option any longer. Oh well, as long as they keep making manual transmissions for us few enthusiats I'll be happy .

 

I like smooth shifting AT's with those sportshift/manual modes.

i think those are cool.

 

Is it just me or do the auto/stick (i.e. tiptronic) transmissions seem to shift rather slowly compared to a fully manual transmission? (I can't comment on the MINI's auto as I've yet to drive one). A friend of mine though has owned a few Audis with tiptronic trans and I've never thought the shifts (either fully automatic or in the manual mode) were all that quick. I don't have much experience with other newer autos, but I haven't been too impressed.

Although I haven't had the pleasure of driving one of the newer SMG/DSG cars, they at least seem to offer comparable performance. One of these days I will have to take a VW w/DSG out for a test drive just to see how it works - that seems to be a pretty quick and fun to drive unit.

FWIW, I still have fond memories of my old 66 Mustang with the C4 automatic w/shift kit. Even with the little 289V8, it could chirp the tires shifting from first to second at WOT.

 

Gentlemen thanks for sharing your views , it have indeed help for better understanding,

 

For me, it depends on the vehicle. I like the manual on the MINI, but I like the auto on the 4x4 Pickup. Of course, the wife will only drive an auto, which leave the MINI to me alone. Cool!

 

I would not have bought my MCS unless it had a stick. When I made the purchase in 05 I would have been surprised that they made automatic MINIs. People drive a stick because they love to drive for the sake of driving not necessarily getting somewhere. I don't mind the stick in bumper to bumper traffic. It makes you pay more attention to your driving and the enjoyment of the ride. On the other hand if the car was some lumbering boat (like an SUV where ride is the equivalent of driving from your living room couch) an automatic would be in order.

 

You haven't driven in or around London have you?

My experience with the UK is that roads are narrower, there are not that many 4 lane streets and traffic may actually be worse.

 

Wouldn't it also have to do with the price of fuel in Europe? Small cars, small engines, manual transmissions...trying to eke out every shillings worth of petrol

 

After driving automatics exclusively for the past 15 years, I'm going to get an automatic on my next purchase. That is if I decide to keep my MINI until I'm ready for a 7-series .

For me shifting manually is fun. A few weeks back I had an '06 MCS Agitronic for a few days while the dealer perfromed some service. It was an interesting comparison. I drove it in several modes (D, SD, "Manual") throughout my daily routine. I found nothing especially objectionable about it, but the car just didn't feel as quick or responsive. (Then again, it has been a long time since I had the stock pulley ) It was still a very nice car. It was just not as engaging. And it made my left foot itch.

I fully understand why people opt for automatics. Traffic, resale, ease of use... But the effort required to manage traffic just doesn't ever bother me. And I bought if for my pleasure and enjoyment, not as an investment. I am hoping to teach my wife how to drive a manual. (She has agreed, but I have to take dancing lessons. That's the deal.)

In the end, traditional manual transmissions are going away. So enjoy them while you can. Even BMW is already moving to SMG-only for some flagship performance models. (Maybe I'll have to buy a Porsche.) In point of fact, a well done clutchless manual transmission is capable of executing gear changes better and faster than a human. Manufacturers like the marketablility.

If you want to keep manuals around, keep buying them. And take care of the ones you have. They are a dying breed.

 

I always have to post when I see the auto versus manual thing. I've owned some 20+ cars since I was 16 and only 4 of them had autos. I commute in a big city every day and the manual just isn't an issue to me. I've taken on the mission of trying to get people to at least try a manual. I'm on a bike team that has a number of teenagers on it, and some of them travel with me to races at times. I have taught four of them that already had licenses and driving experience the manual with varying results. One of them is my prize pupil. His first manual experience was in my M3, the first outing resulted in more than a few stalls. Now, with only 5 or 6 driving sessions, he has driven both the M3 and MINI flawlessly, and getting much smoother. My point is anyone can learn if they want and have no physical limitations. I agree it's becoming a lost art, I've driven the DSG and it just doesn't please me like rowing your own does. And the "manumatics" such as Agitronic and BMW's Step are just push buttons on a torque converter auto, no way they approach a true manual's speed.

 

I agree that the speed of the shifts on Agitronic (silly name) and Steptronic transmissions does not compare to what can be accomplished with a manual transmision. BMW's SMG-II is a different story. Not only are its upshifts fast, it downshifts flawlessly and quickly as well, including a nice rev-matching throttel input. However, it's still not as much fun as doing the shifting yourself.

 

For me it depends on the vehicle and the kind of driving. My MCS is a manual, fun to shift, and mostly driven on fun roads. My Tahoe is automatic, I'm sure if it were a manual it would be a chore to drive. When I go to DC I take it because I'm stuck in stop & go traffic there.

The preference for automatics, however, does seem to be a uniquely American thing. A lot of American cannot even drive a manual transmission equipped car. (A lot Americans cannot drive a car with ANY type of transmission)

 

I'm more fascinated by the assumption that it's the womenfolk who want the automatics...

 

I drive a manual and as long as I have a say I avoid autos like the plague. Also I am willing to tech others to drive manual, just not in the MINI.

 

Nope. For that to be true there would have to be 80% women and 20% men. Hmmm...that could be OK.