getting fast cars in automatic....
 

I am going to buy a car and a lot of the cars I like are the semi-trick ones like VW GTI and Subaru WRX. The problem is I don't know how to drive a stick shift. Am I a big tool if I get these cars in automatic and just use the paddle shifter occ.? fwiw, its not that i dont want to learn driving a stick its just that I dont want to.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

in a straight line performance you won't notice much difference, but pulling out of turns and finding the right gear is where an automatic suffers the most.

FWIW, I decided I wanted a WRX STi, (only comes in 6mt) and just learned to drive it. Not the ideal situation, but I wouldn't have it any other way now.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

why bother. get a VW bug if you want to drive an auto.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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fwiw, its not that i dont want to learn driving a stick its just that I dont want to.

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yeah great.

edit: learn to drive a stick you nancy.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

[ QUOTE ]
I am going to buy a car and a lot of the cars I like are the semi-trick ones like VW GTI and Subaru WRX. The problem is I don't know how to drive a stick shift. Am I a big tool if I get these cars in automatic and just use the paddle shifter occ.? fwiw, its not that i dont want to learn driving a stick its just that I dont want to.

[/ QUOTE ]

this is perfectly fine, if you have a vagina. do you have a vagina?

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

You are not a tool.

Maybe a bit of a wimp to ask. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

BTW, I have a Subaru Impreza sedan, with the sports pack, with an automatic transmission. I have a hard time keeping it under 90mph on the interstate if I the cruise control isn't on. It'll creep up to over 100mph whenever I pass someone, if I'm not careful.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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this is perfectly fine, if you have a vagina. do you have a vagina?

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I am pretty sure that you does not.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

Its waaaayyyy more fun in stick, i have driven stick all of my life and have only ever owned a stick shift car. Personally my feeling is these types of cars should only be made in a stick, such as the STI and the EVO.

I actually have the oppositte problem, it is harder and harder to find non sports cars in a manual transmission. I'm looking for a new SUV and there are about 3 of them that come in manual transmission, some toyota small one, the honda CRV, some hummers and the nissan xterra, i like the xterra(have one already) but that is all i know of... and i'm looking for a new SUV and don't want another Xterra

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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fwiw, its not that i dont want to learn driving a stick its just that I dont want to.

[/ QUOTE ]huh.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

Learning to drive stick is really easy. I can't see why anyone would lose the performance and take on the ridicule of driving automatic over something you should be able to pick up in an afternoon.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

I have a mustang GT in auto and its still fun to drive, i don't think it will hurt performance too much

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

It's not so much that it's bad to not want to drive a stick, it's wanting to own a sports car but not wanting to learn how to drive it.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

Why would anyone actually be opposed to learning manual? It's a few hours time to learn the basics, at most, and a lifetime's worth of a basic skill. Even if you plan on driving auto Civics the rest of your life, I can't imagine having the chance to learn manual and not doing so.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

[ QUOTE ]
I am going to buy a car and a lot of the cars I like are the semi-trick ones like VW GTI and Subaru WRX. The problem is I don't know how to drive a stick shift. Am I a big tool if I get these cars in automatic and just use the paddle shifter occ.? fwiw, its not that i dont want to learn driving a stick its just that I dont want to.

[/ QUOTE ]

Who the [censored] raised you? Is your dad upset you're gay?

Jesus christ

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

I can understand driving automatic if you live in a city with a lot of hills. Using the hand brake at every stop sign gets old really quick.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

wtf is up with all these "lol automatics are for the gays!" comments.

i know how to drive manual, but its a pain in the ass when you're in traffic, hills parallel parking, etc. When I'm driving, I like to put in as little effort as possible, I'm not out there drag racing Nick Hogan, so what do i care.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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I can understand driving automatic if you live in a city with a lot of hills. Using the hand brake at every stop sign gets old really quick.

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you're doing it wrong.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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I can understand driving automatic if you live in a city with a lot of hills. Using the hand brake at every stop sign gets old really quick.

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Huh?

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

how is that? I feel its the only way if you dont want to totally destroy the transmission over time. We are not talking 5 degrees decline here but San Francisco or equivalent.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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how is that? I feel its the only way if you dont want to totally destroy the transmission over time. We are not talking 5 degrees decline here but San Francisco or equivalent.

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I live in Pittsburgh, and I use the hand brake twice per trip, once when leaving and once when parking.

I don't have any clue what you are doing with it at every stop.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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[ QUOTE ]
I can understand driving automatic if you live in a city with a lot of hills. Using the hand brake at every stop sign gets old really quick.

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you're doing it wrong.

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Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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wtf is up with all these "lol automatics are for the gays!" comments.

i know how to drive manual, but its a pain in the ass when you're in traffic, hills parallel parking, etc. When I'm driving, I like to put in as little effort as possible, I'm not out there drag racing Nick Hogan, so what do i care.

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Seriously. I drove a friend's manual Celica to San Francisco from Los Angeles once. The drive there was great because traffic was light, but as soon as I realized I needed to parallel park on Nob Hill (one of the biggest hills in SF, where my brother lived at the time) all the fun went away. I nearly [censored] my pants when a trolley came as I was parking. Somehow I pulled that one out, but I have no idea why anyone in a hilly city would own a manual.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

[ QUOTE ]
I am going to buy a car and a lot of the cars I like are the semi-trick ones like VW GTI and Subaru WRX. The problem is I don't know how to drive a stick shift. Am I a big tool if I get these cars in automatic and just use the paddle shifter occ.? fwiw, its not that i dont want to learn driving a stick its just that I dont want to.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why the F do you care what other people think about your transmission?

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

Being militantly anti-automatic is a lot more queer than getting a fast car with an automatic tranny, fwiw.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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i know how to drive manual, but its a pain in the ass when you're in traffic, hills parallel parking, etc.

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You're missing the forest for the trees. The important part is having that particular skill. If you live in SF, or really any big city where most of your traffic is SNG, etc, then I completely sympathize with choosing an auto even though manual is more fun.

But that choice should come through experience and education, not ignorance. When it costs so little to learn to drive a manual, why would anyone live the rest of their life not knowing?

Edit: miajag,

I'm pretty pro-manual. I enjoy driving more with that transition. However, the few times I get stuck in traffic, I get really frustrated really quick. If I move to a city where that's my commute, I imagine I'll change over. Still: Why would that be the crux in a car buying decision? If you're going to buy a car, shouldn't the decision hinge on other things? I guess maybe OP values not learning to drive a manual at however much extra he pays, but he's making that decision not knowing how much driving a manual is worth over the course of his life, which is much longer than the life of the car.

Again, that's fine, but it seems odd to me to make that kind of call without at least spending half a day learning a lifelong skill.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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wtf is up with all these "lol automatics are for the gays!" comments.

i know how to drive manual, but its a pain in the ass when you're in traffic, hills parallel parking, etc. When I'm driving, I like to put in as little effort as possible, I'm not out there drag racing Nick Hogan, so what do i care.

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This sentiment is fine. You don't need to drive a manual, autos are fine...for your average car.
The OP was asking about getting a tricked out car, though. You get a tricked out car for one of two reasons:
1. You want to drive aggressively in which case you need to put in effort into your driving and you should get a manual.
2. You get it because you like the way it looks, in which case you care about the way your car looks...which makes you a nancy. Auto is fine, but you're a nancy.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

Unless you are Ricky Racer, a modern automatic will out perform anyone of you with a manual transmission.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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I can understand driving automatic if you live in a city with a lot of hills. Using the hand brake at every stop sign gets old really quick.

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you're doing it wrong.

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I think I know what's going on here. My uncle used to use the parking brake at hills instead of just holding the clutch in and moving his feet quickly to take off. I've seen other people literally sit with the clutch half engaged to hold it in place, which is of course absolutely horrible.

I still don't know what is hard about learning the timing to move your right foot from the brake to the gas quickly while letting up on the clutch, but I guess some people were never taught properly.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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Unless you are Ricky Racer, a modern automatic will out perform anyone of you with a manual transmission.

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... if you drive in straight lines.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

[ QUOTE ]
Unless you are Ricky Racer, a modern automatic will out perform anyone of you with a manual transmission.

[/ QUOTE ].

Modern automatics are much better than the old slushboxes but they still can't match a stick for fun, which is the point of a sports car. I'd have more fun driving a 4-cylinder corolla or something with a 5 speed than a BMW with an automatic, but that's just me.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

[ QUOTE ]
I am going to buy a car and a lot of the cars I like are the semi-trick ones like VW GTI and Subaru WRX. The problem is I don't know how to drive a stick shift. Am I a big tool if I get these cars in automatic and just use the paddle shifter occ.? fwiw, its not that i dont want to learn driving a stick its just that I dont want to.

[/ QUOTE ]

with audi/vw, i think their automatics rock because of the direct shift gearbox. it can run in fully automatic mode (normal or sport), but it also has paddles on the steering wheel for clutch-free gear changes. the gti actually quotes slightly better gas mileage for dsg over manual and even identical or slightly faster 0-60 times, so those commonly-cited advantages are out the window. there's also a launch control feature built into newer models that will basically queue up an automated redline drag race shifting mode when you enter a command sequence.

my car is a manual jetta gli. it's very fun to drive, and i've been a stick driver all the way back to my very first car. if i were to buy a gti, i would go dsg. i drove an audi a3 with it, and i thought it was a ton of fun with plenty of control. even though you don't have experience with manuals, test driving a dsg automatic should be a very different experience from a standard automatic. i suggest giving that a twirl.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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test driving a dsg automatic should be a very different experience from a standard automatic. i suggest giving that a twirl.

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Yeah, DSG in the GTI is totally different from a conventional automatic (the lack of a torque converter is really huge here). I think it's closer to a stick shift than a conventional automatic tranny.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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Unless you are Ricky Racer, a modern automatic will out perform anyone of you with a manual transmission.

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It's about control and enjoyment, not performance. When you can tell me there's a significant efficiency difference on my 12-mile, mostly highway, 3 days-a-week commute, then I'll listen.

Again, the auto v. manual debate is about a lot of marginal issues, or issues that aren't easily quantifiable. Your transmission is going to depend most on your daily traffic conditions. But that's saying that your transmission in any given car depends mostly on the driving conditions it experiences. If you're going to do a ton of off-road in a given car, it makes sense to get a 4WD. If you're doing a 50-mile commute into a city center for work 10 times a week, it makes sense to look for great gas mileage. If you're looking for something that can burn up the road in very short stretches, it makes sense to get a manual transmission.

Saying "Modern automatic transmissions will outrace most people in a manual" is beside the point. If OP wants a fast car to look good or whatever, then it doesn't matter what transmission he gets. If he wants a fast car to outrun people, then he should either learn to drive a manual such that he can beat an identical auto, he should buy a faster auto than anyone he's racing, or he should find a new hobby. No matter what, it's about specifics: what, specifically, he's looking to get out of the car.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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Being militantly anti-automatic is a lot more queer than getting a fast car with an automatic tranny, fwiw.

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This is so wrong.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

[ QUOTE ]
The OP was asking about getting a tricked out car, though. You get a tricked out car for one of two reasons:
1. You want to drive aggressively in which case you need to put in effort into your driving and you should get a manual.
2. You get it because you like the way it looks, in which case you care about the way your car looks...which makes you a nancy. Auto is fine, but you're a nancy.


[/ QUOTE ]

This is the correct answer.


Also, you will someday be asked to drive a stickshift. This could be anything from a drunk buddy's Beemer to a moving van. If you cannot do so, you will be mocked mercilessly until the end of time.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

I have a car with manual gearbox and even my 9 year old cousin knows how to drive it. It's an easy skill to learn and takes about 10 minutes and the joy you get for driving a manual is 1000x compared to auto, trust me.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

I got an Audi S4 with auto transmission just because I never really grew up with manual, noone in my family has one and most of my friends also don't. One of the main reasons I decided not to learn is because if I got a manual, friends/family wouldn't be able to help move my car, run a quick errand, etc. Also since I didn't grow up with it a stick just seems like unneccessary extra effort and a huge pain on hills especially. If this makes me queer so be it.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

Manual is more fun except in traffic.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

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i know how to drive manual, but its a pain in the ass when you're in traffic, hills parallel parking, etc.

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You're missing the forest for the trees. The important part is having that particular skill.
When it costs so little to learn to drive a manual, why would anyone live the rest of their life not knowing?



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with this logic, you could spend 100% of your time learning random new skills that are free/cheap to learn and don't take that much time. Why is learning to drive manual so important. I know how to drive manual but I never do.

Re: getting fast cars in automatic....
 

I'd love to see a list of skills that are as ubiquitous and as easy to learn as driving a stick. What are your examples of things I'd spend 100% of my time learning for free? Calligraphy? Proper bowing? Downward-facing-dog? How to neg girls, lowering their self-esteem enough to sleep with me?