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auto's why why why?

1K views 14 replies 13 participants last post by  Kamdog 
#1 ·
now I'm probably being typically English in saying this but why would you want an auto over a manual transmission?
autos sap huge amounts of power, there heavier, they eat pads, there's less if any engine braking for what? boredom!
apologies if i have just offended most of the forum but i just don't like autos, if your a true driver you will understand and after all i thought a BMW is 'the' drivers car!
 
#3 ·
Americans don't care about "engine braking". Our pads are guaranteed for the first 40K miles, and BMW will buy us a new set if they wear out. By the time we have to buy our own pads we have destroyed the car and moved on to another toy.
Stay tuned though, this may be changing...
 
#5 · (Edited)
Americans are lazy and see driving as a way to get from A to B, nothing else. Also, because cars are cheaper here, and everything related to licensing/fuel/driver's education is also cheap, everyone feels they can drive. Thus, folks here don't see driving as enjoyment, but rather a chore that must be performed to get to and from work. Thus, we all want to make chores easier, hence the automatic gearbox.

I'm sure folks who live in London and/or commute there buy autos because they don't want the hassle of a clutch in traffic. I know someone on another forum who said this on their new X3, after I asked why they bought an automatic with their 2.0d:

95% of the time we will use the X3 for commuting, I also have the auto box on my 335i and it performs really well, so why would you have a manual?
BMW also doesn't charge as much for the automatic gearbox, if at all. It has always been $1275, and is now no-cost on the 5-series and X3. I realise that BMW UK charges £1490 and BMW Germany charges ***8364;2160 (which, with today's exchange rate, is like $174190865). So cost-wise, it doesn't cost us much to go with a slushbox.
 
#6 ·
I love a manual transmission and have always had at least 1 car with it since I started driving 34 years ago. Luckily I live where I do not have real traffic issues. But if I had to commute in NYC, ATL, LA or other metro area where I was stuck in traffic every day I could not have a daily driver with a clutch.
 
#8 ·
For 3 years I had a daily commute from a suburb of Philadelphia to downtown about a 50 miles drive. In this part of the country there are a ton of small roads not too many expressways. And I should mention that your simply driving from town to town, traffic all the way. I counted the stop lights I had to drive thru and it was a staggering 42. The odds are better than half that I get the red light. So lets say I stopped 30 times that means I had to shift 30 times that means I had to push the clutch in 150 times each way 300 times a day, 1500 times a week. I know WAAAA! :cry:right? My left knee is 56 years old and the right is also 56 that's 112 years of old knees. But realize someday this may be you, remember the only way not to get old is to die young. :D
PS: My Vette is not a Automatic and it will never see downtown Philly.
 
#9 ·
Considering I have just the one car and driving in traffic both here in SD and in LA can be a pain in the a**....I'll stick with the auto until I'm in a place where having the manual makes a bit more sense.

And no.... I'm not lazy... I just don't care for shifting up and down each block.
 
#10 · (Edited)
"Engine Braking" is an obsolete racing technique from 50 years ago when drum brakes would fade under heavy usage.. The purpose of a transmission is to keep the engine close to the torque peak. The purpose of brakes is to slow down the car (and to "balance" the car).
Modern ATs do not "sap huge amounts of power". The 335i Steptronic torque converter is locked up most of the time. As much as I enjoy driving manual transmissions, the handwritting is on the wall. The days of MTs are numbered,

CA
 
#11 · (Edited)
From my experience, a manual is only fun in certain cars and in certain areas.

i.e. Porsche, M3 coupe, etc.

I don't see any point having a manual in a Luxury coupe, sedan, minivan, truck, etc. You can certainly do it but it seems pointless.

The thrill of a manual is in a two seater convertible, driving winding roads, hearing the engine roar, and the top down.

A 5 series for example is a luxury sedan, and a manual in one would bore me.

Stick + throaty engine sound = fun for about the first 3 months. Then you realize you are stuck in traffic with everyone else.

Tranny selection is all about how you want to use the car. Most folks want a nice ride from point a to b. They are not into shifting. Furthermore, with todays advanced autos, SMG's, DSG's, etc. a manual seems pointless and a waist of energy.

Not sure I agree with power zapping and brake pads. A very 1960's mentality.
 
#12 ·
From my experience, a manual is only fun in certain cars and in certain areas.

i.e. Porsche, M3 coupe, etc.

I don't see any point having a manual in a Luxury coupe, sedan, minivan, truck, etc. You can certainly do it but it seems pointless.

The thrill of a manual is in a two seater convertible, driving winding roads, hearing the engine roar, and the top down.

A 5 series for example is a luxury sedan, and a manual in one would bore me.

Stick + throaty engine sound = fun.

Tranny selection is all about how you want to use the car. Most folks want a nice ride from point a to b. They are not into shifting. Furthermore, with todays advanced autos, SMG's, DSG's, etc. a manual seems pointless and a waist of energy.

Not sure I agree with power zapping and brake pads. A very 1960's mentality.
+1
More likely a 1950s mentality.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Even better/worse than Auto: I have Active Cruise!!! Love it, in traffic.

When you commute 100 miles every day on a highway, there are times where you do not want to shift gears, you just want to relax and go home.

I understand you may like manual, just as some people like to do their own cooking where you can buy ready made food (I do). To each his own.

Technology enable us to have more reliable/enjoyable cars by removing unnessary actions from the driver (e.g. why manual when you can use paddles if you want to shift). Hopefully, in the long run, cars should be intelligent enough to select the best gear sequence, just based on the throttle and situation. Who misses the manual "starter" with different mixtures for cold start?

I think I read/heard somewhere that autopilots land planes better than most pilots in manual mode. I bet there will be a time (if we are not there already) where the auto transmission will beat most, if not all, manual drivers in terms of speed and timeliness of gear shifting.
 
#14 ·
Even better/worse than Auto: I have Active Cruise!!! Love it, in traffic.

When you commute 100 miles every day on a highway, there are times where you do not want to shift gears, you just want to relax and go home.

I understand you may like manual, just as some people like to do their own cooking where you can buy ready made food (I do). To each his own.

Technology enable us to have more reliable/enjoyable cars by removing unnessary actions from the driver (e.g. why manual when you can use paddles if you want to shift). Hopefully, in the long run, cars should be intelligent enough to select the best gear sequence, just based on the throttle and situation. Who misses the manual "starter" with different mixtures for cold start?

I think I read/heard somewhere that autopilots land planes better than most pilots in manual mode. I bet there will be a time (if we are not there already) where the auto transmission will beat most, if not all, manual drivers in terms of speed and timeliness of gear shifting.[/QUOTE]

Right now manual transmissions are at a disadvantage on the quarter mile dragstrip. A car with a racing torque converter will outshift a manual. There was a time when I was racing my 90 Vette on the scca autocross put it in 2nd gear and leave it there It was great you were able to concentrate 100% on the course.
 
#15 ·
Herniated disk makes 2 foot driving for me a thing of the past. The last automatic I owned (shared with my mom) was a 1970 Plymouth Duster, and here I am again, buying another auto.

The tranny is great. It is just as fast as an auto, the gas mileage is the same. There doesn't seem to be much engine braking (you can put it into specific gears) since the engine revs so freely. It is somewhat less involving.

If my back didn't give me problems, I would have continued with a manual tranny, but just for personal enjoyment. For actual roadworthyness, the MT and the AT leave little between them.
 
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