tuff_luv_capo Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I've only ever driven a manual, beginning from age 13. My uncle from England drives an automatic Taurus, and his kids drive automatics as well. Why don't English people learn to drive manuals? Cars for sale According to AutoTrader.co.uk Manual - 275169 Automatic - 91150 Your argument is invalid. Retard I'm mocking the OP's idea that a single experience covers all of America. Edit: Omg you are the OP, Jesus Christ you're a troll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pico Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 It's hard to say exactly why it started. My best assumption is the ease of it. Plus, when autos started rolling out they were a big thing, a more expensive option. Now it might save you like $500 if you get a manual instead of an automatic, and when a car even costs just $20,000, that's not really a big difference. Someone mentioned driving conditions, but I think the US being so large it affords us to have longer commutes on the highways. So really, an ideal area for a manual as you don't have to keep banging the gears constantly. In smaller, more compact areas is likely where an auto would be much more suiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trip Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Ok, I was just wondering, why don't Americans learn to drive in MANUAL cars?I had a friend come over from the States and... he didn't know how to use the manual tranny. It's weird, are you not allowed to use manual or something Hey I'm American and I only drive manual trans. Always have and always will. The few times I've had to drive an automatic are pretty funny because it takes me awhile to remember that there is no clutch and stuff. I usually end up slamming the breaks when I'm coming up to a stop thinking that I am hitting the clutch. My crappy games at MyCrappyGames.com Free copy of Save The Puppies and Kittens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garfield 2 Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 I've only ever driven a manual, beginning from age 13. My uncle from England drives an automatic Taurus, and his kids drive automatics as well. Why don't English people learn to drive manuals? Cars for sale According to AutoTrader.co.uk Manual - 275169 Automatic - 91150 Your argument is invalid. Retard I'm mocking the OP's idea that a single experience covers all of America. Edit: Omg you are the OP, Jesus Christ you're a troll I'm not saying single experience. I've been to the States before (Florida) and I haven't seen any manual cars. (Except for a VW GTI). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*MURDOC* Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Well you're f*cking blind dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin... Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Where I work, USPS Pittsburgh Nat'l Dist. Ctr., the average age of the 300+ workers is 54 years old. If I go out to the parking lot, I know there are, at any given moment, about 100 cars. Of those 100 cars, I can think of at least 10 that are manuals. Of those, you have my Subaru, two or 3 Jeeps, a couple Civics, a BMW M3, a BMW M5, a Crown Vic with a 5 speed conversion, a couple diesel trucks, a Hyundai Accent, and a few others. Most of the manuals are driven by the older folks. There are plenty. Just look around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garfield 2 Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 Well you're f*cking blind dude. I am. On one eye. LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*MURDOC* Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Well open the other one for f*cks sake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 (edited) I'd say, if you count more than just passenger cars, about half the vehicles on a US highway are manuals. About 95% of HDT's, probably 75% of MDT's, and around 50% of 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. And if you've ever been to the US than you know how much of our roads are made up of trucks. Edited January 14, 2012 by Lurch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*MURDOC* Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Recent Manual vs. Auto sales figures don't necessarily mean a whole lot either, since there are veritable sh*tloads of older cars on the road, so even if the figures you pondered said that there were only 2,000 Manual-trans cars sold in the U.S. in the past 5 years, that still doesn't give you anything remotely close to an actual number of how many Manual cars are on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 (edited) When it comes to trucks, we definitely have Europe beat in man points. And from talking to some European truckers, most European trucks are automatics and the ones that are manuals are synchronized. Nowhere near the manpoints there. So like, why can't European truckers learn to drive manuals? Edited January 15, 2012 by Lurch D- Ice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddyoung Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 im american and im learning on a manual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guns N R0se Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I've never learned manual since I've never had a manual car. No one even bothered to attempt to teach me in Drivers Ed. either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionist Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 *Orgy of Awesome* I want a truck now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*MURDOC* Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 While firing shots at other drivers today, I think I finally understood why U.S. drivers prefer automatics... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) For drive-bys? Makes sense I suppose. Don't want to be stallin that sh*t out while you be blastin caps up in dem niggas...yo. Edited January 30, 2012 by Lurch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waste Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Driving a stick shift isn't all that hard. I grew up driving a Subaru Outback 4 speed I think it was. The car we have now has the "bump" shifter so I kinda still get the joy of hearing the engine hit high RPMs when I'm passing some slow f*ck. (Yay for Jetta torque.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trip Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I like the secure feeling I get knowing that I won't be car jacked. My crappy games at MyCrappyGames.com Free copy of Save The Puppies and Kittens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 (edited) That's pretty much the same in Australia. Like 85% of people here drive Automatic cars, but then most of those people have a manual license, so they can drive a manual. I have a manual license but my car is automatic lol That changes by state. In SA you can learn using any transmission, sit the test in any transmission, and it doesn't say on your license. You can sit your test in an auto and get in a manual and drive home. It's whack. In filling out job applications I've come to realise I have over 7yr experience driving manual cars. Insane. ed: after reading the rest of this thread I agree about the whole driving-auto-in-high-traffic-situation thing. The only time I've been subjected to long commutes in peak hour traffic in the past 4 years has been driving to university exams held outside the uni. Hellish in a manual vehicle. Edited January 31, 2012 by Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionist Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 For drive-bys? Makes sense I suppose. Don't want to be stallin that sh*t out while you be blastin caps up in dem niggas...yo. More truck porn please Lurch! ...Now that's what I call a dashboard. ...Holy F*cking Sh*t, indeed. I've heard about some of the myriad gauges those Ice Road trucks have: air box air temp, brake system humidity, exhaust back pressure etc. What others are there? I like Gauges D- Ice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingdongs Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 I think this "lazy Americans" argument is sort of invalid here (it's valid in many other cases). The fact is they don't really offer cars with manuals here anymore. Back 10 years ago you used to be able to select manual on almost any car, but now they don't even offer it on a lot of them. I don't think there are a lot of people my age that even know how to drive a manual (I do because my dad had a car with a manual that I drove on, 59 Mercedes with the shift on the wheel). The younger generation still in High School probably don't even know what a manual or a clutch is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurch Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Petes and Kenworths usually have a lot. Obviously your speedo and tach and all your various water and oil temp and pressure gauges, but also voltometer boost gauge, pyrometer gauge, fuel pressure and fuel temp, vacuum gauge, trans temp gauge, temp gauges for both diffs, air pressure and air humidity gauges. It makes a race car's gauge list look simple by comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guns N R0se Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 The real reason American's don't like manual is because shifting might knock over our Big Gulp's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthew1g Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 (edited) well if we're on the topic of trucks, up till september 2011, the Island I live on used to have a fleet of buses that were between 40-60 year old: The new ones they were replaced with are sh*tboxes on wheels. Also automatic. I loved the sound of old busses with cummins and perkins engines. Give a maltese an automatic bus, and this happens: Edited March 3, 2012 by matthew1g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionist Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Petes and Kenworths usually have a lot. Obviously your speedo and tach and all your various water and oil temp and pressure gauges, but also voltometer boost gauge, pyrometer gauge, fuel pressure and fuel temp, vacuum gauge, trans temp gauge, temp gauges for both diffs, air pressure and air humidity gauges. It makes a race car's gauge list look simple by comparison. Interesting. What does the pyrometer measure? By air pressure & humidity do you mean the brake line circuit to the trailer? Or is that the vacuum? And what does the "boost" in the voltmeter refer to? Question King, that's me I bet they don't have a master fuse temperature gauge! haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swolo yaggins Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Is bumper to bumper traffic, and going to work fairly long distances from where they live. Having to keep switching gears every few seconds because of the the traffic picks up or slows down. If this was true, which it's not, then everybody in Europe would be driving automatics considering how extra-urban European cities are compared to the US. 5192:12.3.02LM/SSHmkl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cold blooded Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 i learned to drive manual the day i bought my first car, after half an hour it was second nature. i have had 5 manual vehicles including one three speed on the column. truth be told many cars just aren't offered with manual trans anymore. you can still get trucks (1/4 ton, half ton, 3/4 and one ton) and some SUVs with a manual trans . for the most part vehicles come with an automatic as standard equipment, now in most cases a manual is an extra cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epoxi Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 (edited) Could the shift to automatic (no pun intended) be because the (urban) US has a lack of curvy roads? The main comfort I have with a manual is the added control going around curved roads in a lower gear, and automatic cars I have driven don't seem to pick the correct gear a lot of the time. Plus doing tricky parking manouvres are a hell of a lot more reassuring when you have a clutch to control your acceleration exactly (instead of the automatic delivering a constant minimum torque and the only way to stop it is the brake). On my visit to the US I never experienced a tight parking situation that even came close to what Europeans have to deal with on a daily basis. Then again, it may be purely that I'm not used to driving an auto and I am not using it properly. Edited March 28, 2012 by epoxi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuff_luv_capo Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Could the shift to automatic (no pun intended) be because the (urban) US has a lack of curvy roads? The main comfort I have with a manual is the added control going around curved roads in a lower gear, and automatic cars I have driven don't seem to pick the correct gear a lot of the time. Plus doing tricky parking manouvres are a hell of a lot more reassuring when you have a clutch to control your acceleration exactly (instead of the automatic delivering a constant minimum torque and the only way to stop it is the brake). On my visit to the US I never experienced a tight parking situation that even came close to what Europeans have to deal with on a daily basis. Then again, it may be purely that I'm not used to driving an auto and I am not using it properly. That's to say you even need the throttle in an automatic. In most parking conditions (by most I mean on flat surfaces), you can simply put it in reverse or drive and hover your foot over the brake as the car slowly rolls in that direction. Unlike in a manual, an automatic is always engaged in that gear, which is why at stop lights you must hold the brake in or else bump the car in front of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebestgameever Posted March 29, 2012 Share Posted March 29, 2012 Why Americans mainly use automatic: So one hand be used for holding the steering wheel, the other for a burger or coke. Jokes aside , its just the way it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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