Automatic Car Question

[Trik'Stari]

@terrytek Go rant even though you're wrong.

I was expecting something from you or him. Don't get me wrong, I get why manual's are fun, but if I ever owned one it would just be a weekend car. Otherwise, as a daily driver, I will take an automatic. It's just easier to not have to think about driving other than seeing what's in front of you (you know what I'm talking about if you've ever driven somewhere and not remembered driving there.....which is admittedly, a weird fucking sensation.)

[AlwaysFSX]

I was expecting something from you or him. Don't get me wrong, I get why manual's are fun, but if I ever owned one it would just be a weekend car. Otherwise, as a daily driver, I will take an automatic. It's just easier to not have to think about driving other than seeing what's in front of you (you know what I'm talking about if you've ever driven somewhere and not remembered driving there.....which is admittedly, a weird fucking sensation.)

And that's why I like automatics.. I don't hate manuals, just can't understand the hype for them.

[Mug]

Not to mention that for most drivers, there is absolutely no point in owning a manual.

I'm just gonna troll a little harder whilst making a good point:

• More fun
• Better fuel efficiency (which is why they're so big in Europe what with the £1.44 per litre that we saw a few months ago that's like 10 dollars or whatever they use in the wild )
• Cheaper (both car originally and running costs)
• You don't get caught short
• Forces you to use the pedals properly
• Makes you think more
• Faster
• If you're American, thieves get confused because they're also lazy automatic drivers

Issues driving manuals:

• Difficult to learn if you're a lazy automatic user
• Stalling is really a thing
• You have to think, it's not like playing mario kart or gta
• No stop start (which is bae, i've driven a car with stop start and it's better than anything)

[Trik'Stari]

And that's why I like automatics.. I don't hate manuals, just can't understand the hype for them.

I do, because when you want to do fun stuff they're great, but for 99% of the driving you do (unless you had a $400 old ass 1973 pontiac catalina with a 400c.i. big block that you can powerbrake the hell out of just for fun) they're pointless.

 

that Catalina was an automatic by the way. 99% of the time I just took it out for burnouts by holding down the break and then flooring it. Great fun.

 

 

 

I'm just gonna troll a little harder whilst making a good point:

• More fun
• Better fuel efficiency (which is why they're so big in Europe what with the £1.44 per litre that we saw a few months ago that's like 10 dollars or whatever they use in the wild    )
• Cheaper (both car originally and running costs)
• You don't get caught short
• Forces you to use the pedals properly
• Makes you think more
• Faster
• If you're American, thieves get confused because they're also lazy automatic drivers

Issues driving manuals:

• Difficult to learn if you're a lazy automatic user
• Stalling is really a thing
• You have to think, it's not like playing mario kart or gta
• No stop start (which is bae, i've driven a car with stop start and it's better than anything)

 

I'm calling bullshit on the cheaper thing. NO CHANCE IN FUCKING HELL that you can drive a car more efficiently than a computer. Sorry, just not fucking happening. That computer can adjust more things in a millisecond than you can in a single second, you aren't going to beat it for efficiency, if the automatic is driven properly.

 

Caught short? Using pedals properly? Those I don't understand. As far as thieves go, park next to something more expensive or popular (popularity effects whether or not your car will be stolen, look it up). As far as faster goes....no. They aren't. They MIGHT accelerate faster, if you are good, but as far as top-end speed goes, they really aren't faster.

 

Remember, I am a former pizza delivery driver, I've probably put more miles on an automatic in 2 years than you have on a manual in 5 years. 

[AlwaysFSX]

 

I'm just gonna troll a little harder whilst making a good point:

• More fun Subjective
• Better fuel efficiency (which is why they're so big in Europe what with the £1.44 per litre that we saw a few months ago that's like 10 dollars or whatever they use in the wild ) Wrong
• Cheaper (both car originally and running costs) You spend more on gas than you would "saving money getting a manual"
• You don't get caught short The fuck? 
• Forces you to use the pedals properly No shit sherlock
• Makes you think more If I'm driving I want to focus on driving
• Faster No
• If you're American, thieves get confused because they're also lazy automatic drivers Not really actually

[AlwaysFSX]

I do, because when you want to do fun stuff they're great, but for 99% of the driving you do (unless you had a $400 old ass 1973 pontiac catalina with a 400c.i. big block that you can powerbrake the hell out of just for fun) they're pointless.

 

that Catalina was an automatic by the way. 99% of the time I just took it out for burnouts by holding down the break and then flooring it. Great fun.

Yeah but driving like a bat out of hell all the time? Nah.

[Aniallation]

Why has this become a manual vs automatic war, when what we should be complaining about is who the fuck at Chevy thought was a good idea to call 2nd gear "intermediate" 

[Aniallation]

Issues driving manuals:

• Difficult to learn if you're a lazy automatic user
• Stalling is really a thing
• You have to think, it's not like playing mario kart or gta
• No stop start (which is bae, i've driven a car with stop start and it's better than anything)

None of these were a big issue for me just jumping in a manual and going for it.

 

Coming from a lazy automatic user

[AlwaysFSX]

Why has this become a manual vs automatic war, when what we should be complaining about is who the fuck at Chevy thought was a good idea to call 2nd gear "intermediate" 

It's Chevy..

[Mug]

Why has this become a manual vs automatic war, when what we should be complaining about is who the fuck at Chevy thought was a good idea to call 2nd gear "intermediate" 

It's the maximum level of driver that drives an automatic of course (to answer your question)

[dalekphalm]

Why has this become a manual vs automatic war, when what we should be complaining about is who the fuck at Chevy thought was a good idea to call 2nd gear "intermediate" 

From what I've read, it's not "2nd" gear, at least not in the traditional sense. It prevents excessive up/down shifting on hilly roads - at least according to what I've read.

[Trik'Stari]

It's the maximum level of driver that drives an automatic of course (to answer your question)

Because manual drivers are the car equivalent of PCmasterrace computer gamers.

 

Admittedly, I'm a PCMASTERRACE kind of guy lol. And it's ALWAYS fun to hear the race car driver excuses given by manual fanboys when they get beat out by an automatic. Which I did plenty of time in my 3000gt. (sorry, V6 with WAY more grip beats your automatic 4-banger, grow up, buy a car with an adult sized engine)

 

Edited: I no longer have the 3000gt, it was MURDERED by some asshole who ran head-on into me while driving a PLYMOUTH neon. So sad, loved that car so very much.

[Mug]

I'm calling bullshit on the cheaper thing. NO CHANCE IN FUCKING HELL that you can drive a car more efficiently than a computer. Sorry, just not fucking happening. That computer can adjust more things in a millisecond than you can in a single second, you aren't going to beat it for efficiency, if the automatic is driven properly.

 

Caught short?

What mpg do you get?

 

And yeah, like when I was driving my mates car (automatic) up this hill (like a proper steep one) it was struggling to get up it. My manual, I just change down to second or third and it's away

 

EDIT: about your most recent post, the snobbery is a thing

[Trik'Stari]

What mpg do you get?

 

And yeah, like when I was driving my mates car (automatic) up this hill (like a proper steep one) it was struggling to get up it. My manual, I just change down to second or third and it's away

 

EDIT: about your most recent post, the snobbery is a thing

I got about 20 in the city if I was running 93 octane, a bit more on the highway. And what A LOT of manual drivers don't get about automatics when it comes to going up steep grades, it's not just how far you press the pedal down, but how quickly you press the pedal (think slowly pushing it to the floor, versus stomping it to the floor as fast as you can), at least that's how my 3000gt would respond. When I was going up a hill, all I need to do was quickly stomp it about half way, not to mention that you can ALWAYS pull it out of drive and into 2nd gear.

 

Like I said, delivery driver in a hilly city(danville virginia, which while being a shitty place to live, DID have some AMAZING roads to drive fast on). Chances are I have more real driving time than most manual fanboys.

[Aniallation]

From what I've read, it's not "2nd" gear, at least not in the traditional sense. It prevents excessive up/down shifting on hilly roads - at least according to what I've read.

It's "2nd" in the automatic sense, where on a non-GM it would be "2" instead of "I"

[Aniallation]

It's Chevy..

Well GM, my Saturn Vue also had the "I"

 

It's the maximum level of driver that drives an automatic of course (to answer your question)

I don't really care as long as it works. And in some cases actually, it doesn't. For example early 2000s Civic, manual over auto any day, since the autos on those are notoriously unreliable. 

[Mug]

I got about 20 in the city if I was running 93 octane, a bit more on the highway. And what A LOT of manual drivers don't get about automatics when it comes to going up steep grades, it's not just how far you press the pedal down, but how quickly you press the pedal (think slowly pushing it to the floor, versus stomping it to the floor as fast as you can), at least that's how my 3000gt would respond. When I was going up a hill, all I need to do was quickly stomp it about half way, not to mention that you can ALWAYS pull it out of drive and into 2nd gear.

 

Like I said, delivery driver in a hilly city(danville virginia, which while being a shitty place to live, DID have some AMAZING roads to drive fast on). Chances are I have more real driving time than most manual fanboys.

woah, 20?!?!? I suppose you must drive a truck or something? There must be truth when they say that American fuel has twigs in it

 

I get 65 to 70mpg cruising on the motorway at 60mph and at 70mph, I get 60mpg. At 80 however, I only get 55 to 50 but that's above the speed limit so it's rare that I ever go that fast. God, your fuel bill in the UK would be astronomical.

To be fair though, all of that cost is outweighed by my insurance which is like £3000 a year (like seriously $5000, even with a black box fitted which halves the cost) because I drive a 2 litre car and I'm under 25 and male which means my insurance is (I shit you not) ten times what I'd pay if I was over 25. I've never crashed or anything, just they expect 17-25 year old people to pay through the teeth.

[Trik'Stari]

woah, 20?!?!? I suppose you must drive a truck or something? There must be truth when they say that American fuel has twigs in it

 

I get 65 to 70mpg cruising on the motorway at 60mph and at 70mph, I get 60mpg. At 80 however, I only get 55 to 50 but that's above the speed limit so it's rare that I ever go that fast. God, your fuel bill in the UK would be astronomical.

To be fair though, all of that cost is outweighed by my insurance which is like £3000 a year (like seriously $5000, even with a black box fitted which halves the cost) because I drive a 2 litre car and I'm under 25 and male which means my insurance is (I shit you not) ten times what I'd pay if I was over 25. I've never crashed or anything, just they expect 17-25 year old people to pay through the teeth.

Insurance is equally sexist/ageist in the US. Mind you, this was a 3.4L V6, guaranteed to get worse mileage than a 2 liter engine. Not to mention being driven by someone with a lead foot lol. I could go at least 400 miles on a tank from Danville Virginia to Tappahannock Virginia without stopping, on a 20 gallon tank.

 

Not to mention our shit fuel which as ethanol in it, which is specifically designed to fuck up older engines to force everyone to buy a newer car which can take that shitty ethanol mixed gasoline (combined with our presidents "cash for clunkers" program, which ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED the used car market here in the US). Luckily for the JACKASSES in congress, not too many people are aware of that fact. (it gums up your engine, any engine, that wasn't designed to handle ethanol).

[AlwaysFSX]

Not to mention our shit fuel which as ethanol in it, which is specifically designed to fuck up older engines to force everyone to buy a newer car which can take that shitty ethanol mixed gasoline. Luckily for the JACKASSES in congress, not too many people are aware of that fact. (it gums up your engine, any engine, that wasn't designed to handle ethanol).

Our fuel is only slightly worse.

 

woah, 20?!?!? I suppose you must drive a truck or something? There must be truth when they say that American fuel has twigs in it

Lol, I get 2 speeding up.

[dalekphalm]

Insurance is equally sexist/ageist in the US. Mind you, this was a 3.4L V6, guaranteed to get worse mileage than a 2 liter engine. Not to mention being driven by someone with a lead foot lol. I could go at least 400 miles on a tank from Danville Virginia to Tappahannock Virginia without stopping, on a 20 gallon tank.

 

Not to mention our shit fuel which as ethanol in it, which is specifically designed to fuck up older engines to force everyone to buy a newer car which can take that shitty ethanol mixed gasoline (combined with our presidents "cash for clunkers" program, which ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED the used car market here in the US). Luckily for the JACKASSES in congress, not too many people are aware of that fact. (it gums up your engine, any engine, that wasn't designed to handle ethanol).

My old 1999 Buick Regal was a 3.9L V6... I got about 20 mpg in-city driving. On the highway it actually wasn't bad. 25-30 mpg, but I wouldn't speed, and tried to always keep it under 2000 RPM, otherwise it would start chugging gas. If I slammed on the pedal, you could actually watch the fuel gauge go down. A bit of a sleeper, those buicks were. Wish I had the GS version with the turbo.

 

@Mug what kind of car are you driving that gets 60 mpg? Not even a Prius get's that. They're rated for about ~50 mpg highway driving.

 

Course, Europe does have a ton of tin-box cars that are only slightly larger than a SmartCar. I suppose Diesel's are a LOT more common in Europe too, which of course tends to be more efficient. My Jetta routinely does ~35 mpg highway driving. If I'm literally just driving in a straight line on the highway without stopping or changing speeds, it can get into the 40's, but that's basically the "ideal theoretical" territory, and you hardly ever get that in day to day driving.

[GlassBomb]

I'm calling bullshit on the cheaper thing. NO CHANCE IN FUCKING HELL that you can drive a car more efficiently than a computer. Sorry, just not fucking happening. That computer can adjust more things in a millisecond than you can in a single second, you aren't going to beat it for efficiency, if the automatic is driven properly.

This actually used to be the case. With older cars auto trans were an optional. And they did burn more gas because they wanted to keep higher RPM's.

But that said, with new cars, then auto is no longer an extra cost. And they can come with more than six forward gears. So yeah, they can be quite a bit more efficient than manual's.

But honestly. I prefer to do the shifting myself, do it when I see fit, etc. I feel that engine breaking isn't as much of a thing for auto's as well.

And an auto would never tolerate coasting around at 25mph while in the fifth gear.

[BirdyTheMighty]

get a ute( aka truck/ pick up truck if your american ) 50% of them are most likely Manuel well over here it is. Other than that small cars like hatchbacks have higher change in Manuel but hatchbacks  most likly FF so no donuts  or proper power slide

[Mug]

@Mug what kind of car are you driving that gets 60 mpg? Not even a Prius get's that. They're rated for about ~50 mpg highway driving.

2007 Skoda Octavia. I fill up on the cheapest stuff in the local Supermarket pumps as well

 

Although I do have those super fuel-efficient tyres on it as well.

[dalekphalm]

2007 Skoda Octavia. I fill up on the cheapest stuff in the local Supermarket pumps as well

 

Although I do have those super fuel-efficient tyres on it as well.

Interesting, according to Fuelly (crowd sourced average fuel efficiency site) the 2007 version averages 35.7 MPG:

http://www.fuelly.com/car/skoda/octavia

 

But as with any car, the way you drive it will drastically affect your MPG efficiency.

[Mug]

Interesting, according to Fuelly (crowd sourced average fuel efficiency site) the 2007 version averages 35.7 MPG:

http://www.fuelly.com/car/skoda/octavia

 

But as with any car, the way you drive it will drastically affect your MPG efficiency.

I get that if I drive like a maniac but it costs more on my insurance so I drive really smoothly