Transmission choice for the daily grind

[the Teuton]

I was thinking about this today.  I live in a big city, and traffic here sucks.  The more I drive stick cars, the more I come to the realization that for any sort of daily commute in the city, I would not want to have a manual car for a DD.  Maybe if I drove more highways, I'd take a manual car, but for city driving, it sucks.

So for your daily commute, your regular drive in the traffic you drive in now, what would you pick and why?

Please refrain from turning this into a "autotragic" debate.  That would be asinine.  This is for your commute, not for the race track.

[CALL_911]

[MX793]

3 pedals and a gear lever, please.

[the Teuton]

Neither of you drive in heavy traffic that often, do you?

[CALL_911]

Neither of you drive in heavy traffic that often, do you?

No.

At least not yet. Besides, the automatic is dull.

[the Teuton]

No.

At least not yet. Besides, the automatic is dull.

Indeed, it is.  But try driving in rush hour traffic with stick.  It isn't too fun.

[CALL_911]

Indeed, it is.  But try driving in rush hour traffic with stick.  It isn't too fun.

I'm sure it can't be THAT bad.

[the Teuton]

I'm sure it can't be THAT bad.

Waiting in long lines with your left leg fighting a pretty stiffly-sprung clutch pedal going up-hill at a busy intersection is not fun.  Remember, Pittsburgh was pretty much built on a hill.

[Eye of the Tiger]

even though I'm driving 200 mi/day

[MX793]

Neither of you drive in heavy traffic that often, do you?

Currently, no.  Although through high school and college, I logged a decent chunk of time running a forklift with a manual gearbox.  Forward and back, forward and back...  The equivalent of nightmarish stop-and-go traffic.  So long as the clutch isn't rediculously heavy, stop and go doesn't usually bother me.  Prolonged creeping traffic where you never get going fast enough to even let the clutch fully out for more than 2 seconds and you aren't sitting still so you can't pop it in neutral over a span of an hour+ does get old, and I put up with that almost daily for at least a month last year when the highway was under construction.

[280Z Turbo]

I hardly ever sit in traffic, so manual for me please.

[ifcar]

I've commuted in heavy traffic in both, and a manual is fine with a light clutch. But, there's little advantage to it. For only rush hour traffic, a good automatic is a better choice.

[CALL_911]

Speaking of Transmissions, nothing pisses me off more than when you ask "Manual or Automatic?" and the reply is "Both, you can drive Automatic and Manual." I've just stopped wasting my time explaining what a manumatic is. I want to rip my hair out everytime I hear that.

Oh, and "RWD sucks big time in snow" is another one.

[the Teuton]

Speaking of Transmissions, nothing pisses me off more than when you ask "Manual or Automatic?" and the reply is "Both, you can drive Automatic and Manual." I've just stopped wasting my time explaining what a manumatic is. I want to rip my hair out everytime I hear that.

Oh, and "RWD sucks big time in snow" is another one.

SMG is the only thing that comes close.  BMWs will downshift for you, even in shift mode.  I like SMGs, but I haven't lived with one enough to think it's a good idea for commuting.

[the Teuton]

Speaking of Transmissions, nothing pisses me off more than when you ask "Manual or Automatic?" and the reply is "Both, you can drive Automatic and Manual." I've just stopped wasting my time explaining what a manumatic is. I want to rip my hair out everytime I hear that.

Oh, and "RWD sucks big time in snow" is another one.

SMG is the only thing that comes close.  BMWs will downshift for you, even in shift mode.  I like SMGs, but I haven't lived with one enough to think it's a good idea for commuting.

[Lebowski]

People who think manuals are difficult to drive in a daily commute either a) have never owned a manual or b) don't know how to drive a manual.

Seriously, it's not a big deal.  I live in Orlando which has perhaps the worst traffic in the country, and I have never once been remotely bothered by having a manual.  It simply becomes totally second nature after a very very short period of time.  You don't even think about it.

[ifcar]

People who think manuals are difficult to drive in a daily commute either a) have never owned a manual or b) don't know how to drive a manual.

Seriously, it's not a big deal.  I live in Orlando which has perhaps the worst traffic in the country, and I have never once been remotely bothered by having a manual.  It simply becomes totally second nature after a very very short period of time.  You don't even think about it.

I can tie my tie without having to think about it, but I'm all the happier not to.

[CALL_911]

People who think manuals are difficult to drive in a daily commute either a) have never owned a manual or b) don't know how to drive a manual.

Seriously, it's not a big deal.  I live in Orlando which has perhaps the worst traffic in the country, and I have never once been remotely bothered by having a manual.  It simply becomes totally second nature after a very very short period of time.  You don't even think about it.

Orlando has the worst traffic in the country?!?

Uh, NYC? LA?

[Lazerous]

Manual for me.
You say you wouldn't mind a manual if you did more highway driving. But I ask; how does manual differ from automatic when on the highway? Once you get to the desired speed (usually around 70-80mph) and set it in gear you don't have to down shift. You can even go down to 45-50mph and still remain in 5ht gear just fine.

I've been stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for 45minutes on what usually takes me 5-10minutes to get through on any other day and manual still didn't bother me at all.

[Rupert]

Orlando has the worst traffic in the country?!?

Uh, NYC? LA?

Seattle sucks monkey nuts, too.

[Rupert]

People who think manuals are difficult to drive in a daily commute either a) have never owned a manual or b) don't know how to drive a manual.

Seriously, it's not a big deal.  I live in Orlando which has perhaps the worst traffic in the country, and I have never once been remotely bothered by having a manual.  It simply becomes totally second nature after a very very short period of time.  You don't even think about it.

Yes.

[Lebowski]

Orlando has the worst traffic in the country?!?

Uh, NYC? LA?

I was exaggerating, but only slightly.

NYC?  Nobody has a car in NYC.  You don't need to commute to work in NYC.  Maybe LA is worse, but even they have a subway.  Orlando is probably top 10 worst cities to drive in, and there is NO alternative to driving here.

[CALL_911]

I was exaggerating, but only slightly.

NYC?  Nobody has a car in NYC.  You don't need to commute to work in NYC.  Maybe LA is worse, but even they have a subway.  Orlando is probably top 10 worst cities to drive in, and there is NO alternative to driving here.

Have you EVER driven into Manhattan? After you do that, then tell me that Orlando is bad.

[the Teuton]

Have you EVER driven into Manhattan? After you do that, then tell me that Orlando is bad.

I just drove through Orlando during rush hour in March, and it's pretty bad.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Auto-what? I'm addicted to heel-n-toe now. My synchros have been quite bored.

[Lazerous]

By the Texas Transportation Institute's reckoning, the cities having the worst traffic problems are:

1. Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Ana, Calif.

2. San Francisco, Oakland, Calif.

3. Washington, D.C.

4. Atlanta

5. Houston

6. Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Tex.

7. Chicago.

8. Detroit

9. Riverside, San Bernardino, Calif.

9. Orlando, Fla.

11. San Jose, Calif.

12. San Diego

http://www.forbes.com/2006/02/06/worst-traffic-nightmares-cx_rm_0207traffic.html

[The Pirate]

Neither of you drive in heavy traffic that often, do you?

I drive in heavy traffic every day.  One road in particular I'm only on for a mile or so, and if the time of day is right (wrong might be the better term here), it takes 45 minutes.  Still, I prefer a proper manual transmission.  Like others have said, it becomes second nature.  At times, I do get a bit exasperated (the whole creeping phenomenon that MX973 described above), but it's so worth it as soon as I hit some deserted county roads.

But, in a small and nimble car, I'll take a manual with no second thought.

[Laconian]

We have some of the worst traffic in the country. I still prefer stick.

[saxonyron]

I lived for 5 years driving 25,000 miles a year with manuals.  And I racked up plenty of stop and go city miles in Boston.  I have a slushy now, but only  because the A6 isn't available here in a stick.  If Audi exported the manual, like they did with my old '00 A6 2.7T, I'd happily still row it myself.  Am I glad not to have one when I'm locked in a 45  minute bumper to bumper gridlocked slog across Cambridge? Yeah, but the upside doesn't outweigh the downside.  Those apex clipping throttle blipping heel and toeing moments make up for any minor tendonitis in my left foot.

[Vinsanity]

Even if I can deal with rush-hour traffic with a stickshift, I'd rather have a slushbox for that job. I'd take the manual if traffic would sustain any higher than 25 mph for any meaningful period of time