Look at most newer exotics. They all have the indy style paddle shifters with no clutch or a semi-auto slap shifter. The semi-automatic trans is the next big thing.

 

I have had 2wo auto's in the past and this is my first manual..So far I like it, but things like The Drive-Thru make me wish I had an automatic sometimes...

The simple fact that now I know how to drive any car instead of just auto's is nice thou.

 

Nothing like a third pedal IMO. It's not just about the speed, it's also about the bond between man and machine. I think that's why BMW is so successful with their M line; the car feels like an extension of yourself.

~THT

 

Exactly! When you're driving, your mind tells your body what's coming. It's like when you set the car to cruise, there's a disconnect between you and your car, so you get the sensation that you're being 'pulled'. So as long as someone is driving your car the way you usually do, and you're the passenger, it will always seem like your car is quicker.

 

Im with tht on that one, you gotta feel the car, be part of it. with an auto, youre just driving it.

 

North Americans prefer automatics because they can afford them and because they like them. That why 95% of cars will be autos soon... because it's true that most people view their car as an appliance instead of a "driving machine / experience". Most people understand that cars are very poor investments, and they are too lazy to take care or assign a lot of importance to their cars when they know they are going to be selling it or trading it in a fews later at a fraction of its original value. I love my I30 and take care of it meticulously but it is much easier to drive in daily driving. The gas mileage improvement is negligable, especially considering that most people with 5-speed drive their cars harder for better acceleration so they end up with worse mileage than the typical easy-throttle auto driver. Easier to work on? For who? The 3% of people who actually work on their own car? Once again, I agree with you that it's easier to work on, but people don't work on cars themselves. Most people lease or buy new cars under warranty and they drop them off at the shop. People don't choose their transmission based on how hard their mechanic has to work. Generally more fun to drive? I agree, but 95% don't drive for fun, they drive to get to work, to go to the grocery store, etc, and that is why an auto wins again in the daily driving category, which most people do.

That's really what is boils down to. I wouldn't make a blanket statement about the laziness of an entire continent, but I would say that people ARE more interested in where they are going, not how they are getting there, especially when it comes to transmissions. Americans want easy, and they get it.

 

Then why are the majority of car makers recently (in the past 2 years or so) been bringing a higher level of performance to the market? You think marketing plans are to get those 5% of people to boost sales?

Or are you talking about certain income brakets being targeted?

 

Guy i bought my 5spd from had 2 of them. The one i wanted sold by the time i got there though

 

They are increasing horsepower because the market demands it. The market does not, however, demand manual transmissions. They demand automatics. If the car makers would make more money producing ALL automatics... then they would do that. But, some people, particularly buyers of sports cars and people trying to buy as inexpensively as they can, will go for manual transmissions. How many '04 vettes were sold w/ manuals? Something like 2 or 3 out of 10? Yikes. Even less, eventually.

I think there will always be a small segment for manuals, myself included when we're talking about sports cars, but for everything else, an automatic is best.

 

Let's not have another auto vs. 5spd thread now.. those are just plain ignorant.

 

The funny thing is, the joke is on him. If he had an M3, he'd have room to talk...but the 328 is nothing special (I've test driven a 2003 with a 5sped auto). Nothing brings a smile to my face like wasting BMW's and Audi's.

Also, with a price tage like Beemurs have, it's probably the car mommy & daddy bought for him. Either that or he deals drugs. Mad props to guys in HS or college who buy their own cars...

How many times have you gone into the auto parts store and been asked if your Maxima is a 4 or 6 cyl model?

 

you sound like me other than the year. I wasnt even on the market for a car either. Kind of like spur of the moment. I could not pass up a blk/blk loaded 5 spd.

 

Only reason I got an auto was because I saw this red maxima sitting in the lot and I knew it was going to be mine.... Win some, you lose some, so what if I have an Auto, I have a fully loaded Crimson Blaze Red maxima.

Oh, and 1st gear on the auto is nice, 40mph in 1st gear has its advantages...

 

Thats only in this contry. Dude go to europe, most people dont drive autos because there is a reason for that. Im not hating on autos cause they are good but not for me.


And what audi are you talking about, cause most of them will tear out cars apart in every aspect. I love my Max more then anything but it will never be able to do what German cars can do. Even take a 24V VR6, they will wipe the floor with us easily and out handle us.

 

my dad had a chance to buy a sexy black 97 5spd at the auction, then he came home with this auto crap and was like "i know you could drive stick, but your mom has to practice too" i was like DOH!

 

At least he/they bought you a car
And if you say you paid for it, than I would tell that dad of yours that it was MY money.

 

at least we dont need to deal with clutch slippings

 

I just recently bought a 95 auto and i love it but i really wish i had taken the time to find a manual now because im liking the idea of putting performance parts in my car and with an auto i just dont feel like im getting everything out of it. plus 5sp is funner to drive

 

No we actually do. When the clutch packs go its starts to slip. Most owners dont notice it, but it eventually dies. Only problem... We cant replace it, you either rebuilt the entire tranny or get a new one. So thats actually bad for us.

 

Bam. I bought a 5-speed because they typically sell for less, get slightly better mileage, reach 143 mph, are a lot more fun to drive, have less drivetrain loss, and are nearly a second quicker in both 0-60 and 1/4 mile. I just get the feeling I'm more in control of my car. I recently test drove my friend's auto 4th gen and I just don't like all that lag in throttle response.

 

i drove close to 3 hrs to boston to get my 5 speed I30.i love it.

 

I beg to differ as far as throttle response. Try it in 1st gear on the auto, go upto 3500rpm and slam on the gas, its a nice rush.

 

I still say 5-speeds are quicker in every way. It's geared more for acceleration, check the ratios, something like 3.3 against 2.9 in first. My 60' alone was like .1-.15 slower with the auto.

 

All depends on the driver. But the Auto has an advantage with a tall 1st gear. Thats why when you pair up nitrous with an auto maxima, it will do well compared to a 5spd.

 

errrrrrr always wanted a manual, seing these posts make me jelous... lets close them

 

Driver, I drove both. I was .96 faster in the 1/4 with the 5-speed. I don't remember the 60' exactly, but my best was 2.264 with mine and something like 2.38-2.40 with the auto. Also I'm stayling NA so I don't care about Nitrous

 

What were the trap speeds on both?

 

My 5-speed's best run was 15.00 at 91.78 but my best trap was 15.07@92.05 (on which I also had my best 60', 2.26 versus 2.30 for the 15.00 run).

As for the auto, I did four runs, but I only have two timeslips that I kept.
15.99@90.33 and 15.96@90.09. Extra drivetrain loss I guess. He puts 94 Octane in it.

Both cars are stock, 15" wheels. We had to remove his giant audio **** and everything else in the trunk. I also emptied my trunk. Mine is an SE (spoiler, sunroof, heated seats, electric seat on driver's side, no leather, cloth seats). His is a GXE ("manual" sunroof or whatever the hell you wanna call it). No spoiler. Stock wheels on both.

EDIT: I found a third timeslip, and the best 60' in the auto was actually 2.396 on a 16.036 run. The other two were 2.421 and 2.408, respectively. Can't find my first run.

 

Yeah, manual trannys own. That is, until the differential bearings go and you have to rebuild/replace your tranny.
And you will have too.

 

Automatic trannies will **** in your face sooner or later, they don't last forever. This is the second tranny on this car since late 1994 (i.e new).

 

autos are nice for stop and go driving. That said, I wouldn't trade my manual for an automatic any day

just hope my diffy bearings don't go bad...

 

I still have my old 1991 Tempo for Stop and go traffic, winter and crappy weather. Plus it keeps the wear and miles off the maxima. Never seen a car cost so little. Got it for 400$. No rust, not even under the car. It's got 242,000 km on the clock. I changed the exhaust a month ago. 17$. Ridiculous. I race Geo Metros and get beat. It shakes at 65 mph. The audio is crap. My antenna is gone. If I find a solid enough tree this winter, it's going down.

 

I feel that every time I drive my car

 

*sniff* im going to cry. I am soooooo sick of my auto... its still pretty qiuck, like i love the look on v6 mustangs, or little ricer civics when i kill them, but it is really getting anoying, i want a manual!!!!

 

lol wow, in 1 day look where my thread got too !!

 

Oh so nicely worded. I couldnt have explained it better.

 

It was a 40 min drive to pick up my 5 spd. Even though I face rush hr traffic every day, I'd never switch to an auto

 

How does the auto stack up against a 5 speed if its modded?? I like my auto but it takes to damn long to shift and you have to mash the pedal to get 1st gear unless you come to a complete stop.

 

I was lucky when I found my 5sp GXE because it was right up the street at a little dealership that my family has bought cars from before. Any when I went up there the owner had just got the 5sp and it wasn't even ready to be put on the lot. So he said I would be the first person to look at it when it was ready, but I didn't care because I wanted a maxima for a long time. it was a 5sp and only had 58k on it.

 

I'm excited to get mine now