Hi guys...
My husband and I looked hard to find a nice 6 speed. After perusing a billion auto Corvette ads everywhere, we started talking about why there are SOOO many automatic sports cars.
Except for wussy women (go get a V-6! :) ) and folks in the city who don't want to shift constantly, we can't really come up with reasons to own an automatic.
For a manual, I figure these pros: better MPG, more exciting and pleasurable to drive (yeah, yeah, I know REAL racers don't shift.) and less maintenance costs in the long run.
Since then, this topic has come up occasionally and we still wonder.
So, for those of who chose one, why? What do you guys feel are the pros and cons of the automatic?

(By the way, I mean this in the most sincere way. I just am wondering.)

Thanks a lot and happy roads to you!
Jaclyn

 

I wanted a 96 LT4 (manuals only) but due to my excitement of Corvettes, I bought the first one I looked at and it was an auto. It worked out ok cuz this car is my daily driver, my next car will be manual tho :yesnod:

 

Well let's see here. I've owned automatic 79 Trans AM and currently an A4 96 Corvette as well as manual 85 Firebird and 97 Camaro. Personally, I like them both. I like standard for racing with turns and such and automatics for dragging. They're just more consistent and less a PITA when just cruising I guess. I mean, I like standard as well, but maybe I'm swaying more toward automatic just because my most recent and favorite car (96 Vette) is an A4.

 

I went with an automatic because of the condition of the car it came in.
With only minoe modification my best time with my 95 is 13.4 , and i never miss a shift, nor do i have to replace clutches.

An added benefit is not having a problem being stuck in summer traffic on the way back from Raceway park or some distant Corvette show

 

IMHO, I think having a M6 would be a lot of fun (my next will be by the way), but for consistency in shifts, an A4 can't be beat. It's true that a M6 can give you better times in the 1/4, but this can be overcome with the proper components and learning how to drive an A4.

With this said, choose an A4 for all around driving pleasure in traffic and bracket racing and a M6 for all out fun! ;)

 

I got an auto for two reasons. One I knew I'd be commuting a lot and a clutch sucks for that. Second was that I also knew I was going to put a lot of miles (up to 120k right now) and didn't want to put a clutch in it anytime soon, especially if the previous owner had abused the clutch.

Other than that I would rather have a stick. :D

 

well since the question was WHY there are mostly Autos coming out of the factory.... (not 'did you get an auto cause it came with the car?') :jester

My best guess is that the average ' consumer' views sticks as too much work for daily driving (coffee in one hand, cell phone in the other), and / or many people simply don;t know how to drive one (and are consequently afraid of them). Sooo, it's easier for GM to make sporty autos to reel in the mundane drivers (and the rest of us just accept slushboxes because the best car we could find happened to have one).

Look at Vette production runs- even in the early C4s when the 4+3 was a No Cost option for years... no more than 24% of any year/model were sold as sticks (most years run about 16% MT). So the market- for whatever underlying reasons- simply does not justify making manuals stock. I wish mine was a manual, but as a previous post hinted to... it was the right car for the right price- I had to settle!

I'm surpised the government hasn't mandated sticks for their efficiency.... oh wait, that would be too much fun! :jester


[Modified by Ramanstud, 4:36 AM 2/4/2003]

 

for drag racing it is the only way to go :cheers:

 

automatics=drag cars

manuals are still more fun to drive, unless youre in heavy traffic

 

There's so much traffic in the NY metro area it take all the fun out owning a stick if you drive in rush hour at all.

 

The only reason I have a 6-speed is because that is the only way the ZR-1 comes. Otherwise I would rather have an automatic. I hate shifting in heavy traffic, the the 6-speed is fun at times, its just to much work. :steering:
I mean 6-speeds, heck I never get past the 4th gear and I have to slow donw.


[Modified by Mikez40, 11:24 PM 2/3/2003]

 

I'd have bought an auto if it was going to be my daily driver. :yesnod:

 

left knee damage 33 years ago, and a lifetime of manual transmissions (rememberences of the stiff clutches in my SS-396 and Z/28 in the early 70s) left me with no desire to suffer any more than I have to.

I will admit though, that after 5 years of the A4, I am longing for a 6 spd. :crazy:

 

Both of our cars are A4's. The main reason is that I have one of those wussy wives you referred to. :lol: It allows her to enjoy the cars and is easier than replacing clutches. To her credit she is willing to learn if I find a standard shift to play around with. :D

 

Who ever heard of a REAL sports car with an automatic? Real men & women don't mind shifting even in heavy traffic. Wait for the 6spd., I did! There out there. There faster, and get 4 to 5 more mpg on the highway.
Patience is a virtue!!! WAIT, you won't be sorry!!! :thumbs:

 

Automatic? just push a pedal and the car moves, what fun is that? :cheers:

 

Most of the cars sold new are ordered by a salesman for dealer stock. The overwhelming number of people taking high dollar new cars are heavy cell phone users for one thing. The public has expressed a preference for autos so much that ewvn if the factory offers a stick you will never find one on a dealer's lot. To get a 5 speed 350 ci truck I had to buy in Canon City, CO, where there are lots of buyers for ranches and lots of real truck users ( meaning people who actually leave the pavement with a 4X4). In MD you just won't find a truck with the stick except the el cheapo work truck with the V6. They don't even offer a stick in the high dollar SUV's anymore.

If that's all that most of the public will buy, that's all the dealers will order for spec. Delalers need turnover of inventory to make money, and they just won't stock a stick. BMW theoretically offers a 6 spd in the 540i, how many can you find on a lot?

As a close to me example of this process, my daughter can drive a stick. I forced her to learn on an ugly old 4 speed Volvo. When she went to buy her Corvette she bought an auto. She's a salesman. For her it's just necessary.

[Modified by 94lt1torchred, 1:41 PM 2/4/2003]


[Modified by 94lt1torchred, 1:55 PM 2/4/2003]

 

Mines a 6 speed stick and is a BLAST to drive...except in stop and go freeway traffic. Its a real pain then. This is my first vette and there was 2 requirements...it had to be blue and had to be a stick. I looked for almost a year before I found it for sale right in my own backyard almost. But my next one will be an auto as it will be a daily driver. This ones my weekend twisty turnies-in-the-mountains-car. :blueangel:


[Modified by DarkHalo, 5:46 AM 2/4/2003]

 

I never really understood why people think that auto are less maintenance than manuals. If you beat up the clutch in a manual, yes you have to replace it early, but the same holds true for an auto. I'd rather have to replace a clutch, then the entire tranny, not to mention the fact the manuals have a stronger rear. I think with good maintence either is a good choice (from a maintenance point of view). With all this said, I wouldn't trade my 6spd for an auto even if the auto was half the price. :seeya

 

There are good reasons to own autos :

- physical reason using clutch is difficult or impossible

- daily driver - clutching all day in slow traffic sux

- avid drag racer - autos are much easier to launch and more consistent as well as being sturdy

- for autoXing for some folks with autos can be faster - less to worry about, more room down there to left foot brake, and especially with low end motors like an L98 almost no difference in acceleration from manual.

- you just like autos or dislike manuals or the particular one in that car.


OTHERWISE......sports cars have MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS. Selecting the exact gear you want/need at the exact time you want/need it is the fastest, most efficient, offers the most total car control, and is the funnest way to drive. :seeya