Cool the manual freaks are coming out in support!
I agree I had the same modes of transportation.

 

Okay, I was trying to be sensitive to those automatic folks......trying to be understanding....

But, in reality, I'll probably never fully "understand" a true sports car with an automatic tranny.

This statement is made with the assumption that my legs/knees/hips still work well. Otherwise, if my lower limbs are screwed up, I'd rather have an auto trans in a 'Vette than no 'Vette at all....

To date...I'm 54, I have NEVER been a fan of automatics. However, after towing a boat with five-speed truck (98 chev 1500) and now owning an '02 GMC with an auto.....backing the boat up into the driveway and pulling the boat out of the water is a lot easier without the smell of a clutch burning....especially the backing piece.

Nope, the Mn6 is not the best shifting rig I've had but I'm adapting and wouldn't trade it....for now....for any automatic Corvette.

 

Not to hi-jack the thread - Funny, I have a 99.5 F350 duallie powerstroke diesel. I went auto at the time, I so much wish I would have went the 6 spd route. Bear in mind the new auto's are way better than mine, but in my version it sucks towing and going down hills, not enough control always on the brakes, even with the exhaust brake activated, and locked out in over drive.
A great way to be easier on the clutch in a manual when pulling boats out or slow speed high load situations - if you have have 4wd, put it in 4 low. Mine will bunny hop in 4 low with a 5,000 lb camper on the back. But you can only get away with this if you are on some form of surface that allows the front outside wheel to slightly spin if required when making hard turns (ie gravel roads etc).

 

yes yes, the shifting ain't no porsche quality even remotely. More on par with hi po japanese variety but as you said, still better than feeling like an amputee... For towing and driving big rigs, auto works great. Everything else should require two legs and arms to drive.

 

I dont know guys, I have a race built auto that I know will hand a manual its butt all day long. While guys are granny shifting Im way ahead. If you build a strong auto in which you can shift manually as well then you have a little of both worlds and these newer trans are even better than our older a4's. Its down to preference, not performance, because if you think about it an auto outperforms a manual in many areas. Its quicker 0-60 and down the track too. Both have pros and cons but dont make it seem like autos suck. Im an auto and I take manual cars out all day long. With a good convereter and tires, it makes hooking a lot easier too. Fun factor is in the mind of the driver.

Race built A4
Yank SS 3600
3.42 rear gears
large plate style trans cooler

 

Does it come down to wanting to be fully engaged and in control of the car? Are manual drivers just control freaks?

 

Yes, I am DEFINITELY a control freak. Especially over my girlfriends!

 

Exactly! These cars are about having fun while driving. Even a Honda Civic can go 55 on the highway and go from point A to B. Who cares about a 0.1 sec difference in acceleration. But I think a stick shift gives you a better sports car feeling, and a more rewarding experience.

 

uhm, then be it... no auto ever

 

You can drive an auto like a manual................but you can't drive a manual like an auto. Tuning makes a auto a pleasure to shift

 

I think a lot of you would do good to go check up on how an automatic transmission actually selects, shifts, and engages gears, and compare it to how a manual transmission does the same.

While, ultimately, they do the same thing, they are surprisingly different beasts.

The same is ESPECIALLY true of high end sports car "paddle shifters" (the true ones with twin disk clutches).

If you think you can out shift a proper automatic racing transmission with the notchy mn6, think again.

Again though, for the 100th time this thread, it comes down to preference. I personally think the mn6 is more fun. It's more fun to stay in a lower gear to let people hear the exhaust, or to downshift aggressively to hear the exhaust roar and cackle.

Honestly I'd say I like manual transmissions simply for the fact that I can more easily control the exhaust note.

If corvettes were $20,000 cheaper, and had 900rwhp from a triple turbo'd 4 cylinder motor, and ran 8's stock, I wouldn't buy one simply because it wouldn't sound so damn great.

Give each a fair chance and see what you like. Either way, you're getting a vette

 

This issue is NEVER going to be resolved because different people have different reasons for liking the type of transmission they do. Those who like autos will never convince the manny crowd and vice versa. Bottom line: get what YOU like and to hell with what everyone else likes, they didn't buy the car you drive, YOU did.

 

by the way nice Avatar Jade

 

I agree, but where were you when I needed you to say that when I bought my car! A week after i bought it in October of 02 I said why didn't I order a manual!

I have the A4, but I will say it is still very impressive. It is just not as much fun for me. Then again a traffic jam makes it all worth while!

 

There is no issue... Automatic does not belong in the vette, never did and never will. The gold chain crowd loved the auto and now seemingly women gave them a helping hand. It is truly a shame to see paddle shifters in street cars. If there was a prerequisite amputate one leg before being eligible to get an auto vette, things would clear up quickly. Seems like at least Dodge got it right with the Viper (may it rest in peace unfortunately). Not to be rude but the idea of a paddle shifter duplicating F1 feel in a performance car meant for the street is right down dumb. Now we have all these mini Schumachers "duplicating" that race feeling driving their Ferraris, Maseratis, Jags and of all things, vettes. How about a manual tranny XLR V? Let's stop pretending and kidding ourselves.

 

Well, aside from the fact that I actually DO agree with the above statement, it's a better business practice to get more people to buy the car if it has an auto option. A car that doesn't cater to more people is a car that doesn't get purchased as much. GM dumps a lot of money into the making of the Corvette, so you can better your bottom that they're going to make it as "accessible" as possible.

Personally, I'd never own an auto Corvette as long as I have both my arms and legs. BUT I know plenty of guys that can't drive a manual. IMO, if you can't drive a manual (preference or not), you shouldn't drive at all. As harsh as that sounds, almost everyone I know that learned to drive on a manual or daily drives a manual is a far better driver than those that cannot drive a manual. There's always exceptions to that rule and some people were not born drivers either.

There's the sports car purists and there's the gold-chain wearing show-offs... I'm more of a purist. I drive a Z06. One of the reasons I bought a Z06 instead of a coupe was because you don't get the option for an auto. To me that SINGS "all sporty toughness... none of this sissy stuff". You have to admit that when a car doesn't come with an option for an auto, that's just bad-***. It's saying "I'm too much car for those boring little autos. If you drive me, you better DRIVE me."

 

very well put. In essence, auto in cars like vette is there to make a driver's car accessible to those who really do not know how to drive... Good marketing but sucky image for the car and losing stereotypes that apparently will never go away.

 

 

I think he has a very good economic point, and just changed my perspective on auto's in a vette or in sports cars in general (based on still providing a true manual transmission). Thank you.

I was just reading about the Viper and its possible demise.

If keeping an auto in the vette helps support sales and ultimately would decide if the car was going to be discontinued due to low sales, I say go for it!

 

You guys still beating this thread.

Auto's vs Manuals it's preference....

Some people just like to cruise around and not worry about changing gears. Does that make their Vette less of a Vette.... I don't think so. I'm sure there would be several Auto Owners who would meet you at the track to prove their girly Auto put the Manual ego in check...

Then some people love to shift thru the gears listen to he engine roar, down shift and listen to it even more...might be stereotyping the corvette people with well... ricers do the same right....... that's great and i understand that but you see what i'm saying.. ... hopefully

Actually the next Vette i get it will probably be a manual.....Why... well i just prefer a manual, but my current is an auto and I enjoy it just as much.......

A Vette is a vette regardless of Auto or Manual transmission..... eventually as others have said the manuals will slowly disappear..