6 speed or automatic ?
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I have had both manual and automatic equipped Corvettes and honestly I can have just as much fun with either transmission. I have no regrets with my current A4 tranny car but someday I may have another manual car.
What it comes down to is just buy whatever makes you happy and fits your driving needs.
What it comes down to is just buy whatever makes you happy and fits your driving needs.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2014
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A lot of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mazerati, McClaren, Porsche, etc owners may take exception to the "true" sports car comment.
Which transmission, which wax, which oil, which tires, which exhaust, which battery threads will never end or cease to exhibit one's desire to express the self gratifying "mine is better than yours" thus I'm better than you position.
If your Corvette, equipped as you choose, fills some particular hole in your ego, good for you. The better you feel about you and your choices the happier you'll be.
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Pro
Joined: Jun 2015
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From: Wytheville Virginia
I have had both manual and automatic equipped Corvettes and honestly I can have just as much fun with either transmission. I have no regrets with my current A4 tranny car but someday I may have another manual car.
What it comes down to is just buy whatever makes you happy and fits your driving needs.
What it comes down to is just buy whatever makes you happy and fits your driving needs.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2016
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It would be different if the auto was a 6 speed (or more), but the 4 speed just seems too antiquated for my liking...plus, I simply prefer a manual in a sports car...it gives the feeling of having more control over the vehicle, whether you actually do or not...
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2012
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From: LaGrange Park, IL IL
St. Jude Donor '13, '15
And aside from the number of speeds, the software used to calibrate shift points plays a role too. I had a 2007 GMC Acadia with a 6-speed and the thing always shifted oddly in the middle of turns resulting in a laggy feel mid turn. GM had to "flash" the system as part of a TSB to adjust it.
I guess one more reason to like a manual car, but point is not all automatics are made equally.
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Safety Car
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From: Greensboro Nc
Instructor
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From: Almost Canada
Sensitive, probably. I'll give that to you. 
Just saying...times have changed and it's not just women anymore who don't drive stick. The vast amount of this country drive auto and the manufacturers know it. Enthusiasts such as those on this site are the ones still buying stick when they can. We're a rarer breed inside this forum. 
I get that, but you posted it in this day and age to suggest it is still relevant. I'm not some tree hugging liberal, so don't get me wrong, but it really didn't sound great. We can let is rest, I'm not trying to pick a fight or lose track of the topic at hand. Sorry fellas.
Just saying...times have changed and it's not just women anymore who don't drive stick. The vast amount of this country drive auto and the manufacturers know it. Enthusiasts such as those on this site are the ones still buying stick when they can. We're a rarer breed inside this forum. I get that, but you posted it in this day and age to suggest it is still relevant. I'm not some tree hugging liberal, so don't get me wrong, but it really didn't sound great. We can let is rest, I'm not trying to pick a fight or lose track of the topic at hand. Sorry fellas.
Last edited by WoodyJohnson; Jun 14, 2017 at 04:19 PM.
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2016
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From: Atlantic Beach FL.
Hey, there is a lot of truth in it for my Dad's generation. In the 30s-50's, the English cars dominated the sports car scene. They were all manual shift cars and they were primarily marketed to men. They were also death traps. Men got killed in them all the time. Same with the US hot rods. Not very lady-like. The family cars were three on the tree and the trucks were all granny shifters. A lot of women didn't even drive, because all those pedals and levers looked scary to the women of the day, and they identified them with the latest speed demon accident victim they knew. That began to change in the 50's when GM started putting auto trannies in the family cars, but even then it was a few years before any sports cars offered them. But along comes the auto Corvettes and powder blue Mustangs, power brakes and steering, and now even a 90 lb brunette could come at you in a V-8. The automatic transmission is what brought women into the mass car market if you ask me. While that sounds sexist today, it was the truth in 1961.
