this is a great point and pretty much sums it up.

 

 

The first thing non Vette owning people ask me when they first see my Vette, "Is it a stick shift"? Even non Vette owners get it. If its a Vette, it should be a manual.

 

All my previous Corvette's were Automatics O7 with paddles. Decided to do the manual with the GS since I found myself shifting most of the time anyways.. I gotta say if there's any Corvette owners out there and you've never had a manual.. Whole different driving experience FUN FUN FUN !!!!

 

It was only a matter of time before someone believes he is more of a man because of the type of transmission he uses. People who believe they are more of a man because they drive a certain transmission obviously feel they have something to prove to others due to a lack of confidence, and must be very insecure with their own manhood.

To be this shallow and this insecure is pathetic.

 

I drive a ZO6. On the rare occasion someone asks about the transmission, they ask if I have the paddles.

I'm not sure what there is to get. After all its a simple choice just like the color of the car you drive. I like having choices and options. And I never knock what someone else chooses when it comes to their Corvette.

 

For me the only way to own a 'vette is with a vert top and manual. I really get a thrill banging gears and at my age thrills are far and few in betwee....

 

If you like the clutch then go for it. I no longer want a clutch so I get the Automatic. I really think the Automatic is the future of the transmission anyway. I think the manual tranny is a tad faster than the Automatic but only if you are one of the select few that are that good at diving with a clutch. The Automatic gives more consistency in your times. Just my 2 cents worth...

 

/THREAD

 

Manual transmissions are like making butter with a manual butter churner, while the product is supposedly better, the vast majority of people in a blind taste test would not know the difference, so why bother?

I think people who own manuals are like the people who make stuff themselves and are extremely proud of it. There is nothing wrong with it, but they could of just hired someone to do it or bought an existing product instead of wasting their time.

The reality is, manual shifting in traffic sucks. Wife, Girlfriend, Valet, etc may not know how to drive manual correctly. Eating/drinking/radio/phone/Nav operation is a challenging ballet.

I have a friend, he is a hardcore manual guy, known him for 10 years, he has always had a manual, until this past year when he bought an automatic for all the reasons i mentioned above. They just dont make sense anymore for daily or city driving. Now out in the country, maybe, just maybe(well barely) you have a case.

 

I wonder how many who own a manual know HOW to REALLY drive one.

 

I had an A6 08 Coupe. I loved it and was happy with it when it was my dd. As time went on, I kept wishing I had gotten a manual. I ended up getting a Z06 and love the manual aspect of it. The only time I have missed the A6 is when I did a parade last year. My left leg was getting pretty tired by the end. The obvious solution is to not do parades. This does bring up the issue for me. If I had a commute with a lot of stop and go traffic and I was going to use the Vette to commute with, I would want an A6 again. Otherwise, I am a manual guy and it is not about acceleration. All C6's are scary fast.

A couple of downsides of the A6. I love Vettes for the twisties. So, when I am approaching a corner I like to downshift rather than brake. The A6 takes what seems like forever do drop a few gears. My wife actually hated this worse than be because it scared the heck out of her. They call it paddle shifting, but it is more of a paddle shift request. The other downside for me is when you were doing a WOT and jumped out of it, the car would give you whiplash and try to through you through the window. I don't understand why it is so aggressive this way, but that was my experience. The Z is not this way, my guess is that a manual coupe is not either.

I personally think the manual is just more fun to drive. Absolutely nothing against those who choose A6's. Not sure why some of them feel so much animosity towards people with manual transmissions.

 

I had manuals in all my other cars before the Vette.
Most were 60-70's Muscle cars and manual trans was the norm.
When getting my 1st Vette I knew I'd get the Auto because I would be doing a lot more driving with it than I ever did with the other cars I owned.

For Anyone who likes to shift, the Auto will never replace it

But IMO the Auto trans has come a long way from the old Slush boxes most people are familiar with.
My trans is stock, no tune, and it did some strange things when I first started driving it in regards to how and when it would shift etc.
Now that I'm familiar with it and have learned how to control it with throttle response, it's pretty amazing, all things considered.
It also reacts totally different now with more miles on it, than it did when it was new.
Anything half throttle or more generates instant shifts with no lag.

Each one, Manual or Auto, has their advantages and disadvantages.
IMO the biggest difference/advantage is with the Manual trans because you can down shift 2 or 3 gears in one motion.
Where as with the Auto you need to quickly/progressively increase throttle or quickly tap the paddles 2 or 3 times to get into a lower gear.
To each his own

 

I owned manuals exclusively for many years, including a couple of Camaros ('67 SS 350 and '68 4 bolt main 327) and an '85 C4. Happy with A6 now.

 

I think it's whatever you like because both automatic and manual drive GREAT!

 

I have an '07 C6 A6 coupe. The downside to the A6 is downshifting like widgetsupply & dif said.
I started doing HPDE's this year and noticed this with the A6. If I brake very hard from 130 to about 50 MPH and paddle shift down at the 300' mark (still doing 100-90 MPH and not popping the throttle) Sometimes It's not downshifting until I'm getting back on the throttle 25-50% and passed apex that it downshifts. When it does downshift it seems to take a good full second to shift. I haven't tried popping the throttle on downshifts at speed yet to see if this would make it downshift sooner.
The only up side to this is I don't have to worry about losing the back end while braking hard from a high speed when the tracks wet.

 

Thanks guys. I appreciate all of the input; both positive and negative. I just wanted opinions. This is one of the most informational and involved forums I've been on.

 

If you’re a person who’s into the driving experience you will get more from a manual transmission, because you have to interact with your car more. I flew out of state to buy my first Corvette because all they had locally were automatics. I personally like the extra involvement you get from the MT.
It’s kind of like people who join Corvette clubs. There are people who like to do car shows, there are people who like to do cruises, people who just like the socializing, and people who like to drive hard and do HPDEs. No one reason for belonging is better than another, and likewise, depending on your reason for owning a Corvette, no one transmission is best for everyone.

 

Hardly shallow and insecure, dud, just saying their are certain things a man ought to know, and how to drive a standard transmission well is just one of them. Just because you owned a car with a manual transmission doesn't mean your proficient in driving one. So do you prefer a pad or a tampon?

 

That's Jacqueline.