Adam_W

If you've already owned a stickshift, you are best equipped to decide whether auto vs. manual suits your needs best.

For someone who has never owned a stickshift - and I was in the same boat a few months ago - I would say, go with the manual, it's fun enough that you have to try it. If you end up not liking it or find it too onerous for daily driving, then accept the los$ and trade it in for an automatic. Life is too short to have never owned a stickshift sports car. (I know that sounds elitist, but then again, I'm posting on a corvette forum.)

Rathmullan

Probably because at the time the C6 was developed, GM was behind the curve on the development of automatic transmissions. Recall that the first C6 autos were 4 speeds. Why the 6L90E transmission found its way into the Cadillac CTS-V and ZL1 Camaro and not the ZR1/Z06 could be due to the fact that the transmission is a couple of inches longer than the the 6L80E. But make no mistake, assuming GM gets or has its act together, the C7 will be the Corvette generation in which the paddle shifting automatic transmission surpasses the manual from a performance stand point.

Joe1968ny

If you own 2 cars and the none vette is auto, manual in my vette

FlyerVette

Has always been tradition, but things will change in time.

paracord

So they put them in because of tradition? Not because of any performance benefit?

ProfessorDeath

I think you're on the wrong forum, we're discussing manual vs. automatic transmissions here, not.... kinky extracurricular behaviors.

FlyerVette

Sports car have always been manuals. You don't agree with that...?

paracord

Yes. But because manuals give the operator better control over the car.

FlyerVette

Yes they did. But with tech improvements not as much as before. And exotics are moving away from traditional manuals since they don't react as quickly and DCT trans.

paracord

Euro and Japanese exotics are moving that way. And even with those cars, it just depends on the type of racing you are doing as to whether or not they will provide better performance. There are still many applications where direct human input in the form of a traditional manual is better.

There will always be manual transmissions. There is always a place for them, they will probably always be preferred by purists, and they are much, much different from the auto transmission in the current Corvette.

To get back to the point of the thread.

Dif

I doubt my 09 A6 shifts like a 12/13 with the updates but it is far from having any lag between shifts.
When new, I did notice it seemed slow to shift and not quite instant.
But, after about 5,000 miles things started to change and now with 15,000 miles, it shifts great and nothing like it did when it was new.
Just cruising slow around town with the Paddles there is some delay between shifts but nothing like a long delay.
And, the amount of Throttle applied is directly related to how quick the shifts will be.
The more Throttle the quicker the shifts and anything near 1/2 throttle or more, the shifts are instant
I don't bother with the Paddles when doing WOT.
Just leave it in Sport without Paddles active, put peddle down and hang on.
It'll rev to Red Line and shift through the gears without hitting the limiter

londonk

Well when your doors are blown off you can make up some new excuses to tell your friend like i missed a gear or he had the jump bla bla bla shifting is fun but auto cars can run hard at the track if that your thing

b4i4getit

I wonder how much of this is due to demographics ? After all the older customer would not want to shift gears as much possibly due to health issues. Also to consider is that the art of shifting a manual transmission seems to be a forgotten skill. The young people today are more likely to have grown up with automatics and hence that is all they know.

slolane

This debate will go on as long as drivers have a choice with each camp defending their choice

Would it be fair to say a stick takes more skill to drive fast because you actually have to select the right gear?

The auto is much easier becuse you can put it in drive and push the gas down?

I am not trying to put down one camp or the other they are both great cars and I have had one now the other I have the stick now and I am only 60 so when I get a little older I might get another auto

R&L's C6

No doubt it takes more skill, especially to drive one good..

Tally Ho

I do. They each have their own merits. FWIW, I rarely use the paddles. I find the shift points I have programmed in S mode work quite well.

saplumr

No disrespect but I don't need or use excuses. If I get beat it's by a faster car....plain and simple. If you think because you have a auto you can't lose you're lining up for an embarassment. If it makes you feel like a tough guy good for you!

jwf

When I was buying I drove them both and they were both terrific so it's really about your preference. I bought the M6 just because I like the manual.

goober51

My 1st new car was a '69 Nova SS M4..I did a lot of racing back then,and I must say I never lost to an auto, unless it was a faster car,or I missed a gear..

Duro

I bought a auto this time around.Not because I can't or don't like driving a stick. But because I wanted my wife to be able to drive and enjoy the car too. She doesn't know how to drive a stick shift. And I really don't want to be the one to try to teach her. And she has made it pretty clear she has no interest in learning.