StandardShift.com

Tom and Ray answers questions about all of the [former] advantages of manual transmissions:

"Dear Tom and Ray: When I first learned to drive, a million years ago, my father (who knew nothing about cars) advised me to always drive a manual transmission because they handle better, are easier to repair, are cheaper, get better mileage, etc. Being an obedient daughter, I have owned and driven only manual-transmission cars all these years. Also, I needed the boost I got from the cool factor of a woman driving a stick shift (men are so transparent). But now I'm older and am tired of all that shifting.

I'm getting ready to trade in my 2003 Subaru Forester for a new one, and I want an automatic — but will I be losing out on all the good things, like control and economy? Or does that no longer really apply, with today's car engineering? I don't want to do anything that might make me any less cool than I already am. Can I make the switch? My father isn't around any longer to advise me, but I know he would trust the opinions of his favorite car guys. — Nina"

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.d ... -1/NEWSMAP

Their response is cogent and well reasoned.

She certainly shouldn't drive manual because she feels like she has to...it should be because she wants to.

theholycow wrote:Their response is cogent and well reasoned.

She certainly shouldn't drive manual because she feels like she has to...it should be because she wants to.

...and she has to wants to, right?

If it's forced on her, nature has a way of taking care of these thing, right?

one reason is the boost from driving a manual

you automatically become a boss, specially in a place like USA where not many people drive manual.
lol

The only point which I'd question is that a manual transmission car needs at least one clutch replacement during its life. That might be true for some cars, but not nearly all cars. If the car has been owned and driven by a competent driver, I'd say that just about any manual transmission car can go through life without ever needing a new clutch. It all depends on how well it has been driven. It is true that a clutch wears over time, but the wear is minimal compared to something like brake pads. So it is absolutely possible for a manual transmission to go several hundred thousand miles without needing a clutch replaced, which may very well be above and beyond the car's normal service life.

Rope-Pusher wrote:

theholycow wrote:Their response is cogent and well reasoned.

She certainly shouldn't drive manual because she feels like she has to...it should be because she wants to.

...and she has to wants to, right?

If it's forced on her, nature has a way of taking care of these thing, right?

You win, RP, you win.

I'm guessing that he's making a reference to that idiot politician who said that a woman's body will reject a pregnancy that was a result of a "real" rape. I don't know exactly what he said, but I think that was the main idea.

Shadow wrote:I'm guessing that he's making a reference to that idiot politician who said that a woman's body will reject a pregnancy that was a result of a "real" rape. I don't know exactly what he said, but I think that was the main idea.

“From what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Akin said. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something, I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”

*Facepalm* (obviously about biology, I'm not trying to get into an abortion discussion)

First it was Al Gore inventing the Internet, and now this....

Politicians say the silliest things!

ANYWAY, before this starts getting out of hand...

My car has just surpassed 125,000 miles, and it's still on the original clutch. I'm the third owner. And the clutch is still going strong. I drive in city-traffic 97% of the time also.

I'd say it's more common for a car to roll to the scrapyard with the original clutch than a replacement one.

What about cars that are only available as a manual? Like the Honda S2000, Nissan Skyline, Ford Mustang GT500?

comawhite wrote:What about cars that are only available as a manual? Like the Honda S2000, Nissan Skyline, Ford Mustang GT500?

She wouldn't have those available to her if she doesn't want a manual any more.. unless I'm not understanding what you're trying to point out.

Squint wrote:

comawhite wrote:What about cars that are only available as a manual? Like the Honda S2000, Nissan Skyline, Ford Mustang GT500?

She wouldn't have those available to her if she doesn't want a manual any more.. unless I'm not understanding what you're trying to point out.

I was basically just saying that some cars are only available in manual. So, if you want one of those you will have to stick with manual and vice-versa on vehicles that are automatic only.

That's true, though I would guess those numbers are dwindling a bit. I would be curious to see how many vehicles are available manual only now versus 10 or 20 years ago.