If I had a stop-and-go commute through heavy traffic, I can see the desire for a slushbox.

Nice to live in a semi-rural area with curvy, hilly roads, light traffic, and even lighter law enforcement. Makes having a manual tranny fun. Recently sold a truck with an auto, now driving one with a manual- Way more entertaining.

As far as lap times, I recently did some track time in a Lambo with flappy paddles. While brilliant on the track, I would still prefer a stick on public roads driving to/from the track.

I prefer a manual. It's the one thing I feel my wife's Mustang is lacking. Great car...but it bores me to drive it.

Probably my next car will be a mid 2000 BMW 330 with the 3.0L I6 and a 6 speed manual trans.

i live at the best place for an auto transmission. i have hills that fry clutches (under my care) and traffic that make you curse the clutch. i dont care how feathery and responsive your clutch is. it sucks in traffic.

now having said that. manual and auto is the single best argument for having multiple cars. it is just kinda fun rowing thru the gears manually.

but i'm not old..yet.

Basically I would not tend to pass judgement on the '06 Mazda/auto until I actually drove it. Then I would take into consideration the feel of the car and the general conditions and uses I would be buying it for. If it has a doggy feel, for me that would tend to tip my choice toward a manual. I know modern auto's have made great strides in power transfer and efficiency of operation, but I don't know about an '06 model. The only automatic transmissions I experience are the ones in my F350 (I wouldn't have a manual in a pickup anymore) and my wife's car, which has a CVT trans. For an older sports car (much before '06), it's going to be manual for sure. Lately I've been having thoughts of a brand new Corvette if I ever sell my Porsche. If that happens, it will have the new automatic trans. I learned to drive on a 1944 military Jeep and like the mechanical feel of a machine, but newer cars are naturals with automatic transmissions.

I had a tiptronic in my 997S and absolutely loved it. For GT cars I think an auto is great. If I were to get a high reving 4, I would prefer a manual.

I went with the tip originally because I hated getting stuck in bumper to bumper traffic on steep hills (while it poured rain) in Seattle. Pushing the clutch in and out 50 times in the course of 10 minutes while you crawl up a hill with some ahole a foot off you bumper isn't my idea of fun, especially after a long day at work.

I go either way truck, currently I have an auto. I still like 3 on the tree!

This, a pickup with an automatic transmission is just wrong to me.

My wife likes everything about her SUV except that it has two pedals. It was a screaming deal though.

My next daily driver is going to be a Corolla wagon with CVT. Great cars. And when you floor them they hit 6,000rpm. I think they are a bit faster than my manual one too.

For a serous car club/occasional track day car sure a manual. But now that I'm an old fool who takes the dogs out for a drive, an auto certainly is appealing.

This may be the onlyest thing we ever disagree on. I tow horses and farm related stuff a lot, have since I was a kid with manual transmission Ford and Dodge trucks. Auto is so much better I wouldn't buy a current manual transmission truck at gunpoint.

The last truck I bought with a manual was a 1999 Tacoma my son still drives. He is young enough to really enjoy the process. I'm not.

I doubt his children will even have a choice.

I'm just the opposite....a clutch on a boat ramp sucks, and many times, I'll let a buddy pull me out of the water after driving onto the trailer. A stranger to the clutch, pulling a load up a slick boat ramp is HELL on clutches....I've been that "no driving fool" in friend's trucks before too ;). Just backing with any type of trailer in tight quarters....gimme an automatic please.

Edited: Paul knows....

Agreed regarding the idea of an auto for towing with a half-ton truck. I have done a bit of towing with a variety of trucks and won't bother with a manual transmission again.. A few years back I had a V6 5 speed manual, partly because it was what was available and I was thinking the mileage would be better. Ha! Wrong. I get better mileage with the 4.6 with the auto box. Otherwise the trucks were pretty much the same, reg cabs with 8' boxes.

I am not impressed with the modern automatics I have driven, but then I haven't been turned off by them either. They seem to be predictable. I would consider a DSG in my next VW. I have driven a couple of high mileage examples and they seemed to be something I could live with.

For my toy ('90 Miata), I'll stick with the manual.

Best
Les

I learned the art of slipping a clutch on a boat ramp, we had a Jeep CJ with the 4.0L I6 and a 5 speed pulling a 16 ft boat, 1st gear was a real pain getting going, until I figured out to shift it into low range, it would practically walk up the ramp with no issues.

I don't want anything but a manual. Ever.

They're simple, easy to understand, easy to maintain and inexpensive to repair or replace. Automatics are like 37-piece screwdrivers. Unnecessarily complicated and expensive just for the sake of being complicated and expensive. Frankly, I find them astonishingly boring. Whenever I drive an auto trans car - even a cool one - I'm bored silly.

Maybe I'm just "old school" and different strokes for different folks, but I doubt I could ever buy / drive an automatic transmission car regularly. It's just too boring.

I prefer manuals. I just don't want to service or fix auto gearboxes.

Tiptronic isnt all that bad though. DSG is pretty neat but feels really weird in auto mode.

My first purchase as a kid was a new CJ5 back in the day....302 V8 ....headers, side pipes, and badass ;)

4 wheel drive is a different matter, but that is the crux of the issue....you had to learn...would you want a friend w/ no experience pulling you out?

Wish I still had it....but it would have been a terrible tow vehicle with it's short wheel base even in 4x4 mode.....

Have we hijacked this thread yet? SmileWavy

I read how other people don't like a manual at the boat ramp. Heck, that's where I like it best. Controlling *exactly* how much power is fed to the rear wheels and when is crucial to me.

So I'm an oddball....I've known that for years :D

I guess the both of us. And I don't mind a manual in stop and go traffic. A slushbox is a little easier, but I just stick it in 2nd and manipulate the clutch and the brake without touching the throttle. It's actually kind of a fun game.

I buy manuals because automatics can't last 200k miles on only two fluid changes.

Now I can't argue with that AZ....never had to replace a clutch in my life, but my F150's auto suddenly croaked at approx 140K a couple of years ago without much warning...yay Triple A :eek: