K I am going to do this... Again probably. But I hate automatic... lol. Tell me what you like better about automatic compared to a 5spd... and vice versa. And I am bored.. and I have been drinking... HAVE AT ER..
5spd is alot more fun
5spd you are always doing something
5spd you look cooler
Automatic you have it easier in traffic.
5spd in a Mazda3 is faster

Yea I have been drinking.

 

I drive an auto. I got the car when i was 18, and i didn't know how to drive stick. I lived in a city with a lot of stop and go traffic, so i didn't want to learn stick at the time. Also, my dad bought the car, and he wanted it to be auto.
I am now 22 and live in the country. My brothers have always had stick, and they always said they could never do auto. I finally learned stick at 20 and wished i got stick. You have more control of the car. It's fun, and i feel you are more intimate with your car. I know that sounds weird, but instead of the car doing everything, you work with the car.
The things i do like about the auto is when i am stuck in traffic. Also, I am sometimes in a rush to get to school or work, so i eat while i drive. That's about it. I really wish i had a manual.

 

Good things about driving a stick:

• You get to drive the car
• You get better fuel economy
• You get better acceleration
• You don't need to mess with periodic fluid/filter replacements
• A $1,000 clutch will typically outlast a $4,000 automatic transmission

Good things about driving an autmatic:

• You get to be a passenger in the "Driver's Seat" of your own car
• You get to paint your nail (even your toenails if you wish) while you're in traffic
• You get to do your makeup while driving
• You can talk on your cell phone, send four texts, eat a Whopper and drink a giant Slushie all at the same time as dealing with rush hour traffic
• If you're an insomniac, driving a car with an automatic might cure what ails you

 

Its going to differ between each person on how one is better than the other.

Stick Shift
Pros:
-Better gas mileage
-Less wear on parts such as axles, and brakes
-Cheaper to replace and repair
-Less weight
-Able to make use of performance better
-More Mod friendly
-Longer lasting
-Way more fun

Cons:
-Not much fun in heavy traffic or stop and go
-May be a distraction
-For the really uncoordinated will cause damage
-More external parts that may fail

Autotradgic:
Pros:
-Easier to drive
-Suitable for all driving conditions

Cons:
-Heavier
-More expensive to replace or repair
-Slower
-Pretty boring
-Less gas mileage
-More strain on parts
-Issue may not let the car into the next gear even if there is nothing wrong past the problem gear
-Many more parts to fail
-More maintenance

I can wait to get my 5spd trans so i can throw my auto trans in a fire and laugh at it.

 

I'm probally going to catch hell for this but what are all you automatic hating people going to do when your to old to drive stick!!! lol. Yes I have an automatic not by choice, my wife can't drive stick! I guess I'm pissed off because I don't have a 5sp.

 

Too old? Hmmm le'see now... Suicide? Nah, too flamboyant.

I'm 52, athletic (I managed an hour and ten minutes in the 8-mile Dallas Turkey Trot this year), in good health, and I'm thinking that I'll be too old to drive in maybe thirty or forty more years, and until that happens, I plan on driving cars with three pedals under the dash (my wife feels the same way). Said another way, they're going to have to pry the stick shift from our cold dead hands.

 

It's a stigma. I have never wanted to drive anything else and for 36yrs haven't. Though we got caught in a LOT of traffic last Friday night. Stupid driver's that couldn't seem to get out there own way and didn't seem to care that they were blocking those of us that could. Completely oblivious.
Then the traffic lights were so backed up that through many of them we sat through 2 or 3 cycles before we could get through.
Anyway, I said to my wife then, "THIS is why many people choose to drive automatics." So I do have an understanding of the thinking.
When I am too old I am hoping that the DSG style trannies are better developed and the cost comes down. I think I could live with one of those.

 

"When I am too old I am hoping that the DSG style trannies are better developed and the cost comes down. I think I could live with one of those."

Well..., that makes one of us.

 

I think that in the future, sticks will be obsolete. Sad to say, because I wish I drove a stick, but sticks are slowly being replaced by the whole dual clutch system that is supposed to give off better performance in a car. You can't have two clutches with a stick
The Nissan gtr, Audis, Bmws, VWs and so on are starting to use this dual clutch system and it will most likely replace sticks altogether.
For example. The gtr is only avaliable with this sport dual clutch system. No stick? :O

 

• Funny thing #1, the dual clutch Automatics seem to be eroding the market for slushbox Automatics much-MUCH more than for conventional manual transmissions.
• Funny thing #2, in recent years both Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac have reintroduced cars with three pedals under the dash after many years of not offering such a configuration on any of their cars sold in the U.S.
• Funny thing #3, there are persistent rumors that a soon to be released Buick (the Regal I think) will be offered with a stick.

Long story short, every time I look at the numbers (it's been a couple of years now), cars with manual transmissions command a consistent 10% of the U.S. market, that and I've heard "rumors" that for the last two years, the percentage has gone up. Go figure.