Kill the manuals! (Did you make your fleet automatic only and like it?)

(For the purposes of this post, I'm going to lump everything together as an automatic if it has two pedals and doesn't require the driver to select a ratio. Nissan LEAF? PDK, MCT, SMT, Shiftronic, PowerGlide, Hydramatic, ZF 8HP. All automatic.)

There are so many cars these days that only come with some sort of automatic. I just read a story on the new Cayman and Boxsters having more of all of the good metrics when bought with a PDK. 

I don't hate automatics - I don't automatically think the new S-class would be improved with three pedals and 1-4 skip shift.

I like having a manual, by my wife can't drive it. Even in stop in go urban traffic, I like having a manual. Even when I've loved a car with an automatic, after a year or so, I'm wishing I had a manual. None of the automatic-equipped cars I've owned have ever been something one might consider "performance oriented." None have even had paddle shifters - just plain old PRNDL.

Have you killed the manuals, and felt okay about it? Did you move away from manual ownership and not look back? Paul on Everyday Driver owns a Cayman GTS PDK, and seems fine with it, but he's an automotive journalist - I imagine he gets to drive a manual several times a year, regardless of what he owns. Does it just require a good enough auto box that shifts when you ask and responds well to paddles?

No. Until my knees give out, they stop making new ones, or they stop making parts to fix the old ones, no. Its just too much fun.

The bright side is motorcycles show no signs of slowing down on row your own.

I've never owned a real performance car with an automatic transmission, although my 2004 lancer Ralliart wagon is marginally a performance car. I consider it's lack of a manual transmission to be its biggest shortcoming.

Other than my truck, if I could, I would have a manual in everything.

Never 

One of my all time favorite cars that I've owned was an auto 93 accord. 
The rest of my favs were all manual. That said, of the three cars we currently own (that work) only the manual one is for sale. Soon I shall be the owner of an all auto fleet. 
 

Except the challenge car. And my bike. And the VW around back. 
 

Im quite fond of the Infiniti. And I loved my old xj (2WD!). And both the K10s were auto. I have nothing against an automatic car, what I hate are boring cars. And I've owned several manual cars that were boring. Shifting isn't everything. 

Meh. For the first time in 2 decades it's all auto now and it's fine with me. But I was never crazy about a stick. I prefer to eat my french fries AND drive.

Granted, none of them were ever "performance" cars (does an '89 Prelude with mild mods or a '92 5.0 count?) so maybe I was missing the point

I was stick-shift-less for a little while, but I missed having a smaller lightweight car and those need a manual to be properly fun. So now there’s a Neon in the driveway. The other three are automatics.

Track Miata is manual, everything else is auto. They each have their place. My Cayman with the PDK feels like much more car than the equivalent manual, that transmission is just so good at keeping the motor in the powerband under all circumstances. 

I've had manuals around most of my driving life, and have even had some stretches of no automatics in the fleet. Right now we're at 3 autos and one manual (which I may be selling), so we could kill the manuals in the near future. 

I enjoy a manual, but having a car that can't be driven in the winter and my wife can't easily drive kind of defeats the purpose of a slot in our fleet. For better or worse, with 4 kids we're in a practical over pleasure mode right now.

Almost everything I own has a stick, including my F-250 and my Trooper. Heck, the only automatics in my life are Nicole's Clarity, my LEAF and the lifted Buick.

Honestly? I have nothing against modern automatics, but I don't think they got "good" until the mid-late '00s. They're definitely not as fun, but they're better at everything. I don't necessarily think my LEAF should count, though, since the single gear/no torque converter means it behaves much more like a car with a manual trans IMHO. It's pretty fun to thrash around town. 

In reply to Mike (Forum Supporter) :

You're sort of asking drug addicts if drugs should be legal. 
We're all gear heads here. Even if we know real race cars have automatics now days.( Well except for the antique racing group called NASCAR)  

No wonder their viewership is dropping. 
 

I digress: rowing gears helps us connect to our cars. I drove a new semi yesterday with an automatic.  It took me exactly 1/4 mile to get used to it by then I was on the highway  busy watching for traffic rather than trying to remember the shift pattern. 
 

Wasn't happy about it when it started, but was much happier when using it as intended (off road suv).  When I was in grad school I did pick up a manual commuter to keep maintenance costs down. Since then the lack of manual suv options pretty much makes a manual a non starter. 

One of the best things about electric cars is that they make no manual transmission tolerable.

But otherwise, no way man!

I want to always have one manual around that i can go drive in anger and bang gears, but I honestly prefer automatics for daily duty and for drag racing a properly set up auto can shift faster and more consistent than a person.  For autocross where you shift once if you have an auto that can hold gears what's the real difference?

i find it comical when dudes refuse to drive automatics out of some machismo complex.  

Haven't had a full auto fleet for a while, but I'm hoping to soon. I'm the only person in the house that can drive a stick, and we have these things here called "hills" that it seems like a lot of people don't. Not that hills are difficult in and of themselves, but when combined with self important morons who need to stop on your bumper at red lights, rowing my own is more frustrating than fun.

I'd love a *good* semi auto, but from what I understand, the ones that are actually good are waaaaay out of my price range.

Between  the wife and I we currently have 5 cars, only 1 is a automatic. We have only owned 4 cars(99 P71, 62 Monterey, 64 Fairlane and our 08 Raider) with auto's since we been married (coming up on 15 years) and have owned probably 30 plus cars.  
 

We both bought newer used cars(12 Civic Si and 14 Challenger R/T) within the last year and both are manual. neither of us has any plans to go auto trans any time soon. 
 

I was always a manual guy, but PDK converted me. I sold my six speed Cayman S and bought another Cayman with the PDK. That transmission is just so damn good that you don't see any reason to have your left left foot involved in the process.

I also chose to get an automatic in my truck, as it simplifies snow plowing. Between the transmission, transfer case and plow controls, there's a lot going on in the cab when you change direction. That get's rough on the clutch.

I still own one car with a true manual, but the other four have some form of automatic, each for its own reason.

I can tolerate automatics in vehicles that are best suited for them - my vans.  Otherwise, I generally prefer manuals.  That said, if the stars ever align and I can build the Volvo 1800E convertible I have in my have, it'll get a AW71 (4 spd O/D) automatic.  I've also toyed with building a TR6 with an automatic of some type for my mother, since I don't see her learning to driving a manual in her 70's.

I've also heard that plow trucks are nearly always automatics for the reason Woody mentioned.  

As far as ditching my manual cars for autos, I just don't see it happening.  Mostly because that would require me to get rid of a lot of my current fleet to make room, which I am not keen on doing.  While there are many cars out there I'd like to own/drive, at this time I don't want them more than the cars I already have. 

My ex- owns five cars and every one of them is a manual.  She hates automatics. For a few years she kept one auto around to drive when her back would go out, but after both of those broke she bought a VW Golf Alltrak wagon with a manual - which like my VW TDI has a crazy-light clutch so driving it in traffic is pretty easy and isn't tiring.

I killed them and it bothers me not at all. Well not really but if one has to go, let it be the stick.

There is no way I would drive a manual on a daily basis. Not with as much as I drive and the traffic I deal with. The only manuals I have are the G35 and the Samurai both of which inseldom drive. Everything else is a automatic.

Our fleet tends to skew manual because both my wife and I prefer them.  The only auto is the 1-ton truck.

I will admit the 3 on the Tree in the van gets a little annoying on long drives and I can see why an auto might be preferred in it.

While I prefer a manual all of my current cars are cruisers and are better cars with automatics. I'm ok with it.

The Abarth and Miata are manual, but the Crosstrek I was ok with going auto.  It's more of an appliance, it's comfy (which is a nice change occasionally), and at 53 years old I figured I was one knee injury away from owning 3 cars and not being able to drive.

My 70something uncle retired detective just emailed me that he finally gave in & sold the Mustang.  With a third broken leg and various other fun stuffs that come with age he decided it was time, went with a new Genesis something70 I think?  Not boring at least.

I think I might get sick of a manual in my suburban.  Maybe not with a cummins and nv6500 swap.. but with 5.3.. the 4l60e does fine.

There's way too much variation in the quality of autos and the use patterns of vehicles to make blanket statements stick. But we all knew that when we clicked on this thread, didn't we?

I enjoy having a stick in my Mustang but I'm fine with autos in the truck and the wife's car. The manual gives you direct control to do useless stuff like downshifting up to a red light or making lots of engine noise by keeping it in a low gear - but let's be honest, none of that has to do with speed, efficiency, or comfort. It's just dicking around. I mean, I could do the same thing in my truck using the little up-and-down buttons and it would have the exact same effect, right? But then we'd all think I was a poser, myself included. Holy double standard batman!

Modern autos are pretty good in general, and the really pricey ones (i'm looking at you, PDK) are approaching perfection, or so I hear. There continues to be less real use case for a stick, but I'm here because I enjoy dicking around with cars, so of course I still see some value in them. One day common autos may be as good as the mythical PDK and sticks will be as celebrated as swing arm suspension is on a Corvair. 

I switched to automatics only about 10 years ago. Due to nerve damage that affected my left leg I just couldn't control a third pedal very well.

Thankfully, I have recovered enough by now that I can usually manage to move my limbs with some semblance of normalcy. My current challenge car has a six speed manual connected to a high compression, high reving gem of an engine... this is a good thing.