Do you have a manual or Automatic transmission.

[Must4ng s4lly]

You might start a fight picking on foreign cars. Ive had 2 Hondas, and two pontiacs. I sold my pontiac due to multiple problems and bought a Honda Civic. I have not had a single problem with either honda, and they were both 10 years old at the time I was driving them. My pontiac was only 6 years old, and it give me 3 times the problem. I will never buy an american car again, with the exception being Mazda.

I thought Mazda was Japanese.... Anyway, I will never buy Japanese, I have had two Mustangs with the '98 being an exceptional extremely low cost to maintain vehicle and we have a 2002 Expedition that has been excellent and will pull a boat like a dream. It rules!

BTW, I was REALLY tuned off by the recent Nissan commercial that paraded its vehicles by while whistling the song that the British and American POW's in WWII Whistled \ sang as they were marched to their deaths as the build the bridge on the river Kwai along with the entire rail network the Japanese cruelly forced them to build. It was disgusting and I am sure WWII vets did not appreaciate their situation being taken so lightly by a stupid commercial by the people who tortured them 60 years before.

I noticed the ads were taken off the air after they ran a couple days.

I have a family member who was a POW for five years there and was beaten, tortured and forced to eat wormy rice and starved. He still has grooves in his shoulders from the hard labor, has malaria and a host of other physical problems because of the horrible treatment. We must never forget lest this horrible tragedy of war be repeated!

 

[sumthin fishy]

Sally!!! Your a ford girl, you should know this. Product sharing is rampant in the industry these days. Chevy/suzuki, Dodge/mitsubishi, and Ford/guess who? Hint look under the hood of a small engined ford e.g. ranger.

About the war, man, I missed the comercial. I'm a big WWII buff and that would have struck a chord with me. Wothout getting too political, I'll second that we not repeat, nor forget, that horrible time in history.

 

[Marn]

Automatic for me ... wont go manual no way no how .. i have tried and can kinda do it. but i wont... cant make me ...lol. i drive a 83 Blazer with a auto in it... Hubby has a 76 CJ5 Jeep and it is a manual ..i have never driven it .. i would love to ..but just havnet gotten around to it .. the thing is sweet in the summer with no top on ..
but i like automatics .. i like to have my hands free ..coffee in one had a ciggarette in the other .. oh ya and the steering wheel is in there somewere :laugh: plus im a 2 footed driver and have been for about 20 yrs .. i would have to learn how to drive normaly then go to a manual ...lol..

Marn

 

[Bigbob55]

Manual for me.

They're cheaper, faster, better gas mileage, more reliable, last longer, and IMO More Fun! Plus you can do things like start with compression, and drop it in gear from nuetral while the car is moving to start the engine up.

Especially if you buy older cars, those automatics are likely to go out, and the cost to replace it is often how much you paid for the car!

I have a sporty car (ford probe GT) so I think its a whole lot of fun to drive it around with the stick. But if I were to get a car other than a sports car, I would probably get it automatic because it is a nuesance in traffic and what not.

EDIT:
I'm amazing that its close to a 50:50 split! I read recently that only %11 of new cars are made in manual. Although with locking torque converters and electronic auto's... Manual's are less effective comparably now than what they used to be. But they still dominate performance wise.

 

[Galaxie]

I'd say, typically, people who drive sports cars like manual shifters. People who drive to get from point A to point B prefer automatics. Hence, there aren't many SUV's that aren't automatics.

 

[aardvark1]

Manual.

4 speed with no sychromesh in 1st and second or reverse; gotta double clutch.

Not broken, was made that way 46 years ago! 1960 Land Rover.

Also no power steering, brakes or Air conditioning. Take the top off during the summer

Learned how to drive on a 1960 Ford Falcon with the "3 on the tree". Have only owned one slushbox; and that was a POS!

 

[CajunCC]

5-speed w/Steeda tri-ax shifter, Ford Racing 4.10 rear, Ford Racing High Perf Aluminum driveshaft.

Bring it.

6-speed w/B&M Ripper shifter, Flowmaster exhaust, K&N filter.

 

[rosita]

I had manuals for years--Datsun, Dodges, Vans, Hondas, Suzukis, and loved them--but now I'm committed to an automatic F150 so I can haul my horses. I do NOT understand why the companies make sport/muscle cars perfect for manual but put an automatic in them. Love hearing everyone else's experiences--Nursie, you should have seen my dad trying to teach me how to drive the old Volkswagen hatchback way back when (I stalled it 10 times down and back the road)--he decided a Piper Cub would be easier on his temper and blood pressure!!! He used words I'd never heard before! Finally got DL at 21!!! :laugh:

 

[Galaxie]

Bring it.

6-speed w/B&M Ripper shifter, Flowmaster exhaust, K&N filter.

I traded the Mustang GT for a Sentra SE-R a few months ago. This one has an automatic.

 

[fishyaddict]

Manual all the way! My first car was a Ford Festiva (a bubble w/wheels almost), and was manual, can be tough to learn on the wrong car, but now I cant stop getting them. I had only 1 automatic, and it lasted a year, and was bad on gas. I do not street race, and am safe since I have a son that I cart around in it. But also in upstate NY they are sooooo much better in the snow, I dont know how many times I've saved myself from sliding into a bad accident by just downshifting.
And like all the others have said, I love the gas mileage. I currently own a manual 97 Chevy Cavalier with a whopping 170,000 miles on it and still going beautifully. And just a couple days ago bought a manual 94 Saab 900 with 122,000 miles on it and absolutely LOVE it also.
I think it's good to have to work hard and use more to drive, it keeps you more alert... you dont see the people who drive manuals gabbing on their darn cell phones and causing accidents, cuz they have to be able to shift! lol