I have a manual and automatic version of nearly the same car, with one being a saloon and the other an estate. I only bought the estate as an automatic because everything else about the car was right. I guess I’m getting used to it, but it is objectively worse in every way than the manual car. Enjoyment, fuel economy,…

I own a manual transmission. It is my daily and I thoroughly enjoy driving it, except on the rare occasions I must drive in gridlock. It’s no longer fun then. Fortunately where I live (metro Detroit) and where I work (Detroit), traffic isn’t normally congested.

There is nothing boring about either of my BMWs. Nor were they particularly expensive. Boring cars are boring, that is far from all cars. 

Seconded, and I have done WAY more of my share of Rt128. If you are shifting all the time in traffic you are doing it wrong anyway.

Not necessarily. There aren’t that many models now that even offer them in the U.S., and the ones that do are usually performance-oriented models. So, the person that needs a more well-rounded sedan that’s decent on gas, or the one that needs a model that can accommodate a young family, or one that wants a thrifty…

Electric drivetrains evoke simplicity far more than an ICE ever could.

I have a stick shift car. My wife has a van with an automatic. I’ve driven then for years regularly.

So, you actually enjoy driving a manual in deadlocked traffic? And find it engaging? 

If clutching in stop and go traffic is exciting to you, that’s uh, taking manual enthusiasm to an interesting extreme.

Commuting into Boston made me switch to an automatic, as I felt bad for my ankles.

Not all manuals are the same. My 4cyl Wrangler was a pain in the ass. My 300hp BMW is fine.

I wonder how many people who complain about 3 pedals in traffic are people who can barely drive a manual. If you stall once every 5 times and have trouble starting up an incline then yeah I can see it being a pain.

I used to commute into NYC I’m with you here. Not needing to sit with my foot pressing the brake pedal while I’m not moving was a gift in and of itself

It’s the only thing that keeps me interested in something other than suck-starting a 9mm in traffic.

We’re not…but when there’s a QOTD for best generational change, I’m right there with you.  The 6 went front ugly in 2013 to something that is still the nicest looking midsize sedan on the market today for the 2014 model.

Oh, sure, they “bleed static discharge off of an aircraft.” But we all know the real reason.

It was BLM. Duh.

Don’t worry, the conservatives will declare this as staged as in Wag the Dog./s

Yeah, I have to fight a lot of stereotypes in order to drive one lol.