Why did you get an Automatic over a 6 Speed?

[kneeko]

I've driven manuals ever since I got my learner's permit. Until I was able to purchase my own vehicle, my daily driver was a manual. The first car I bought was a manual. Every vehicle after that was a manual... until I got a 2017 F-150 with the first generation 10 speed. Bought the truck new and drove it for 6.5 (80,000 miles) years until I traded it in for my current Mustang. Yes, automatics have gotten better, but to me, I got tired of the 10 speed skipping gears, the delay in downshifting, and the random clunkiness (this may have been corrected in newer revisions of the transmission). I've driven manuals for 2/3 of my life and 10 gears just seems a lot, but hey, better than a CVT. Lastly, and someone pointed this out as well, in the autos, IMO, it's harder to select the right gear (the computer may or may not know exactly what gear you want) versus a manual, you know exactly what gear you're going in... unless you get too excited and money shift

I also have a 2024 Honda Odyssey that has a 10-speed auto, granted, it's Honda's in house transmission. Even that at times doesn't seem to be 100% certain on what gear to choose. But I will say it's been a lot smoother than the 10-speed auto that was in my F-150.

For you autos out there, I assume if you put the vehicle in sports mode, it doesn't skip gears? At least that's how it was in my F-150. Also, does it auto upshift at red line, or does it let you keep it there?

perfectly said man.

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[radar]

Simple.
Manuals are not imported in Australian convertibles

 

[Gregs24]

So you have an opinion, reality is cars should last 400k miles and twenty years. The six speed stuff does that easy along with the 4 speed stuff. 200k is a walk in the park. 10 speeds by Ford do not make the cut. When they fail they are in fact costly.

No car has EVER been designed to do this. No car has been designed to do half of this!

There have been cars that manage this but the vast majority don't. If you want that sort of resilience you will need to pay a lot more money for your cars!

4 speed gearbox! Wow 'get me horse'!

 

[Ryunker]

No car has EVER been designed to do this. No car has been designed to do half of this!

There have been cars that manage this but the vast majority don't. If you want that sort of resilience you will need to pay a lot more money for your cars!

4 speed gearbox! Wow 'get me horse'!

Been doing automotive service for most of my life, they all do this, at times rust gets it before 20 years. If that is not your experience, well move your service needs elsewhere.

 

[Ryunker]

Not my estimate. It's from Consumer Reports. Disagree with them, not me.

P.S. - You have an opinion, too. Wow.

Agree in a dragstrip environment automatics are desired, but in that case so are catastrophic repairs.

 

[Gregs24]

Been doing automotive service for most of my life, they all do this, at times rust gets it before 20 years. If that is not your experience, well move your service needs elsewhere.

Seems they 'all' don't!

What is the Average Life of a Car? (Vehicle Lifespan) | Cascade Collision

Getting better with modern construction and tolerances but 'not that long ago a car did well to get to 100k miles.'

You can make anything last for ever if you throw enough money at it (classic cars) but that is not realistic for most people.

Average Lifespan for U.S. Vehicles – Berla.co

The average lifespan of a vehicle is currently 13 -17 years while the average age is 11.5 years.

Of course some cars will get to 400k miles and 20 years, but as the data above confirms MOST do not.

 

[agreywolfe]

Of course some cars will get to 400k miles and 20 years, but as the data above confirms MOST do not

One major thing the left out of those articles is the numbers are heavily weighed down by accidents resulting in total loss. So more than you think can and will make it to 400k and less than you think are result of mechanical failures.

 

[USMC6888]

Im physically challenged

 

[roadpilot]

So more than you think can and will make it to 400k and less than you think are result of mechanical failures.

Theoretically speaking, of course.

I replace most of our vehicles before they reach 100K miles, but on the vehicles that we HAVE kept that long or longer, both needed major transmission work. One is a '14 Malibu that had the trans replaced @ ~80K miles (now has ~135K miles) and the other was a '02 Dodge Ram that needed a trans rebuild and torque convertor replacement at ~60K miles (sold it at ~100K miles).

 

[Q6543]

400K miles???

Go buy a Mack or freight liner….unbelievable.

 

[Interstellar]

Lmao that after 100 replies, nobody has mentioned the ACTUAL S650 difference between auto and manual.
I got the automatic because I wanted Stop & Go with the adaptive cruise control and Active Lane Centering assist.
Both work extremely well. The stop and go usually just hits the gas and brakes for me while in traffic after coming to a stop. If you sit still for too long you just have to press resume on the cruise control.
The active lane centering assist also works pretty well. It follows the lane markers ahead and basically drives the car for you. Sometimes I feel the steering wheel moving before I go to grab it ahead of a curve on the highway for example. I will say, my system does keep me on the right edge of the lane instead of the center which is kind of annoying but I've grown accustomed to it.

It's 2024 and I wanted a car that can drive itself. We have the technology and I don't recommend missing out on it.

 

[Q6543]

I didn’t realize the manuals don’t have that..

I wasn’t remotely prepared for how much I LOVE lane keep assist!!!

when I hop in my other cars I realize..”wow I swerve so much while driving…LKA isn’t perfect, but it’s damn good.

pre collision is amazing too… I was at the drag strip and a guy walked near the front of my car rolling out of a burnout and it brought me to a full stop!

 

[horned-toad]

I got the automatic because I wanted Stop & Go with the adaptive cruise control and Active Lane Centering assist.

I think an Uber Limo subscription is cheaper and you can totally space out and do something productive with the time instead.

and I wanted a car that can drive itself.

The tech does not exist. What you see is a VERY weak and incomplete bit of computer vision which is easily overwhelmed and rendered ineffective. Even Tesla with it's dozens of sensors and whatnot is fatally flawed despite being light years ahead of Ford et. al. offerings.

 

[Interstellar]

I think an Uber Limo subscription is cheaper and you can totally space out and do something productive with the time instead.


The tech does not exist. What you see is a VERY weak and incomplete bit of computer vision which is easily overwhelmed and rendered ineffective. Even Tesla with it's dozens of sensors and whatnot is fatally flawed despite being light years ahead of Ford et. al. offerings.

I expected responses like this. The tech does exist. I've been in full FSD Teslas that took me from my house to the movies and back w/o touching the car more than a handful of times.

I drive the stang to and From work and don't have to deal with anything while in traffic.

Just cause you don't like it doesn't mean you can be willfully ignorant.

 

[horned-toad]

Just cause you don't like it doesn't mean you can be willfully ignorant.

Tesla FSD is a lie. Has been since day one. It routinely kills people.
That it hasn't yet put you in a pine box doesn't mean it's not going to.

Same thing with "AI". It's not "generative" it's "regurgitative" and only SEEMS like it's smart when in reality it's just a random word-fragment picker influenced by statistical proximity.

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