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Originally Posted by Max
There's much more to a car than that for me
1: Manual Transmission
This is a subject I talk about ad nauseam, but I really feel that it is that important. There is no advantage to an automatic transmission, unless you are a New York taxi cab driver. No matter what you are looking for whether it be fuel economy, power, or torque, a manual transmission will just get the job done better. Finally it is just easier to drive if you ask me.
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And therefore all F1, NASCAR and other class racing cars have purely manual transmissions, right?
Sorry Max, your view about automatics is simply outdated. Modern automatic transmissions can actually help reducing fuel consumption (depending on the driver's habits), and help getting the power efficiently onto the streets. Go to a car dealer of your choice and ask for a test drive with a modern automatic. You might get the surprise of your life.
What IS a point, though, is the feeling of control. With a manual transmission you are in the power of the gear shift. The car doesn't do anything about it for itself. That is mostly psychological, I think, as there are so many assistance systems in modern cars already, that you don't simply drive on your own anymore - which is a good thing, because they reduce the number and fatalities of crashes.
Max, you simply don't like automatics and prefer to drive manual transmissions. That's ok and your decision. Just don't try to preach others into it with invalid arguments, please.
When I was deciding on what I wanted to have in my (now crashed) new car 6 years ago, I did a test drive with an automatic. I was impressed with the speed of changing and how easily it moved the car.
I decided against it because I had to carefully watch the speedometer with that and at that time the fuel economic still wasn't as good as it is now,. Also I like the feeling to be in control of what my car does, too. There were a couple of moments where I regretted that choice, though.
In my current car, bought 2 1/2 years ago, it was just a matter of costs. If I had a few more bugs available at that time, I would have had an automatic transmission built into it.
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2: Fuel Economy
No matter how much anyone wants me to, I will never see a purpose in owning a hummer. Yes, it gets you from point A to point B, but it costs you a lot of money, and it is a car that makes you a (can't use my favorite word here because too many of them will get offended.)
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That is a point with growing importance. I doubt Rob is using his Veyron for every-day-drives but uses his more economic Mercedes for that.