Ordering Automatic or Manual ??

Originally posted by ACRX8
Ordering Automatic or Manual ??

Uh... This one is a no brainer to most people. :D

Well I'm in the 6.9% minority for practical reasons.

It's gonna be a city driver and my parents are incapable of manual driving... and its hard for me to complain since it's a damn nice car for a 17 year old.

Since I'm most likely going to get the Auto - do you think your parents can buy me one?

:D

LOL i'll be sure to ask. I really ought to have worded that differently since it won't technically be "my car." If it was it wouldn't be the auto, for one thing.

An automatic RX-8 is blasphemy, so I ordered the manual.

Rob

I'm pretty much in the same situation as laferle (I'm even 17 too!), so I'll be one of the three people who will buy the Automatic RX-8. :cool:

Age is not an excuse for an automatic. I learned on a manual (and I'm only 21 so it wasn't back in the stone age or anything). Once you learn to drive a manual you'll never go back to an auto unless you need to tow something or drive in traffic every morning and evening.

ESPECIALLY for a sports car. Rippin through those gears will feel great; So much more control over the car.

-Plus, you get 40 extra horsepower as an incentive??

No brainer is right!
-I'm sad that they even make an auto, but I guess it'll help sales to the manually challenged.

I'll take the 6 speed please.

Originally posted by Digisan
An automatic RX-8 is blasphemy, so I ordered the manual.


My thoughts exactly. :D

Not to besmerch (sp?) anyone getting an auto... but isn't the fun in gettina a sports car supposed to be the manual shifting?!?

If you get the auto it's still and 8. Have fun with it. I think the 8 should not have come in an auto period. But that's just me.

Unless you need to ... drive in traffic every morning and evening

Precisely.... This will be a daily driver, and manuals are no fun in traffic. It will never see a track, and rarely see a twisty road that's not infested with cops. And insofar as one's age; it has everything to do with it! Since I'm not the one forking over the $30K for it I need to make some concessions, and, quite simply, my parents are unable and willing to learn to drive a manual.

Once you learn to drive a manual you'll never go back to an auto unless you need to tow something or drive in traffic every morning and evening.

Um, I do drive in traffic every morning and every evening - but, I'm still getting a manual. It's much more enjoyable (even in traffic). AND - my wife hates driving a stick, so I'll be the only one driving this car (BONUS)!

I second that! "My wife can't drive stick":D :D
She pissed that I am not getting the auto!

Originally posted by ACRX8
I second that! "My wife can't drive stick":D :D
She pissed that I am not getting the auto! My wife didn't want me to buy the car, so we divorced!!!! (Obviously this was just one final example of how the _____ was suffocating me.) She moved out Saturday!!!!!! What did it matter to her? She had only driven my car two or three times in the entire 8 years we were together.

I like the idea of the paddle shifter ... and I tend to enjoy eatting a late night snack of fast food while driving

Side note: Puppy1, sorry to hear about your situation ... If I had to make the same choice between a Navigator or an RX-8, I'd be doing the same thing

unless you need to ... drive in traffic every morning and evening.

i'm probably one of the few psychotics that love to drive stick in traffic. i just like shifting...it is so fun. :) maybe it's because i've been driving an auto 85 civic my whole life.

and I tend to enjoy eatting a late night snack of fast food while driving


how dare you eat in your rx8 :D

I thought it was kinda funny reading about all you guys whose wives can't drive a stick- my HUSBAND couldn't drive one! I learned on one, and then drove one all through high school, and for a while, there were a lot of fun cars I could drive that he couldn't. Of course, that excuse doesn't work any more- because the dummy went out and bought his last car with a manual, had a friend test drive it and then drive him home in it, and then dragged me out to teach him how to drive it. So now we'll be fighting over the RX-8.

If my wife called me "the dummy" I would slap her with a divorce so fast it would make her head spin. :D

:p

I didn't call him anything I don't already call him to his face :)

the 40 extra hp is a huge incentive...
but i think that everyone should learn how to drive manual, especially cuz it's not half as hard as people make it out to be. It's actually quite simple, it'll take less than a week for most people to learn it, just getting the car moving at first is the only problem. i learned from my brother how to drive manual from my brother and the next day i was already driving on the streets with relative ease. you just have to concentrate and try to learn it, and i'm sure it will make driving a lot more fun too. I was 17 when i learned how to drive manual and my brother was 21 when he learned it, so age shouldn't really matter... he picked it up quick too, so i think it's just a matter of concentration for that first few days.

Has to be a manual for any sports car to enable rev play.

However, I can understand city folk stuck in constant traffic opting for auto. If you can put up with pedal ache it does have value being manual.

rael.

Elara, you should never have let your husband buy that stick. You could've had the RX-8 all to yourself!

I think it's cool that you enjoy driving manuals. That does open up the possibilities (like, say, an RX-8 6SPD M/T).

My wife KNOWS how to drive a stick, she just doesn't like to. No argument here!

Elara:

Some women I know drive a manual, or at least have driven mostly manual transmission cars. I'm glad you chose one also!

I think not wanting to buy the M.T. version just because a person doesn't want to learn to drive a stick is kind of a poor excuse. I could see how some would want the auto. even if they can drive a stick, if they tend to get stuck in traffic all the time.

With that said, I'll be stuck in such situations with the 6-speed at times, and I'll like it, dammit!

I only have one car and its a manual and I drive through LA traffic in the morning and night. I don't see any problems. Besides it helps improve my shifting.

And I save at least 4 more miles to the gallon.

I also drive in hard core traffic everyday with a manual. I don't even notice because the shifting is so subconscious.

Get a headset for your cell phone and you're set.

My wife prefers a manual, as do I - we haven't owned an auto at all except for a brief stint with an SVX that we got from her dad (and which was only made in auto too).

In really hard core bumper to bumper traffic, an auto is nice, but I prefer a stick for moderately heavily congested 5-30mph traffic. It makes things more entertaining, and if you're anticipating, you can barely touch your brakes and modulate most of your speed via the gas pedal and engine braking.

IMHO, there's nothing wrong with an automatic if the car was built from the ground up to be an automatic, like most SUVs and luxury cars.

If the 4 speed with paddle shifters had the full 250hp, I would have probably gotten it.

My Lexus SC300 (with manual) was in the Lexus shop for a weekend awhile back. My loaner was a silver IS300. Man, it is fun to drive with two hands on the wheel at all times. Having to downshift and switch lanes at the same time is definitely trickier with only one hand on the wheel but is a snap for all the paddle shifters and button pushers out there.

I must have put a 1000 miles of wear on that car that weekend. Now my Lexus dealer only offers RX300's for loaners. :(

-Mr. Wigggles

yeah I like driving with both hands sometimes. But I'm used to driving with only one hand.

but is a snap for all the paddle shifters and button pushers out there.

<------------ Ok, you keep pushing those puttons or paddles or switches or whatever. I'll take a clutch for my left foot and a 6 speed shifter for my right hand anyday. If I ever want to use paddles or buttons I'll go to the arcade.

-Not to be mean, but the feeling of having such controll over the car can't be matched by paddles or levers, I think many will agree. I'll eat my lunch at home, and do my driving on the road.:cool:

;) hehe hhehe.............try driving stick eating a burger and talking on the phone. Never gonna do that again. I'll just stick to smoking a cigarette talking on the phone and shifting...now thats much much easier:p

oops:o forgot to type J/k for the second part. Anyways I don't do that anymore. last time I did all that I ended up with a hole on my pants. And I didn't even know about it till I got out of the car. ehehehe:D

I find that the automatics that have "shifter" buttons, paddles or sticks shift way to slow.


You just can't feel that "bite" that you feel with clutch and a manual stick.


I've never driven an SMG. Has anyone here driven an SMG? (MR2, M3 or 360 Modena)

doesn't it defeat the purpose of driving stick using shifter buttons and automatic shifting stick(whatever its called). whats the point like ohhno15 said

-Not to be mean, but the feeling of having such controll over the car can't be matched by paddles or levers, I think many will agree. I'll eat my lunch at home, and do my driving on the road.

Also its not like driving sucks up all your energy. I mean all you do is sit on your butts. :p

For me I try to stay as active as possible whenever I'm awake.
Don't want to end up fat and having a heart attack while driving. If I'm gonna die I want my rx-8 buried with me.
:D

Originally posted by ohhno15
...Not to be mean, but the feeling of having such controll over the car can't be matched by paddles or levers, I think many will agree... Some of that lack of "feel" is probably due to the fact that it's still an automatic. And once more and more "SMG" type trannies become available, different trannies with different programs will have very different feels.

(to everyone) The next time you get the chance to try out some of those paddle-shifted autos, try left-foot braking. That in combination with keeping both hands on the wheel at all times makes a significant difference in the feedback and control of a car when you are hustling it through some corners and twisties.

---jps

You have to pay more attention to your car and driving while using a manual. This makes you think about what you are suppose to be doing, and that is paying attention to the road. Automatics make it much easier for you to just day dream and not really pay that much attention. Which isn't the best thing.
I for one, am a manual driver.

Manual 4 Sure!:D

I learned to drive manual on my dads car so manual it is! Besides he wont get an automatic at all for his next car.

Gotta be kiddin. Manual only . . . pleeeeease.

manual is the only way to go.
________
COLORADO DISPENSARY (http://colorado.dispensaries.org/)

It's a pity that there are so many haters at this forum :eek:

I guess that some people aren't dignified enough to respect the choices of others. If anyone wants a manual RX-8, that's fine by me, but don't go around telling others what they can or can't buy.

Age has nothing to do with choosing a manual or automatic transmission. Yes, I'm the other 17 y/o guy who posted in this thread, and my daily driver is an Integra GS-R 5MT.

The reason I'm buying an automatic RX-8 is because of the immense freeway traffic that I have to deal with where I live (Los Angeles), and the fact that I want a relatively affordable, well-engineered sport-sedan with a touch of unique character that my entire family can enjoy.

I wonder if there are stats on manual collisions vs automatics. I'm sure Autos would be larger as a whole but what about on a ratio of cars that exist on the road.

Manual keeps you in tune with what is going on, even if you can shift in your sleep.

I learned BRIEFLY on a manual but mostly drove an auto until I was 21 then I bought my car with a manual and had to "re-learn". Now I can drive it without any problems, so much more control even in traffic not a big deal, I just keep a larger gap and engine break etc.

I, for a while, contemplated getting the Auto, partly for cost, partle for convienience, partly for the gimmick of having paddles. I've gotten speeding tickets at 40MPH where I live, so its not like I'll be driving that quick anyways. Don't get me wrong, I've never had an auto (except my dodge durango, which i don't drive much), but when I mentioned to my wife that i was thinking of getting the auto, she just looked at me with this "Not if you know what's good for you" look! She also has always driven stick, and she loves the days I drive the Durango, cuz she can race around my zx2 all over town... and for some odd reason, she seems to get out of all her speeding tickets... :confused:

I wil get auto on the mazdaspeed rx8 is going to be 280 auto with the manual shifting on the steering wheel like the rx evol. 2005!!!!!!!!!!