i own the AT and love it. On this site you will hear nothing but AT hate and that's fine if that's what they feel like doing (even though most of them have not even driven the AT probably). If you need an auto i personally feel the 8 is a great car. Sure it's not super fast, but it feels great to drive and i would recommend it to anyone. Sure if you want more speed go for the MT, however the supercharger is coming out for us soon and will help with that. The car itself is not great on gas, but again, it is a fun car to drive and can be appreciated even if it is an AT. hope this helps a bit

 

I don't think it's "HATE" for the most part. It's just a little hard to understand why one would buy an automatic SPORTS CAR. Anyway, there are reasons for people to buy Auto's.......I personally would never consider it, but that's me. Most of the people with manual(myself included) or more likely(notice I said...more likely) to be SPORTS CAR enthusiasts, motor heads(don't flame me guys), trackers, racers, etc.
I do speak in general terms in the above sentence. The "HATE" shouldn't really be taken literally, we are all RX8 owners and lovers(for the most part). It's somewhat ribbing and somewhat serious..............Don't get your shorts in a knot.

 

like I said in the NE forum....u guys made my life a lot harder now..

 

Streaks,

Proud owner of an 06 AT Touring. $22,995 sounds high for a base Sports model. I paid $23,750 on a list of $32,795+ after dealer price less rebates in November.

Get what you want. The manu-matic lets you shift more agressively if you want.

 

Nothing wron with an AT considering traffic nowadays.

I'm lucky I can own a MT and use my Buick everyday. 140K and still going.

 

You'll be better for it. You'll be cuttin' up those hills shifting through the gears... fun *****.

 

Update: Day 1 - 1 hour lesson

The lessons were taken in a pretty big lot but the lot goes into some other business areas where trucks constantly pull in and out of. The car seemed to be a Hyundai Elantra...not 100% sure since I really can't tell the difference between most Hyundais but regardless...it was fairly new. I think it was an 05-06 if I has to take a guess.

First 30 minutes was mostly just going from Neutral to 1st . Drove around 20 feet, stopped, and started up again. First one stop and go felt good but the 2nd and 3rd turned into mental f-bombs. After about 40 minutes he had me going from 1st to 2nd and into 3rd and then slowing down around turns but keeping the gas going as I made the turn. Upshifting = fun. Downshifting = not fun. On my first turn I had to wait for a truck to pass and I was on a slight hill...5 minutes later I finally got off that slight hill. The smell of a burning clutch wasn't cool at all. I felt like a murderer It was the guys fault...I felt I was doing fine til he said I was doing good for my first time, then I stalled like 4xs in 100 feet doing the Neutral to 1st again.
I think I have a good idea of what to do now, its just a matter of practicing in real traffic. I'm going back tomorrow at 3 for another lesson...what sucks about the school is that its right off one of the busist areas in the town and you need to go up very steep hills to get into the normal part of town.

Oh and my ankle is killing me...felt like I had trouble releasing the clutch all the way at times....


From my NE thread:

Mass confusion just ran through my head....

 

tossing in my input...

The 8 is the first stick car I have owned. my friend let me drive his corolla around a few times before I got it, so I had a general idea, but it still took me a couple months to get used to it. I did have enough knowledge to drive it the 1.5 hour ride home from the dealership where I bought it though

I think you will regret getting the AT if you like driving manual. I bought a 06 G6 before this and while I was determined to get the 6spd, I ended up getting the automatic because it was exactly what I wanted (color/options wise) for a really good price. 3 months later I was looking at trading it in for a 6spd. I loved the car, but since I had my heart set on manual, the at just wasn't cutting it.

If you want the manual, don't settle for the AT.

 

Im stuck in traffic at all times. no problem

 

Just to let you know, I drove my 8 off the dealership's lot having not touched a stickshift in many years (let alone having had any sort of real experience).

My previous car was a 2003 Elantra that was AT, unfortunately -- I got it under my dad's financing, so he had the final say when I wanted the MT all along; anyway... I was on the Elantra forums often, and heard a lot of good things about the tranny in those cars, so I would think you're getting some good experience with those lessons.

I don't ever recall my ankles hurting so much learning on my 8 as maybe my calf and thigh; it could be the way you've positioned yourself in the car... try to be seated as comfortable as possible when you have the clutch all the way pressed in. As far as your downshifts go, I hope you're trying to rev-match as you do it (blip the throttle and engage clutch at where the RPMs should be, whatnot). I have found rev-matching in my 8 to be very easy to do, and this is coming from driving only driving a MT truck sparingly for a few days on my own. I was just as nervous my first month in the car in busy traffic, but that feeling slowly went away as shifting became near second nature. Having an instructor in the car certainly doesn't help the mood. You've already taken the right steps in wanting to learn, so you should follow through; you can do it! The reward is very much justified.

I know the thread is going in the AT vs. MT direction, but one thing I just don't understand is the financial logic behind getting a lease as opposed to financing with a loan. If you have the ability to go with a loan instead, I would strongly consider it.

And to ease your confusion about getting the gear into reverse, you have to press down on the shifter (towards the ground), and push it to the far right (away from you) and down. There is a lock in the gate to keep you from accidentally upshifting from 5th to reverse. This assumes it is a left-hand drive car. I remember I had to actually look that up in the manual when I first got home with the car to get out of the driveway!

 

Well done!

Told ya its fun. Now do it more.

 

+1, Loan is better if you can swing it.

 

If you still want the AT, give him your phone # and tell him you'll pay $21,500. Try and do it all dramatic like as to leave a lasting impression. Maybe say something like, "I'll give you twenty-one five and all these pennies for the 8". He'll likely say "what pennies?" Then you throw a handful of pennies directly at him and say "keep the change, n00b".

I guarantee results.

 

heh, what result do you guarantee?

Oh, to the OP: If you do take saturn's advice, and I'm beginning to think you should, post a video of it.

 

Not true. Not every state has a cooling off period.

 

idk...i bought my '05 manual in November of '04...the sticker price was a bit over 38k and I dropped it to a little below 32k...you could do better probably...be patient...a lot of dealers tried to rip me off before I reached this deal

 

Most states don't, in fact.

To add to the usual ponitless MT vs. AT debate, I had to drive a damn automatic Subaru rental car around the Denver metro area a few weeks ago. I had to deal with some fairly heavy rush hour traffic, and a whole lot of curvy hills up in the Rockies.

All I could think about was how much I wished I was in my MT RX8, with the ability to actually carve those hills up.

 

Don't believe this. Not sure on your state, but here in CO the right to recision is only given on real estate and sale made in the home. You DO NOT have that right at a car dealership.

Just had a friend get burned on this deal. She mentioned it a few times and they never told her she did not. Took a lawyer and a lucky call to the guy that owned the dealership to get them to unwind the deal.

 

You can't argue taste.
I personally prefer a manual just for the fun of it.
While I patiently wait for the sweet local RX-8 deal, I’m cruising around in Cadillac.
It’s reliable & fast enough, but boring..

 

Day 2: The Truck?

They took away my little hyudai car for my training and threw a pickup truck of sorts at me.........I was close to just walking out and demanding my money back but I gave it a chance. Seemed to be a lot more forgiving than the compact car so I rolled with it. WIth the new car came a new instructor....who didnt play around Made me go on the highway right away but first we had to get to the higway...My first red light....stall...stall..third time is supposed to be a charm but stall..4xs til i got it going. Bastard people honking put me under pressure. Shifting through the gears was nice though, had a good feel for that right away. I Just dreaded every red light and just kept hoping it would turn green before the truck stopped. I survived the trip and I think I am ready to drive the car on my own...if they ask me if I wanna test drive it though; I'll have to give them a disclaimer...1st gear will be bumpy but after that I'll be okay.
Looked at some out of state dealers and a lot of them seem to be better priced than the NJ dealerships around me....with our cool 7% tax. Is it worth possibly driving to RI for a car from NJ?