Automatic v Manual?

kinger101

badmemory said:

I've always avoided automatics since an awful lot of years ago my brakes failed going downhill at 70 & the half shaft came out when I was just below 60, so no brakes at all including the handbrake (car less than a year old so not a banger).  Slammed the car into a lower gear & I do mean slammed, slowed then turned off the engine.  How would I have stopped an automatic then & would it be different now.

You can freely change gears in an automatic.

Iceweasel

badmemory said:

I've always avoided automatics since an awful lot of years ago my brakes failed going downhill at 70 & the half shaft came out when I was just below 60, so no brakes at all including the handbrake (car less than a year old so not a banger).  Slammed the car into a lower gear & I do mean slammed, slowed then turned off the engine.  How would I have stopped an automatic then & would it be different now.

Exactly the same procedure - shift to a lower gear
Also all modern cars have a split braking system with a dual master cylinder so it's very difficult to lose all braking.

badmemory

Thanks for the info everyone.  The next question I need to ask myself is if at my age it is a good idea to change the kind of car I am driving.  I have been driving manual for 60 years now & don't need to think about what my hands & feet are doing.  Guess I will need to stick with manual for now.  But give me a year & I could well be ready for the next new challenge.

Grumpy_chap

badmemory said:

Thanks for the info everyone.  The next question I need to ask myself is if at my age it is a good idea to change the kind of car I am driving.  I have been driving manual for 60 years now & don't need to think about what my hands & feet are doing.  Guess I will need to stick with manual for now.  But give me a year & I could well be ready for the next new challenge.

Driving an auto is less to do than driving a manual so not really a challenge.

Iceweasel

Grumpy_chap said:

badmemory said:

Thanks for the info everyone.  The next question I need to ask myself is if at my age it is a good idea to change the kind of car I am driving.  I have been driving manual for 60 years now & don't need to think about what my hands & feet are doing.  Guess I will need to stick with manual for now.  But give me a year & I could well be ready for the next new challenge.

Driving an auto is less to do than driving a manual so not really a challenge.

You are so very wrong if you really think that.

However, if you meant that as a joke,  then ha ha very funny, I like it.

EssexExile

badmemory said:

Thanks for the info everyone.  The next question I need to ask myself is if at my age it is a good idea to change the kind of car I am driving.  I have been driving manual for 60 years now & don't need to think about what my hands & feet are doing.  Guess I will need to stick with manual for now.  But give me a year & I could well be ready for the next new challenge.

It will take you half an hour to get the hang of an automatic. I've been driving both since the 70s and can easily change from one to the other without having to think what my hands and feet are doing.

badmemory

I've a while to think about it as I usually keep one until about 12 & this one is only just over 9.  I may even keep it longer whilst my mechanic friend keeps going.

Alanp

I passed my test in 1980, always driven manual cars up until 2023, wh3n I bough5 my first auto, it is a hybrid Toyota so has the cvt gearbox, I wounever go back to a manual, I find it’s so more relaxing especially in traffic queues, I’ve never driven it in snow, but it does move off slowly in electric mode ( providing the traction battery has enough charge in it), so not sure if it would avoid wheelspin, it also has B mode which slows the car without using the brakes so that might be an advantage in slippery conditions, although I do tend to drive to the conditions, a skill which seems to be disappearing these days..

Bigwheels1111

I had only driven manual cars until 14 years ago. Over a million miles as a mini cab driver
Due to cost of repairs on automatic transmissions and extra price to buy them.

Then I got a Vectra 1.9 auto 150hp diesel 56 plate.
Smoothly shifting through the 6 gears, with lots of power.
A joy to drive.
Now my Peugeot has an EAT6 box, even better, my friends 8 speed is better still.
But I like the Toyota Corolla 2.0l best now.
Drove one from Boston to Blackpool today and back again.
Plenty of power and control. E CVT boxes are a love them or hate them.
Would never go back to a manual.

facade

Iceweasel said:

Grumpy_chap said:

badmemory said:

Thanks for the info everyone.  The next question I need to ask myself is if at my age it is a good idea to change the kind of car I am driving.  I have been driving manual for 60 years now & don't need to think about what my hands & feet are doing.  Guess I will need to stick with manual for now.  But give me a year & I could well be ready for the next new challenge.

Driving an auto is less to do than driving a manual so not really a challenge.

You are so very wrong if you really think that.

However, if you meant that as a joke,  then ha ha very funny, I like it.

I've been driving autos (and manuals) for over 40 years, and there is less to do in an auto- kind of the point of having one!

I just select D and never mess with the gears again until I stop, or have to change direction.

The only time I've ever messed with the gears when going forwards was in my old RangeRover, when I put it in 1 to go down a slope that I wouldn't have tried to walk down myself!

However, driving with two feet has stored dozens of fault codes in my Citroen, as Citroen think it is impossible to press the brake with the accelerator still pressed, so there has to be a fault with the switches in the pedals!

I'm not going to unlearn over 40 years of driving with two feet at my age........