Do You Drive A Stick or Automatic Camaro?

[Dan1028]

Ok, I'll play.

I purchased an automatic for a couple of reasons. Let's get this out of the way first, though, that I do not think either transmission choice has any bearing on your capabilities as a human being, man or woman. The argument is silly. The competitiveness of shifting a transmission can and should ultimately come down to the track, if that is to be any qualitative measurement of skill, whereby two separate drivers can assess their skills with either transmission choice.

Second, the reasons. My wife cannot, and refuses to learn how to, drive a manual transmission. The argument came and went regarding trading in my old car, which was an automatic. I wanted to keep it and get a manual transmission for the Camaro. The deal, however, was that if I were to get a Camaro, we had no need for 3 cars, and she would have to be able to drive it in the event of an emergency. So, with that, I agreed to the auto Camaro.

It's been 11 years since I've driven a manual transmission car, so I'm not really disappointed with my choice. The car has twice as much power as my last car, and when I want to I can always use the paddle-shift function to choose my gears. No, it's not the same as a manual, but it's as close as I need. I just wish the manumatic operated off the shifter itself (push forward to upshift, pull back to downshift) rather than paddle shifting. The paddles are cumbersome in tight cornering maneuvers.

[Ladybugsmom]

Originally Posted by heRS

Driving an automatic makes me feel less manly. But then, so does driving a stick! Oh wait, I'm a chick. I don't have to feel manly or prove I'm not a quart low on testosterone. Guys always go "OH, it's a stick!" as if it is some huge revelation. Car chicks like sticks! If I had to do a lot of city driving, stop and go, I'd prefer an automatic but I don't. I just like driving a manual. As long as I have knees, I'll drive a stick.

I always have guys seem surprised when they see that I drive a stick AND a V8. Whatever....
BTW, Tori, you ARE a quart low on testosterone - I would worry if you weren't!!

[Ladybugsmom]

Originally Posted by Candy_Camaro

We have an auto because the man of the household can't drive a manual very well. THIS girl can handle a manual, I was taught by a cop.

I have a manual because the man of the household can't drive a manual very well... This way he doesn't drive Ladybug! (when he stalled the one we test drove SIX times, I told him no way in hell he was driving my car....)

In my brain, a muscle car is a RED V8 with a manual transmission... so that's what I got!

[CFD]

Where as I've been in the automotive business my whole life, I have driven countless numbers of both auto's and manuals so my decision was based on my personal prefference at this time in life and chose an auto. I am more than happy with it's performance especially with the trans. tune and my tapshifters. Can't get much more fun than this.

[Taser Deployed]

Auto here. The good thing about the Auto LSA's is that there's no cylinder deactivation so it's 8 cylinders all the time. The transmission in this thing is a beast as well and can handle a lot of power.

[CFD]

Originally Posted by Dan1028

Ok, I'll play.

I purchased an automatic for a couple of reasons. Let's get this out of the way first, though, that I do not think either transmission choice has any bearing on your capabilities as a human being, man or woman. The argument is silly. The competitiveness of shifting a transmission can and should ultimately come down to the track, if that is to be any qualitative measurement of skill, whereby two separate drivers can assess their skills with either transmission choice.

Second, the reasons. My wife cannot, and refuses to learn how to, drive a manual transmission. The argument came and went regarding trading in my old car, which was an automatic. I wanted to keep it and get a manual transmission for the Camaro. The deal, however, was that if I were to get a Camaro, we had no need for 3 cars, and she would have to be able to drive it in the event of an emergency. So, with that, I agreed to the auto Camaro.

It's been 11 years since I've driven a manual transmission car, so I'm not really disappointed with my choice. The car has twice as much power as my last car, and when I want to I can always use the paddle-shift function to choose my gears. No, it's not the same as a manual, but it's as close as I need. I just wish the manumatic operated off the shifter itself (push forward to upshift, pull back to downshift) rather than paddle shifting. The paddles are cumbersome in tight cornering maneuvers.

I never cared for the wheel buttons either regardless of the size. The shifter is much better suited for shifting than the steering wheel. There are alternatives such as my tapshifters, you can see them here.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116908

[Mikey193]

i drive stick. do i win the internets?

[shrinkdoc]

Originally Posted by GMTool

Full man here. Unless I make a bad decision in buying a car. Men should make well thought out smart decisions, for themselves. So they can be full men, not less. Is that what this thread is about?

Glad I read this post...now I know...I am a full man!

[gjdavids]

I drive an automatic. I live in a small town where the speed limit is usually 30mph...... I get on the highway and open it up every day, but a manual would drive me crazy here. Plus, no cost added on for clutches and such.

[Nessal]

Originally Posted by camarored97

More than half of america cant drive stick, less of a chance it will get stolen LOL

I heard that 1 out of 10 cars on the road are a manual transmission.

Somehow I doubt that....I think it's closer to 1 out of 30 here in the bay area.


I drive a manual because I prefer it. Stop and go traffic doesn't bother me at the slightest. When you have driven a manual your entire life, shifting isn't a conscious task. It....just...happens...

[Char1ieone]

I drive both. By that what I mean is on my Camaro, I drive manual, and in my Jeep I prefer automatic. I find tha the manual transmission is more enjoyable on the streets in the Camaro than the the automatic. My buddy in our car club had me take care of his automatic Transformer Edition while he was out for a week and didn't want anything to happen to his and since I have a garage, live out in the farms, and have "Private Property: Beyond This Point, I have the right to shoots your ass(es)" signs posted, he figured it would be safe with me hahahaha. Thus having to pick it up from El Paso, TX and drive it home to Las Cruces, NM gave me a 60mi/1hr. test drive of an automatic through the city, interstate, and back roads, and it was just as nice as any other 5th Camaro, but the spark just wasn't there. I really don't know how to explain it, it just wasn;t as fun as a stick shift.

Now with me on driving my automatic Jeep is very useful cause I take that thing out in the mountains and go offroadding in it and trust me, when you're going up some rocks the last you really want to keep running into is messing with the clutch and having to stall out all the time. So both have there pros and cons but for me in the Camaro, stick shift all the way.

[GEEKFREEKSCOTTY]

Originally Posted by ardailsmith

Checkout what Motor Trend said about manual transmissions and the future of sports cars.

Thanks for posting that.. it was an interesting roundtable discussion.

[GEEKFREEKSCOTTY]

I personally think that neither Camaro transmission is "better" than the other as a generic "blanket" statement.

And, I don't wish to engage in a debate with someone who thinks that "X type" transmission is better than "Y type" transmission in ALL scenarios.

I will concede that one type might be more preferable than the other type in a particular situation (drag, drifting, generic driving, snow/ice, etc).

Everyone has their own reasons for choosing the transmission type that they did and there is nothing wrong with that. It is not a reason to put someone else down for their choice. If you honestly feel better about yourself for putting someone else down, I'd suggest getting some professional counseling to help you with your self-esteem issues.

I chose an auto transmission because of the versatility I feel I have with it. Now that I changed out the TAPSHIFT buttons for ACTUAL paddles, I feel that I have increased that versatility.

When the wife and I were shopping around for Camaros and choosing options, the one sticking point of contention we had, was whether to get a manual or auto transmission. I originally wanted a manual, her an automatic.

She did some research and pointed out to me the auto's paddle shift option. That's what sold me on it. I have the option to put it into manual mode, I have the option to put it into drive and take it easy in stop and go traffic (my knee/hip/leg thanks me for it). Put it into sport auto mode, I concentrate on launch/throttle control, and let the computer control the shift points.

As much as I do enjoy the versatility of the Auto transmission, I wish that it came with the "real" LS3 engine, vs the modified one called "L99".. But, much easier to convert an L99 to an LS3 than it is to convert the manual to an automatic.

[GEEKFREEKSCOTTY]

Originally Posted by Char1ieone

I drive both. By that what I mean is on my Camaro, I drive manual, and in my Jeep I prefer automatic. I find tha the manual transmission is more enjoyable on the streets in the Camaro than the the automatic. My buddy in our car club had me take care of his automatic Transformer Edition while he was out for a week and didn't want anything to happen to his and since I have a garage, live out in the farms, and have "Private Property: Beyond This Point, I have the right to shoots your ass(es)" signs posted, he figured it would be safe with me hahahaha. Thus having to pick it up from El Paso, TX and drive it home to Las Cruces, NM gave me a 60mi/1hr. test drive of an automatic through the city, interstate, and back roads, and it was just as nice as any other 5th Camaro, but the spark just wasn't there. I really don't know how to explain it, it just wasn;t as fun as a stick shift.

Now with me on driving my automatic Jeep is very useful cause I take that thing out in the mountains and go offroadding in it and trust me, when you're going up some rocks the last you really want to keep running into is messing with the clutch and having to stall out all the time. So both have there pros and cons but for me in the Camaro, stick shift all the way.

WTF is it with the correlation between Jeeps and Camaros??????

lol.. it's uncanny how many people I know or know of, that either has traded a Jeep in on their Camaro (me), traded the Camaro in on a Jeep, or have both (also me).