Why do people buy automatics?

[fortwuntee]

Why do people buy automatics? I personally think they are useless. They use more gas and they are just all around boring to drive. Not ripping on anybody just looking for input.

[spin156]

For any towing purposes, automatics are recommended.

[jeprox]

for some people who do a lot of city driving or live in an area with congested traffic - auto is the way to go.
if you ever get stuck in a stop-n-go type of traffic for 2+ hrs. driving a stick, then you would want to buy an auto as well.

[unklekraker]

i agree with jeprox....2+hrs of traffic. some people buy it for their insanity like me

[coquelicot]

Because some people, like me, never learn how to drive sticks. I don't mind "boring" drives; I have enough adventurous drives on I-40 that I don't need the "thrill" of adding stick driving to it.

Frankly, I'm glad that automatics are as common as they are, given the popularity of cell phones. If one hand is holding the cell phone up to the ear, and another one is shifting gear, how is the person steering? lol

I agree with some of the others as well. DH had a manual-transmission truck when he first moved here. Two months of sitting in Nashville rush-hour traffic was enough for him to trade it in and get an auto-tranny vehicle.

As long as you drive sensibly, auto-tranny cars don't use up that much more gas than manual ones. I try to speed up and slow down gradually and rarely go over the speed limit on the interstate, much to the chagrin of the NASCAR wannabe drivers around here.

[echo7]

because automatic cars is less insurance than manual...?

[echo7]

Originally Posted by fortwuntee

Why do people buy automatics? I personally think they are useless. They use more gas and they are just all around boring to drive. Not ripping on anybody just looking for input.

the fuel consumption between autos and manual are very minimal.. and if automatics are useless then your logically saying there are a lot of idiots in north america.. and only a few are geniuses like you..

I drive manual and automatic.. and its just a matter or preference, convenience and comfortability..

[bluenose2]

4 out of the last 6 vehicles I've owned were manual transmission. My Matrix is an automatic - my choice. I like the convenience of not having to shift gears manually when driving in town. It's amazing how quickly your clutch foot learns it's not needed!

Regards

[fingerprints87]

I drove an automatic until I got my Matrix...No one ever taught me how to drive one so the first time I ever drove a stick was when I drove mine off the lot...Now I don't know what I would do if I had an automatic my left leg wouldn't know what to do with itself...It's just a preferance thing I suppose...Sometimes I wish I had an automatic again just having to sit in taffic and the constant stop and go stop and go...But I love my 6-speed...

[Razo-E]

cause they feel like it..?

[Frank@toronto]

...because we are not in a hurry...

[jnixon]

I love driving a stick, but since I do a lot of city driving, it's far too frustrating to deal with. Automatic for city driving FTW.

[qreus george]

Automatics were made as a convenience option and to satisfy a greater population of the driving public. Virtually every dealer will offer an auto at an upgrade price of $1,000 - $1,500. WIth automatics, the car has become more mainstream b/c it makes it easier to operate for the average person, who might not be an enthusiast or as well coordinated as some.

Just like power windows, it was originally an option and enough people wanted them for their convenience, even though they had to pay extra for them. Now they're found as standard equipment on virtually all new cars.

[ycart1201]

when i bought my trix... i chose an auto... mainly because we were expecting our first child... so i figured it would be easier to deal with the kid in the back (handing bottles to her while driving, etc) if it was an auto... hindsight being 20/20... i dont think it really made any difference and a stick would have made the car more fun to drive... lol

Nathan
ycart1201

[Epsilon]

Sometimes picking an automatic is the only option. For instance, the '07 Camry V6 is only offered with an auto transmission. I don't know about you, but I rather have a 6-speed auto with a 3.5L V6 with 268hp/248tq engine than a 5-speed manual 2.4L I4 158hp/161tq. On the other hand, if they offered a 6-speed manual transmission for the 6th gen Camry, I would gladly take that over the 6-speed automatic transmission.