[OFFICIAL] Manual v. Automatic Thread

[Jordo!]

Originally Posted by MJB

I find it funny when 7AT guys always bring up the fact the auto Z is faster than the 6mt. Lol, 2-3 tenths of a second faster to 60 or in the 1/4 is not going to make me jump ship to a slush box, nor do I think it will to other manual drivers. I won't disrespect somebody for buying an auto Z..... however, I can't stand people that have no idea how to drive stick, yet they claim how much better the 7AT is, and how all super cars have autos, and manuals are dated, blah blah blah. And believe it, there are tons of dudes in here that only bought an auto because they don't know how operate a manual gearbox... Of course they won't ever admit to it. People you would least expect. And you'll hear the 3 main excuses over and over. "I have a bad knee, my gf/wife needs to be able to drive it, I live in an area with bumper to bumper traffic."

I don't know how many folks with the 7AT fall into that particular category, but I can tell you what's behind anyone defending the merits of the AT to someone with a MT:

Hardcore MT only enthusiasts openly (and repeatedly) mock the owners of AT's, deride anyone for even contemplating buying an AT, and bash the living hell out of the very concept of an AT sports car.

That understandably puts some people on the defensive...

You can't argue personal preferences or subjective qualia (see further, fans of the FR-S), but you can certainly point to measurable performance metrics or technical improvements as objective facts to be considered in evaluating something (see further, not-fans of the FR-S).

I kind of thought folks were a little more easy going on here about the AT vs MT thing, but maybe not...?

AT vs. MT (at least for the Z) is not like choosing illiteracy over literacy; it's more like taking digital over analog.

I'm guessing everyone will chill out on this issue by and by... Ferrari certainly did (the company, if not the member).

[MJB]

Originally Posted by Jordo!

Hardcore MT only enthusiasts openly (and repeatedly) mock the owners of AT's, deride anyone for even contemplating buying an AT, and bash the living hell out of the very concept of an AT sports car.

That understandably puts some people on the defensive...

You don't have to explain it to me bro, I've seen that in every car forum I've been on for as long as I can remember. Actually, the auto bashing on this forum is a lot more tame compared to others. Spend some time on My350z, or better yet read the Youtube comments whenever a video of an auto sports car is posted. Its rough.