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[grendel]

dont forget that the automatic has a lower low gear and more power pulling away - which is why they make a good towing unit for caravans.
Grendel

[derekwarner]

Despite what Henry Ford thought.....if God wanted us to drive manual cars he would have given us 3 legs ........  ..

Opps......I hope the Moderators will not object to the reference of a religious nature as I would not like to be sent to the bad boys room 

So rethinking ...if our devine maker/mother nature ......he/she......etc etc  ... Derek

[html]

Thing is about auto' boxes, they probably react very well to an input but a decent driver will already be in the right gear by virtue of seeing a potential situation and being prepared for it.


In an over taking situation for example, you assess the space and speed required for the manoeuvre, select the gear in preparation and when the times right accelerate and go. In full auto mode you see the same space, hit kick down, wait for it and possibly crap your pants....


Formula 1 cars aren't full auto's, don't think NASCAR racers are either....must be a good reason for it?

I never do anything in my pants as I know the car will react quickly enough in any situation I get in, and that includes the morons who want to try and get in your boot

[NFMike]

Thing is about auto' boxes, they probably react very well to an input but a decent driver will already be in the right gear by virtue of seeing a potential situation and being prepared for it.

In an over taking situation for example, you assess the space and speed required for the manoeuvre, select the gear in preparation and when the times right accelerate and go. In full auto mode you see the same space, hit kick down, wait for it and possibly crap your pants....

Well, actually, no. You use this thing called planning or anticipation. You see where the opportunity is going to arise and you floor the pedal half a second before it arrives.

Formula 1 cars aren't full auto's, don't think NASCAR racers are either....must be a good reason for it?

But a lot of drag racers (especially ET) use automatics 




There are couple of other factors involved though. One is the torque curve of the engine. Peaky engines aren't a good match for a BorgWarner type box with torque converter. You need good torque low down because you can't really rev the engine when stationary.
Secondly, torque converters actually operate as a CVT at low speeds and after changing up (typically about 2:1 reducing to 1:1). This means that they sound much more leisurely when accelerating which can make a driver used to a manual think the car isn't doing much. Perception. (This is also why in the past it was normal for automatics to have one less gear than the manual car - the torque converter spreads the gears. That's still true but in the arms race of car sales the numbers thrown at ignorant buyers are more important, and there are now 8 speed autos in some cars.

[Colin Bishop]

All this may be very true but I still prefer a stick to change gear when I want to!

It's all about being in control, I feel better that way even if it is not be the most efficient method. No doubt our US/Canadian friends would take a different view. Each to his own!

Anyway, it looks like driverless cars are coming so you can just do the crossword instead. I rather suspect that our generation will be the last to enjoy driving as it was meant to be.

Colin

[sparkey]

  Driverless cars that must be worse than the the wife's driving,I suppose it depends on how they programme the computer get it wrong and you get a boy racer on speed or an old lady in a Morris Minor,just hope you can override it and take control,I wonder how it affects the drink driving laws will you still be charged with D/D or just with drunk in charge? insurance problems too,seem a can of worms to me,Ray.     

[irishcarguy]

Don't leave your car parked in gear , why, because if it is hit when parked in gear serious damage could accrue to the gears inside the transmission. Don't leave your car with the hand brake on if it is below freezing. On a steep hill if you are parking downhill turn front wheels into kerb. Up hill do the opposite, if it is very steep do be careful that the car you just passed at the bottom of the hill that looked so like yours & looking a bit the worse for wear is not yours after all. Mick.

[Martin (Admin)]

.... because if it is hit when parked in gear serious damage could accrue to the gears inside the transmission.

..... it's already seriously damaged!    

[grendel]

my choice is a manual for normal driving, but if I had to drive into London or in very heavy traffic I would want an automatic.
Grendel

[NFMike]

It's all about being in control

Very British.
Thinking about it, in many or most modern cars the clutch and stick-shift are often the ONLY part you do actually have direct control over. Everything else is either controlled via or largely by systems that can largely remove you from the equation.

Anyway, it looks like driverless cars are coming so you can just do the crossword instead. I rather suspect that our generation will be the last to enjoy driving as it was meant to be.

Emissions regulations, blanketing large parts of open roads with 50 mph limits and sheer weight of traffic are pushing it to the point where not having to actually drive may be better than doing so 

[NFMike]

I wonder how it affects the drink driving laws will you still be charged with D/D or just with drunk in charge? insurance problems too,seem a can of worms to me,Ray.

They will have to change the law to allow driverless vehicles on public roads, so presumably some of these issues will be addressed at the same time (not that I'd be very surprised if they weren't).

Insurance wise, a driverless car will have extensive detection equipment and probably recording of the data, so there is likely to be a lot of evidence of what happened in an incident. So sorting out blame and insurance may actually become much simpler.
What will be interesting is a collision between two driverless cars ...