• Meowoem@sh.itjust.works
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    10 months ago

    It’s funny manual is the standard here so there’s no ego boost to driving one, people always tell me it’s because we have more corners which has never made any sense (I e. You need to go into second or third at roundabout which I think older autos would have a little lag with or something, certainly not a problem in cars from this century)

    I would love an automatic, i think it would make my driving safer in several ways, for a start not having to focus on gears at key moments like navigating road changes and corners or pulling away in a busy carpark. When I drove in the US it was so nice not having to constantly be doing stuff in traffic that I wasn’t anywhere near as tired which again is a big safety issue

    • funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works
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      10 months ago

      I grew up in the UK, learning on stick, moved to us drive a manual.

      i live in a city, I work in an office, I don’t have any hobbies that require something I can’t lift with two hands (except my piano, but I hardly take that around with me).

      I can’t for the life of me think of a reason why I would need a stick. its so pleasant to be able to drink coffee or water while driving, have an arm out the window, or even just being at rest driving.

      I dont get the appeal.

      • Kleysley@discuss.tchncs.de
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        10 months ago

        Its appealing for people that want driving to be more engaging in contrast to people that want it to be less engaging and more layed back (like you do).

        For me, driving a manual feels more rewarding/tactile, like typing on a mechanical keyboard instead of a touchscreen.

        (And manual cars are usually cheaper to buy and, more importantly, maintain here in Europe)

        • TheHarpyEagle@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Out of curiosity, how far do you drive on an average day, and what’s considered a long drive for you?

          I’m wondering if the popularity of automatics in the US is affected by longer commutes on average, which makes manual driving more exhausting. My personal feeling is, on a 5 hour drive to my parent’s house, I really want to be able to relax and listen to some podcasts without getting too weary to drive, but I’m not sure if it really makes a difference.