While the popularity of manual transmissions is in decline due to the high-tech computerization technologies gracing many new automatic transmission vehicles, there are still several solid reasons for opting for stick shift when you purchase a new car. Cheap insurance quotes and warranties are available for both modes, but for serious cost-cutting and automotive control, manuals are still a very legitimate choice this year. Here’s why:
Cars with manual transmission are less expensive. While it’s not true across the board, you can usually expect to pay several thousand less for stick shifts on original purchase. Additionally, you will spend less on the warranty and ultimately you will probably pay less on repairs. Solid, cost-effective manuals from 2011 include the Nissan Ultima, Honda Accord, and Toyota Camry. Volkswagen automatics tend to run a bit cheaper.
Manual transmissions have better fuel economy. Car manufacturers have caught up on this in the last few years, with automatic cars sporting much more fuel efficient engines. Computerized shift and throttle control and torque converter lockup technologies are making some automatics just as fuel efficient as manuals. But most manual transmissions still edge out automatics on fuel economy. Automatic drivers often waste gas on forcing gear changes on the open road and usually pay less attention to the demands of their engine in heavy traffic zones.
You have more control on acceleration. In other words, you’re actually driving, rather than being a passive passenger in a high-speed metal contraption. The most obvious instance in which this becomes a factor is when you have to accelerate from zero to forty and merge into high speed traffic. While you may lose time on the first gear shift, you will have already gotten to where you need to be because of the immediate surge most manual transmissions afford you.
You’re less likely to be distracted. Many drivers of automatic transmission vehicles like the ease of not driving a stick shift, but what this usually means is that it’s easier for them to space out at the wheel. Meanwhile, drivers working a stick shift are more likely to be aware of their car and therefore more likely to be aware of road conditions and other drivers on the road. Also, drivers of manual transmissions are far less likely to talk on handheld cellular devices, since their left and right hands are occupied by the steering wheel and stick respectively.
Manual transmissions are already endangered species in the car world and they will likely go extinct for all intents and purposes within the next two decades. But in the short term, it’s still a great time to take advantage of the financial and automotive benefits of driving manual transmission.
January 2, 2012
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