[BEYOND DQN] Someone else's comment from some site nobody knows [PASTE] [PART 2!] (999)

332 Name: (*゚ー゚) : 1993-09-8123 22:47

Automatics also rob 30-40 horsepower from your engine due to the fact that it always has to have an oil pump running in order to activate the various solenoids and keep the automatic transmission fluid flowing & lubricating the moving parts. Standard transmissions don't need this because the lubricating oil just sits in the bottom of the gear box and is splashed around / lubricated by the moving gears, which results in pretty much no HP being robbed by the tranny.
True, automatic transmissions have gotten more efficient over the years, but they're also complicated to diagnose due to the fact that there's more sensors & wiring that help run the transmission smoothly. When these fail, it takes a fair amount of time to access these, diagnose these and then determine if the failure is either a hydraulic or electronic issue (or both). This means lots of $$ to the customer when an issue comes up. That alone would make me steer clear from an automatic.
Now, what I've stated above are facts but the following is just my opinion that I believe to be generally true: When you're driving a stick shift car, you pay more attention to the whole driving experience. Whenever someone pulls out in front of me, then drives under the speed limit, I assume they're driving an automatic tranny because all they do is press the gas and by magic, the car just goes. Meanwhile, I'm downshifting and pressing my brakes, pissed off that this person just disrupted the flow of traffic. I generally believe if this same person was driving a stick, they wouldn't make such an inconsiderate move, since they're more in tune with the car and would probably get annoyed if someone did the same thing they just did to me.
Also, I always hear from my friends "oh, stick's fine, but I don't like it in city traffic" - I tend to think this is a statement that is more of a popular regurgitation of an excuse than an honest opinion. I learned to drive on an automatic and then learned to drive stick in my 20s and have been exclusively driving stick ever since....in the city. Both my girlfriend and I drive stick in the city daily and never once have I wanted to revert back to a sluggish automatic. In fact, I'd rather drive an inflamed standard tranny off a steep cliff than be putting around town in an automatic feeling like the biggest puss in the world.

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