What are the disadvantages of the automatic?? The wife has just had shoulder surgery so the stick shift is not happening…I have seen the 0-60 to be faster in the auto..talking to real time users you get the best advise.

 

Well it is a personal preference. However: Rowing that 4000# boat though trafic on a daily basis can get old very, very quick.

 

Stick transfers a larger % of the flywheel horse power to the wheels. The automatic uses some energy to run itself. The automatic needs to be cooled while the stick does not. Heat is never free. I would say in the right hands the stick will be faster but these new automatic are better for the novice most of us are.

My standard reply to this question is, if you have to ask you should get an automatic. Stick shifts are like convertible there is a time they are very cool to own. Then there is the time its a pain in the butt. To own one you really need to love them. Many people regret buying a stick. I own 3 stick shift and 2 convertibles. The only way I would buy anything not stick is if I knew a family member would be borrowing it.

 

yep... I agree with Gorn, there's currently 4 sticks in our fleet and there all the fun cars, the dd's and such are all automatics.

 

i absolutely love the stick....i had never had a manual car before so at first i had to get used to it but i don't think i will ever get tired of the stick. it's a lot of fun!

but it does depend on the traffic in your neck of the woods...i live in new mexico and although albuquerque experiences a little taste of traffic it's nothing compared to what you might see in big cities like los angeles, denver, new york, etc... and i could see where it might get annoying.

 

Wow, really???? Should have added a "so to speak" there.

But seriously, the only automatic I have purchased was the 99 Durango. And I was even thinking about converting it to a 5 or 6 speed. When we were replacing that (when gas was $4) my wife ended up getting the Kia, and the only "option" she had to have was a 5 speed.

 

in my opinion, i would go with Stick, i have a 78 camaro and it is my 1st manual car, but i love it, i feel like i am almost one with the car, but then you have traffic driving and all of that hassel, but i like the power gain i get when i drop it a gear when my auto-cars seemed to lag when doing that. personally, i say a muscle car needs a stick shift, but if your wife just got surgery, i hear the SS package has a real responsive auto tranny that shouldnt give you any problems

 

all of our cars stick except 1. even our audi a4 (2000) is a stick. the surbruban is auto. I would never buy an auto sports car. waste of money and fun

 

As far as the 2010 Camaro, the SS automatic has the L99 engine, rated at 400 hp, with variable displacement for gas mileage, and the SS manual has the LS3, rated at 426 hp.

Either way, you're not giving up that much. The manual only gets 1 mpg worse on the highway, according to the EPA ratings, and you would be giving up 26 hp. It's your call~

My cars are all automatics, but I'd be happy to drive a manual. I just care more about getting a good car than I do about getting one with a stick in it.