Yes, I can drive a stick.

The military in the 60s ran into this issue, GIs who didn't know how to drive a stick, and pretty much decided to go to automatic transmissions to the extent possible. Vehicles with automatics are a bit more expensive so the up-front cost went up. But maintenance cost went down. In part because automatics can be designed to protect themselves and, come to find out, a lot of those guys who claimed that they knew how to drive a stick really don't know how to do it without smoking the clutch.

Clutches burn out and most vehicles go through at least two or three in their life. Unless you do it yourself replacing the clutch can be the final straw and expense that determines when to give up on a car. Automatics pretty commonly last the life of the vehicle with one or two fluid, filter changes. Often not even that level of maintenance.

In terms of performance it has to be noted that most trucks that are used in all-terrain competitions have automatics because they are much faster going from forward to reverse and save a lot of wear and tear on drivers holding them on a slope. Yes, you can heel-toe the clutch and accelerator and maintain tight control but it is a tense exercise, tends to wear out clutches, and can damage knees.

Another factor in the UK: if you take your driving test in an automatic you are not licensed to drive an manual transmission. So everyone learns in a manual. An automatic-only driving licence is like a second-class one.

I have pretty much no use for automatic transmissions, I've always owned manuals. Shifting gears in 4wd, low range while dodging trees and boulders on the way up a 40 degree incline with huge ruts across it is actually fun for me.

It's always fun before something goes wrong. Having fun if you screw up it is just playing. If your wife and kid was in the back and a delay of an hours to get unstuck is a death sentence your better off with an automatic.

There is also the question of what happens if one of your legs is injured. Especially if it isn't a major emergency. I blew out a knee and had I not had an automatic I would have been stuck. Yes, I know, in a real life and death emergency I could limp along by timing the shifts and hoping the synchronizers hold up making up any differences in the RPMs. Tough on the clutch and transmission. And unless your very familiar with the vehicle and practiced your not going to be smooth enough to make it in traffic. But given a life or death situation hardware and traffic be damned.

As it was with my right knee in a splint I was able to lay it across the passenger seat and drive by sitting catty-corner with my butt against the driver side door and working the accelerator and brake with my left foot. No drama, no extra wear and tear.

i think i have a bum left knee from working a manual during 20 something years of 100 mile a day commutes. i must have pumped that clutch 50 times just clearing the city.

I can drive a manual, pickup or car. In a pickup, I'd much rather have an old TH350 or C6 than a manual. I find manual clutches on decent sized vehicles annoying to my knees.

What I can't do is drive a manual that doesn't have syncros w/o making noises.

My cars have always been automatics, because it's less hassle, safer to let others drive the car, doesn't affect the mileage the way I drive (hard), it's reliable, and makes it easier to eat while driving.

You left out a part of the equation though. Mechanical failure. Which type of transmission is a lot less prone to fail you when you REALLY need it to get you out of a bind? A manual.

An automatic can be built to be almost as strong as a similar manual transmission, but it would require a decent amount of work as well as additional cost.

Out in the woods we put our transmissions through absolute hell. I've seen transfer cases ripped in half, third members ripped out of the axle housing, entire axles ripped out from under rigs. I've snapped 6 axleshafts, probably 20 universal joints, ripped out my rear driveshaft, and a lot of other carnage.

In all that, the factory manual transmission has never let me down other than requiring a throwout bearing once (and it still got me home, just made noise and had to be replaced afterwards). I've seen a lot of guys I ride with have a lot worse luck with automatic transmissions.

I agree that an automatic would be easier if injured. But I'd be trading off capability that I require on an almost daily basis for a possibility that something MIGHT happen. Just not justifiable in my personal case, your mileage may vary.

I think your confusing the issue 2005RedT. Yes, a manual transmission can be stronger than an automatic in absolute terms.



Funny thing is that in an actual emergency any of those listed failures would be the end of it because your going to be hoofing it anyway. If you have time to fix it it isn't an emergency. A transmission that survives such abuse is in a real emergency is fine ... for the people who come along looking for parts to salvage after the emergency is over.

Also whereas a manual transmission proper can be strong and reliable your forgetting the clutch and related mechanisms. Add in the vulnerability of the clutch, throwout bearing and clutch mechanism to that exceptionally strong, bulletproof, manual transmission and your failure rate is still higher than an automatic. I have seen too many clutches stuffed with mud, too many failed hydraulic cylinders and ripped out lines, too many burned clutches and scarred plates to forget to factor them into the reliability of manual transmissions.

Vehicles, like survival itself, is a system. It is the strength of the system, not any particular component, that saves you. Yes, a manual transmission can be stronger than an automatic. But that extra strength is meaningless in the context of getting there because long before your automatic gives up something else will break.

I'm probably split 50/50 in terms of auto/manual driving. Luckily now that I have a much shorter commute, I have more options on what I drive so I can take the 4x4 to work a lot more often, but when I was commuting 100 miles a day, the auto was always the first choice. Just a lot less hassle and easier to drive, especially in traffic.

There are always different strengths for each, but overall if I had to choose one I would probably pick an auto. Yes, I would have to give up the engine braking of the manual while offroading, but the auto offers so many other advantages that it's a small price to pay.




What's ironic is that sometimes these types of damages could have been avoided with an auto. The auto has a fluid coupling, which means you don't get the shock loading that happens in a manual, that results in less stress in other parts of the drive train and therefore less chance of breakages. The trickier the terrain, the more helpful the automatic is. Especially in low traction situtation, the smooth power delivery of the automatic can really be an advantage.

In terms of strength, I personally believe it's a wash. It just depends on how the transmission is designed. Most autos can easily handle more power than the engine can produce with no upgrades. And in terms of longevity, an auto is pretty much a no maintenance item if cared for properly

DuctTapeGuy - I overlook the low traction situations only by accident. My rig gets extremely good traction in everything I've ever put it through with it being locked in the front and welded in the rear. If I wasn't locked or didn't have tires specifically designed for mud and rocks, I could see the automatic being an advantage.

Art - We'll just have to agree to disagree. As much time as I spend on steep inclines and declines, I'll stick with my manual for engine braking and being able to choose my own gear without having to fight the tranny.

And every breakage I've ever had, I've fixed it right there on the spot. A broken U-joint or snapped axle takes less than an hour to fix when you've practiced it a bunch of times. I've never once left my rig or anyone else's in the woods. If it breaks, it's coming out. Even if we have to build a skid and drag it out. I call it my "no rig left behind" policy.