In reply to calteg :
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
I'm Gen X, (1969) as I've said many times before, having been born in the UK I grew up believing that the only reason to own an auto was because you lacked the requisite limbs to operate a manual. That was partly dick swinging ego laughing at silly Americans and old people, and partly because when I grew up a 100 hp car was heady stuff that only rich old farts could afford to insure. Stick an old vacuum/rev/load controlled three speed auto behind an anemic 60-100hp 4 cyl was like crimping the exhaust down to 1/4 in and making the intake a McDonalds straw. They sucked and were truly awful, those auto's really took away from the driving experience.
I started to change my mind when I moved here. First I drove some C4 Corvettes, the early ones with the awful 4+3 Doug Nash and the low power, high torque L98 engine. I discovered the car was better, more controllable, and a hell of a lot more fun to drive with the auto. Next was driving the then new E39 540 which was the first car I drove with a really well calibrated electronic auto. Wow, what a revelation, for a 'non performance' car it was amazing, it did a great job of anticipating what you needed, with the right level of gear holding and also kick down to make it fun to hustle along. Add in the increase from 3 to 4 to 5 to 6, 7, and 8 speeds along with computer control of the torque convertor and in my experience most modern auto's are far superior to manuals. I no longer give a flying monkeys left nut about the joy of shifting. That's great for driving your classic car down the back roads at 5/10ths, but even after that, I'm happy to go back to two pedal driving as soon as I'm in traffic. If you're track driving, then the only thing that matters is lap times, and a third pedal will always be slower than two.
I get it that there are a small, but significant number of people who will always look down on auto's of any type (including DSG and other automated manuals) as inferior and assume ownership = lack of ability and I'm getting really really tired of it. I and many others now prefer auto's from a driving and ownership POV and I can hold my head up high at any GRM meet up and proudly say 'I prefer auto's' The only cars I can possibly see choosing a manual for are a Miata or Frisbee, but I'd sure as heck test drive the auto before making that decision.
I recently got my 2008 Volvo C30 back on the road after it's been sitting for three years. That's a manual (ordered it that way for overseas delivery) and I was interested to see what I thought about going back to a manual. Easy answer, meh, not worth it. It's different, not better or worse, different, and sure as hell a PIA for driving in traffic.
kumbaymotherberkeleyinga and stop looking down on people for not worshiping at the alter of three pedals.