Are we becoming an A/T country?

[MAXBUWAYA]

Have you notice that car manufacturers are bringing more and more A/T in our country? Like Mazda and Fortuner are all in A/T (well mazda is semi a/t hehehe) And most top of the hi end brand are only available in A/T like civic 2.0 altis 1.8 ano pa ba?

People I know whos age are 20 to late thirty still prefer Manual. For reasons that it has more power and more durable and fuel efficient.

It may not be a big slice of the market but I know more people still prefer M/T

So what do you think guys?

What do you want

M/T or A/T?

[mbt]

without a doubt, A/T is becoming more prevalent. and it's because the manufacturers (and probably, some people) think that an M/T is cheap on a high-end car

[pixelparadigm]

Personally I still prefer M/T over A/T. It's just not that fun to just press on the pedal and let some computer or mechanism teach you where the power is. But I'll be happier if I had a sequential gearbox still on an H pattern with minimal clutch takeoff resistance, or a semi-automatic. And I'm no F1 wannabe... so I kinda hate the idea of paddle shifters.

Reliability too is also the reason why i'm still sticking my mind to M/T. Although I drive one ancient vehicle (90's car naman), there are times that I was very fortunate that its a manual. Minsan bimigay yung baterya ng kotse namin, buti na lang pwede itulak at iyon nai-start ulit at naidrive sa pinakamalapit na car battery shop.

[badkuk]

i kinda enjoy manual shifting, feeling ko ang galing kong magdrive(feeling lang). but then again my knees are relatively healthy pa. hassle kasi sobra if you have, say, arthritis, tapos you're stuck in traffic on an M/T ride.

[yebo]

it's because of the traffic dudes! mas madali mag-drive ng a/t kesa m/t sa traffic. green light na, shift ka sa first gear then nagrerelease ka pa lang ng clutch mo nasingitan ka na ng naka-a/t! once you've driven an a/t and nagustuhan mo kung paano kadali sumingit sa mga "sloooooow-reaction-must-be-an-old-lady driving" m/t cars you will change your attitude towards an a/t. and it's less tiring to boot.

more durable ang m/t? naaaah! a/t change atf ka lang, m/t dami wear and tear like clutch disk, pressure plate, tranny... if you maintain your a/t right it will outlast an m/t. naka-overhaul ka na ng m/t tranny and 4 na palit ng clutch disk and pressure plate umaandar pa din ang a/t na correctly maintained. of course the expenses even out in the end kasi it is more expensive to overhaul an a/t. bigla nga lang ang gastos unlike the m/t tranny pakonti-konti gastos sa overhaul and palit ng clutch parts.

more power? kaya nga nilagyan ng more powerful engine to compensate. and not everybody drives at near the red line all the time anyway so who cares if we don't get G forces pushing from our leather seat covers. besides modern a/t like cvt have very minimal power loss and may even be better than an m/t. even modern conventional hydromatic a/t have efficiencies comparable to m/t.

technology has caught up dudes, need to change the way the brain thinks!

[mbt]

all true, but you'll trade convenience for driving involvement with an A/T.

ako, A/T for the city car, M/T for the weekend toy hehehe

[Sheep]

im all for m/t but just thinkin' about the stop n go stituation in the southsuper -crawlway and the traffic makes me think twice...if i would be able to get another car in the near future i wouldnt think twice on getting a car with a/t after all whats a few more bucks for fuel if in exchange of a more stress free and relaxed driving

[66bunny]

Yebo, about to type the exact sentiment you've posted. Right on.

I work in Makati so A/T is a must.

[Bogeyman]

I'm more at home with an M/T; I love the security of being in control, not to mention that there's a certain discipline to driving with a stick shift. And since it gives my left foot and right hand something to do, mas focused ako on my driving, as I should be. An A/T is nice, but I don't want to enjoy behind the wheel too much to the point that I'm no longer alert. And I'm not comfortable with the notion of letting the car think and decide for me. After all, I am the driver. I should be telling the car what to do, not the other way around.

Besides, I don't have any problems with my "clutch" leg. Mas nangangawit pa nga yung right leg ko kaka-shift from gas to brake and vice-versa.

[squala]

It's true that many Pinoys switch to automatics because, as yebo said, of too much traffic. Even so, there are still many others who want to shift gears themselves. Shame that many manufacturers no longer offer manuals in their top models. True, the extra ability brought by larger engine options (Altis 1.8G, Civic and 3 2.0) may be useful, but it's quite obvious that they'll perform even better with a stick. Manufacturers no longer tend to cater to what consumers here really want.