You missed the whole point of my very first post. As have many others. Edit: Which may be a reflection on my writing skill, or just that saying "sticks are better because ..." leads to immediate, but incorrect, assumptions by the readers.

My post is about self-driving cars and why stick and clutch pedal should be considered just as important as steering wheel and brake pedal. If you'd prefer a self-driving Jeep because it is faster/safer/smarter, please feel free to make your arguments. But for auto versus stick, there are plenty of other threads on this tedious subject.

 

I don't think anybody on here has thrashed anyone else that drives an auto. But I also disagree that Average Joe driving along in his auto, yapping on his phone has a deeper connection to the vehicle that he is driving. Or that it is "bull" that shifting gears manually doesn't put one more in tune with theirs. It's not meant to be an insult. But for some reason it's taken that way. And I don't understand the burden of shifting in traffic either. Unless it interferes with the phone yapping. (Not talking about an 18 wheeler. This is the JK Forum)

 

Elon Musk has an answer for you. In a car that's faster 0-60 than a Vette.

CNET: Tesla Model S will get self-driving feature in 3 months. http://google.com/newsstand/s/CBIw3Zjm_CA

 

I think with your original topics, not how the thread got steered, is this has been going on for a while.

Things like blind spot mirrors, self braking cars and self parking cars (all currently available) are they don't require the driver to be as focused on driving their vehicle. With this you will get lower quality drivers over time as people learning to drive have these features doing the work for them and they not learning the valuable lessons of looking over your shoulder before changing lanes and checking if there is no one behind you before you reverse out. These items do immediately reduce driving incidents, but long term these features will require more features to prevent the distracted from causing accidents.
In USA the driving tests are insanely easy. if you have driven in other European countries it is immediately obvious the drivers are better, more aware of other cars and IMO more courteous to how the person behind them wants to drive. IMO I think one way to better fix the problem long term is by making the driver license tests harder and take longer time. I sure that is not a popular idea, but I look at the UK and Germany and their drivers. Germany is 18hr long test that a lot of people don't pass their first time, it does make for good drivers but is probably a bit over the top. UK is closer to the US for its requirements and could be a little harder, but does produce more aware drivers.

 

Oh and BTW, you can see the blind spot mirror little yellow light go on when you are passing someone or in that "no-zone". I used to have street motorcycles and often I would not see that little yellow light go on when I was passing someone. This was when they were first being introduced and I am sure they are better now then they were initially, but if someone is relying on that light to tell them if it is safe or not they may not realize there is a bike right there.

 

Hmm, not what I meant, but that's on me for a cruddy muse about automatics versus the ability to intelligently shift a manual trans given the driver's view of the road ahead..

I should have also added I drove a BMW i3 a few weeks ago. A guy showed up with one at a friend's BBQ, so I was asking about it. He let me drive it. There are some neat things about it, but it's so different from anything I've ever driven that it doesn't really feel like a car. It's more of a transportation pod that doesn't make a lot of noise, and like a golf cart, it slows to a stop when you let off the gas. Unreal. Everything is so softened, so controlled, that there's almost zero connection with the road at all. Sad, really.

If this is the future of the automobile, with or without the ability to self-drive (which it pretty much does-- it can already park itself), count me out / don't sign me up / get off my lawn!!!!

 

Power steering and power brakes took away my feeling for being in touch with the vehicle.

 

What I love is the guys who take the manual side of the debate and then push the button to make their automatic windows go down.

 

If you enjoy driving a manual, that's great. If you prefer an automatic, that's awesome too. I used to drive a stick before I trashed the knee on my clutch leg, and now I drive an auto.

That being said, claiming that you drive a stick because an automatic is moving you too far into a future where all cars will drive themselves, insulating you from the experience, and is sapping your driving skills is just silly. I'm pretty sure you didn't swap out your transmission for one without synchronizers or replace your clutch with a non-hydraulic version. Although it's possible, I also doubt you've disabled your ABS system, removed the rev-limiter, eliminated your brake booster, and did away with your power steering - all of which have made it easier to safely and efficiently operate and enjoy the modern motor vehicle (and don't forget TCS and SCS).

Enjoy your manual - I'm going to do the same with my automatic, and I don't feel like I'm missing out on the driving experience or that my skills are somehow inferior to anyone else's because of my choice of transmission.

We're all part of the same family, and I think we're all pretty cool (well, most of us )


(Now, don't get me started on those lame 2-door JKs!)

 

You had me right up until the 2 door part...lol