Auto vs Manual

I wanted to bring up this topic for a long time already, but just couldn't bring myself to compose it. But anyhow, here goes.

The reason people drive auto (what I believe) is simply because of its easiness. Yeah, you just press the accelerator and brake and you're off. No need to fumble with the clutch and so on. Just shift down from P to D and you're off. Let the ECU handle the gearshifts.

In terms of excitement, nothing beats pure manual. The only thing that can come close are the fappy paddle shifts. Locally, the Honda City, and the 2.0l Honda Civic has paddle shifts. But do be warned, however, that those cars' transmissions are not pure auto or pure manual. They belong under the continuously variable type. Even the Audi A4 has a similar transmission. Not everyone is a fan of such transmissions, as it is "un-natural". I personally have never driven any of those cars, so I cannot comment much on it. And once I get my hand on one, I will post it out.

Back to the topic. In auto, when you want to accelerate hard, you'll normally press the pedal a little harder so that the gear will kick down one or maybe two steps. That also depends on the made and model of the car. I have driven a few auto cars. And the most boring is the Chevrolet Optra. Don't get me wrong, the car is great. it's just that when I want the power, I have to press the accelerator down. Hard. Metal to metal hard. One of my favorite would be the Proton Waja. But I must say that it can be a tad bit too sensitive. A gentle prod can make the gear shift down, unlike the Optra. But that is where the fun is, power is readily available. And in most auto cars, after flooring the accelerator, the ECU will decide on how many gears will it want to drop, then only it will drop. In manual, you just press the clutch, shift 2 gears down, press the accelerator, let go the clutch and power kicks in. No need stupid fumbly ECUs to help you decide the gear to choose. It's all about being in control. driving an auto will detach soul and car. You can't "feel" the car. Driving a manual, shfting at the right time by hearing is a skill. but the same could not be said the same for an auto, as the ECU is the brain, not you. And, how many sport/super cars do you see has a pure auto? Many of them are manual, or continously variable. Maybe next I will talk about the Proton Savvy's AMT transmission and its variants.