[ErnestedCode]

I'm American and I learned to drive in a stick shift. My first 13 years of driving was with a stick. But it got to a point where it was just too difficult to find a stick version of the cars I wanted to get, so now I drive automatics.

I get the reason why some people insist driving sticks. You feel more "in tune" and "in control" with your car. But for the vast majority, this is completely unnecessary. Most people just want to get from point A to point B in one piece. For these people, feeling more in control of your car is as unnecessary as feeling more in control of a hand-cranked window over a power window.

Eventually we'll all be in self-driving cars and this whole debate will seem silly and trivial. "Automatics" will eventually include automatic turning and automatic braking and all things automatic.

[munchbunny]

I would love to drive a manual, but I think automatics are just better "UX" for city commuting, especially if you often need to inch forward.

[atomical]

Many newer cars have brake assist and other safety features that make the experience much more "automatic."