[jabl]

> Driving a manual car isn't about efficiency. It is about driver engagement.

Speak for yourself. I have a manual (actually, I've never driven an automatic, come to think of it), and I couldn't care less about "connectedness with the car". My car is a device that takes me, and sometimes my family, from A to B as safely and conveniently as possible. It's a car, I'm not in a relationship with it.

YMMV.

[PascLeRasc]

Some people really like engagement and fine control in their things. There has to be something in your life, like coffee or operating systems, where you can understand this.

[jabl]

Sure. Just saying that deriving great satisfaction from owning and/or driving cars isn't some universal trait in humans. For many of us, it's just a means to an end.

[1123581321]

Sorry, can you connect what you’re saying for someone who hasn’t driven manual? Are you saying you only drive manual because it’s safer and more convenient? Or that there’s no difference and you happen to drive a manual out of habit?

[andrewaylett]

UK resident here; I've been driving for 20 years and never had the opportunity to drive an automatic.

I suppose I could have gone looking for one when we were buying a new car, but they're not exactly common.

I do enjoy driving a manual car, but I can't honestly say my preference is due to personal experience.

[jabl]

The second. In my country (perhaps I should have said in my previous post that I don't live in the USA) manual transmissions are the norm, although automatics are certainly becoming more popular.

I don't have anything against automatics per se, I can well see myself getting a car having one in the future.