Auto vs. Manual Transmission......

I drove a manual for many years. I have driven an automatic for several more. I have never hit another person or another vehicle. My race car had an automatic and ran 7s @ 175. You probably think manuals are faster. I bet you drive a worn out Pete with lights everywhere.

 

Your screen name is very accurate.

 

Nobody cares about the fastest shifting race car.

The fact is, you follow too close and you idle your truck for three miles to cheat your Elog.

Your comments tell us all we need to know.

By all means, drive what's best for you. Autos make you safer by allowing you to keep your left foot braced on the floor in your panic stops. I also hear they allow a certain type of driver to concentrate on their surroundings better and keep both hands on the wheel. Good call on choosing a company with automatics.

 

I idled my truck one night in a very remote area with nil traffic, but some feebleminded jump to conclusions. I also stated the panic stop I had was due to a truck with no brake lights. If I had been too close I might have hit him, but I keep a cushion. And yes, I certainly prefer two hands on the wheel. The fact is most every company out there is going to automatics, but you keep going cowboy with your old broke down POS.

 

All those who criticize automatics or automated trans, the 97 (he'll be 98 Labor Day) yr old man in the nursing home with my father would say you're not a real truck driver either. When he started driving, there was no power steering, no a/c, he drove a triple stick not that sissy single stick you have, he didn't have air ride suspension or air ride seat and his sleeper was 28" wide, until 1975 he only had an AM radio that sort of worked, and he only had a 19 ch CB. Technology has evolved, so has trucking, get used to it. He started driving trucks in the Army in 1938 and professionally in 1950. They forced him to retired in 1995.

 

That's a pretty ugly assumption that people are idiots if they drive an automatic. I drove a 10 speed for years. Big deal. I love the automatic. Many that thought they would hate them actually find they like them, especially in traffic. I don't see what the fuss is.

 

I’m sorry but this [bolded] statement makes no sense and is just false on many levels. How you can attribute automatic class 8’s to only being used to attract new and inexperienced drivers is beyond my ability to understand, especially given the recent advancements the past few years that make them hard to dismiss from a cost savings standpoint in midsize and larger fleets. They outperform our prior crappy 10 speeds hands down, in any metric used.