[OFFICIAL] Manual v. Automatic Thread

[Rasengan]

Originally Posted by scruffydog

HAHA, I can't believe there's someone as crazy as me out there! Yea, the IS350 doesn't come with an AUTO, that was also another reason I went with an Auto. About the whole letting go of the pedal when shifting! I can't agree more with you, it's just NOT the same. The Lexus IS along with many other cars out there already comes with the option of allowing the drive to shift from either the paddle or the Gearbox (+ / -), but whenever I'm driving an Auto in M-mode, I still find myself immitate myself stepping down on the clutch and pushing the level to left/right and then up/down as if I'm still driving a true Manual car during shifts. Flicking a paddle or pushing up or down in a level just isn't as cool as trying to physically putting a shifter into a gear. Knowing that the shift linkage actually has some kind of mechanical attachment rather than some electronic sensors/switches in the end of the shifter just makes the whole driving experience that much more exciting and entertaining. Also, knowing that you're able to everytime shift into a gear without the Gearbox rejecting your gear shift makes you feel much more satisfying than pushing on paddle, aka, electronic switch that tells the computer when you want ti to shift and there's a possiblity of the computer not wanting to upshift for you until it think it's the best time to shift because you desire to shift upward but your computer is telling you that you could push the engine RPM to a little bit more prior to the upshift. That's just ridiculous...you still have some computer telling you when to shift and how to drive.

By the way, luckily I was able to keep my IS because I convinced my fiance that I could use a REAL sports car, that's 2 door, 2 seater, and with a Manual gearbox. Fortunately, she also loves the IS so I don't have to sell it. Instead I traded her Scion tC and sold it and I'm gonna pick up my 370z sometime the end of this month.

don't get me wrong, the IS350 is a great car...when i moved to the city from the burbs i figured i had enough with shifting gears, sports cars, nice rims (potholes), etc. i settled on the IS350 because it's reliable, had 4 doors and 4 seats (my gf and i have FOUR dogs!), has quite a bit of power, AND it had those nifty shift paddles and the +/- on the shift lever...best of both worlds, right? then i realized it just wasn't the same without the clutch...driving then became boring, the car became a vehicle to get from point A to point B...i no longer took the car out for the sheer enjoyment of driving which i always used to do with my sports cars...for a good 3 years my left leg could never find anything to do and so to save weight i cut it off...no just kidding, i didn't do that

literally though for the past year since the 370s came out i've been having dreams of owning a sports car again and driving for the sheer enjoyment of driving...i knew it was the most impractical thing to do in this economy and living in the city...but the dreams started becoming more frequent and i caved in when i saw pictures of the roadster

it's a good thing you don't have to give up the IS, man...when i was leaving the dealership i could see the IS looking back at me as if i was leaving her because she did something wrong...all i could think of saying was that "it's not you...it's me"