Auto vs. Manual, my own struggle.

[Saving4Celica]

Have a few questions. Please try and answer these questions with an unbias opinion please, this is very import to me.

Ok so the other day I realize all these years I've been into the show screen of imports. I finally admitted to myself the engine work was taking the back seat to looking good (not "looks Fast").

I am about to turn 21 and I've only tried to drive a manual once and when I was done all I could think was, "this is to much effort just to cruise". Now I only drove my mom's boyfriends Mazda truck around for an hour, so many a car is differant?

But then I come back to why I want to get into this. Everytime I see a tasteful car hooked up in town I don't think: "Man whats under his hood?" I think "Damn, nice looking."

I love to cruise, I can fill up my gas tank every friday and just drive tills its empty.

Ok so here is an import question...

Lets say I go ahead with an auto, so I can get the audio work, get the interior work, and get the exterior work, could I eventually put a manual transmission in? I've seen a few people post some successes so I have hopes.

What do you guys think about tastefully done cars (exterior wise) that are automatics? Do you give them respect?

I'm not talking about smack talkers with automatics, just an everyday joe focusing on a show car more than a race car.

Opinions appreciated, thanks in advance. :)

[Vroom_Vroom]

my parents just got me a celica gt auto for a grad gift out of highschool..think about this if you plan on getting all that exterior/interior stuff done and then u want to switch to a manual why not get the manual in the first place??but it is possible to do the switch.you ask what about reliability? thats something your gonna have to find out.. it would be a complete waste of money to get an auto then get a manual in my opinion..why not get it in the first place?..my suggestion to u is to keep driving a manual car and see how you like it..if you think that it "is to much effort" then i suggest you get an automatic..now mind you automatics arent fast and arent as fun as driving a manual car..if you plan on going all show with a gt/gts auto and start adding a sound system and big ass18-19 inch rims etc then your asking to be dog slow..but hey since you want to just cruise it should just be fine for you..cars that look good to me are ok in my book hey if it looks good, great! i give them respect...wheather if its an auto or manual..its all in personal preferance..beauty is in the eyes of the beholder..if you think "nice looking" when you first see a car and dont care about its performance that much then get the auto, just from the post itself it says "auto" all over it..hehe..i do prefer to drive a manual but hey what can you say when its a grad gift? the auto celica gt gets going and its fine for everyday use..hit 3k your moving with traffic hit 4k in no time and your faster than traffic..its just not as fun to drive to the performance enthusiasts mind.i hope this helps..

[nyoneway]

Everytime I see a nice looking (sporty) car... all hooked up, etc.

I look inside and see a auto... I get disappointed...

I can't help it, but I just lose interest and think its all looks.

Unless its a luxury car like a Bimmer or a G35. If the car is meant to perform and I see a auto, it seems to go against what the car was designed for and the owner only wanted the "look" and not the performance.

My friend Paul knows exactly how it feels. He has a Turbo Celica GT and wins top 3 in all the shows. But people come by and be wowed by his big intercooler and then see the auto - "Oh but its only a auto". It's still fast, no doubt... but a auto usually needs to earn its respect IMO.

[00mongoose]

IMO if you are just going to work on looks and do not really care about quick lauchings and all go auto. i drive a gts with the sports shift and it is fun to drive (it is like a stick but no cluch!!). it is slow off the start but will keep up with a lot of other cars.

yes you will get beat by a stick but hey it is still a lot of fun.

[jotan82]

auto is disappointing...

you'll save at least 1k if you get a manual

[Vroom_Vroom]

hey if u get an auto gt you got the best MPG out of the whole group=MORE CRUISING! LOL

NYONEWAY i know what your talking about man..i saw a bad ass looking supra and to my suprise it was an auto :(

[Camry2000]

I thought the GT 5 speeds gets the best mileage?

[WillyK]

Just get the manual to begin with, it's cheaper

[DrunkenTiger]

Originally posted by Camry2000
I thought the GT 5 speeds gets the best mileage?

i think automatic gt gets better milage then 5speed gt by 1 or 2 mpg

[Vroom_Vroom]

yup and i always thought that having a manual would save on gas well for the celica gt-gts i mean..

[The Game]

Like nyoneway, said if I look inside and see its an auto, I quickly lose interest in the car and walk away from it! I dont care if it is Trubocharged!

[chrisle7220]

0-60 the autos lose like .5sec compared to a manual
1/4 mile the auto lose like 1-1.5sec

it depends on you. manuals just take off faster, but since you just want show, a auto will be good enough. dont have to worry bout shifting gears, and you dont have to replace the clutch.

[ishido]

If you truly enjoy driving, you will want a manual car. The only reason to get an automatic is if you want a car to go from a-b, or do other things (smoke, chat on phone, etc...) while driving. You only need to shift when getting up to cruising speed... so it's not as if you're shifting all the time. You will have much more control over your car.

It's not worth dropping major $ for a conversion, just so you can learn to drive stick after all.

[caz]

Originally posted by nyoneway
Everytime I see a nice looking (sporty) car... all hooked up, etc.

I look inside and see a auto... I get disappointed...

:werd:
save the money upfront and buy the manual. once you learn to drive correctly, it just becomes second nature... it's alot more fun to drive. I live in San Antonio, so there's alot of traffic, but even at that I have no regrets in having a manual. but then again, I do not plan on owning an automatic anytime soon... just personal preference I guess.

[HilfigerCelica]

Don't get an auto if you're going to get a Celica.

[Hepnotic]

My dad bought a 2000 GT-S the first month it came out. He got the sports shift, because hes not into racing. He let me take it for a ride. Needless to say, I was like wtf, this accelerates like a normal car!

Then I came up in these forums and read threads just like these and found out how much difference in performance the 6 speed gives.

So when I was ready to buy my celica. Even though I barely knew how to drive stick at all, I still took it. I started in 3rd gear twice during the test drive. Stalled on the way home from the dealership. But after a couple days, I was driving pretty good, and a year later I master that sh*t.

Have some foresight like me, and realize that the gt-s NEEDS a manual.

[Griffin]

Get a manual, but also get a rental with a stick first and get some practice in. Or but a beater for a couple hundred bucks that has a manual and drop it off at teh junkyard when your comfortable you know how to drive it.

Griffin

[h0l0grafik]

OK lets hear from an automatic celica gt driver and owner... me. yes i have an auto, am i proud... HELLLLL NO... my car was a gift from my parents and i begged them to get a manual... despite my efforts... no luck- i had to get an auto because they thought i was going to race :) ...i still do but thats besides the point. I regret everyday and think...DAMNIT i want a manual, because #1 - its slow as HELL.... #2 its not fun having an extra hand all the time just chillin there... #3 if you race u can do it right, and cant peel out #4 its just not a car enthusiast's way... but on the bright side of things, its easy to drive, good in traffic which i hit everyday... and its fine if u just like to cruise. I cruise down PHC all the time when i feel like it, nothing like a sunset on the ocean.... its great.

get a manual or u will regret it everyday u turn that ignition... i dont sometimes cuz i will be moving to LA which sucks ass for traffic!

[t2000gts]

when i see an auto, i'm sometimes disappointed if it's a stock car. if it looks modded, then not really. i see the auto versions of cars as different cars with different characteristics than their manual brethren.

automatic mustang GT = low 14 second car. manual = high 13 second and so on. if i was in a 6-speed GT-S, i'd be looking for the automatic mustang GT guys. and you might think driving an automatic to it's proper time might be easier...it's not. most automatic modded cars run even slower relative to their times than the manual guys do. dats pretty vierd as goldmember would say. i've kept up with automatics that should run 15 second times. even from a stop :wtf: so i like running into automatic IS300s, even though i'll usually lose, it's not a thrashing. and it's always fun running into another kid with an auto GTS. my car runs like crap and i still pull on them harder than some GTS 6-speeds have pulled on me (no, not anyone from here :)).

i actually don't like the idea of an automatic celica that much since it's main performance capability is handling and road racing, but this isn't an NSX (i want to shoot auto NSX owners, i've met a few). it's still a daily driver celica for many, and even if i still want one, i'd still be botherd by the 6-speed. (i'd destroy synchroes if not the entire transmission, and it would suck even more in traffic which i always find myself in).

i just want a 6-speed SMT that shifts quickly :(

[FriedRice]

get a manual... the auto gt is the only automatic celica that should have been offered in the first place. even that.... would be iffy. i drive an auto gt. i regret not having considered a manual. but my mom wanted an auto. at the time, i didnt care what transmission it was, as long as it was a celica. welcome to the mind of a 17 year old... (my age when i got it). i was disappointed at the speed of it when i first got it.

however... i'm pretty satisfied with my car now. it's fast enuff on the highway. it still turns on a dime. it looks killer. it's fine for me. i've given up totally hooking up my car... because to me a hooked up automatic just isnt as prestigious as a manual. i just did some minor exterior stuff (sig) and that's it. my next car, however, will be a manual. i will hook that one up exterior, interior, engine...if u look around....the people with the most mods are manuals.... i think many auto owners just gave up too.....

cliff notes version:
learn to drive manual.... a mazda truck is NOTHING like a sports car. stick gives you more of a connection between man and machine. auto makes the car almost like a toy. IMHO. no flames please. gt-s should have been all manuals


btw- the auto TT supra is better for drag racing.... runs faster times consistently than m/t ones....

[2kcarbonbluegt]

dood. dont get an auto.

[97gpGT]

Stick is more fun to drive, auto is better if you commute to work and get caught in traffic all the time, so if this car is going to be your daily driver, then you might want to consider the auto. Other than that, get a stick. Especially if you're thinking about converting it at a later time, it's just not worth the time and money to get rid of something that you paid an extra $1000 for in the beginning. That's my $.02...

[HilfigerCelica]

I think every auto GTS owner here didn't know too much about cars when we bought ours. Two yrs ago when I bought the Celica, I could barely take off the engine plastic and didn't have a computer so I didn't read any nc.org. MotorTrend never mentioned how much slower the auto is to the manual. I knew I would be a tad slower but not by this much. I so wish I'd had bought a 6speed but what's done is done.

I too have pretty much given up in modding the Celica all out. I think I might get a few things here and there but I'm not going to be buying any wheels, bodykits, turbos or S/C's if they ever come out. When I get out of med school, I plan on saving for a few yrs, then buying something really badass. Don't know if it's going to be Japanese this time, I've been liking the Mustang lately, but we'll see.

Anyways, don't get an auto Celica. If you need to get an auto, get something with torque.

[FreeBird]

The celica is all about driving (and yeah, it looks sweet). If you go for manual you will be learning a new skill and you'll be able to drive so many more cars than you can if you just know auto. I see lots of cool cars that are auto and I like them fine but when you drive stick you are much more "connected" to the car hence you drive more "spiritedly".

I wouldn't personally want to learn manual on a nice new gts, I'd do that on an old pos. But once you learn, you'll never want to drive auto unless you're going for groceries (and even then?). My mom has an auto Protege and every time I take her car out I get all confused, it's too simple. I miss all the shifting and the clutch.

If you go for manual, you won't regret it for a minute ('cept early on when you're learning if you get into a tricky situation). If you resort to auto cause you're familiar with it, you will eventually regret it, I think.

Good luck with your decision.

[rapture]

my uncle got a supra back in 96 brand new and i was like whoa stepped in the car and saw the automatic shifter and i was like.. what a waste of money. i wouldnt even pay 10k to have that car and keep it auto.

[t2000gts]

Originally posted by rapture
my uncle got a supra back in 96 brand new and i was like whoa stepped in the car and saw the automatic shifter and i was like.. what a waste of money. i wouldnt even pay 10k to have that car and keep it auto.

maybe he was one of the guys who cared only about all out performance and drag racing. :rofl: because if you had read the thread earlier, that's one of the best examples where the auto is consistently faster than the manual :wtf:

of course that's cuz it has the exact opposite engine of a celica :)

[RYANGT]

yeah, if your gonna get a celica, get a manual.....the torque is so low that you get NO pull off the line with an auto as compared too a mustang or camaro auto. the only car that I would recommend getting an automatic in is, like everyone has been saying, a Supra TT.....that b*tch is fast!

[FriedRice]

Originally posted by t2000gts


maybe he was one of the guys who cared only about all out performance and drag racing. :rofl: because if you had read the thread earlier, that's one of the best examples where the auto is consistently faster than the manual :wtf:

of course that's cuz it has the exact opposite engine of a celica :)

im confused.... the auto supra IS faster.... maybe im misinterpreting the smilie or something.... are u saying that it isnt?

[The Game]

I woulnt say its faster than the 6-spd Supra, but its times are more consistant! Regardless, I'd take a manual Supra over an auto any day and everyday of the week!

[chrisle7220]

just get whatever makes you happy. i have a celica gt-s 6spd and love it. i really dont care if its an auto or not. im a real easy guy and will drive anything. my parents both have benz's and you know all those are autos, and i gots to tell ya, that driving a benz is a lot better then driving a celica gt-s even though its an auto. the ride is a lot smoother, not to mention you pick up more chicks in it. so whatever u decide to get we celica members will back you up all the way. besides, its still a celica, right???

[t2000gts]

Originally posted by The Game
I woulnt say its faster than the 6-spd Supra, but its times are more consistant! Regardless, I'd take a manual Supra over an auto any day and everyday of the week!

true, a good 6-speed driver can usually tie the auto, sometimes beat it if the stars are aligned. but odds are the auto will turn out the faster times on any given run.

[RYANGT]

nope, I'd definantely take a Supra TT auto over the 6 speed......I drove in one & it's neck snapping and the shifts are so unbeileivably smooth.

[S.Menchavez]

Originally posted by FriedRice
...at the time, i didnt care what transmission it was, as long as it was a celica... however... i'm pretty satisfied with my car now. it's fast enuff on the highway. it still turns on a dime. it looks killer.

btw- the auto TT supra is better for drag racing.... runs faster times consistently than m/t ones....

Preach on, brotha.

I got my Celica with the same thing in mind, that I just wanted a Celica! I don't get dissapointed when I see a fixed up auto, especially when it's show quality and it looks hella good, who can argue with that.

Yes, manual is faster in the Celica and it's like being one with the car and all that stuff. But I was leary of getting a Celica as my first manual car. Even experienced drivers blow engines from misshifting and I would be an inexperienced manual driver. So hey, I don't regret my auto as much because I will NEVER have a mishift problem.

I tormented myself for a while over trading for a manual. But I would get raped on the trade-in and I was like phuck it. My car looks good and it's an awesome daily driver.

Saving4Celica, get what you want and phuck what everyone else thinks. Sometimes I get hated on cause I have an auto, and sometimes I get nothing but props on my Celi. You can't please everyone, so please yourself. And you sound like you want a car more for cruising and aesthetics.

I leave the a$s kicking to the 6-speed GTS's. :D