Aren't automatic transmissions kind of lame?

[pabloshep]

I'm looking for a used manual 528iT (specifically, a wagon) and almost all I see out there are automatic transmissions (on coupes as well as wagons). Why would all of you bmw owners out there buy "the ultimate driving machine" and get an automatic??? That is so lame! Am I missing something here??

[kaoru-tochiro]

Originally posted by pabloshep
I'm looking for a used manual 528iT (specifically, a wagon) and almost all I see out there are automatic transmissions (on coupes as well as wagons). Why would all of you bmw owners out there buy "the ultimate driving machine" and get an automatic??? That is so lame! Am I missing something here??

Maybe the automatics are the ones being sold and the manuals are the ones they keep. I have a 5 with manual shift. The 5 is a luxury sedan...a stick shift is not luxurious.

[crayzayjay]

automatics make sense for a lot of people. not everyone has the same driving routine / wants to make a million shifts per day

[brigun]

I have a 2000 528i with tiptronic no complaint's switch to sport mode or go full manual,it's really not an issue.Besides do you want your wife/girlfriend "learning" on this kind of car?Or what if she need's to drive and sez I don't know how to work a manual.One thing I've learned if they don't like somthing they refuse to acknowledge it.

[SkyGTS737]

I drive only in a big city during rush hour, so manual would be very tiring. I owned a manual for the past 5 years and just switched over to automatic and found that it's more relaxing then manual

[brigun]

I drive 40 miles each way,But if I was to go into a Z3-Z4 then sure! but not for everyday driving,I had a Toyota when I was younger and my thigh muscle was rock hard when I got to work.

[allthewayfive]

Lame? Try driving with a drink in one hand, in bumper to bumper traffic with kids in the backseat and your mobile phone's ringing. And you're getting a used station wagon?

[brigun]

My point exactly.I have to make a big swing on to my entrance to highway everyday,it's enough to hold the coffee with my finger.This on ramp deserve full attention it's one of the few properly crowned,and twisty enough to cut the apex hard and blast out on to highway.Having a stick in this situation would be hard.Don't get me wrong though,If I had a Z3 or Z4 it has to be manual.

[1997528iv6190hp]

Depends on who's transmission you're talking about and what you're driving. BMW makes a great steptronic transmission, gear down to low gear and take off like a bat out of hell. Shift up w/o clutching, It's a terrific trans and smooth as silk. When you have the family in the car or you don't feel like doing any shifting just leave it in "D" and go. Further if you're going to buy a 5 series, why the hell would you want a stick? It's a luxury car; HELLO.

[4-Door Flunky]

If you're building a drag racer and getting over 500 horsepower, it's hard to get a manual transmission to hold together.
Having said that, I think a manual transmission changes the way a driver thinks. It makes it easier to feel like part of the car, or feel like the car is part of you.
The 'relaxed' attitude of automatics encourages complacency...which leads to accidents. A driver should be concentrating on driving...not talking on the cell phone, drinking coffee, eating lunch, or making eye contact while yelling at the kids.
Having said that, I will plead guilty to having done all of those things...while totally hauling ass with a five-speed! Rock ON!!
Flunky
PS-Munch, munch, gulp, SHADDDAP BACK THERE!, puff, puff, "Hello?"