areaseven

Yeah, paddle shifters are no fun at all.

05GT-O.C.D.

Better stops in winter weather - yes. With the manual you not only have the abilty to downshift like in the auto, but more importantly you have the ability to feather the clutch - that's where the advantage is. Same for cornering, you can downshift going into a corner, but use the clutch to control how much the compression slows the vehicle, then immediately launch out of the turn in the same gear.

No one should be knocking anyone. Each has it's own advantages and disadvantages. Nothing's more convenient than the auto, but the stick provides you with more of a connection to the car.

STUNG

I learned to drive on an automatic but have gone through 3 manual sports cars and will never go back! For anything other then a family vactioner or a busines car, you should have a manual shifter. The manual shifter just gives you more control over the car. Just be sure to learn how to shift the car smoothly, so you don't make your occupants sick. I have ridden with a few people that made me sick. Learn to make the car shift like a auto and you'll make the clutch last a lifetime. I had a manual MR2 turbo, civic, and have also driven the Mustang GT 5-speed. The clutch is a little heavier then most other vehicles out there, but how many cars have you driven that have a manual shifter and a V-8? It only took me about a minute to get past that while I was test driving, then I was feeling the power. There truely is nothing like shifting into 2 or 3rd and feeling the power. Auto's are the same as driving a go cart and I might as well have a crown vic because every 8 cylinder engine out there has an auto. When you get a mustang, it's about power, control and show'em who's boss. The Auto may be able to show'em who's boss, but the manual has the control and allows you to feel the power. Be sure to master the 1sr gear start also, this is the only dis-advantage to manuals. One last thing, the mustang (unfortunately) is not about handling. So, without a manual shifter, what is there to do? Hit the gas and focus on the "big car handling" or shift and feel the power knowing the turn is coming up and you can down shift faster then the auto trans?

jimh90sc

I've done that!!!(I hate to admit it!!)

BuzzyStang05

Though I have heard some people say they talk on their cell phone with a manual...scary.

grrr428

I've had a lot of stick shifts: 65 Corvair, 72 Pinto, 82 Capri 5.0 HO, 86 Taurus MT-5 (you've gotta be really dedicated to want one of those!), 64 Falcon sprint convertible, 90 Mustang 5.0 convertible, 94 SHO.

In the last few years, while I still like a stick....a good automatic is hard to beat. And the new Mustang GT has a GREAT 5 speed automatic...it's no "slush-box" like Ford's previous AODs. The shifts are smooth when needed and positively firm when needed. It feels more like the great old C6 behind my 428CJ.
They are just as fast as the manual. Times are more consistent. You don't have to downshift to pass...that's why they are called "automatic" it down shifts for you instantly.....just plant your right foot!!!!!!!! Gone!

I like the dual personality of an auto GT. I know I'm saving on tires already! I tend to go from gear to gear as quickly as possible in a manual. I tend to be more relaxed with an automatic. But I can (and do) "play" with the automatic....you don't need a separate gate to shift manually (+ -) it works quite well inline.

Do I miss a stick? Sometimes. But with a proper V8, compared to a high winding 4 or V6 where you HAVE to have a stick, I prefer a "good" automatic. If we were talking about Miatas I'd never get an automatic. Even the SHO, a fairly large car, but with 7000+ red line it wanted/needed a MTX.

In a Mew Mustang GT (or V6) you can't go wrong with either!

grrr428

LOL my old Real Estate Broker did that! An older Mustang GT convertible/5 speed. He'd be talking, pause, down shifting in a turn, power out...continue talking and didn't miss a beat. It helped that he went to Bob Bonderaunt racing school ;-)

Budders

Well i'm convinced on the 5 speed, i just have to convince him

thanks guys for all your insight i can't give you much... so here is a bunny with a pancake on its head

y22kc

I actually was going to go with an automatic at first. My dad convinced me to go manual after a while. I've owned 8 vehicles counting the stang, only my 1st car (1981 Mercury Capri) has been an automatic.

ben05

My dad said the exact same thing so I bought mine in automatic. Although I love driving my car, I'd have to say, if I could go back in time my pony'd have a manual.

STUNG

....When I was commenting on how a manual shifter can downshift in a turn faster then an auto, I was commenting on the time it takes for the auto to "realize" after you have "planted your foot" that you want to downshift and not just hit the gas just a little. If you have a manual shifter, you control the downshift and when it happens, not a hydrolic gear system that is made to keep highway cruisers happy. Common sense says the auto will be faster at shifting once it realizes what you want, but most manufacturers gear the auto down so people will want the manuals. In the case of this new mustang: the 0-60 times are more consistant with the auto. Despite this, I still would not get an auto. If you know how to shift a manual right, then there is more fun to be had with the manual. Even taking turns, as I discussed before is half the fun if you can't downshift yourself when you hit the apex. I had an auto '73 mach1. Biggest waste of a 351CJ I ever had. I bought it an restored it, but once that was done and it was one 2nd place in a nation mustang club of america show, the only fun I had in it was it's looks and its highway power. I ALWAYS wanted to convert it to manual, but it's very difficult to change auto to manual. Stick with the manual. Unless you experience stop and go traffic everyday coming AND going, and don't care to have fun on the weekends when you don't...go with the manual.

WERKED 66

also to add something...if you have your seat positioned correctly...it is so comfortable...you will not get tired at all...that is a major factor..as well..

dustindu4

I think your dad is a girly man

Budders

he's not a girly man, for him a manual would not be fun because he is in traffic a lot, he has to be on the phone a lot while he is driving, and he drives almost all day from jobsite to jobsite, so for hime it would not be logical or fun, and probably not safe due to his constant phone calls. But i am never in traffic, i don't talk on the phone and drive, so it's right for me and many of you, but not for him at least until he sells his company and retires!

wilsonchristian

Forgot to mention. Stick is cheaper. Always, except when there are 3 options (5M, 5A, 6M). An auto tranny in most cars costs about $1000, and this includes auto-only cars too.

-C

WERKED 66

or course they would charge you...you think they are going to give you a break because they only offer that model in auto..heck noooo..they in the bussiness of making money..not losing it..

grrr428

Does anyone have the production breakdown of manual vs automatic on the 05 Mustang? V6 and GT....I'm curious as to the percentages.
This site will be skewed toward manuals I would guess.

Plus I think people who prefer manuals are more vocal about it than automatic owners, most of them just don't care. Generally automatics equipped vehicles are around 75% in the US.

Ugly Ernie

I'll probably draw "Flame " for this but---my wife wanted an auto & I flat said NO! I've got to admit I am a little dissapointed with this stick. The throttle response is so slow I can't seem to shift it without scratching gears. She does fine but she shifts it slower than Grandma!

wilsonchristian

Is everybody's dad (of those of us still young enough to listen to the old goat's advice) a complete lamo when it comes to sports cars?

What in the heck is wrong with a stick, man? Waaay safer than stop and go pedals.

Or is it the "been there done that/I know all the answers son" attitude??? Hahahah...My dad even had his buddies in the auto industry telling me to get an auto. Toyota employees. What the heck do they know?

-C

yur1279

besides color, the decision between auto and manual was the hardest for me. I finally settled on a auto based on traffic here and the fact that I have 0 experience w/a manuel.

I do say this though, if I lived in a less populated area it woudl be no questions asked manual. In the end though its all upon your choice. If you don't mind shifting in traffic go for it.