montreal ponies

Stick for an occasional driver, auto for DD.

nitrous

It is an issue in NYC & vicinity. You can drive for an hour & never get out of 1st or 2nd gear, constantly stopping & going & stopping.... After a year & a half of this, I was sorry I bought a stick. Wished I had gotten a AT. One week later, my car was totaled when a truck hit me. Then I got a automatic.

7up

I'm a SoCal folk, and a couple of my cars have been A/T. Having said that, I noticed I lost a bit of my spirit for driving when I owned them.

I now put up with the traffic and manual transmission. Though as has been mentioned, it's gruesome when you drag along 10 feet, stop, and repeat. But I'm blessed with minimal freeway driving while living in a big city.

I'm not sure if/when I'll ever go back to A/T.

OP: Get the M/T, and then graciously offer the wife a personal lesson in how fun driving a stick can be.

danimal15

Thanks, everyone. Great advice. I'm leaning toward the stick.

ireallycare

QUOTED. FOR. TRUTH.

I think it all depends how you look at it. Will you get an automatic in anticipation of frustrating times in traffic? Or will you get a manual in anticipation of the chances when you can have a hell of a lot of fun? I choose the latter, therefore, I choose the 6speed. By the way, I live in LA. There are canyons all around for some fun times. Right now, I get bored driving an automatic, regardless of bumper-to-bumper traffic or open road.

trane

I haven't always lived in Colorado. I've lived through those kind of rush hours and, yeah, they're frustrating to (literally) sit through. That said, I've never found stop-and-go traffic to make working the clutch problematic. I suppose if you're riding the clutch all the time, sure, your hand or leg will get tired. I've always managed to find ways around that, though, such as getting the vehicle moving and then shifting into neutral to coast down for the next stupidly inevitable stop.

Automagically

This.
Personally anyway.

IT_Guru

All the what should "I" get threads are kind of useless. I can see asking what has better performance, but get what you want to drive. Auto or Stick, V8 or V6, what color, package etc. It's all a matter of personal preference. No ones any better than anyone else just because they have a manual or not.

It's you car and you are paying for, get whatever floats your boat.

Bert

My GT is my daily driver, I went with the manual, and I'm glad I did. You're buying a Mustang because it is fun to drive, right? The stick makes it a LOT more fun to drive than an automatic.

Your wife can learn to drive it too . . . you can be a patient teacher, right?

Or, then again, maybe she doesn't really need to drive the Mustang . . .

jokerstars

If you've been married for any length of your time, your wife should already know how to work a stick if you get what I'm sayin'.

Adam

t-ray

My wife and I both have manual transmission cars. And in less than two years, I will be teaching my son(hopefully) how to drive one.

I never had a problem driving a stick in rush-hour traffic. That is, until I got an overly stiff aftermarket clutch with a lightweight flywheel. In the summer, with the AC, I have *zero* torque at off idle, so it's a real pain in the *** to drive in the summer. But it was fine with the stock clutch/flywheel.

Gene K

Stick with the 3.31 Option.... I have a GT but the new MT82 is so smooootthhh.... I think even a Honda Driver could handle it (Just kidding!).
Just tell her it was your dream car and you really dont want to compromise your dream. But you will be more than willing to teach her to drive it.
Go some where to an abandoned parking lot on a Sunday Afternoon and let her practice starting and stopping and then going up and down through the gears.
Then let her drive streets in a manufacturing district (light traffic on Sundays) and then just progress to more and more demanding situations.
If she gets tired stop for the day..... and never ever lose your temper. Just be patient.

Its my experience the issue with most is that they are afraid they will get overwhelmed in traffic. Letting them get comfortable before the traffic is the trick.

Stangpilot007

Manual

Kevindust

+1

The two valid reasons for a driving enthusiast to buy an automatic in a performance car:
-Physical impairment that prevents driving a manual
-Hardcore bracket racer

lou

Let me tell you a little story.

A little over a year ago I had a Ford Ranger, 5 speed manual. I really enjoyed driving the manual transmission. I have to lend my mother my car daily for certain reasons, she does not like driving a stick. So I offered to get a car I wanted in stick, but got it in auto so she could borrow it. Well it is getting to the point she wont need it anymore. I now have a car I wanted, in a transmission I did not want. I am looking to sell it in the future for a mustang in manual. If you really love it, get what you want, if you don't, you will regret it.

objoe

Convertible with a manual is a great combination.

IMAFORDFAN

My two cents..... Get an auto if the wife doesn't know how to drive stick. Avoid the embarrassment, maintenance (repairs), and real potential for an accident. Though stick IS a lot of fun, and it's nicer to drive than be driven.

UnrealFord

I have a 2010 Mustang convert,, The new 2010s 6 spped autos shift soo nice, You wont be dassapointed

edw794

the trick of driving a manual equipped vehicle or really any car, is the less you step on any pedal, being brake, clutch, or accelerator, the easier it is to drive. nothing fatigues a driver more than constantly having to step on this or that pedal. in stop and go traffic, i use neutral as much as possible and the hand brake. when stopped at a red light, it's neutral again and the hand brake. on the freeway when there is room to cruise, i use the speed control buttons. on top of all this, you really need to pay attention to the traffic and road conditions and know when to back off the gas and also how hard to accelerate if you're just going to have to stop at the red light at the next corner. i'm 63 years old and i'm a retired accident investigator. i have been driving manual equipped cars since i was 15. i learned how to drive a clutch in the city of san francisco where there are lots of hills. as to traffic jams, they are all pretty much the same. though i have been living in southern california for 30 years, a traffic jam is a traffic jam. actually, one of the worst traffic jams i was in was on the freeway in the city of seattle. la's freeway jams are no worst than that.

ed