Interesting, again car's don't drive themselves, but to drive a manual how it's supposed to be driven deserves much more credit than pressing your foot down and holding on

say it isn't true?

 

Dude whateva! Why banter back and forth about something as stupid as this. Stuff on this forum can go on for days just the same stuff rehashed in every post.
Go throw some mouse in your hair and go hang out with the Jersey Shore gang.

 

Easy baby, it's not that serious. lol
You seem pretty aggressive and overly sensitive, bad day?

 

(Carefully wading into the waters here, LOL). I agree with you fdjizm. If a driver has the skill to win with a manual transmission, they should get credit. But not everyone is out to prove their shifting skill. I've been there, done that, no big deal to me anymore. I bought my 2011 GT auto so I could enjoy it in both daily rush-hour traffic and pleasure driving. Unlike Ford's older 5-speed auto or the very dated 4-speed AOD of years back, the new 6-speed automatic has the technology and gearing to win me over from the manual transmission I had in my 2010 GT. But, if shifting floats your boat, go for it ...I sure won't give a hard time to anyone who prefers to stir a stick and pump a pedal all day while they drive in rush-hour and regular traffic.

I can imagine there were conversations similar to the one we're having on automatic transmissions back when the electric starter first appeared on cars (no, I'm not that old, LOL). Before electric starters, it took a real man to start a car, not some wimpy spaghetti-armed guy or woman (j/k). I can just imagine guys back then who had the newfangled electric starter technology were probably given a hard time by those who were proud of how good they were at cranking their engines.

Read this latest article from Bloomberg on Ferrari's thoughts about the manual transmission:

Yet I recently sat in Ferrari’s headquarters in Italy and was told, unequivocally, that the new 458 Italia would never see a manual transmission attached to its screaming V-8. The technology was too slow and outdated, the representative said.

That would be a sad day when we no longer have a choice of manual or automatic. But Ferrari's comments do add support to what some of us automatic guys have been saying about car performance. And doesn't the performance of a car also mean something?

 

It's amazing threads like this even exist. This is my first American car.. I hope this isn't what I have to look forward to.

 

Agreed, but it's not an American vs foreign car issue (see the 370z forum, for example). This subject has been debated for years. While manual transmissions haven't changed much over the years, the automatic transmission has changed a lot and every time it does, the debate seems to be reenergized.

The nice thing about forums is that we can pick the threads we're interested in and if this one doesn't interest you, feel free to skip to the next one.

Congrats on getting your first American car!!

 

It's weird.. ever since I ordered the Mustang, I've been reading all the camero, challenger and mustang forums... not much love going around. I was just impressed with an American car that finally looked good and had some numbers... I've never been a fan of the Mustang until one came up on my butt a few months ago.. I started reading, and dang, they were coming out with a brand new one! If it had still had the 2010 specs I wouldn't have bitten though... hopefully it works out. I really want to give an American car a chance. I'll never consider myself a "Ford" guy, or whatever... I just liked the looks and feel of this new one. Wow! I'm still getting used to the muscle car politics and the such. It's pretty funny... kinda like the BMW and Audi guys... I just like a good car though!

 

Eye of the beholder. I honestly don't see the correlation. I miss my auto more than I'll miss this manual that's for sure. Then again my auto was as far from stock as you can get .

 

I am a Ford man through and through. I bleed Ford blue. If I had an extra $90k to spend, I would have a GT500, Camaro SS and Challenger SRT8 in my driveway. Just because. There I said it...

 

Guys do not know how these threads get so out of wack. All i said is before you trash the auto in the '11 GT please turn off the TC and Advancetrac. This was not a comparison of auto and manuel so i do not know how it always ends up this way. It was to show people how to get better performance out of the auto. Period!

 

You really need to relax, I was surprised by your last reply personally insulting me for no reason, is that what you do when people disagree with you on something? get a thicker skin bro and have a chill pill it's not that serious, really.

 

I agree with you about the rush hour traffic it's a pain lol, a well setup auto will almost always be faster than a manual, but for me it's getting the full effect of a muscle/pony car, the downshifting the upshifting the burbling and popping on deceleration the feeling of the direct connection with the engine in the car, pretty awesome. These new automatics are set up nice though very much improved over the past ones

Hopefully they don't start to get rid of the manuals, but a nice tap shift would be cool for me. props to you sir, I wasn't even getting serious about this debate till this "kid" (I say kid, because adults don't just start calling names when they disagree) came at me sideways talking about jersey shore or something

 

Dude i was just busting your chops. Seen you were from Jersey thought maybe you hung with the Jersey Shore kids. Maybe see your Mustang on MTV. If you see my posts i bust chops all the time. Nothing personal you and me we been here long time we are TMS brothers.
My post had nothing to do with auto vs manuel just saying turn off the **** TC!

 

Glad you two made up

Not many threads on autos, which is why I think it gets a little off topic. Good imfo. though.
My wifes old 91 LX 5.0 5 speed w/ a 373 was a blast to drive. However, I went with an auto. The dang thing has so much power! Had I ordered the the V-6 I probably would have gone with a stick.
A stick is fun, but like a wife or G/F - They get to be a P.I.T.A. after awhile.

 

 

It has been interesting reading all of these comments. The one thought I had at the start of this is why wouldn't the TC impact the manuals as well? I know my previous one (a '99 manual) would exhibit similar lags in wet or snowy conditions. I am assuming / hoping there has been a big advancement in TC since then, like the sport mode and faster processors.

Any real world experience from manual owners of 2011's? (If there are any out there.)

 

It is MANUAL. If you want to row MANUEL'S stick, then this is the WRONG site for you.

 

What's wrong with Manuel? He's a very nice young man.

And FWIW, we both drive stick. Wouldn't have it any other way.

 

I have stayed out of this section because I own a well modified 2005 automatic trans car with 3000 stall PI TC and soon to have 4:10 gears. Been driving this car for over 5 years and never...never missed a WOT shift in any gear.

 

Thank you. I've always believed folks can argue without making it personal. And when two gentlemen can't come to an agreement, then I always respect the other guy's opinion, agree to disagree, and move on. I really dislike beating dead horses.

I find the auto vs manual subject an interesting one because, as I said before in another post, the automatic transmission has evolved so much over the years. Six speeds, computer controlled, different shifting styles. And already other manufacturers have 7-speed autos and they are talking about 8-speed autos. So, clearly the future is bright for automatic transmissions and performance.

I do hope there will always be a manual/real clutch option though and I commend Ford and others who still offer it. If my 2011 Mustang GT 5.0 was a weekend car, it would definitely be a manual ...no matter if it was slower than an auto or not. It's definitely a lot of fun, just as you described.