manual or automatic for newbie?

[nemelek]

At one time in my life I swore I would never own an auto. Now I don't think that I will have a stick again.

Just filled up and got 41 mpg around town.

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by nemelek

At one time in my life I swore I would never own an auto. Now I don't think that I will have a stick again.

Yep, same here; and I'm going to teach my kids to drive an automatic first before I introduce them to a manual shift. I want them to be comfortable with navigating a vehicle in traffic, then add the additional process of clutching and shifting gears.

As a matter of fact, my 13-yr-old son has been driving my Jeep Wrangler off-road, and can do so because it is an automatic. He focuses on where he's going, steering and keeping on track, as well as throttle control and braking.

Automatics are becoming more and more common in off-road vehicles, they give better control on tight sections and I can go places that give others with more lift but manual transmissions trouble. Plus, on the road autos are much more relaxing to drive; but can also be as sporting as a manual as you can shift them to a degree.

Cheers! M2