Does any other auto tranny Yaris owner regret not getting the MT?

[Connoisseur_of_fine_cars]

Originally Posted by MadMax

Enjoy your primitive clutching and manual gear changes, guys; I predict in ten years you're gonna be hard pressed to find cars with them!

I'm going to disagree. I think stick shift will make a come back. The reason is government imposed fuel efficiency of 54.5 MPG. Cars are going to get smaller and smaller. Cars are also going to get weaker and weaker engines, in order to meet gov't standard. A 54 MPG Yaris is going to be pretty dawn slow. For very underpowered cars, the difference in feel and performance can be huge.

Also, the bad economy today is not going to get much better anytime soon. People are going to demand cheaper cars with less accessories. Less power options, smaller rims, no ABS, less airbags, manual transmission, etc.

[daf62757]

Originally Posted by Connoisseur_of_fine_cars

I'm going to disagree. I think stick shift will make a come back. The reason is government imposed fuel efficiency of 54.5 MPG. Cars are going to get smaller and smaller. Cars are also going to get weaker and weaker engines, in order to meet gov't standard. A 54 MPG Yaris is going to be pretty dawn slow. For very underpowered cars, the difference in feel and performance can be huge.

Also, the bad economy today is not going to get much better anytime soon. People are going to demand cheaper cars with less accessories. Less power options, smaller rims, no ABS, less airbags, manual transmission, etc.

I would disagree with your assessment that they are going to make a comeback. As the ATs start coming out with 6 or more speeds, the fuel efficiency of having an auto will be about the same if not better. Then, the standardization of the manufactures will make make the manual transmission a museum item. You could make the same comparison to front wheel drive. Back in 1980, very few cars had front wheel drive. Today, you are hard pressed to find a car (not truck) that doesn't have FWD. At some point when technology and economy of size meet in the middle, the manual transmission will be remembered much like the buggie whip.

[krolos]

Owned other cars and pickups with Auto trans and I can tell you Yaris auto
performs very well, responsive when you need to merge in trafic and such and
does very well in hill and mountain country.