[andygee]

Originally Posted by Random_Art

I think it has a lot to do with the american perception that we need to be able to do everything except drive on the way to work. We need to be able to eat, talk on the phone, read (seriously, i've seen people with books on their steering wheel while going down the road,) etc. Having to focus on shifting the car yourself takes away from all that valuable non-driving that americans do on the road. It has bred a culture of people who never learned to drive stick so they have an odd fascination with the people that do know how to drive stick.

Now going the other direction, people that focus on driving stick develop their attitude of superiority partly because they seem to have this "mysterious gift" to shift your own gears. Though I find this is really only the case within the "performance driving" niche of drivers. The drivers who drive stick for so long that they know what to do to get the car to do what they want when they want the car to do it. The average driver that drives stick simply because it came with the car doesn't generally care that he's driving stick rather than automatic.

Now, maybe automatic transmission performance has changed over the past 6 years since I've not really driven an AT vehicle newer than 2004. But, for me at least, I despise having to mash the pedal to the floor and wait for the computer to decide that I want to accelerate faster and then downshift a couple seconds later than I would have liked. I suppose someone could take the time to learn to compensate for computer stupidity or go through the hassle of reprogramming the computer. I don't hate on the drivers of AT's as a whole, I hate on individuals who do stupid things because their car gives them less to pay attention to behind the wheel.

+1