[8695Beaters]

I agree, autos are the way to go for drag racing. They dump all the power right at the line (good launch) and shift much more smoothly than a stick (less drivetrain shock to slip the tires and more power off each shift).

But drag racing and street cruising are all autos are good for. for road racing, they don't hold gears long enough and when they shift, they lurch, which will upset the car. for those of you who don't race, that is never a good thing. The other thing with autos is that you can't properly control throttle inputs to an auto. The sliding, swirling stuff inside just makes that impossible. So you can't finesse a car through a corner. which will make the manual faster with everything else being equal. The only exception is the latest DSG transmissions from Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Ferrari.

My opinion on auto vs. manual is that those who are unable to drive manual (mentally, not physically) should not be allowed to drive at all. I think driving a stick should be taught in Driver's Ed. What I have noticed is that autos allow you to be more distracted when driving around. It is very hard to talk on the phone or eat and drink or do much anything else when you are driving a stick. I've seen myself get distracted while driving around the work van (auto) as opposed to my personal car (stick).