onehawaiian

when i wanna race, hands down, i'd rather be sticking it. but when i wanna kick back and cruise, it's all about the auto.

i'm actually kinda glad i got the auto cause if i did get the manual, i'd be pulled over by the cops for sure! i mean come on, bright yellow, attention grabbing, zoom zoom zoom? yeah, my license would be suspended by halloween! LOL

blackmp5

I had about a week to find one when my old car was totalled. I searched many dealerships and found that it was next to impossible to find a 5spd equipped with anti-lock brakes. I finally found a dealer over 100 miles away who had a loaded black 5 spd.

onehawaiian

Quote:

Originally posted by blackmp5
I had about a week to find one when my old car was totalled. I searched many dealerships and found that it was next to impossible to find a 5spd equipped with anti-lock brakes. I finally found a dealer over 100 miles away who had a loaded black 5 spd.

heh/heh, if i went 100 miles, i'd be in the water!

David

OK, time for my two cents
Manual!!! I hate when I see a good car and I walk up to it to get a look inside and there it is the auto gear selector. What a waste of sheet metal. When I went to the dealer to get my Maita I told him that the only thing I care about is that it has a manual. and a green one would be nice. God I miss that car.

Eric F

Shawn, I look at it like this, it's your money, do what you want with it. The fact is everyone has opinions about almost everything, but it's silly to me to try and convince some else to feel the same way that I do. Sometimes it seems as though there's too much of that going on for me. Being honest, I spend most of my time in my car commuting back and forth to work. I have a 5sp because that's what I like and it makes sense to me. But is it the best thing to have? If others like the convenience of an auto, that's fine by me. Who am I to judge someone else's car? This topic has gotten out of hand IMHO and should be closed. Enjoy your car everyone, whatever it may be!

Lance

I have both.

'99 1.8 Black Protegé ES Automatic
'01 2.0 Silver Protegé ES 5 Speed

When I was driving my 99 around, I always wished I had bought the 5spd instead. So when the opportunity arose to give it to my wife and by another, I did.. the only regret I have now is I wish I would have bought one with a moon (sun, whatever) roof.

I like the 5-speed and my wife wouldn't own a 5-speed.. so we're happy

sunbyrne

I can see arguments for both.

Having a stick is more fun and you have more control, but if you sit in traffic a lot, it's a pain. And if you're mostly just on the highway all the time, it makes little difference in terms of driving. Automatics have higher resale and you know you won't have to replace the clutch.

My wife drives an automatic 1999 Pro LX, which has the 1.6 and an automatic. I really like her car but it's really slow. So, when it was my turn this year I went with the Pro5 with a stick. And yes, finding a stick with ABS was a pain, but my dealer worked really hard to find me one just in time to snag a sweet $750 rebate...

cowtown

I ended up getting an Auto but I wanted a 5speed. My wife "can't" drive a stick shift so we had to get that, all in all it's not bad at all, Mazda did a good job on it.

I certainly would like to have a 5 speed for highway driving, but for city driving, the Auto is great and certainly more than enough. I just ran my MP5 through the rockies heading home to BC for Thanksgiving and it did great, it actually surprised me on some really nasty hills powering up them without sweating. Also in some really curvy roads and switchbacks I was able to hold an additional 10KM/H faster than my 97 Taurus SHO which is impressive since the SHO handled quite well at speed as well.

I also read somewhere in a review that Mazda has made and expects to sell 60% of MP5's with Automatics which is not as high as you may think, many other cars have closer to 80% - 90% automatic sell through.

Shawn

Makaveli

Well to me I never reallly though about an automatic, got the 5speed, having said that though, when I have to drive through downtown, my foot honestly gets soooo tired that I feel like pulling over after being stuck in traffic for half an hour. The stop and go traffic gets so annoying, I find myself peeling out a little (not on purpose) only to stop 5 meters ahead and yes it is embarassing, but my foot gets restless. Anyways, enough about me and my supermodel feet The FInger most of the car enthusiasts get the 5 speed, but there's not as many but still some as evident on this board that get the automatic, it's all Good

Protege5chick

Hi all!

I am one of the many auto owners out there...not really by choice since I have someone who needs to drive my car that can't drive stick. Anyhoo, I was dissappointed at first, but looking back, it's so convenient coz I can drive and still be LAZY like onehawaiian and chill so I am split. both are alrite!

onehawaiian

who's calling me lazy??? ...oh yeah, it was me!

actually, i am extremely lazy, and altho i don't have the supermodel feet, i used to get tired too in traffic when i had a stick. and since i HATE hills (the little roll back) and dumb *** drivers who like to kiss my @ss at red lights, i thought it'd be better to get the auto and save my insurance comp some $$$

BUT...if i was super rich and could afford TWO cars, i'd have my 5 and the mp3! oh hell yeah! then i could race on the weekends with the 3, and chill with the 5.

mmmmmmm, oh yeah...dreamin'!

ZackyFarms16

Despite the fact this is totally irrelevant to having an automatic or stick, if i had a lot of money i would do the following:

I would buy 4 cars, 2 WRX's, and 2 Mitz. EVO imported. I would fix one WRX and one EVO and rally cars and i would fix the other WRX and the other EVO as hardcore racers. Then i would get a P5, and fix it up nice and clean but not overdone, and just cruze. So i can cruze during the week and race and rally on the weekend. This is provided that i had a lot of money. But since at the moment i got about $6.75 USD to may name, i think ill have to wait. PEACE..

DJ Slider

well as someone who recently learned to drive a stick i have to say thats although its tough at first (really tough) its so much more of a DRIVING experience, not just a commuting one. You feel so much more like you can control the car and its cool, youre not just pressing the gas and going. BUT autos are invaluable when youre trying to tie a tie and suck down a sobe energy drink going 60 mph down the road. hehehe, Both are cool to me.

Makaveli

haha yeah, I hate being late because I much prefer cruising, but sometimes I have to change shirts or take off my sweater while driving, and it's very possible. Phone calls are okay too, I usually get my friend to shift gears for me, or I do the same hand shift, same hand steering wheel technique that can be quite efficient. By the way, it's unsafe, but me and that other friend have gone a few kms before where he brakes and presses gas on his auto, and I hold the steering wheel. He opens up his window and puts both of his hands out to wave at people, it's pretty funny to see looks on people's faces hahah

pro5girlie

First of all, Hi Everyone! I was on the prowners forums for a while. Anyway, my baby is an auto, and here's why. I haven't learned to drive stick yet. I had to get a new car, cause mine was getting ready to kick the bucket. I thought about it, but didn't want to buy a new car just to ruin the tranny. This has happened to someone on another forum, I believe. He didn't know how to drive stick, bought his new car, and is now having tranny problems that he blames on the car...

I could probably do it without ruining the transmission, but I'm lazy too. I am usually driving down the highway, eating a burger or chinese food, fiddling with the cd player, and trying to answer the phone. I have no patience for that. Plus, my boyfriend likes it better that way.