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Originally Posted by natecooper
I understand your point of getting sick of throwing a shifter after years many, many years. I too will most likely sing that song with you someday, by your estimations sometime around 2020.
That being said, I don't have a "problem" with automatic sports cars (not just porsches, had the same thought with my other neighbors automatic 350z) it's more that it makes me sad. For these this reason:
As I stated earlier, people in my generation just simply don't drive sticks. They are, by in large, afraid of them. I have friends with mustangs and 350z's and everything else under the sun and not one of them has a stick. All guys under 30. Not ONE of these guys really gives a damn about their car. Most of them simply 'like the way they look'. Does that mean they shouldn't own the car? No, it's their money they can do what they want. Am I being an ass? Usually. But who here doesn't get a little sad when they see a killer sports car with an auto?
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Hi,
Don't get me wrong, I love the shifting in my other 3 Fun cars. But it's just an enjoyable change when I drive the Boxster not to have to do the
Shift Dance. Just, shake the Right Foot and let the Car do the Rest.
I suspect that if I didn't have these other Cars, I would not feel so strongly.
But, having any Boxster, Manual or Tip S, is hardly a
Hard-Scrabble Sports Car. FI?, AC?, Power Steering?, Power Top?, Independent Suspension?, Disc Brakes?, PSM?, Traction Control? Hardly the
Sports Car stuff of Yesteryear. The most Pure Sports Car I ever owned was a Lotus Europa. It was a Pain in the Ass, but still the Most Sports Car I have ever experienced. Most people today want the Latter while foregoing the Former part of the equation.
So far as your friends, well, Engineering advances, no stopping it. I could say the same thing of people who've never owned a Carb'd Car. Dialing in a set of Carbs is really fun, and Carbs will usually outrun FI, which is why they're still around so abundantly. FI's popularity is due mostly to Emmissions Regulations and concerns. They are also less maintenance, and easier to start, but something was given away in the switchover. The same can be said of ABS, Power Steering, and the like.
All these things will make an Average Driver better, but do little for those with more adavanced skills except maybe lighten the workload.
Interesting aside about ABS. It won't shorten your stopping distances, that's not what it's there for. It is there to allow you to keep control of the Car. In an impending accident, it is supposed to allow the Driver enough control to manuever out of trouble. The problem is, they don't teach people to do this and consequently, after nearly 15 years of having mostly ABS equipped Cars, there is no statistical reduction in accidents. People still usually just stomp on the Brakes, hold on, and freeze like a Deer in the headlights, while the car careens forward into the collision anyway.
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99