Myths about the manual/automatic transmission
1)Manual transmission offer a better fuel economy.
Fact:That was true for old cars.Modern automatic transmission offer the same or even better fuel economy.
2)The learning curve to operate a manual transmission is much longer.
Fact:That’s actually true.But how longer?Learning the basis is something that can be explained in 5 minutes.At after 1h of practice, the whole thing becomes instinctive.
3)Driving a car with AT is safer than driving a car with MT since one has always to both hands on the steering wheel and is not “distracted” by the clutch(So he can focus on the road).
Fact:Recent researches suggest the opposite:Drivers who opted for the AT have a false sense of security and are LESS focused on the driving process.They tend to relax since the AT does the job instead of them.The whole “Both hands on the steering wheel” argument can be easily busted by the simple fact that proper manual gear shifting requires good timing – you always keep both hands on the steering wheel when you “really need them”.E.g.: While cornering.You always shift BEFORE entering a corner and shift is quick and instinctive -It takes anything from 1-2 secs.This is the only moment when your hands are not on the steering wheel.