I'm young so that may be why I'm having trouble understanding. Unless I am looking at them wrong a lot of the SRT-8 Chargers and 300's are automatics if I'm not mistaken. Why buy a car with that much horsepower if you can't enjoy it being a manual?

Sorry if I look very ignorant, I just really don't know much about newer 35k+ cars.

 

All Charger's are automatics, the newer ones that is. Sad, but true. There could be many reasons that people want the auto over the manually. Some people don't know how to drive sticks, some people may have had some kind of surgery, or something wrong with their legs in general, so they can't drive a manual. Some people think it's just easier and more convenient, like my wife, and would rather have their hands free and not have to worry about driving a stick in traffic or whatever their case may be.

I like manuals because it forces people to not screw around eating, drinking, shaving etc and forces them to actually pay attention to what they are doing. Kidding, I like manuals because they are more fun. I love to know when I'm going to shift, not suddenly get surprised when I try to floor it to get moving and the transmission starts hunting for gears. To me, all around no matter the car or power, I will take a manual over an automatic. That is the sole reason I did not buy a Charger and bought the Mustang instead and the only reason I bought a Dodge Ram 2500 over the 1500.

 

And ya ain't alone on that either.

The only reason to go manual these days is to enjoy the connection to the car. In many cases, the automatic is faster than the manual but that means little if all you do is sti there and steer.
Do what you want, what your heart tells ya! The head is going to start doing that logic thing, personally it just muddies up the decison with facts. For me, I was going to get an 08, but because there aren't going to be any manual tranny's in the first six months, I am forced into an '09. Believe me this was a hard decision, because I wanted a low production number Challenger, now it looks like I will just be one of thousands getting their in 09. So be it - I have to have a manual - there is nothing more rewarding than to drive a car that is both powerful and looking to you to make it go.

Cheers
-Phil

 

As a daily driver in any major city, driving a manual is a pain.

I grew up with a 3 speed manual on the column pickup truck. I know how to drive any manual but driving
a manual in rush hour traffic when you are in stop n go traffic is not fun. You never get to feel the connection to the car.

All you get is a left calf the size of Charles Atlas.

My Challenger will be a manual but not a daily driver as I have a company vehicle for hauling stuff around every day.

But when I am not on company time, my Challenger will be a roaring.

 

Jeremiah,
Do you remember when people used to get those really really high tension clutches - some clutches were so hard to push in that you prayed you only had to shift when absolutely necessary. 8^)

For me, I guess I have to wait till 2009 also to get the manual. And for me it is just for fun. I would not want to drive a manual in traffic.
I can only imagine the new slap stick or whatever they call it, would have a lock shift feature to give those "clutch challenged" to make believe they have a manual.

-Phil

 

The reasons listed are all the most common reasons. Current automatics are often just as fast and some of the upcoming automatics (dual clutch) could potentially be superior to the manuals. I think it mostly comes down to convience. I plan on getting a manual, but I don't plan on using it for high traffic conditions. For that I will have another car with an automatic to deal with those conditions.

 

My 2 daily drivers are manual 5 speeds and I hit Charlotte traffic daily. MY new Challenger will be manual also and I enjoy that part of my day. I use a 6 puck highly aggressive material clutch in both cars. Its a little testy the first few months but as it wears in the pedal does'nt have as much resistance as a highly sprung heavy duty pressure plate. So the pressure on the pedal is not as much as a Ram type clutch. I don't know how long it will last but I've had it in there for over a year now and it has not slipped yet under heavy shifting. But I do remember my 340 4-speed Duster and the force it took to engauge that pressure plate. And I use to cruise town in that car, sitting for minutes in traffic with the pedal depressed. I always seemed to walk off to the right for some strange reason when I walked in a straight line

 

I think I'm one of the very few people that don't mind driving a manual in traffic. To me that's even more connection with the car because you are definitely controlling it. Now I can imagine with some really heavy pedals that it would probably suck, but now that we are getting more away from cable to hydraulic, the pedal isn't as heavy as they use to be. I can say that might not be as true in the muscle cars. I went from the Ram to the Mustang and found the clutch to be equally heavy. Sad to say, I guess, I was pleasantly surprised. Guess I'm one who likes a challenge with the pedal. I'm sure as I continue to age that will no longer be the case.

Yes, I got the same disappointment when we learned that there will be no sticks for the first release of the Challenger. That's ok though because I pretty much made up my decision to wait for both the new engines and the crazy markup that will come with the first release, though in a matter of speaking the 09 will be a first release also....with the stick and new engines that is.

 

i also dont mind having a manual in traffic, as i sustained a serious knee injury in 2002, and i was told that i would not skate again, or run, or drive a stick, or walk without a limp...im just happy to be able to drive a manual now. i also own automatic cars, but we intend to look into a manual challenger. however, i know that some day, either deterioration inside of my knee, or arthritis will take my ability to drive a stick, so the demon will be an automatic, although i was seriously considering an 833 swap. it would have been expensive, and in the future, i might not be able to drive it...

One reason that some people drive auto trans performance cars is a physical issue like mine, but there is also a more sporting reason. especially with older cars, from the original muscle era, you see many heavily modified cars running automatic transmissions because manual transmissions were sloppy and more difficult with which to race. its very unusual when watching a class like "pro" at the mopar nationals, and see one of the faster cars running a manual trans. older manuals were notchy and crude, where as a well built automatic (like a 727) can be shifted by hand with more smoothness and such. the mirada has a 727, built, with a manual valve body, stalling to 3500rpm. i wouldnt want a 4-speed in that, but i wouldnt think of having an automatic in my turbo car. i have an auto in the stratus because i bought it right after i blew my knee out...i wish almost every day that it was a stick.

 

I'm young (be 33 in a few weeks) but my dad tells the story... The factory clutch in his '65 Olds 442 was so stiff the seat back broke when the car was less than a year old!