All of them are 6-speed manuals in at our house, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

 

I did hear the automatic outdid (barely) the manual in 0-60 time. Not sure this really makes one bit of difference for daily driver though as I race no one.

The manual is fun to drive, and with my new Whalen ****, I wouldn't give up my 6-speed. But if I had an ugly commute, I might just rethink this...I hate the 1st, 2nd...1st, 2nd...1st...routine. Nothing fun about that.

I agree with Arnbut that there is no need to be snobby if one drives a manual...however, I think everyone should KNOW HOW. I cringe when I get comments on how not many women drive manuals (obviously these people are not on NAM). When I was selling my Honda Civic, I had interested buyers who decided against it because it was a manual. One was a father who said his 16-year daughter didn't know how to drive it...then TEACH HER!!! I even asked him if he wanted her to be stranded with some drunk friend and not be able to drive his/her manual car . (This argument did not make the sale.)

My sister and I pride ourselves on being chicks who drive sticks.

 

One day, when my wife was bitching about what an idiot her ex is, she concluded by saying, "The idiot couldn't even drive a manual." Since, at that point, I already knew I wanted the Mini (which she was buying for me) to have a manual, I was not only very amused, but very happy, too.

 

I think you're misinterpreting freeman727's comment. I think he means that the option for automatic transmission should only be available on the MC--that the MCS should only be built with 6-speed.

Of course I might be wrong--freeman, jump in here if I am.

 

[quote=Arnbut;1947705]You folks are revealing alot of poppycock and snobbery on this thread.
Holy moly.

The car shouldn't have an AT? What the dip?
Well then, I'll respond that if you are tiny enough to use the clutch in an R53, you must be a verified runt. Yup. You're a runt; nobody that is full-grown man-size could possibly squeeze in there.
Not as much so in the R56 since the steering wheel telescopes a little, but still leaning toward runt.
And your feet must be really small too if you can wedge them in on the clutch without hitting the brake...

snobbery here just what most people prefer.......
no doubt the new AT is better but I would say that
90% of my friends that drove my car said they preffered the
MT.....but thats just me even my watch is a manual wind
and I agree it is a little tight in the pedal area but not as bad as
the 1980 911

 

Yeah, I'm confused.... Is Vic saying he thinks freeman is saying that the MC should come only in manual or that only the MC should have the auto trans option? I think freeman is saying the latter. Don't know what Vic is saying....

 

My sister and I pride ourselves on being chicks who drive sticks. [/quote]


to know how to drive a manual .....
That's why I'm teaching my 15 yr old daughter.....and she's interested
only drawback is I might not get to drive the mini

 

I once offered to drive a male friend home...he got into the car and immediately commented on 2 things he felt were atypical for a woman: 1) my car was clean, and 2) I drove a stick shift.

According to him, for most women, the car is an extension of their purse and therefore a catch-all for all manner of crap. Furthermore, he asked me if I bought the manual because it was cheaper. My response, with narrowed eyes ..."No, I did not."

I never knew I was challenging gender stereotypes in my own little way .

 

You're obviously very bright and probably outrageously attractive too...
And you should race. Or, at least, go to a performance school; it's really fun.

I tried to teach my wife to drive a stick; I was a stick snob back then.
No, really; I was.
Anyhoo, the result (after 6 hours) was a bent drive shaft and rear end that needed allignment. My poor truck was only 6 months old; I traded it the next weekend.
I had 3 more MT vehicles in a row after that, including my first R56 --- and then I gave up and got the AT so that my wife and I could swap vehicles.

Which saved my life, as it turned out.
Because I had a heart attack (dang genetics) and my wife drove me to the ER in Arthur; got there in less than a minute too.

 

Don't know about inferior but certainly less sporting and a bit boring, imo.

btw, the F1 tranny is an option. I'll grant you that 90% of US buyers opt for the automatic. But the vast majority of F owners don't dare drive their cars lest they get too many miles on them so their tranny choice is more fashion statement/bragging right/resale consideration than driving preference, imo.

 

From what I hear, the new 'Vette will have them.

 

I have a manual transmission MC. My car was in the service bay for a sensor replacement and the loaner was an automatic. I almost puked because I was so repulsed by the auto. Ha!

 

Lordy.

What year was it? Was it an S?
C'mon.

I brought my car in for service and they gave me a Cooper with MT as a loaner. It was an '06... ...I brought it back the next day and asked for something from Enterprise (got a Ford Focus) --- that Cooper was horribly underpowered and my dang size-14's couldn't hit the dang clutch without hitting the dang brake...

 

My second date with my wife was largely due to the fact she owns a car with a manual transmission. We were set up on a blind date and things were going pretty well but the clincher was walking back to her car and seeing it was a stick!!!

Girls that drive stick are sexier, and can save my a$$ if anything were to happen where I am unable to drive.

 

mine is a regular coop. I got an 07 S convertible automatic and a 07 regular coop hard top as loaners and both were horendous!

 

Ok..... I have an automatic in my Cooper S for convenience in city traffic BUT have a BMW Z4 with a manual 6-speed for fun! As a daily driver, I just did not want the drudgery of stop and go driving with a stick.

Re: women and manual transmissions - I think the category includes both men and women these days. Drivers ed in my time had both auto and manual to learn but apparently not now. My wife had a manual previously and drives one well. I taught my son and daughter how to drive a manual with my *gulp* Z4 - but fortunately, they were quick learners.

I agree that it is important to have experience with a manual in case you are in a situation requiring use of a manual. Many of the cars in Europe (and other places) are manual and this skill may prove valuable if you travel.

I think drivers ed courses should offer more exposure to driving a manual - otherwise those of us that know it now will likely become dinosaurs (especially with the trend to paddle shifters without a clutch in the "sporty" cars). For our family, having both automatic and manual cars works well.

What percent of MC/MCS cars sold in the USA are automatic/manual versus those sold in UK or Europe? I would bet the vast majority of cars in the USA are automatic and are mainly manual elsewhere.

Steve
2007 MCSa Laser blue/white.. most of the options.

 

You're probably right.

Exactly!!

 

So you married your wife because she can drive a stick. Not that I have anything to say about it. My wife's e-mail informing me that we should get married included the selling points that she already had an engagement ring and a gown.

 

Def the 6 speed.
The auto is gutless, the manual lets you wind them out (if you want)
As far as traffic, the clutch in the mini S is very light. Not like a '72 Plymouth Road Runner, where you would get Popeye calves.

 

Right then; neither is an '07 turbo with the AT.
You have to take a "time-out" until you've driven an R56Sa in the mountains and use the paddle-shift. With the Sport button.

Gutless, redmini? Can't wind it out?
The redline is the same.

Don't you 'tards get it? It's a clutchless sequential trans when you want it to be one. No clutch lag, no missed or mistimed shifts, no torque-steer from removing your hand from the wheel to shift, no bogging down and hunting because that apex was a little sharper or more off-camber than you thought...
This is not the 3 speed autotranny that your Aunt Bertha's Buick had. It's also a 6-speed, and a formidable one at that.

Harumph.


You need to call this what it really is --- it's an affectation. The stick shift on the MT is an anachronism that you have an emotional link to. Like Paul Bunyan and his axe rather than a good chainsaw.
Be honest. Do you MT-fans get up and flip the **** on the tv or use the remote?

 

You almost had me sold... until that "no torque steer" bit. Unless you hold onto your wheel like a gorilla, if you can't get torque steer on your AT equipt S, then it ain't no clutchless manual.

 

Please don't use that term. It's offensive to those who have disabled family members.

 

I'm 6'5" and have a 54" chest. I have to sit sideways in the car. I can benchpress 450 pounds, even after the heart attack.
I am a torquesteer minimizer...

 

I'm sorry. I shouldn't get worked up.

 

Then that would be you, not the AT, that is preventing torque steer.