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A kid at the scrapyard made me question why I still daily a stick shift
So I'm pulling parts off a rolled 2002 Civic at Pick n Pull last Saturday, and this college kid rolls up with his buddy. He sees my 94 Miata in the lot and goes 'why would you drive that when any Corolla here gets 10 more miles per gallon and has working AC?' I laughed it off, but then he said 'all that shifting is just wasted time, you're not on a track.' And honestly it hit me weird. I've spent the last decade defending manuals in every budget car talk, saying they're cheaper to fix, more fun, etc. But this kid had a point about the daily grind. I sit in stop and go traffic on I-5 for 45 minutes each way. My clutch leg is tired, my AC blows warm when it's 95 out, and I've replaced the shifter bushing twice this year. For under 5k, I could get a decent automatic Accord that just works. But then I think about the one back road near Gig Harbor where third gear feels perfect. I don't know. Has anyone else switched from manual to auto in this price range and actually regretted it, or was it better than you expected?
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