Hey All, Tommy here. Thanks for watching my little video. I would love to hear you feedback, I read all the comments. Let me know what you think :)

The manual is what makes slow cars fun 🥖

I personally learned how to drive on an automatic. When I got old enough to learn what a manual transmission was, I did some research and watched some videos on how to drive one, hoping that I'd get to sometime. Because of that, I feel pretty comfortable with my understanding of the _technique._ However, my only experience so far ever behind the wheel of a manual was in my dad's friend's 1969 VW Beetle, which was an interesting first time, but already understanding how to drive a manual was a huge help. That being said, I live in Seattle, where traffic sucks, the drivers are horrible, and we have massive hills that people like to stop on. Given all that, I am very happy driving an automatic, since I believe a manual would get extremely frustrating after a day or two of driving here. Just my two cents.

One thing missed, is that automatic transmissions were far less reliable back then, than they are now. How badly do you want to spend your time searching for hard to find parts for that automatic transmission that has decided to grenade it's clutch pack, or cook it's torque convertor? It's easier to have a clutch replaced, even if I have to have the actual clutch disk rebuilt due to not having something available for the old car.

I’d agree that the automatics are generally less abused but they are also disappearing by the droves to enthusiasts that convert them as soon as they get them.

Living in the LA area and driving a Focus ST manual, prior 2005 ST manual, I said I would never get another manual, but the "new" ST intrigued me to buy another with manual transmission. I don't drive my ST hard as I'm quite a bit older but my future will be an automatic no matter what vehicle I decide on. Sitting in traffic jam or just driving from stop light to stop light, a manual transmission takes extra effort and more of your attention while in stop and go traffic. Engines and transmissions have; in my lifetime, have dramatically improved. Standard transmissions in older cars make them the classic that they are, and there will always be those who prefer manually shifting gears. I don't like the CVT, and have yet to experience a Dual Clutch. If I lived in an area where traffic was light and the roads are long, then a manual wouldn't pose the issues that living in the city does with a manual.

I love manuals Downsides: Right hand occupied in the event one of these are in the passenger seat 1. Hot girl 2. 5 guys burger

In Europe 90+% of people know how to drive manuals. After 10 years of driving I just bought myself my first used automatic (ZF slushbox) very disappointed... Put it in the shop for repair, replacing the torque converter cost more then buying a new manual transmission. Not a fan, love to drive a manual car whenever I get the chance, way more control over drivetrain and driving.

I’m riding a 06 e90 manual slammed and haven’t had no major problems, bought the car at 177k and I’m at 234k, only replaced coolant reservoir and hoses, clutch once, and a rear axle, this was my first manual car also! I got it at a very cheap price, threw wheels and coilovers on it, converted xi to rear wheel with a welded diff and it’s my daily

E30 with 4 speed automatic that can dump ATF on road and $7k to replace - IMHO low torque BMW straight sixes work best with five ratios so I’d prefer the manual as not using in heavy traffic etc and not in a hurry either :)

Automatics = less abused. This is a very valid point.

You dont have to slam through the gears when driving a manual shift car !

There is a lot less complexity in a manual transmission than an automatic. Less complexity means less that can go wrong, and when something (inevitably) does go wrong, it may be less expensive to fix. For that reason, for an older car, I think I would pick a manual over an automatic.

Your less abused point definitely holds true. It's difficult to find older manual shifting BMWs that haven't been modified and raced.

Loved his video on his awesome ,well preserved E30 coupe, but this video did a complete 180 degree turn and i had to check if i was watching the same channel as his previous video about his E30 coupe as in this video he talked about cars and specifically about automatic transmission systems like he hadn't ever driven a car ever in his entire life,and never even got into the characteristics of the awesomeness of BMWs ZF transmissions and the way they always know when to shift at exactly the correct time and how fast they shift and downshift on Bmw's, also most other manufacturers of cars have only now made automatic transmission systems to shift perfectly in the last 5 years.Thanks

I like both automatic transmission and manual. I believe that it depends on the vehicle driven.

I have a 90 325i manual and the manual would be the only way I would buy an old bmw (pre 1990ish). Automatic has less gears, 4 vs 5, is slow, sluggish, you can’t make that straight 6 sing as well also. I do agree that auto cars are usually less abused, i am sure they are ok cruisers, but they belong in an older Benz and not in BMW. Newer BMWs 2000 + auto is much better than before and is a good choice for a sporty, comfy daily. Thanks for the video.

Here in the UK the whole thing is the other way percentage wise and value. I would only buy manual for my daily drive and my offroad vehicle, but after a nasty back injury I find it easier to drive auto so my truck and car are now auto, I actually enjoy offroading in an automatic more than a manual although I still drive a manual offroad buggy but it has a really light clutch making it almost as easy as my truck.

Honestly I always liked the e30 but I wouldn’t use it to be fast, just more to drive around with friends. If I did want a fast manual car then I would buy something newer

Tommy, I have to agree, somewhat. Especially since i have grown older automatic is more attractive. Easier to drive cheaper to buy. But some cars its a sin to buy with an auto. But you make good points. So, I am with you. For the most part.. My dream car is a 1974 Trans Am 455SD. Id love the 4speed but the clutch would be too stiff for me to drive. So, sadly I would have to go for the auto, if I could find an affordable one. Good work!!

So if you don't want everyone driving your car, get a manual.

A very brave and honest viewpoint. I totally agree with your thoughts, however you fail to point out that older cars have an analogue feel to the driving experience and a manual transmission heightens that experience even further. A manual totally transforms the driving experience from a sporty one to a relaxed grand tourer with an automatic.

Manual vs auto is a subjective discussion at the best of times but when the word ‘classic’ is used I reckon demographics come into play also. To my mind ‘classic’ denotes a driver’s car, one that requires eye/hand/foot synchronisation, providing a real sense of man (person) and machine coming together. The right gear, the right line through a corner on that uphill stretch of road, touching the brake enough to settle the car, then on the throttle and repeat, etc etc. Those of us who prefer manuals will always prefer manuals, hell i actually enjoy raking up and down through the gears in traffic, must be the masochist in me. Auto and ‘classic’ probably means luxury limousines of a bygone era, ‘lounge-rooms on wheels’ etc. Interestingly here in Australia there appears to be another good reason to own a manual...less are being stolen. It seems that the gen y and millennial car thieves don’t know how to drive manuals so don’t steal them. I love it when a plan comes together......Love your channel. Cheers.

Love manuals but since I live in the city where freeways clog all the time (I-405), I got both

I live in Florida and Ive noticed that all the fun car from my youthful day in a manual transmission are becoming crazy expensive doesn’t matter if it’s a front wheel drive or rear wheel drive. However the same cars in an automatic are readily available and the prices a much better but then the fun factor isn’t there. Also I have two BMWs a manual convertible and a automatic coupe and every time I drive either one I wish I could swap the transmission, because to me a BMW vert is best in a automatic and the coupe would be better with the stick.

We have a mint '92 E30 convertible. 5-speed manual. What you're saying is simply ridiculous. The E30 in an auto is completely the definition of a "slushbox," while the manual lets you actually enjoy the car. You're welcome to your opinion here, but as a manual E30 owner I'm telling you that this is bogus IMO.

Coming from someone who has owned an e30 for the past 5 years and has swapped it from auto to manual. The manual is leagues better than the auto E30 automatic transmission were terrible slop boxes. I mean mine could barely do a burnout, slow as all hell and although it was smooth, The e30 is the best chassis made by bmw ever, it’s made to be driven. This chassis with new bushings all around and a manual transmission is pure driving pleasure. Ps my bone stock manual e30 beats stage 1 blobeye wrx’s . I promise their not as slow as you think 😉

Old cars have perks though. Like no emissions.... you may also have a good bit of room to upgrade that power plant. If you know how, and want too you can swap a lot of this new tech into them. Its really simple, but I also work in collision repair so I work around cars daily. Lets take my ‘93 F250, 351w/5.8l with the 5-speed M/t. I could swap the early 2000’s axles, brakes, and suspension in, lots of room for it. And snag a 7.3 if I really wanted too. But the 351w, if you swap to roller cams, and GT40 heads, and MAF, can make decent power. You can really make it sing if you want to rebuild it. Stock in ‘93, 200hp, 300lbft. I could reasonably rebuild it, with some 1st gen SVT lightning parts to push closer to 260-280hp and 400lbft of torque. Thats a fair bit closer to the newer trucks. And, its darn hard to beat older 4x4’s when you have manual locking hubs with a manual trans.

Although old Mercedes diesel most are automatics which suit the high torque of the diesel :) Your 300D 😍

I've got a supercharged 88 MR2 Automatic 🤙 great 4 speed in it was used for a bazillion different cars and honestly I do alot of highway driving and an automatic is alot nicer in traffic... I do enjoy our family's 6 speed Cooper S tho

I have a 1987 BMW E30 320i Auto saloon and love it, no hassles, calm, safe, relaxed, driving. I also have a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 2.3-16v Cosworth, great car but I am far more aggressive in it, stirring that 5 speed dog leg box is great but it encourages aggressive driving..

I own a manual car, Volkswagen Golf mk3 in Europe of course. The only reason (if I ever would buy an automatic trans) I like the auto trans its that they seemed very relaxing in traffic. But otherwise I dont know. If I would drive the same car, but automatic trans,,and driving downhill..I was thinking about the brakes, rpms goes up,brakes getting hoter. In manual this doesn't happens. And not all people slammed through gears. My car its 24 years old and changing gears feels very smooth (even when reversing). And in traffic..I never rest my feet on clutch, never wait in 1st gear to go like mad on green light. just neutral, green pops up and put the 1st gear and clutch released slowly. Everything its cheaper, and way more reliable on manual. It all depends how you treat your daily (or non daily whaever). as for the new cars (automatic) I dont know them..but I imagine how much cost even just a liter of its oil 😂

I only enjoy automatic transmission in city, everywhere else I prefer manual

Good Job Tommy!

manual vs automatic really depends on its intended use. I prefer automatic rn since all I need to do is go from point a to b. I cant be bothered to have to think about shifting and stuff like that when I currently dont have a reason to

This hurts to watch. The youngest car I own is a 1988 bmw 325i. I know they’re slow. 😔 stop reminding me.

I love my auto Mach 1! Plus the automatic is more rare :) Plus is a weekend cruiser/show car anyway and I bought it from the original owner who babied it and it lived in a garage it’s whole life

To each their own, i personally find manual way more interesting. There are also many pros such as being more economic on fuel, cheaper to fix and it's less likely to be stolen.

Automatic all the way no flywheel or 3rd pedal just smoking good fun. Not sure if some old classic were look after especially Holden Commodore with bulletproof 3 n 4 speed automatic transmission. Early automatic were simple n easy to fix but new ones are having a lot more power running through them.

OH MY GOD!!! I’m not even shortening it to OMG! Only 18% of American car buyers can drive a manual? How stupid are these people? I blame it on the breakdown of the American educational system! I’m 41. I learned how to drive an actual vehicle on an old Chevrolet 1961 Series 10 long-bed pickup truck that was just a truck that was used to get feed and water around to different parts of our deer lease when I was around ten years old. My Dad taught me how to drive a “three in the tree” when I was nothing but a child and I picked it up like nothing. Before that I hadn’t driven anything but go-karts with centrifugal clutches (automatic transmissions for the uninformed) and after the hour it took me to learn that, (well after I got in a whole lot of trouble for driving the truck when nobody else was around a couple of hours later 😂😂🤣😂) I was able to go home and immediately jump on my friend’s motorcycle that I was never allowed to ride because I didn’t understand a manual transmission and clutch (well, I later found out that I wasn’t allowed to ride motorcycles at all by my Dad, that was just an excuse, but that’s another story for another day!). If you don’t know how to drive a manual, find a friend with one that will take an afternoon to teach you how to drive it. It’s an important and enjoyable skill to have. It’s like learning to write in cursive. I know a lot of schools are dropping it, but there’s a bunch of things that are already written in cursive and if you can’t read it then you can be easily duped by someone who “interprets” it for you. There was a girl during the Trayvon Martin trial that did jail time for purgery because the lawyer wrote a statement that was supposed to be hers in cursive and she couldn’t read it. Do you want to do jail time just because you didn’t spend an afternoon with a friend learning how to feather a clutch? Please, please, please, save the manuals. When that zombie apocalypse that all you millennials keep prepping for that really won’t happen because there’s no such thing as the T-Virus and Resident Evil and The Walking Dead and the spin-off and pretty much anything else you think is gonna wipe out the species DOES happen, the automatic transmissions will fail. You think I’m wrong? How do you jump start a car with only one car? If you have a manual you can push start it! Try that with an automatic!!!

How durable is the automatic transmission in a 95 325i?

Awesome was going toswap into a manual... clearly decided not to anymore thabks!

What non-enthusiast wants to buy an e30 or any classic. You are probably going to sell to someone in that 18% any way. Also my 80 year old grandfather drove manual cars for years in 3rd world country traffic, and he still enjoyed it.

Cool vid , with accurate and real facts...I'm looking to buy an BMW E34 and I'm in a dilemma..to buy an manual or automatic...

I have the same car in 89 with a turbo charger. I love the car . Thanks for your video.

Well for the right up until the 6 minute mark im sitting here waiting for a good reason why auto is better than manual, then at the 6 min mark mini Roman actually said something convincing

Biggest thing for me is that people age too, I use to like manual trans but now with back and neck problems I can't drive one very far without hurting so bad that I don't enjoy it anymore, so you have that as cars age so do the people and some of us can't drive manuals anymore and that does suck but that's the way things go some times.

Had it been available, would you not have rather bought the same car with a stick?

You go disco duck! Donna Summers LOL

Plus I’ve got my beater mustang that’s a stick and my Baja turbo is a 5speed so I can get my fix in those. It’s just funny my dailys are manual and my weekend car is an auto. Haha.

I recently sold my older Dodger SRT, great car by the way, and bought a Focus St. What a great feeling that you are actually driving the car again.

Better for what? Just in general or specifics? I think each has its pros and cons.

Come to South Africa, you'll see how good manual transmission are in these e30s

A classic vehicle with a manual transmission is great for the Sunday cruise or whenever you have a Cruise Night drive,..BUT, if you're planning to take your car on an extended road trip, then for me, it would have to be an auto box! I love that BMW by the way,....it looks wonderful.

I have 2 e30s. one auto one 5 speed. both are excellent transmissions. I enjoy them both. I slam through the gears in the auto.... don't be mislead.

Depends on the car honestly but on the pro and cons side automatics are programmed into the rpm which means the car is gonna go fast as long as u want it and how far it goes really. Manual gives you more control of the car everything you control the rpms the mph all that u can choose to go slow depending if it's on second or third gear the 5th gears Is the fastest in most cases like I said depends on what car you prefer but if I had to choose I would prefer automatic just because it's programmed on how fast u wanna go and how far it goes aka fuel efficiency

Thanks professor

Tommy, to me it is: small engine = stick- bigger engine = auto..... I love to toss my ´77 Reliant Robin through the corners (YES, this is possible !!) The 1.6L engine of my 91 Mercury Capri XR is too weak for an auto, so an 5 Speed is perfect. My other cars and trucks on the other hand, (68 Camaro, 77 Linc. Versailles, 93 Thunderbird SC, 98 Linc Continental, ´18 Raptor on the other hand benefit from an automatic. Keep up your good work. By the way , where are your glasses?

Would love to see a No You're Wrong episode on this. :)

I agree that automatic transmissions are great in classic and modern sports cars. Automatics generally are robust and require less maintenance that a manual and clutch.

Automatic are more confortable in a city with a lot of traffic but also much more expensive to maintain and more fragile vs a manual well driven but not everyone knows how to use it. Just to drive for fun I will get a manual for a daily automatic.

The underlying logic of this video is flawed for two reasons. First, drivers don't buy manuals to "slam" through the gears and become disappointed if they can't. Second, classic car in this video appears to mean greater than 20 years old. Automatic transmissions are vehicle killers that cap the life of a vehicle. Most old vehicles went to the graveyard when their automatic failed leaving only the ones with manuals. I am also wondering if the author thinks old cars are "slow" because they were saddled with automatics.

I have an 89' 325i convertible in a manual. The automatic, especially in those cars, sucks out the fun. And where I generally take it, the canyons, if I was driving an automatic it would not nearly be as fun. I've driven automatic cars that are faster than my car in the canyons, and they aren't NEARLY as fun...

I generally prefer an automatic because it lets me focus more on everything else. There are definitely times where I'd prefer to have that control but most of the time I'm happy to let the car deal with that for me. Also, when you're on a long road trip or driving at night and you're tired, not having to worry about shifting is really nice.

Pretty much agree on everything besides the 82% of Americans who can’t drive Manual but would like to buy an E30

Manual transmissions last longer, especially in older vehicles. I wouldn't touch an automatic in an old car, mostly because of reliability.

Right. Go drive a manual version of that BMW and get back to me. Why do millenials always revert to this damn quarter mile crap. Adults don't "drop the clutch" at 3 or 4 grand. We just like the extra feel of the manual. Nobody cares about 1/4 mile times in a classic car. And the small percentage of people who can drive manuals is due to that particular age group. Hell, they even get angry towards people who prefer a manual for some reason. To each there own, but there's no persuasive argument.

Must agree with this appraisal

If you get injured, you're not shifting that manual properly. If you misshift that's gonna cost you more than a new auto transmission 🤑😜🤢. Also people judge autos like the design was 35 years ago but judge manuals like it's only 5 to 10 years 😂. Lots of people think about what's fun only I guess. I use vehicles for survival first maybe that's why I like auto (old school or modern) and I don't want that CVT garbage they're trying to force.

Tommy: One big flaw in your arguments, automatic transmissions need to be rebuilt a whole lot more than manual gear boxes do. Because getting an auto trans rebuilt is usually an expensive proposition, many folks will drive their car with a slipping auto trans for as long as possible which makes their already poor MPG get even worse. With older cars, they're commonly only 3 speed transmissions, or maybe 4 speed in the 'newer' older cars, while manuals usually have a gear or 2 more, so almost always get better gas mileage. Over the years I've owned many vehicles, both with manual & automatic transmissions, and while there is a place for each, I think in your example you're wrong. First off, not everyone that drives a manual trans does it to 'slam' thru the gears as you said in the video, yes, in my Miatas, or MGBs I did drive them on the aggressive side, but in my Dodge RAM 4x4 diesel I never drove it aggressively, yet all of them were manual transmission vehicles. I also owned a fleet of 12 Dodge Diplomat (1985 & 1986 models) taxicabs (former policecars) that all had automatic transmissions. The last vehicle I owned with an automatic was a 1998 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 that I truly loved, but due to circumstances beyond my control it got swallowed up in Obama's Cash for clunkers. For medical reasons I haven't driven for a few years, but I just now bought another Jeep Cherokee, this one a 1994, and it has a 5 speed. Luckily this one is quite a bit lighter than the 98 was due to several portions of the metal body being changed out for iron oxide ☺︎. I'm still working on getting it all setup the way I want it, and was wondering if you could tell me, how can I tell which transmission I have in mine? I've heard it could be an AX15 or AX5? Thanks! BTW I love the videos you guys put out, and I'm subscribed to both the TFLcar & TFLtruck & TFLnow Did I miss any?

You talk about vintage cars being fragile compared to today's cars. I reckon they can be if they've been abused and neglected throughout the time they were owned.

That's your opinion

Bmw e30 special option sport automatic that is very very high level option..sport automatic is better

WORNG

nice video bro!i have an opel zafira automatic sport transmision , let me tell u , the car have 20 years , last night when i came from work i smoked a porche cayman on 1/4 mile 4 times in a row hahaha , the guy asked me wtf did i put in it , but the car is full stock .

I think there was a comment already about the number of gears, but i have to say that too: old automatic transmissions usually had 1-3 gears less than the manual version. This means the engines were ususally driven harder in lower gears. The old autos i had would rev the engine quite high when cold in1st gear which isnt' something you would do for longevity. Also in my opinion there is a power limit under which an automatic transmission doesn't "feel right". Old autos aren't build like new ones, they used "brake bands" for shifting which wear out over time and i think getting a replacement would be harder to find than a clutch. (newer ones use wet clutches) And lastely, with a classic car you want to stay out of traffic jams in the first place, they are for you to enjoy, not to stand around in trafic where some idiot (is there a gendered version for that word?) crashes into your classic jewel while doing some sh$% on his/her/it's smartphone instead of driving.

The blip is gone.

I absolutely agree to what you say. I drive an E28 528iA and yes I would have prefered an manual if it had been available because I thought that automatic transmission are way to slow. But I was genuinly surprised of how well it shifts and a couple of friends agreed to what I told them about the transmission. If it ever breaks I will put in a manual transmission but for now it's totally fine and when I use the manual gears I can drive as sporty as a manual transmission.

SPORT AUTOMATIC BEST FOR LIFE

The more people who buy the slush boxes, the more manuals available for me. I hear there are good automatics, but I have yet to drive one and the old ones can only be worse. What I worry about is the super high cost to rebuild an automatic, in 45 years I have paid for three auto rebuilds & zero manual rebuilds (not even a clutch). Keep up the good work.

“You don’t really need a manual transmission to enjoy the driving experience” I own both transmissions in the same engine capacity and they’re miles apart

Manual Transmission only

Manual in that car everytime. That automatic box kills that engine

I'll stick with stick. Really enjoy that. Feel so much more connected to the vehicle. And it's much more engaging and fun than automatic.

You dont get manuals thats all!

2nd comment 2nd like, 2nd view, 2nd to subscribe

Man I got here 2nd to get here

i hate manuals. I do a lot of city driving and there is a ton of traffic when going and coming back from work. And the "save fuel" argument isn't always true, again due to traffic and real world driving

100% agree! Believe me, even some new cars wouldn’t be the same without the smooth automatics. I remember watching a video of your dad reviewing the S class and complaining about why it wasn’t available with a manual. That’s the worst conclusion ever after reviewing a brand new S class. A misunderstanding of the product. Some cars are made to perfection and a manual in a car like that would be a joke

Automatics are for lazy people, old cars aren't built as strong as new ones???? Go check your local workshop and tell me that🤣🤣🤣 cars today are made to run trouble free for 5 years then fall apart. There won't be any 2019 BMW i8's around in 40-50 years will there?

RRRRRRRREEEEE MANUAL FOR LIFE

I Think That Automatic Transmissions Are Better

The thing is a manual makes a slow car more fun

This guy knows nothing about cars

Spoken like a soyboy that can't wrench. You can replace bushings and parts so the driving experience is at least 90% as good as when it was new. The only degradation is in the unibody of the car itself. There are cars with fragile transmissions but the E30 isn't one of them. Old cars are about fun and style. Not going fast. Manuals are more fun. Period.

yes it is the end of the world. OMG how piss weak do you have to be. Heck driving is about driving not about pulling a lever into D and pretending you can drive. I drive a manual car in Melbourne Australia over 100 miles a day 5 days a week & I have no issues at all.

Hahaha your son must have taken over the channel. All logic and no emotions

Nope, manual

Automatic is the best

hey Tommy no classic's are complete with out a manual transmission. we don't all want to drop the gears. you cannot be a true petrol head or classic aficionado without driving a manual. A manual is the only way to feel at one with the machine. Stuff the re-sale. American's are lazy and if you cannot drive manual then you should not have a licence. I would only every buy a manual in a classic car they are way easier to fix if something goes wrong.