Essentially, a car with an automatic transmission is the simplest to operate. Using a shift bar on the steering wheel assembly or the console between the two front seats, the driver shifts from ‘park’ into ‘drive’ and goes. The transmission shifts automatically into higher gears as the car begins to move faster forward.

A car with a manual transmission must be driven with both feet. The driver must engage the clutch before shifting gears manually. Just like that of a manual transmission, the automatic transmission’s primary job is to allow the engine to operate in its narrow range of speeds while providing a wide range of output speeds.

Without a transmission, cars would be limited to a one gear ratio, and that ratio would have to be selected to allow the car to travel at the desired top speed. If you wanted a top speed of say 80 mph, then the gear ratio would be similar to the fourth gear in most manual transmission cars.

If you have driven an automatic car before or are willing to try one, you will quickly find out that you have almost no acceleration when starting out, and at high speeds, the engine will be screaming along near the redline.

However, experts say that a car like this wears out very quickly and would not be drivable. Therefore, when choosing between a manual and automatic car, one of the considerations should be power.

If you want the most power from your engine, going with a manual transmission versus an automatic is most likely going to be your best bet.

It is believed that some modern automatic transmissions such as manumatics, and conventional 4 or 5-speed automatic transmissions allow for some excellent acceleration.

There is still usually a substantial difference in 0-60 times between these types of automatics and a 5 or 6-speed manual transmission.

For example, internet information reveals that an automatic car equipped Dodge Neon reported a 0-60 m/h time of approximately 10.5 seconds.

The same Neon when equipped with a 5-speed manual reported a 0-60 time of 8.1 seconds, representing a huge difference.

While most cars do not have this large 0-60 m/p gap between auto and manual transmissions, 99 percent of the time you will receive noticeably better performance from a manual gearbox.

As you take extra care when driving a car with a transmission you are not familiar with, wait for more education about the automatic and manual car next time.

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