Why do so many Americans drive automatic cars? (2024)

FAQs

Why do so many Americans drive automatic cars? ›

Automatic cars in the US are generally cheaper, more powerful, and are used to drive long distances on relatively straight roads.

You can't beat the convenience of not having to shift gears, especially in cities. Americans pay much less at the pump than Europeans. Automatic cars have more get-up-and-go than they did in previous decades. The cost of an automatic car is cheaper in the US and there's more variety.

Automatic transmissions allow the driver to move through heavy traffic without having to do more than push a single pedal.

Burning out the clutch and stalling as you roll back down a hill used to be part of learning how to drive in America. But these days, fewer and fewer people in the U.S. are driving cars with stick shifts. According to CarMax, 96 percent of Americans drive automatics.

Pros of automatic transmission cars

An automatic car is much easier to learn how to drive, as there's no clutch or gear shifting required. They are the easiest way to get behind the wheel and start driving.

The average manual driver is not always so proficient. In getting the gear right, automatics consume less fuel, save money and emit fewer emissions. These are among the reasons why it's ever harder to buy a new manual-transmission model of any kind in many countries.

When you drive a manual transmission vehicle, you need to make more decisions about driving based on road conditions, speed, road incline, and more. While some drivers regard this as unnecessary, others relish the added control that a stick shift provides.

Higher Maintenance Cost – Automatic transmissions are generally more complicated than manual transmissions. They will need more frequent and more expensive maintenance. Automatics have a relatively shorter lifetime than manuals of the same make and model.

First of all, it should be pointed out that driving your automatic car in manual mode, overall, doesn't add any significant wear and tear to the car, unless you accidentally overtax the system in some way or mistakenly put the gear shifter back into another mode like neutral, park or reverse while you're moving.

Cost and Maintenance: Automatic transmissions are generally more expensive to manufacture and repair than manual transmissions. Additionally, maintenance costs can be higher, making them potentially costlier over the vehicle's lifetime.

Are manuals better than automatic? ›

If you do a lot city driving, an automatic may be easier to maneuver through stop and go traffic than a standard transmission. However, if performance and the driving experience matters to you, you might want to consider a manual. Another factor to keep in mind is if there'll be other people driving the vehicle.

Americans drive a lot. Far more than residents in most other countries. That may not come as a shock, but it has implications for all of our lives. Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.

European topography is dynamic; countryside roads are hilly and narrow with bumpy terrains, and the city roads are crowded and curvy. In landscapes like these, a car has to be very responsive as higher maneuverability is essential. In such cases, geared vehicles provide a more comfortable driving experience.

Which Is Safer? In the end, there is too little data to definitively conclude whether a manual or automatic vehicle is safer to drive. It is possible that a manual could keep drivers focused and away from their cell phones. It is also possible that an extra pedal and stick shift could be distracting to some drivers.

Ease of driving

The most obvious and common benefit of driving an automatic car is that they are typically easier to driver than manual cars. Not having to shift gears or use a clutch pedal make city-driving much less stressful and remove any risks of pains to your left leg/ankle from creeping up streets on the clutch.

Manual cars cost less than the same model with an automatic. In general, the manual version of a car will indeed cost less, but not always.

According to CarMax 96% of Americans drive automatics. According to Edmunds only 2% of new cars are sold with a manual transmission in the US.

A Trans That Can Handle Higher Horsepowers

With many supercars reaching 500 plus horsepower these days, a manual box is simply unable to keep up with the monstrous power these engines produce. Manuals can't compete with the 0-60mph time of automatic options. Manual shifting is actually slower than automatic options.

Europe Has a Different Topography

Having a car that you can manually switch the gears on is essential to these kinds of streets. Plus, automatics waste a lot more fuel when going up or down a steep slope, which, as we mentioned, is something many Europeans want to avoid.

The first fully automatic transmission appeared in the 1940 Oldsmobile. It was a $50 option and very popular. By 1950 almost every nameplate offered an automatic transmission. General motors offered powerglide on the Chevy, dynaflow on a Buick, the first automatic that used a torque converter, and hydramatic.