Just interested to know really, as someone told me any visitor to the country isn't allowed to drive manual by default? I guess it kinda makes sense as the driver might be from a country where you drive on the left hand side, therefore you have one less thing to concentrate on. Even though with manual you kinda turn into a machine, when operating the stick lol.
Driving a manual car on the left hand side just doesnt seem right to me. We're ok cos the whole gear change is done with the left side of our body. Ive crunched a few hire cars in europe!
I have no idea why the US is so freaking auto centric, automatic transmissions wear out faster, are heavier, larger, less fuel efficient, don't accelerate as well, and are really boring to drive. The US auto market is just like crap, because people have no idea what they want, and are mislead by all possible sources regarding autos..... (ie hybrids)
Being a New Yorker, i can tell you that the majority of people drive AUTOMATIC. Of course, i would go manual because it is MUCH more fun to drive and MUCH cheaper to fix than an automatic.
Driving a manual car in New York is exhausting, especially during the frequent traffic jams there But driving a left hand car is just something to get used to, and not wrong. Right hand cars only exist in the UK, Australia and Asia, so that's a minority.
The new (for some cars even since 1999) automatic gearboxes are quite good. AND, if the driver is not having much brains - automatic will definately consume less fuel. But it is impossible to... uhm... to... (forgot the english word for that ) tow-start an automat. But a BMW 5xx or 7xx can be started only with 2 people
The most AWESOME place to drive is within israel ! the driver side is on the left and i'm left handed , and it wasn't so difficult to change transmission with my right hand ... but my car is an auto car ... so ,,, lake of fun while driving , but , what the heak believe me .... don't believe anyone ...
Check out the American Ice Road Truckers driving right hand drive trucks when they went to India, it's scary.
It's crazy enough to drive on ice in Alaska and the wilds of Canada Cube but that in India is something else entirely. Utter madness.
I'd love to have a manual again, but those seem to be on the decline. I think the Dodge Dart would be a fun little car to run around with, but if I can only have one car for family use and fun it'd be the Ford Taurus SHO or Chevy Impala SS. The Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger SXT could work too.
