I've just written in another thread:
"There seem to be a lot of men who like automatics married to women who don't."
That's my impression - but I'd be interested in people's views as to whether that is a general impression and if so why. (Obviously that refers as much to partnerships and relationships as much as to married people.)
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That certainly matches my experience.....
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Interesting. I know a couple in Canada where, I understand, automatics vastly outnumber manuals and he always buys automatics and she always buys manuals.
I have no real insight into why this could be.
Could it be that, with a possible perception that "men know more about cars" some women would consider that a manual car requires more expertise than an automatic and so is a chance to redress the balance somewhat?
Knowing that the wife in this situation certainly has a thing about not being subordinate, or fitting in to normal male-female stereotypes, that theory maybe fits in this case.
Of course, if it always works the other way, that women with partners who drive manuals are more likely to drive automatics, the theory falls apart somewhat.
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Resistance to change? Most people learn on a manual.
I like proper automatics. A few years ago Mrs M said she didn't want a new car despite her 11 year old Sierra being well past its best. I bought her a new one as a surprise, and the only thing she wasn't happy about was that it was automatic. Now she won't be parted from that car either...
Last edited by: Manatee on Fri 18 Jun 10 at 07:22
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Gosh that's interesting. Hadn't really thought about it before but from our point of view my wife will happily drive either but says she prefers manuals and so does her sister. I'll drive either manual or auto and can't say I have any real preference.
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Me - Vastly prefer automatic.
She - went from manual to automatic and back to manual.
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Nicole much prefers automatics, The Automatic washing machine, The automatic dish washer......
Seriously, its because they learned to drive in a manual, and they dont understand automatics. Most of them fall to pieces when you change them from one car to another, let alone the type of transmision,
Yes yes, I know your wife/grilfriend/mother/lover/housekeeper is different, but as a generalisation, its true.
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"Yes yes, I know your wife/grilfriend/mother/lover/housekeeper is different, but as a generalisation, its true."
Just like all Romanians are crooks... :-)
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As far as Mrs F is concerned, it's all about being in control :)
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Mrs Oilburner was a little unsure about autos until she bought one, now she loves them and refuses to go back to that "horrid clutch thingy". Fair enough.
My dearest MiL detests autos, even being driven in them(!), but then she hates driving and cars full stop (I think she likes her washing machine more than her car), so that's not entirely a surprise.
"Seriously, its because they learned to drive in a manual, and they dont understand automatics. Most of them fall to pieces when you change them from one car to another, let alone the type of transmision,"
Yep, that is so true of my MiL. She has night terrors about changing cars and refuses to do it until hers is well and truly kaput.
Last edited by: oilburner on Fri 18 Jun 10 at 10:02
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SWMBO gave me all the sort of anti-automatic arguments you hear everywhere, until I persuaded her to actually try it. Now she's the standard case of 'whyever didn't I do it before?'
The only thing we argue about now is whether the lever should be knocked into neutral when stationary in traffic!
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