Why do Americans drive Automatic and Europeans drive Manual ?

Question

In Germany a 16 year old can drive manually perfectly while in America most 16 year olds can BARELY Drive Good.

Answer 1

Firstly the driving age in Germany is 18 not 16.

In Europe we have had a history of making much smaller cars and older automatic transmissions had a lot of power loss between the engine and the wheels. Hence we took to driving manual cars.

In the US you had a love of gas guzzling V8 engines so it did not mater. We pay about $6.50 a US gallon for gas here in Europe.

In Europe we have a different test and license for a manual transmission and we usually use driving schools not a parent to teach us. If you have a manual license you can drive an automatic but not he other way round

The test criteria to pass are strict. This includes correct use of the gears, clutch and parking brake (e brake).

To get a manual to start off on a steep hill going up hill you need the parking brake as well as the clutch and the correct gear. ANY roll back s an instant fail. Any coasting i.e letting the car travel in Neutral or with the clutch disengaged is again an instant fail. not being in the correct gear is an instant fail. The average pupil in Europe gets a minimum of 45 hours of driver training from an instructor to pass the test.



Now modern automatics are getting better man more people are driving them in Europe but we still tend to learn on a manual as then we can drive both automatics and manuals.

My wife has an automatic only license.

When I have been in the US the standard of driving is poor and most people have no idea how to deal with an manual transmission.

I now drive automatics as they are now so good there is no point in driving a manual.

As hybrid cars and electric cars become more prevalent so will driving automatics.

Answer 2

There are a million reasons. First, traffic in Europe does not *tend* to be as bad as the US. Most US workers are stuck in stop and start traffic for an hour + every day of their working life. We don't have effective mass transit in any large quantity, so we are forced to deal with horrible traffic.



Since most now have learned and grown up with auto's, our driving habits (which are terrible) are conducive ONLY to driving an automatic. Jackrabbit starts and stops are not a driving style with manuals, thus people get automatics to drive like everyone else.



Manuals have been better with small "underpowered" cars. Now that the engines make more power, that difference is not so great. BUT, as with any debate on manual vs. auto, the manual costs less, weighs less, the manual driver is able to anticipate gear changes, not wait on the response of an automatic, compression braking is better, and longevity is greater.



Unfortunately, BECAUSE everyone drives like an idiot here anymore, our fuel economy rating testing has changed to reflect the poor driving habits. They are actually a "worst case" scenario, not what the car is capable of like they were 15 years ago. So people like myself get 45MPG in normal driving, when the car is rated for 35. This of course, doesn't make people think about their poor driving habits, so nothing changes for the better. This is why you will often now see better "city" driving numbers for the automatics than manuals, but again, those numbers are bettered by a good driver. An automatic can not physically ever achieve the efficiency of a manual, since they require far more power to operate.

Answer 3

I learned to drive in the late 1960s and got my driver's license at age 15 (in USA) and learned in a BIG, HEAVY, UNDERPOWERED 1960 Ford Fairlane, that had manual steering, manual brakes, a 3-speed manual transmission with a steering column shifter, and a puny 223 cubic inch inline 6-cylinder engine. I graduated to a 396 cubic inch V-8 engine with a 4-speed manual transmission at age 19 (my first car), drove several automatic transmission vehicles, drove a 1978 Chevrolet pickup with a 250 cubic inch inline 6-cylinder engine, manual steering, manual brakes and a 4-speed manual transmission, and have been driving a Ford Ranger pickup with a tiny 2.3 liter inline 4-cylinder engine and a 5-speed manual transmission, for the last decade. So don't get the idea that Americans don't know how to drive manual transmissions.



But young Americans do have a great problem driving. They are better educated and had a better childhpod than I did, but I think at 15-16 would refuse to drive the kind of vehicle that I drove. It was plain transportation. Not sporty. Not good looking. Not easy to drive.

Answer 4

This is a myth. Not all Americans only drive autos. Many Americans are very good at rowing a stick shift, myself included. However, the MAJORITY of Americans prefer autos for any number of reasons, laziness, excessive stop and go traffic, etc. Not to mention that it may not even be their choice, a lot of parents just never taught their kids how to drive one. On top of these reasons, many American automakers simply do not offer many models aside from some stripped down economy cars with a manual anymore. It is very sad, but at least there are now some very good automatics in the market now.

Answer 5

In my country, you can learn manual or automatic. If you decide to get your test on manual (and pass it, of course) you can dirve manual and automatic.

But if you pass your test on automatic, it says so on the license and you aren't permitted ot drive manual -becuase you've never learnt to and have no idea how to.



Maybe Americans just don't like automatic. Honeslty? it's a lazy car, no shifting drives so you can easily fall asleep while driving or zoom out. For me, apparently it's easier to find cheap easy cars that are automatic then maual, because they hardly make any anymore, so while I had my license on maual, I, uh, got automatic.

Answer 6

Americans prefer to drive more technologically advanced vehicles rather ones with a 1905 vintage technology in the drive train to change gears. Automatics are now better than manual gear boxes for fuel economy, acceleration and reliability compared to a manual with all but the most expert drivers. We prefer not to do something the car can do for itself. The same way as we abandoned manual spark advance many years ago. The rowing and dancing needed to get a car with a manual transmission to move is inefficient, distracting and just not necessary any more.



Why Europeans keep using manuals is beyond us. They must just be cheap.

Answer 7

Two reasons:



1. Automatics until recently were vastly inferior, less reliable and less efficient than manual trannys. When you are paying $0.25 per gallon [when automtics started gaining popularity] vs $3 per gallon [same time frame] it is an issue.



2. European roads are more fun to drive. Lots of curves and very technical. American roads are just a series of straight lines to the next long gentle curve.

Answer 8

The different way road and street design compare USA and Europe. In America road is wider and simple. So automatic is easy and calm to drive. In Europe, road is narrow and very curving in several different direction. So need to keep your mind focus and change the mood in every second. Manual make sense with that part.



Also gas price is higher in Europe so manual save gas while driving.

Answer 9

very good question. its called LAZY :) the automatic transmission was once an option on american cars. now the standard is the option because most people don't know how to drive a standard. also a manual trans can give you better fuel mileage driven correctly and better control on winding roads but requires effort to drive one. so truthfully bottom line Lazy.

Answer 10

fuel economy was the original driving force (as others have written) that enabled the use of comparitively inefficient autos in US & the more fuel efficient manual transmissions in Europe & GB. Added t othis (due in part to fuel scarcity) government legislation penalised large engines quite severely in registration costs. In some European countries people would take the "auto" badge off their cars in shame as indicating that having t odrive an auto marked you as a second class driver.

Answer 11

American cars had traditionally bigger engines which were more suited to 'autos' of the time than the smaller less powerful engines used generally in Europe.

American cars have got 'smaller' in pursuit of economy, and auto boxes have much improved in efficiency, so the situation is now changing. Europeans are now buying lots of auto boxes....but I guess old habits die hard.

Answer 12

Decades ago, American cars were much larger than European cars and had automatics because it was nice. Now the cars are the same size and automatics are efficient, so it doesn't really matter.

Answer 13

Different life style

Answer 14

.... I am an american and 2 of my vehicles are standard, and one is automatic with synchronous shifting (I can override the automatic).

Answer 15

because each state has different driving ages and people dont know the beauty of Manuel

Answer 16

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Answer 17

I've always wondered the same thing. It seems to be more of a cultural thing I guess.

Answer 18

Manual cars are cheaper.

Answer 19

Americans are lazy and look for the easiest option.

Answer 20

America is more evolved I guess in tech

Answer 21

American

Answer 22

too much traffic here that's why manuals are too slow

Answer 23

German kids are smarter and healthy than American kids.



...... I blame the Media.