Hmmph...

[skoker]

Well I finally find a car I like but the problem is its a manual transmition.

[Stubbedtoe18]

lol that's not going to happen.  You virtually never hear of anyone going through the process of converting a manual car into an automatic.  Tell your mom to not be so weird about it, you should just learn how to drive a stickshift.  Better mileage and more fun to drive, not to mention cheaper than an automatic car.

[Strategic Retreat]

LOL

Had I, here in Italy, bought an automatic car, back in the days when my mom dictated my life (ah, the good old days... NOT), she would have been totally, and I mean TOTALLY... ashamed of me, verging on complete disowning, had I insisted.

We really live on different planets.

[expat]

[quote]Well I finally find a car I like but the problem is its a manual transmition.

[patchz]

[quote]lol that's not going to happen.

[ApplePie]

Just learn how to drive manual. It makes boring cars like my Neon actually kind of fun to drive, and it's a little cheaper than an automatic as well.

Although it's the opposite of what you want, my neighbor has converted a couple of his minivans from auto to manual over the years...to "make them more interesting." he said.

[beaky]

Forget it... I once helped a friend do a similar procedure (taking the engine and manual trans out of a wrecked Volvo P1800 and installing it in another, after removing the engine and automatic trans from that one), and even with proper tools, a lift, and more experience (none of which we had, LOL), it's a big job, and the labor bill would be scary. I was glad we didn't have separate either engine from its transmission, also... and we got lucky that one of the two drive shafts actually fit in the new installation.
And those were mid-70s cars... plenty of room and less wiring, etc. Working in the engine bay or underneath almost any car built after 1980 is like trying to build a brick BBQ pit inside a walnut shell. And if it's front-wheel drive, fageddabouddit! 

I don't get your mom's reasoning. Better fuel mileage, cheaper to maintain... and usually a lot more durable.
The only snag with some manuals is that while learning to shift properly, you might wear out the clutch. But it's not hard to learn to do it right, and a good clutch and transmission will take some abuse.

And yeah, it's more fun. More control; personally I think it enhances safety in many situations. I don't mind working a stick in stop'n'go traffic, either, even though my car's drivetrain is trucklike, and the left foot gets a good workout.

Tell her about the safety, the mileage, and the savings... and whatever you do, don't mention anything about hooning.

[expat]

What is your mother's reasoning against?

Matt

[machineman9]

Learn2Manual!

I hate the thought of automatics. It's not real driving; it's just steering! I'd definately work on trying to convince the parents... It's the proper way to drive, it teaches you to drive the correct way, and I imagine in certain road conditions it's probably safer. On a slippy and slidey steep road in winter I was glad to be able to fix it in second gear whilst rolling down that 

[skoker]

What is your mother's reasoning against?

Matt

She's afraid I don't know how to drive it, since when she was my age she borrowed her friends car and repeatedly hit a city bus because she couldn't figure out how to take it out of gear... 

Also a few years ago she ruined the transmition on my uncles car when she accelerated at a light in neutral and jammed it into gear.  So she is pretty much totally against manuals.

[Hagar]

What is your mother's reasoning against?

Matt

She's afraid I don't know how to drive it, since when she was my age she borrowed her friends car and repeatedly hit a city bus because she couldn't figure out how to take it out of gear...

[expat]

What is your mother's reasoning against?

Matt

She's afraid I don't know how to drive it, since when she was my age she borrowed her friends car and repeatedly hit a city bus because she couldn't figure out how to take it out of gear...

[ozzy72]

Go for a manual, they're just so much easier and if you're anywhere near competent as a driver you're far less like to have a gear-related accident than in an automatic! E.g. you have full control of the car.
Also my mum has to use an automatic due to surgery and her left leg being very weak and I've seen the bills for clutch changes on that She is not a girl racer but holy moley they are expensive! Also if a manual goes tits up the box is a lot easier to swap than an automatic, you don't need weird tools to align strange things!
I've had one automatic and I have to say on short journeys and off the lights it was great, but for any decent amount of driving the fuel economy was pants!

[Apex]

I drove a stick for 12 years, starting in 1976.

[ozzy72]

Do you have any idea how hard it is to get the back end out on a wet roundabout in an automatic 3-series? In a manual I can do it in the dry! With the automatic you need a couple of bags of cement or a dead mafia boss in the boot