Cars - Do you drive a manual or automatic?

[paulpablo]

I just started taking driving lessons - I'm driving a manual shift car, like everybody else in my country because it's how you get your drivers license. I did quite a few KM, I start on shift 1 and a few seconds later I need to step the clutch and shift to 2 immediately - I never got to shift to 3 because I'm only 2 lessons in, and we're taking it slowly. Driving is fun, not as hard as it looks. 

How do automatics work? Do you have to ever shift at all? Is there a third pedal like the clutch or is it just the accelerator and brake? Did you take drivers license with an automatic or manual? BTW, the car I'm using is a ford, dunno the model, and it's diesel.

I'll probably buy a manual car when I get my drivers license, pretty much 80% of cars sold are manual, come cheaper and generally fuel in Europe is so expensive that it's easier to come a across a fuel efficient car that is manual. Why do some parts of the world like the US and Canada prefer automatic, and why?

I live in the UK and I just passed my test last year doing it in an automatic.  I just wanted to drive quickly and easily so that's why I did it.

I don't understand the horror people in the UK have over driving automatics.  When I used to tell people I was learning to drive in an automatic they reacted like I'd just told them I was going to take up paedophilia as a hobby.

I had people telling me that if I drive an automatic I won't be able to randomly borrow friends cars that are manual, I've never had to borrow a friends car ever and I never would since it's illegal to drive on a car you're not insured on.

I had people say they're unreliable I don't know about this but I've had my pre owned automatic car for just over 1 year now and there's nothing wrong with it.

As for fuel consumption it's difficult for me to say since I've only driven an automatic but if there even is a difference I can't imagine it's that much, I think it's more dependant on engine size and how aggressively you accelerate.