Your Automatic Choice (Ford Zephyr & Zodiac) - 1961

It's tempting to think of automatic transmission as a modern invention, but it isn't. This film, made by renowned film-maker Bill Mason, was commissioned by Ford 50 years ago to promote the auto option they were offering on the Zephyr and Zodiac range of cars. It gives a simple explanation of how the auto-box works, and then gives a tutorial on how to use it, finishing by asking "Who on earth wanted a third pedal anyway?"

[@richardparkin4930]

Wonderful old England......not just an advert.

[@user-ts2fw6dv1b]

The smile in the face of the dude at 7:05 happened to me when i first started driving an automatic gearbox.

[@ferguszade5594]

Automatics are brilliant.

[@hugebartlett1884]

Good to hear the sound track from "Forbidden Planet". Always did love these Ford models. Somehow they looked more "real" than today's products.

[@glpilpi6209]

The little man in the gearbox has grandchildren that are ECUs today.

[@wordsmith52]

Apart from the shots of central London, the film shows Hampstead Lane, and Winnington Rd, London N2, which is still a posh area of North West London.

[@adriancoppola3729]

Brings back nice memories of my father’s 50s and 60s Zodiacs.

[@leopoldonotarianni8663]

These English Ford's are true classic collector's items now. I've just purchased a 1958 Ford Zephyr 6 Mark II highline. I look forward to giving it a make over. My late father had two Ford Consul mark ones (1951 flat dash and a 1955 step dash) and a 1958 (first registered 1959) highline Zephyr 6 Mark II. He was very happy with them although he did say the front doors used to swing open on the flat dash Mark I on hard cornering.

[@maxq3975]

That lovely lady 9:02 is now in her 80s.

[@NoosaHeads]

Hard to accept that such beauty inevitably fades.

[@NOELEGORDON1985]

Really enjoyed this film! looks like it was filmed in the winter of 1961? The garage and showroom featured in this film 'Dagenham Motors' is Queensway London W2 -opposite the famous 'Whiteley's' department store. A Boots store now occupy's the garage and showroom site. Whiteley's department store is currently undergoing a massive refurb and is being destroyed as the inside has been gutted. All the wonderful original features such as the stairs case, windows and floors being destroyed!! SHOULD NOT BE ALOUD!! London is becoming so modern...

[@jeremyfine1464]

The three legged woman (2:29), I'm still pondering the possibilities.

[@hemmay]

And look what happened to Rolf Harris- Jake the peg......

[@leonotarianni7733]

Hahaha

[@COIcultist]

Good at playing a grand piano, a foot for every pedal.

[@VinnyDaQ]

"What with dual clutch automatics being, like, all the rage these days, even having a good old torque-converter automatic is, like, SO last century, and manuals are simply ancient !" - Paris Hilton ( self-appointed arbiter of all things fashionable )

[@joeseeking3572]

Paris Hilton could not formulate that sentence and would have no idea what any or it meant.

[@tamer1773]

Manual transmission made a resurgence in the U.S. in the eighties and nineties. But it was short lived. Most automatics now shift better than a human can shift a manual. Some even give better acceleration and gas mileage.

[@zOiNhUh]

Apart from the lock-up torque converter, the gear spread and differential ratio play an important role on this matter.

[@tamer1773]

@@zOiNhUh True! It always depends on how well it's designed and built.

[@BrassLock]

@@tamer1773 The Continuously Variable Transmission in the 1300cc Honda Brio is an absolute joy to drive, even under heavy accelleration, whereas the three speed auto transmission of the 1500cc Honda Jazz is rather surprising when accelerating, as it will desperately swap down to first gear if pedal pressure is too much.

[@frogandspanner]

Many people block change upwards on a 5-gear manual, so an auto (especially modern 8-ratio) is much more efficient.

[@trevorkeyes1639]

I have always like automatics safe way of driving.

[@remiem-iw7uk]

Not really. Better to fall asleep driving manual than automatic!

[@priestpilot]

Here in North America it's mostly all automatic, but I noticed that most of the UK is all manual. I once had a man from England telling me that he couldn't drive my car because it was an automatic lol! I guess this video couldn't convince the British.

[@AlexEssex8]

priestpilot Not anymore - very high number of autos in U.K. now...

[@wordsmith52]

Don't you believe it! Most who can afford it go for auto in the UK these days. I wouldn't be without it and adaptive cruise control. Why cripple your legs before you reach 60?

[@wordsmith52]

@Empire Entertainment Maybe, but they'll all have bad legs before they are 70!

[@roddoney7568]

Hahaha. The button near the clutch is the hibeams.

[@l337pwnage]

as it should be.

[@sawleyram7405]

Floor-mounted dipswitch

[@mattcrooke8321]

Its the main/dip switch for the headlights

[@v8valiant68]

The best way to learn to drive, is to drive a manual

[@DavidFraser007]

Automatics are ok for city driving, but I live rurally and manuals make more sense. But I do remember a time when even the men emptying dustbins wore ties. My Grandad was the exception I think, he was a lumberjack, never wore a tie and never wore a hat.

[@jamesappleyard7459]

David Fraser My grandad used to wear a shirt and tie to do the gardening

[@DavidFraser007]

It was normal then James, my Dad wore a tie just watching the TV, and my Gran didn't possess any trousers. Times have changed, sort of miss how things were.

[@jamesappleyard7459]

My nanna was the same. She was always in skirts.

[@davidfarmer2049]

James So did my Grandpa. I have seen a photograph of a professional gardener wearing a shirt and tie to cut the grass of a big house. Christ it must have been hot during the summer.

[@pcno2832]

Seems they always dressed up more in the UK than in the USA, maybe partly because there was less central heating there in those days.

[@neilforbes416]

1:40 Driver gives hand signal to stop. Totally redundant as the car is fitted with brake lights which illuminate when the brake pedal is depressed(needs cheering up LOL). Jokes aside, cars of this vintage already had as standard features, turn indicators and brake lights, totally eliminating any need for a driver to poke his arm outside the vehicle for any reason(except perhaps to pay a road toll or swipe a card to open a boom gate for parking lot access).

[@TheLCNW]

12.19 A24 Mickleham by-pass,Surrey. 13.10. The Zig Zag, Box Hill, Surrey.

[@JohnSmith-eu7kd]

I miss those older automatic transmission specially the ones without lock up clutch on the torque converter. Loosing engine power on slippage and heat, choosing the wrong gear on hills because they we’re relying on hydraulic pressure instead of the ECU to choose the correct gear. Only 2 or 3 gears. Good times

[@Spherian7]

So funny the descriptions putting down manual shifting ! They turn a simple shifting into trying to teach a clumsy goof the golf swing based not on doing it but on describing each tiny part and telling the good to do each part in sequence, exactly as described. If you can instruct in a British accent, so much more the havoc!

[@SpectrumAssociates]

What was the music from?

[@paullacey2999]

Didnt know Ford did 'Pedal Pumping Videos'😉😉😉

[@boleynali]

In those days auto,s sapped power big time..even as late as 1980 i had a Rover 3500 SD1auto and its 0-60 time and top speed were well down on a manual,not to mention fuel economy.

[@davidfarmer2049]

A well known fact. YOu only had 3 speeds anyway. I drove my Dad's subaru auto thats was 5 speed and was pretty much on par with the manual. YOu need to be in the "norghties" to have that though.

[@railtrolley]

The autos at that time slipped, which would have sapped power and economy. The 'lock up' torque converter didn't arrive until the 1990's

[@pcno2832]

@@railtrolley Packard and Studebacker were selling lock-up torque converters in the early 1950s, and Studebaker used the Borg Warner DG series, which is, according to Wikipedia, the same transmission used in the Zepher and Zodiac, so I'd guess that Ford UK would have ordered them with lockup converters, given fuel prices over there. The one reason they might have skipped them was that the early BW-DG lockup clutches tended to kick in if you revved the engine in Park or Neutral, which could cause damage. There was a move to "simplify" automatics toward the mid 1960s, in which things like the GM 4 speed Hydramatic gave way to an industry standard of 3 speeds and a non-locking converter; even GM's beloved "switch pitch" converters were gone by 1968, so there was sort of a race the the bottom. It was not until the early 1980s that lockup converters and 4 speeds became the standard arrangement for larger American cars, and I guess they put off that change a little longer for the smaller models of that era.

[@railtrolley]

@@pcno2832 I didn't know that. Studebaker often surprises by being ahead of the game - even though they did not have the resources GM does. I only knew about lock- up converters when the Turbo TH700 auto came out. I had one on a car back in the day: 1990 VQ series Holden Statesman V8. I could get 31 mpg out of the 5 litre V8 cruising at 60mph (100kmh). Tall gearing, and only 1500rpm at 60.

[@l337pwnage]

What about the 60' time?

[@kennedysingh3916]

It took 40 years from then for the automatic to really take over.

[@pcno2832]

At least in Europe. It was hard to buy a large car in N. America with a manual transmission from the early 1960s on.

[@Mithrasboy]

How did they persuade Harold Macmillan to appear in this promotional film?

[@glpilpi6209]

Or a young Brian Clough at 4.39 .

[@General.Longstreet]

Thats Box Hill at the end of the film. Just down the road from me.

[@mdcs1992]

05:48 that smile is going to give me nightmares!

[@bobdobalina2931]

10:53 whereas that smile could give me very sweet dreams.

[@fireballfireball1067]

Was the transmission in this Ford a 2 or 3 speed?

[@saxongreen78]

Eighty five or so years since the first auto trans was introduced, _I still prefer MANUAL gearboxes!_

[@PtolemyJones]

Kind of surprised to see that when the driver is on the other side of the dar, the pedals and such aren't reversed. Miss when the button for the brights was on the floor though...

[@wordsmith52]

It was 5 years too late even in 1961 for the Zephyrs and Zodiacs!

[@nickjervis8123]

I have a 1958 Zephyr Farnham automatic

[@vintageprolink]

The Zodiac executive Mk4 is my favorite ! Bueatiful looking car. Luxury interior and body of the car ! Opposed cllass ! And work man ship. Same with the Granada Mk1 .😀I had bothin 1983 to 1990. Till my Zodiac got stolllen ! And my mk1 Bueatiful Grande 3.0 GXL 1973 , got written off by some manic learner bike rider! Riding like a lunatic ! In a 30mph area. Never forget those Bueatiful cars &the Mk3 cortina2.0 GXL which I got after my zodiac executive desapppeared ! Back in 1990. And still have the car.😄😂😂😂😂😂👍👎✌for life.😀

[@pcno2832]

11:25 I knew that some older cars had PNDLR shift patterns, but I've never seen RLDNP before. Maybe they figured that with the wheel on the right, the positions should be inverted.

[@operator91210]

A lot of early automatic cars from GM, ford and Chrysler didn't even have a park position as you just put the car in neutral and set the parking brake.

[@markhealey9409]

Some right hand drive cars in UK have/had the gearstick on the right hand side of the column back in the 50s & 60s,in that case the gear arrangement was the same as in most left hand drive cars. Column change has been rare on European cars since the 60s,especially manuals. The only one i can think of sold in Europe in the late 90s & into the 21st century with a column change was the Austrian built Chrysler Voyagers....the autos had column sticks on the right hand side in Britain & Ireland on the right hand drive vans,the manuals were floor mounted gearsticks in Europe on Voyagers....i don't think the said generations had manual as an oprtion in North America....perhaps the 80s Voyagers & Caravans there did,i can't remember. 🤔🤔

[@normanscenic]

I worked on these Fords ,, they had lots of problems with the auto gearbox ..

[@TheOzthewiz]

Even with the manual transmission there were problems, mainly with the hydraulich clutch!

[@musiclover5023]

I have owned some huge cars with V8 engines automatic transmission is fantastic and now I am no longer very interested in cars that do not have automatic systems, maybe I have been spoiled ? Lol

[@easygoin2887]

And nearly 60 years later, manual transmissions still outsell automatics in Europe

[@AlexEssex8]

Easy Goin Sales of automatics in England have risen massively over the least 20 years though...

[@radioguy1620]

very rare in America today, I have a older Escort and had to give a visitor a ride to get groceries for his trip and he was amazed it had a 5 speed manual. with 339 k miles the 5 speed is no doubt why it still goes or at least a major reason. my other escort is a auto with 145 k and I just know it will probably have trans trouble eventually.

[@pit_stop77]

At least they demonstrate the bad driving @5.05 with a guy, usually you'd expect them to give the impression only a woman could struggle driving.

[@jmurray01]

It is quite funny how biased this film is! They make driving a manual look so difficult that you would not even want to attempt driving one, and yet it is something you can do without even THINKING about it when you are experienced. They also show all the manual demonstrations with a column shifter rather than a floor shifter which makes it look even more confusing. Don't get me wrong, automatics are great and all, but there is nothing wrong with a manual either - and driven correctly it can be just as smooth as an auto.

[@colj001]

+jmurray01 back in the 60's when this film was made, a lot of people still drove cars with non synchromesh gearboxes (synchromesh became standard around 1965) which meant you had to double clutch and rev match for downshifts.

[@jmurray01]

colj001 True, but even then it is a skill that you can acquire and becomes natural after a while.

[@johnfaulkner6776]

Nothing wrong with a column gear change. I passed my test on a Hilllman Minx with a column shift. This film just happens to use two Ford models that did have a column change.

[@remiem-iw7uk]

It's the feeling of being in greater control driving manual for me!

[@sightsounds9453]

Toyota made a huge mistake by not putting cruise control on their Prius models in Europe. Even with the mk2 it was not a standard feature.

[@robertjason2296]

When was the first ford automatic

[@seana806]

I believe it was in 1950 or 1951. Ford used a transmission that was from Borg Warner who built and sold automatic transmissions to Ford, Studebaker, Nash, Rambler, and many others independent automakers. The Ford Ford-O-Matic transmission was a 3 speed but started out in 2nd which stumps people into thinking it’s a 2 speed when it is a 3 speed. First gear on the Ford-O-Matic was activated when shifting it to the L or Low position on the gear selector. One feature the Ford-O-Matic had was a neutral safety switch where it wouldn’t start until the gear selector was shifted into the N position, probably was intended if someone was going to push or bump start if the battery was dead or starter got hot and no longer working.

[@DomingoDeSantaClara]

Now we have one pedal driving.

[@BillyfromConsett]

Once you’ve driven an automatic through town, a manual box soon loses its appeal.

[@Merseysiderful]

The woman at 4:40 was gorgeous, but I still don’t understand how automatic transmissions work ?

[@melciveng]

Mersey Merlin. All the women were beautiful in this film ❤️

[@bernardkavanagh3528]

Stunner at 9:02 has no problem negotiating traffic even though the wolf whistlers on the back of the lorry. 😘

[@briancritchley5295]

I will admit automatic is fine but driving a manual is more fun, it gives your brain something to think about, what next ? no steering wheel or no need to remember the way home, just press a button..

[@jmurray01]

And yet 51 years later manual is still the most popular transmission choice in the UK... Hmm!

[@bokhans]

jmurray01 YEs and why? One of the only things the Americans got right in life. Automatic rules.

[@wordsmith52]

Yes, but that is because the early ones were not always reliable, many early auto drivers f*cked up the gear box by using kickdown too hard and too much, plus they were (and still are) too much of an expensive extra when buying a new car. More recently, some were (and still are) unreliable, especially on Fords. Nowadays, the MPG issues are less of a problem though, and many drivers these days wouldn't be without automatic and intelligent cruise control.

[@RS-pe5hp]

I will tell you one thing that they got right even then. You can get in, light up an cigar and relax with an automatic ..... (7G-tronic is amazing, I would never go back to manual, to be like a slave of car).....

[@l337pwnage]

I think that's pretty much true worldwide. I know it used to be economics, not sure if there are other factors.

[@riderzinc]

@@bokhans I do like driving automatic but it's not really driving unless it's a manual

[@ul7185]

Little Theater Screen Segments from Garfield Goose and Friends

[@charlesmacgilchrist3648]

The only good thing about the auto's in those days (in america at least) was that they actually came with 4 forward speeds and you could jump start them if you could push them above 12 mph!

[@jackthebassman1]

Interesting comment, as far as I can remember, all were 3 speed and in the USA I can recall autos were 2 speed.

[@WAQWBrentwood]

Jack bassman In the 50s and 60s US automatic transmissions had 2,3 or 4 forward speeds depending on model. (although the original Buick Dyanflow technically had "none").

[@jackthebassman1]

WAQWBrentwood Many thanks for the info, so was the buick system like the Dutch Daf belt method?

[@WAQWBrentwood]

Jack bassman The Dyanflow was basically just a torque converter, Whereas some automatics used a fluid coupling (no torque multiplication) and an automatic grearbox. Most later designs (like the one in this video) combined the two. The fact that GM had multiple designs early on for automatics, spoke to a level of "real world" experimentation!

[@jackthebassman1]

WAQWBrentwood Thanks again, you are very knowledgeable.

[@bluebellybrown2361]

He had a job at MI5

[@01322521959]

Most cars here in Bangkok are automatics, as the correct method for hill starts is not taught here.Driving test?Err, give us a tenner, mate...

[@boggy7665]

Friction clutches in places where starts on steep hills are frequent, probably need to be changed often. A good argument for a torque converter automatic, maybe.

[@waltonsmountain]

c3 box ??

[@SimonFurber]

Once you are experienced driving a manual transmission, it all becomes automatic. It’s not difficult all. In many ways you have much better control over the car.

[@matthewharding1064]

Michael Jackson would be moon dancing with those feet moves.

[@vijayjagannath2870]

The zephyr is Un forgettable. We had a 1956 mk 1 1958mk 2 and then a 1961 with od before moving on to the Cortina we still have a 1981 Red XR 6.

[@davidfarmer2049]

Driving in heels looks next door to dangerous....

[@johndebmax]

its all he has to, nice.

[@jarikinnunen1718]

They didn`t mention older guys "clutch burners" who lost touch to handling manual.

[@PhilOsGarage]

0:55 - he has driven for years, and looks thoroughly bored with it.

[@johnwh1039]

Good job there wasn't 'aromavision' at 8:55

[@melciveng]

John Wh I would love to smell that beautiful nylon foot

[@derekhallows9479]

So why have they never caught on over here?

[@PhilOsGarage]

Derek Hallows more and more new cars are auto now, especially in cities.

[@daniel-ino]

Have a look at cars sizer greater than a Golf. No manual

[@cameronrichardson3108]

Gramps said he had a zephyr automatic he said it was crap 😂

[@Fush1234]

Sounds like a real beast. Mind you .., it’s a Ford. Let’s say... 1/2 a beast. 🤣🤣👏🏻

[@mickronson8039]

Winnington Rd NW3 and Spaniards

[@retrobilly1986]

At 12.35 as he goes past the truck, the truck cuts in front of him

[@ilicurosh]

This short film humiliates millions of people around the world, showing that it is too difficult for them to master the simple skill of changing gears. The real passion of driving begins in situations in which the driver determines the number of revolutions of the engine, gearbox and wheels. It balances the power and speed of the vehicle.

[@remiem-iw7uk]

ABSOLUTELY! What a hit-piece! Marketing can contort anything to make it unsavoury!

[@Sids60sSounds]

Got a feeling this is earlier than 1961

[@wordsmith52]

Don't think so - Ford always seemed to be a bit late in offering the customer the latest technology - e.g. in UK the Hillman Minx had introduced auto transmission in 1953. Now they lag behind in offering Hybrid engines, but will do so soon after more than 10 years.

[@wordsmith52]

***** Yep I suffered them for a few years myself, but in other respects Ford had more advanced body styles (here in UK anyway). I recall reading a US review of the early 50s Austin range and it likened them to a set of Toby jugs - which was not far off the truth..

[@wordsmith52]

***** On closer inspection of the film I see that the mk2 Zephyr is the series one eversion produced from late 56-59, after which the "low-line" Series two of the Mk2 took over (slightly sleeker with a lower roof line) so it might be a bit earlier than 61.

[@ianblakesley3349]

I spotted that as well. The semi-circular instrument binnacle gives it away.

[@sightsounds9453]

@@ianblakesley3349 having looked at this film again, I think they must have cut and edited in bits from other earlier films.

[@bluebellybrown2361]

he sounds like my maths teacher ...didn't do me any good

[@zOiNhUh]

Manual transmissions are coming to an end in a worldwide basis mostly because of the hybrids became mainstream. It's too much easier to achieve a smoothier transition from full-EV to different proportions of electric and combustion power in an automatic.

[@TheOzthewiz]

In 10 years the ICE will be a distant memory!

[@brittenmusic6923]

Speechless...🤣🤣🤣

[@kandigallagher1892]

I'm a left foot braker

[@pcno2832]

It takes some discipline to do that without resting your foot on the pedal and burning the brakes up. I tend to leave my left foot on the wheel housing (it being on the left in the USA).

[@sightsounds9453]

@@pcno2832 It's the left in the UK too!

[@dkt1976dt]

Over in Britain you must learn to drive a manual transmission before you can even go for a drivers license, its not like here in America where mostly automatic transmissions are the norm.

[@Efferpheasants]

Nearly-If you take a driving test in an auto- then that is all you can drive after..My Dad gave me lessons in his auto, but I had to sign with a driving school to drive manual and get the 'full' license.

[@anthonykeaveny8860]

That is wrong. My mother passed her test in an automatic car (Ford) in 1964. ALL cars sold in Europe of 3 litres or more are automatic and most Heavy Trucks and Semis. The only large car (Over 3 Litres) still available with a manual in the UK is your Ford Mustang.

[@tomleader7054]

@@anthonykeaveny8860 Not quite true.

[@TheOzthewiz]

@@tomleader7054 Mr. anthony is spinning some TALL tales!

[@salvatorearcoleo8935]

ok America

[@consul1957]

Mk2 Highlines rule!

[@sightsounds9453]

You mean "Lowlines"!

[@riderzinc]

@@sightsounds9453 I like the highline dashboard better but the prefer lowline rear lights

[@sightsounds9453]

These cars always looked sleek and imposing, compared to the other dumpy vehicles parading the roads (including pre-war death traps). They still look special.

[@vernonmatthews181]

Why put your wife thru all that bunny hoping nonsense, pretty good special effects for 1961. That year was when my parents married, Dad was a Ford nut in those days, had he been alive today, he would have loved your video. 😎👌👍

[@briggsfartblender788]

I hope they didn't put those clutch pedals in new cars after throwing them on the floor like that!

[@TheOzthewiz]

If the locally "Bobby" saw you doing that, you could end up in the local gray bar hotel!

[@sightsounds9453]

Fix Or Repair Daily....

[@johnrawlins6147]

Ah! England as I remember it not like the sh t hole today

[@leaturk11]

shame to think the girl in this film will be in her mid 80s now..and probably be in a care home.

[@user-fi1kt1tj2h]

if she is still alive...

[@user-fi1kt1tj2h]

some nice pp though lol :)

[@leonotarianni7733]

Dead as a door nail I think

[@BrassLock]

These sharply focused high quality films demonstrate the Impermanence of life quite clearly. Jolly shame really.

[@NoosaHeads]

9 minutes 0 seconds. Gorgeous girl....

[@mattcrooke8321]

You cant beat an auto though, why change gear when the car can do it for you!

[@sightsounds9453]

true - too much shifting plays havoc with the legs when reaching middle age and beyond.

[@HankMcKoy]

Autos are still boring and the engine sound is just hum hum hum so boring and sometimes it changes gears even if not necessary.

[@remiem-iw7uk]

Machines can fail and won't always move when you want them to. It's manual for me!

[@harrygatto]

PNDLR, not good, too easy to select R whilst on the move. When did they change to PRNDL?

[@tamer1773]

Early 60's when the PNDLR was replaced with PRNDL.

[@harrygatto]

@@tamer1773 Thanks.

[@tamer1773]

@@harrygatto YW!

[@jonathanmorrisey5771]

1964 was the last year for PNDSLR here in the states on the big GM products with the Dual-Range HydraMatic.

[@pcno2832]

@@jonathanmorrisey5771 That was also the year they banned pushbutton transmission controls. Recently, Chrysler has been selling vehicles with a knob instead of a lever, which wouldn't automatically be a bad thing, but since it operates through a the computer, the P position sometimes doesn't take, which has caused a few deaths.

[@BrassLock]

After reading the comments about Brits disliking automatics, I predict Google Self Drive vehicles will fail to sell in Brexit Britain. After all, the gossip at the local pub is that "If it ain't got 3 pedals, it ain't no good at all".

[@apemoon1731]

Manual transmission is the norm here in Britain. Automatics are more popular today, but they're still a small minotity.

[@PhilOsGarage]

@@apemoon1731 it does depend where you are and the type of car. In London automatic is very popular for obvious reasons, and the vast majority of high end cars are auto.

[@BrassLock]

@Empire Entertainment As an ambidextrous driver of all and sundry transmissions I can understand well entrenched preferences. However I blame the late Stirling Moss and his sister Pat Moss for creating the belief that only proper drivers use three pedals, including the double de-clutch heel and toe tap dance with associated auditory exhaust notes! And who can question their authority? . . . after all, they won the prizes for Britain.

[@retrobilly1986]

Driving in high heels.

[@thomaseaves7567]

Note the hate crime committed by the guys in the back of the lorry, please stop the world, I want to get off.........

[@remiem-iw7uk]

How insulting this marketing piece is! As if it's so difficult to drive manual! Folks are "too dull to learn how" apparently, based on this hit piece! LOLOL!

[@craigogden8708]

Lovely girl driver feeding my foot fetish lol

[@HankMcKoy]

Please leave the stick shift alone. Driving isn't driving without three pedals.

[@almostfm]

It really depends on how you look at driving. If it's purely transportation, an automatic makes sense because it's the least amount of work for a driver to get from point A to point B. But a manual keeps you more engaged with what the car is doing, which is why I prefer it. The only time I don't is if I'm driving in a city like San Francisco, where there's a good chance that stopping at a traffic light means you're stopped headed up a steep hill.

[@Leylandman1]

Cheaper to replace a clutch. as opposed to rebuilding an auto trans.

[@TheOzthewiz]

However, if you do city driving on a regular basis, that clutch will be pretty well worn at 50K miles, whereas an automatic (with proper maintenance) will easily last 250K miles!

[@pcno2832]

Some automatics last forever and some have been absolute nightmares. Of course, some drivers are absolute nightmares for clutches and some (especially FWD and 4WD) cars can cost thousands for a clutch job.

[@sightsounds9453]

@@pcno2832 That's about right! Bad drivers often cause bad cars, and then try to blame it on someone or something else.

[@branon6565]

There is no negative in owning and driving manual transmissions. I own 4 Fords, an '88 F250 4x4, an '84 Ranger 4x4, a '74 Bronco (500hp to the ground), and a '44 GPW (Flat fender from WWII with a '66 k-code 289) and each one of em has a manual trans in it. Hell, my Jeep has 4 sticks in it, a 4spd, a Warn Overdrive, a High range/Low Range, and in/out of 4wheel drive....automatics are for drag racing, older folks, and worthless lazy millennial pricks....lol

[@andisadler2897]

Here in the UK, You take your driving test in an automatic, well thats all your allowed to drive. Not a manual gearbox or stick shift as you lot call it.

[@TheOzthewiz]

@@andisadler2897 Same in the US. Just makes sense!

[@pcno2832]

@@TheOzthewiz In MA, I don't think there is such a thing as an automatic-only license. They just assume that you'll learn before taking a manual on the road.

[@grahamsmith-js8ww]

Not true !! 🤨

[@nickhickson8738]

Automatics not so good for manoeuvrability in confined spaces.

[@daniel-ino]

Why?

[@operator91210]

I'd say otherwise just throw it into reverse then put it into drive. Very easy to do, makes parking easier.

[@AnthonyTolhurst-dw1nc]

They made men the idiot even then!

[@l337pwnage]

2:26 lol, you'll never see a woman that thin in America.

[@bobdobalina2931]

I cannot stand a manual transmission. I do have to drive one from time to time but give me a decent auto any day of the week. Why expend all that energy up and down on the clutch? It's ridiculous, although these modern auto boxes are complete rubbish, no creep and clunky shifts.

[@pcno2832]

I like driving other people's manual cars, but I've never owned one myself. Automatics are better if you like to drive with a hamburger in one hand and a drink in the center console. They are also much better in the snow, especially on hills. I also find many drivers of manual cars sort of a menace on the road: always hesitating to change gears or even worse, letting the car roll back at a light.

[@timpriddy349]

Meh.....autos are dull

[@alexmckenna1171]

Give me a Tesla please!

[@operator91210]

Please get out.