Depends where you live, if you live in a big city with stop and go traffic, automatic, if you live in a rural area, manual all the way baby! My truck is automatic and my car I use for business is automatic, but my corvette is a manual.

although I don't use it as I can't drive, on our Dodge Grand Caravan 2002, there's an "autostick". Its a small switch on the shifter, but if you turn it on you can switch gears with the flick of it.  Its not as distracting as the manual shift is imo

It also depends on the kind of car. The cars I will drive, aka a minivan and jeep, you'd be better off with automatic anyway. Its probably good to know manual however. Its good for crusin USA

A friend of mine has that on his Jetta.

I've never used an automatic so manual for me  
You may as well learn on manual so in the future you can drive either type.

well i think i've decided on manual..... as most of you have said it gives you more control.... and since i dont live in downtown Toronto (i live in the suburbs) i wont have to worry about the start/stop traffic..... too much...

We dont really have auto here, cept for disabled peops and in really expensive imports like Mercedes and BM's.  And even uin them its usually a choice!

Manual
more control, more speed when you need it.
I have used automatic before, but its just crap.

Auto-stick is boring, the fun is with the clutch and slamming the gears. As for automatics, has its purpose, and they will go just as fast as a manual, floor it and it goes to the lowest band it get into w/o over revving the motor, you can however over ride it and make it stay in a certain gear. My uncle drives 18 wheelers, and he has an automatic in it (still has a clutch but no shifter) and he says it pulls better than a manual ever did. If you like to off-road, get an automatic, you don't wanna stall in the mud. They both have their pro's and con's. My advice, learn to drive a manual, one day you may have to use one.

I vote manual. driving seems more fun and recreational with a manual. Automatic seems boring and it's much less responsive. I can never get my auto to shift when I want it to. With a manual you get maximum control over your car and it's harder to get distracted while driving because you're (usually) always thinking about when to shift and what not. Of course that's really only the case while learning. Manuals can be difficult to learn depending on what kind of car you learn in. Some cars are more difficult than others. I learned in a 1984 Pontiac Fiero, and it seemed near impossible. But learnin g in a difficult car makes it that much easier to drive another difficult car.


To sum it all up. Manual because they are more fun to drive.