[venkatrx]

* In US 'automatic transmission' is the default, where as in india it is 'manual transmission', car-gurus, whats the major reason for this difference?

* BTW people keep saying automatic transmisstion has lot of problems, is that really true?

* apart from santro-automatic, honda-cvt are there others cars which provide the 'automatic' option? in the sub-10 lakhs category.

[karthik247]

1. Most people in India don't exately know how to drive a car with an auto box'

2. Manual transmissions give u more control over the car, better pick up times, and a bit more FE

[speedofreak]

automatic cars are sluggish ,i have a one a OHC a/t,they dissapoint you when u want to rev up ,in my case a zen Manual zoomed passed my car during a short drag......but if you are not a speedo freak ....u would love a/t.....incidentally i don't

and just to tell u .....NO problems with my OHC a/t till date almost 6 years since we bought it

[sumitkalindi]

The main reason is word of mouth report that autobox has less FE.and hence the notion "yeh sab bahar chalta hai kyouki waha Jam nahi hota."

[rks]

Originally Posted by venkatrx

* In US 'automatic transmission' is the default, where as in india it is 'manual transmission', car-gurus, whats the major reason for this difference?
[...]

I will leave it to the car gurus to give the correct answer, but let me take a guess. Maybe because there are a huge number of cars and a lot of bumper-to-bumper traffic in US cities? And people generally don't feel the need to overtake in US cities because most of the traffic is moving at a uniform speed? Another possibility is that there may be a larger percentage of women drivers in the US, who might prefer automatic transmission.

In contrast, you will find a lot of slow-moving traffic -- autos, two-wheelers, heavy vehicles -- in Indian cities, mixed with fast cars. In Pune, it is the two-wheelers that irritate most- most of the bike guys seem to be comfortable at 30 kph (probably the lowest speed possible in fourth gear) and occupying the middle of the road (are they driving for mileage?) So in Indian cities you will need to overtake all the time and people may prefer manual transmission. I would guess that in the US countryside, more people might prefer manual transmission.
Regards, rks

[narasimha raju]

Originally Posted by venkatrx

* In US 'automatic transmission' is the default, where as in india it is 'manual transmission', car-gurus, whats the major reason for this difference?.

First thing is Indian buyers look for fuel consumption instead of driving comfort. Second thing is it is expensive than manual transmission.

Infact Automatic transmission is more useful for city driving.

Originally Posted by venkatrx

* BTW people keep saying automatic transmisstion has lot of problems, is that really true?.

That is not true. Most of people in US and other countries are using automatic transmissions and they are not facing major problems.

Originally Posted by venkatrx

* apart from santro-automatic, honda-cvt are there others cars which provide the 'automatic' option? in the sub-10 lakhs category.

I think Maruti Wagor-R and Cheverlet Optra also comes with automatic option.

[Dippy]

Add the Corolla, Octavia, Camry, Vitara, Sonata, Laura and Superb to the auto list

[mxx]

Personally my favourite tansmission is DSG/multitronic/steptronic type transmission.

BTW people keep saying automatic transmisstion has lot of problems, is that really true?

This is not true. But i have heard that in case of any problems, auto transmissions are expensive to repair.

[narasimha raju]

Originally Posted by Dippy

Add the Corolla, Octavia, Camry, Vitara, Sonata, Laura and Superb to the auto list

He asked only for sub 10 lakhs category

[parijnan]

The automatics are sluggish because we are provided with smaller engines. We get smaller engines because of our obsession with FE. An auto tranny on these engines will hit both FE and acceleration. Another reason could be that manufacturers place a premium on the auto transmission variants.

[typeOnegative]

Auto cars are easier to drive and acclimatise to. Price is a volume game for a manufacturer. I drive a Ford Taurus (comapny provided) over here and don't find it a problem. Though I curse the lack of control over what gear I want.

Manual cars are fun to drive (my bias) but are a pain in bumper to bumper traffic. For the same cubic capacity a manual tranny will return better F.E. in the hands of a good driver.

Maintenance costs are subjective, but all things being same my guess is that an auto will be costlier to repair than a manual.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by rks

I will leave it to the car gurus to give the correct answer, but let me take a guess. Maybe because there are a huge number of cars and a lot of bumper-to-bumper traffic in US cities? And people generally don't feel the need to overtake in US cities because most of the traffic is moving at a uniform speed?
.....So in Indian cities you will need to overtake all the time and people may prefer manual transmission. I would guess that in the US countryside, more people might prefer manual transmission.
Regards, rks

Interesting logic, but not true. Most modern US car engines have more than 140hp and lots of midsize cars have 200+hp. Therefore they are anything but sluggish. You'll have to travel at 100+ mph before you can feel any sluggishness, the cop would pull you over before that. My 225hp Acura TL was a beast, although it did have tiptonic clutchless gears, I didn't really use it most of the time, the auto-tranny was more than capable at speeds below 100mph.

The stick-shift (manual) cars have very low resale value in USA unless they are sports cars. Therefore, most cars don't come with manual option.

[cutthecords]

Coincidentally, I just expressed similar thoughts on my blog here http://silkboard.wordpress.com/

Let me link to this discussion.

[DaPilot]

Originally Posted by venkatrx

* In US 'automatic transmission' is the default, where as in india it is 'manual transmission', car-gurus, whats the major reason for this difference?

* BTW people keep saying automatic transmisstion has lot of problems, is that really true?

To your first point... Automatic Transmission is not default... manual transmission in most car is the standard (including premium cars like BMW), buyer pays an extra 500$-3000$ for automatic transmission depending on the make of the car. Most people in the west dont know how to drive stick shift that is one of the reason why there are more automatic cars as oppose to manual... I guess people are generally lazy and like the convinience... i dont see any other reason

To your second point... i dont know who are these "people" that say automatic tranny have lot of problems < that is an absurd statement and not true at all...

[pmbabu]

For most, it's the concern on the FE, I suppose.

But guess what, that myth was cleared in the two-wheeler category by many a variomatic vehicles. Activa or Scooty pep cleared that myth with 50+ kmpl mileages.

But, not sure why the car manufacturers are not pushing too many automatic models - cost?

PS: I guess there is already an old thread discussing the same.