Question about that meme comparing manual to automatic transmissions off-road

So I saw this meme going around that shows a dude in a stick shift struggling on a muddy hill while an automatic just cruises right up. Honestly, I've been wheeling my old Jeep in Moab for maybe 8 years now, and I always thought manual gave you more control. But last weekend I swapped into a buddy's automatic Tacoma on a rocky climb and it was way smoother, no stalling or clutch slip. Has anyone else had that moment where a meme actually matched real life, or am I just bad at driving stick?

2 comments

2 Comments

hunt.quinn10d agoMost Upvoted

Oh yeah, nothing beats the feeling of roasting your left knee on a rock ledge while trying to find the clutch bite point for the fifth time. I had a buddy who swore he'd never give up his manual until he blew his clutch on the Helldorado trail and had to get winched off every ledge. Now he drives an automatic and tells everyone it's "just more civilized." Next thing you know he'll be telling us windshield wipers are better than leaning out the window with a rag.

nancyw9710d ago

My buddy Ed from the club swapped to an automatic last year after his knee started bugging him in Moab, and now he acts like he discovered fire. It's kind of like how everyone swore by paper maps until GPS showed up, then suddenly nobody missed folding a map in the wind. That meme got it right, sometimes new tech just makes the hard stuff easier without taking away the fun.