Auto Stick vs Automatic

[300CHemi]

For those of you who have received delivery of your car and have not experimented yet or those that are going to test drive the car you have to play with the Autostick feature.

My grandmother could comfortably drive the 300C in Automatic version. You can literally feather the car along an inch at a time without trying and it's easy to turn and drive in traffic. It will also blaze to high speeds when you want it to go.

But for fun..try this...

PLace the car in drive...move the shifter to your left 4 times and start in 1st from a standstill. Now hammer the gas and go through the gears or sit in 2 or 3 gear while reving along your streets and listen to this cat purrrrrrrr..

Awesome. You can hang in the power band and be ready to go.

The beauty is that if you pass the shift point the 300C will do it for you.

No worries...Just Fast.

[rayainsw]

Yes - but:

(Mostly crossposted - from Edmunds)


I expect that I am in a very small minority in my requirements for a man-u-matic. There are many ways to approach the offering of some manual control to an automatic trans. And for those looking for any additional control, the AutoStick as implemented in the 300C may be just fine.

I look at these devices as potentially providing the best of both words – rapid up and downshifts, when I desire without aggravating the arthritis in my left foot and full automatic operation when I desire.

Here are my personal requirements:

Ability to hold any selected gear (specifically including top / 5th with respect to the 300C) within as wide a range of rpm / mph as practical. I typically run my cars (current and last 2 have has AutoStick-like functionality) at highway speeds ‘locked’ in 5th gear. This allows only TCC unlock, unless I manually downshift. Even in a very good automatic, I find the pause (“Are you serious, Mr. Driver?”) before downshifts at highway speed to be rather annoying. This works well for me when in typical 50 – 80 mph traffic. And I can actually hold 5th gear (in my current vehicle) down to less than 10 mph – assuming I don’t mind rather leisurely acceleration.

Ability to upshift at any (reasonable) rpm when at WOT. Oddly, BMW’s automanual (as recently as the 2002 model year) does NOT allow this.

Forward move of shift lever when in manual mode = upshift and back = downshift. (Again, to pick on BMW - they had this – and then reversed it, for some reason????? Autostick left / right might be OK – have not driven one yet.)

Do NOT execute an (automatic / un-requested) upshift except at redline and WOT. (Once again, BMW has some rather odd behavior here. And I really do like a lot about BMWs . . .)

Further, my preferences (not ‘deal breakers’) are:

Ability to start in either 1st, 2nd or 3rd gear. And hold any of those gears from idle to redline - or until manually changed.

Automatic upshift at redline only if at WOT. (Like VW / Audi Tiptronic.)

RPM match on downshifts. Sadly, only the DSMG on VW / Audi’s 3.2L V6s and some VERY expensive European cars (AFAIK) seem to offer this feature right now.

Just my opinions. YMMV.

- Ray
Always looking for driving refinements . . .

[Fast4Door]

The big difference I've noted with the "auto-stick" on this particular chrysler, is that if you are trying to race someone from a roll say 60-65 you had better downshift manually. The auto setting won't downshift as far as you are able manually, for passing, etc...
I found this out last night racing a friends BMW 750..

Only other problem I have had is that I am used to the Auto-Stick in the Prowler in which to go from auto to manual and vise versa you actually move the shift lever...
Well I wanted to go from manual to auto and accidentally went to neutral... I then placed the car back in drive, and it engaged 1st gear and redlined the car, and wouldn't upshift until I stopped the vehicle. Everything is still fine with the car though.

It's fun learning all the little tricks to this new and refined automobile.

[PappaD]

WOW, we have come a long way in our knowledge base haven't we?

BTW, this is the oldest performance thread on the forum!!!

[300 Addict]

Originally Posted by PappaD

WOW, we have come a long way in our knowledge base haven't we?

BTW, this is the oldest performance thread on the forum!!!

We have come a long way!

This is a pretty old thread! I'm glad to see them popping up..lot of good reading!

[ThreeHundredSee]

Wow. the first one. haha. Cool. Keep digging them up...I am soaking in all the knowledge. However, I do indeed know all about the shifter.lol