I saw a Porsche with an automatic transmission this week.

[TheMightyFavog]

Talk about sick and wrong. A Porsche with an automatic tranny is an abomination unto Nuggan.

[Ikonoklast]

1. Yuppie poseurs need transportation, too.

Buying a sports car with an automatic transmission is just kinda...sad.

Of course, so are Porsche-built SUV's.

[MrScorpio]

2. Well, I can't drive a stick

Never learned. So I do have some sympathy. However, if I wanted to go German, I'd get this:



That baby would be sweet on the 'Bahn.

[MiddleFingerMom]

3. My boss during my college years...

.
...got out of the Air Force and bought a 1967 Yenko Camaro off
the showroom floor in 1968 (it was expensive for those times --
probably $7,000 or so).
.
He eventually converted it into a drag racing car -- and replaced
the manual transmission with an "automatic stick".
.
I never quite understood the concept or why the hell anyone would
want an automatic transmission for a DRAGSTER!!!!
.
He had stopped racing it over 20 years ago when he read an article
in a magazine about how much they were worth. I've seen auction
prices currently between $120,000 and $270,000 and the cars with
those figures had been "re-bodied". His was original (except for
that weird tranny).
.

[Ikonoklast]

6. If he put a Lenco 2-speed automatic in it

he did the right thing.

Human reaction time cannot compete with it.

Most all top-end straight-liners are automatics. (Technically, semi-automatics)

[EvolveOrConvolve]

4. Porsche "automatics" all have the paddle shifters

They are fun as hell to drive.

[TheMightyFavog]

8. This was an old 944.

Not something with paddles.

[flvegan]

10. Porsche sold a LOT of slushbox cars in the 80's and early-mid 90's.

The 924, 944, 928, 968 and even some 911 models came with automatics. The 924 was godawful no matter the transmission. The 944 handled very nicely, but unless you opted for the turbo version, was only slightly less godawful than the 924. The 928 was much better, but only because it had a 8 cyl. The 968 was simply an abomination of the 944. All of them are expensive nightmares to own/maintain today.

[Taitertots]

5. I guess someone lives in a city, and not a race track

[IronLionZion]

7. a lot of people get German cars with Tiptronic shifters on the steering wheel

because they get the convenience of an automatic and can still control the gear shifting when they want. They are fun to drive.

I'm a recent grad and looking for a new car to drive in the DC metro area and debating between a stick and manual-automatic. People have been advising me to get the manumatic because of clutching during traffic. I wish I could afford a German car but even the Passat is a bit out of my budget.



edit: added image

[triguy46]

9. Was it the TipTronic?

Keeping in mind that the most important words said of a a Porsche are "It's mine.", the tiptronic is accepted among porsche owners. I am considering selling my 5sp boxster because I have no cartilage in left knee anymore and pushing the clutch is getting to be more and more a problem.