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Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

latimes.com

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Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#671

Post by iamatworknow »

akerro wrote: post #161
henrikschroder wrote: post #46

I got my driver's license in Sweden, and the official driving handbook completely worships manual transmissions, and makes several untrue claims about how much better they are than automatics. You can choose to do your road test in an automatic, but that'll earn you a restriction on your license, barring you from driving a manual. It's probably fair, but almost everyone (myself included) chooses to practice in manual…

>that'll earn you a restriction on your license, barring you from driving a manual. It's probably fair, but almost everyone (myself included) chooses to practice in manuals It is fair. When you do motorcycle training for up-to 125cc, you can take a scooter which doesn't have gears, or motorcycle with gear. If you learn how to use gears you know how to ride a scooter, but if you take a scooter, you're not allowed to r…

This is pretty interesting to hear as an American. The only restriction on motorcycle licenses in New York is whether or not your do your road test with two wheels or three (so if you take your test on something like a CanAm Spyder you'll have a 3 wheeler only restriction). You can pass your road test on a 125cc automatic scooter then turn right around and buy a Hayabusa or fully loaded GoldWing and ride it legally.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#672

Post by scott_karana »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #6

And it isn't all because people don't want to buy them, according to a VP at Subaru it is the cost of taking the car with a manual transmission through the California emissions qualification process, and maintaining records for a car that only 10% of the customers will buy. And they don't offer a non-California model because people were upset about moving to California with a car and then having the state DMV reject…

Canada might also be an option, depending on the model.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#673

Post by dghughes »

omegaham wrote: post #651
fh973 wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eco driving is also about driving with foresight: don't accelerate if you likely have to stop soon anyway. Braking wastes the most gas.

My mother needs to learn this lesson. Light turns green? Stomp on the gas. Light turns red? Stomp on the brakes. She drives a minivan with a V8 and uses every bit of it on winding Massachusetts roads. People who haven't grown up with it get carsick. She's a damn good driver - in 10 years, she racked up about 430,000 miles in a Toyota Sienna without an accident... but holy fuck she's traumatizing to ride with.

She'd love a Dodge Grand Caravan we have them for work service vehicles and I was amazed at how quick it shifts.

At first I thought it was a mistake almost like the engine was lugging but it was in eco mode and shifting early.

In normal mode it can shift through three or four gears in (what felt like) one second. And it has a seven speed transmission.

I was wondering if I got a Hellcat trans by mistake!

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#674

Post by scott_karana »

kweinber wrote: post #7

Manual shifting is neither possible nor even relevant in electric cars or cvt (continuous variable transmission) cars. Their rise will be the true end of the stick shift.

Bullshit.

Initial models of the Tesla Roadster used a transmission with two gears because the motor wasn't flexible enough when direct driven.

And the final model continued to use a final gear reduction.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#675

Post by mywittyname »

hx87 wrote: post #647
mdimec4 wrote: post #526

Quote: "And it takes a really patient instructor to teach it." That is bullshit. It is not that hard, everybody can learn it with little guidance and practice. The law here in some parts of Europe (e.g. Slovenia) states, that if you make licence with automatic, then you are licensed only to drive automatic, but if you make it with manual, you can drive everything. So literally everybody here learns manual. Most of th…

It's not hard if the car has plenty of low end torque (e.g. turbodiesel) but yeah, learning in a peaky naturally aspirated sports car can be a handful.

It's not the torque, tiny euro TDs make no power under 2k, where you'd be lifting off the clutch, but they have absolutely massive flywheels and vague clutches that make "just kind of dump it" a viable strategy.

I'll take driving my 8000rpm sports car over my old TDI any day.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#676

Post by stephencanon »

bitL wrote: post #339

I never understood how to use automatic transmission in snowy/icy conditions. To me it's basically a lottery. With manual transmission and clutch I can actually recover from a slide almost immediately (the moment you start sliding you disengage transmission right away with clutch and do initial correcting maneuver which you cut short the moment you feel any kind of traction in order not to oversteer; it takes some pr…

Apply throttle, point wheel, let whatever the manufacturer brands their dynamic control do it's thing. I grew up driving a manual on northern New England backroads in show and ice, and I'm quite proficient at it. My 328 wagon is far, far, better than me. This shouldn't be surprising, as it has a much higher-dimensional control space to work with, and much finer grained sensor data coming in.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#677

Post by mrkurt »

J-dawg wrote: post #554
ohyoutravel wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't think of any situation outside of a race course where this would be a necessary maneuver. If you're going so fast on public roads where you need to left foot brake to transfer weight to avoid skidding off the road, it sounds like something is wrong. Where are you doing this enough where having a car with throttle cut off is enough of an annoyance where you won't buy a car with it anymore? For reference, I got…

I agree. It's also incredibly difficult for those who haven't practiced as you have. The few times I have tried it (in safe conditions) I have ended up braking far too hard. My left foot somehow doesn't have the "feeling" of my right foot on the pedal. One racing driver technique that can be useful in normal conditions (in a manual) is heel-and-toe braking. I use it to avoid excessive engine braking while downshiftin…

It doesn't take long to get smooth with a left foot.

Also left foot braking is much more useful day to day than heel-toe. Especially if you ever deal with suboptimal traction. Plus, faster reaction times.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#678

Post by mywittyname »

ollie87 wrote: post #210
0xAA55 wrote: post #199

I recently went to the ends of the earth to get a 2016 manual VW sportwagen in the US -- but it was possible after going to dealerships looking at me like I was insane. Shifting around in my BMW e36 5 speed will always be one of my greatest pleasures People complain about traffic, but I feel the opposite. I mean, in an auto if you see a spot to cut into you are forced to floor it to force the car in a low enough gear…

I also find it funny that people prefer autos for stop-start traffic. But every single car I've ever owned can be moved using the clutch alone, zero throttle input, so moving in stop start traffic is easy.

I also find it more comfortable to hold a clutch than the brake pedal. The ergonomics of brake pedals on cars are awful, they sit really high and they are right in the middle of floor well. Clutch pedals are designed to use your entire leg in a natural motion.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#679

Post by zardo »

Annatar wrote: post #477
userbinator wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only "automatic" part of that transmission is the clutch. The driver still has to select the gear, and I think that's what the whole discussion here about manual vs. automatic is focusing on.

If there is no dry clutch and no clutch pedal, I consider that to be an automatic. And in such a system, I'm only allowed to signal gear selection: if I make a mistake or request a gear someone else thought I shouldn't request, the software won't comply. This implies that someone is assuming they know better than me how to drive, and enforce this assumption. This notion infuriates me. It's one thing to operate within…

What does a dry clutch have to do with it? Wet clutches can be user controlled mechanical systems too, just look at the vast majority of motorcycles.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#680

Post by eeeeeeeeeeeee »

As someone that bought a VW (in the US) and specifically wanted a manual (after having an automatic previously), this is sad. It was hard to find the car I wanted, I had to make a road trip of it.

I prefer my manual transmission to the automatic Volkswagen's. I think the DSG is just not quite ready for primetime. Especially in snow. Having a manual transmission, even on a car without 4WD, is a huge advantage in snow (the DSG won't let the car stall out, so it restricts how much you can downshift).

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