41–50 of 729 posts
In the UK most cars are still manual. Less so for the more expensive you go but I'd guess more than 90%. I have driven automatics a handful of times. The longest I spent was 2 weeks in a motor home touring the Rockies. While I can see the appeal for around town driving driving up and down grades was a bit of a pain. Basically I had to learn the behaviour of the transmission and use a combination of the exact amount o…
> Take the Subaru BRZ. The popular sports car was once sold only with a manual transmission, but sales are now 90 percent automatic, Fiske estimated. I find this a bit difficult to believe. The automatic option has a reputation for being pretty good, but the manual is excellent. It was certainly never even a matter of choice for me, and for the growing number of (BRZ/(GT)86/FR-S) enthusiasts I know. Yes, I'm in a nic…
You’ll pry my manual transmission from my cold, dead hands. Hopefully not because you’re a paramedic and I’m wrapped round a tree... Joking apart, I’d swap my manual for an ‘automatic’ with paddle-shift manual controls. If I was commuting in a city I’d definitely want an automatic though.
Note, paddle shifts alone are not a good signifier, depending what's underneath them. There's a HUGE difference I find between: a) Automatic with paddle shifts: still has a torque converter between engine and wheels, soft response on pedal, and double-guesses everything you do b) Sequential and/or dual-clutch with paddle shifts: still has a clutch, direct connectivity from engine to wheels, same response to gas pedal…
I drove a BMW with the 7 speed Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT) for a few years. The programming is really good, but every once in a while it would get things wrong and I'd look like a kid just learning how to drive a stick shift. BMW has switched to the ZF 8 speed for the new M5, and I wouldn't be overly surprised to see that happen for the next-gen M3. The purists will wail, but at the end of the day, it won't change anything, and the cars will still be fun to drive.
While I empathize with car enthusiasts' loss of manual control, as a used car buyer, and person who enjoys cleaner air, I'm ok with moving past manual (and even automatic) transmissions.
Manual transmissions are great anti-theft devices, though! ;)
In your country maybe. It is very much a cultural thing. In the Netherlands to get your driving license, you learn to stick shift by default. If you don't want or cannot learn to stick shift, you can get your license but you get a notice in your driving license that you are only allowed to drive automatic transmission. Learning to drive automatic is still very much an exception here. Most consumer cars in the Netherl…
In the UK most cars are still manual. Less so for the more expensive you go but I'd guess more than 90%. I have driven automatics a handful of times. The longest I spent was 2 weeks in a motor home touring the Rockies. While I can see the appeal for around town driving driving up and down grades was a bit of a pain. Basically I had to learn the behaviour of the transmission and use a combination of the exact amount o…
Despite the title, it never explores why this phenomenon is specific to America, except to note that "the 5-speed manual is [still] the most popular transmission in the world".
But two things have happened since then, we have computer controlled transmissions and CVTs.
Manual drivers were more efficient because they learned when the vehicle would need to shift, and shifted preemptively. A computer controlled automatic can also be aware of when to shift, and shift early, but much more precisely (since it isn't based on engine noise/judder, it is based on direct electrical feedback).
CVTs are more efficient yet again because you now have "infinite gears" and they're computer controlled.
I'd happily drive a CVT until the day I die, and I learned on a manual. The only thing I wish is that they had better "off the line" response (e.g. stopped at a light).
I learned to drive stick at 34 just for fun. Now own a Mazda 3 and MX-5. Worth it. It's not about out performing an automatic transmission it's about engagement. For some people that's not going to have any value. For others there is no going back to numb econoboxes with automatic transmissions. It's a shame more people don't get over the hump and get to see what driving can be vs. what it is for most.
I like manuals because they feel better to me. This is totally anecdotal but to me it seems like the stick keeps me more engaged with what's happening with the car so I find I tend to be less distracted. It also occupies a hand so it definitely prevents a lot of phone usage. If this could actually be proved I'd definitely welcome a return to manual transmissions as sometimes I feel like the only person not on their p…