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The end of the manual transmission is near?

popularmechanics.com

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Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#191

Post by insightcheck »

29athrowaway wrote: post #185

Read the story of how actor Anton Yelchin died.

Yelchin's case looks like a consequence of an unconventional user design for the gearstick, rather than a consequence of manual cars in general.

From The Washington Post [0]: "The parents of Anton Yelchin, the “Star Trek” actor who died in 2016 when his SUV rolled down his driveway and trapped him against a security gate, have reached a settlement with the makers of Jeep Grand Cherokee.

"[..] [In 2015], [the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] began investigating the unconventional gearstick design on these cars, which was causing crashes because drivers were mistakenly shifting to neutral when they thought they were shifting to park.

"With a regular gearstick, drivers choose a transmission option (park, reverse, neutral, drive, etc.) by moving the stick into the corresponding notch or detent. Drivers can feel the stick settle into position.

"But a new, different, design was used in the cars affected by the recall, which include certain recent models of the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, and Jeep Grand Cherokee."

[0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/w...

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#192

Post by sillystuff »

quacked wrote: post #142

I would pay $25,000 cash for a new manual transmission '00s-style mid-sized pickup with hand-crank windows and knobs for the temperature and radio. Last time I drove a car from after 2018 it started automatically keeping pace with the car in front of me on the highway, and you couldn't manually close the trunk but instead had to push a button and wait for it to close. I hate modern cars.

I'm with you. When I bought my car in 2009, there were only 3 of the model (any color) with manual transmission and manual windows/locks in the entire state (California). Drove almost 200mi each way to buy that car.

Manuals are disappearing in the "small" trucks sold today. You need to go with 4x4 to get a manual in Toyota. And, Nissan dumped theirs completely.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#193

Post by chucksmash »

quacked wrote: post #175
chucksmash wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're in luck, that's about what manual transmission '00s pick up trucks with hand-crank windows are going for these days.

I had to amend my comment to say "new", because you're completely right... the last Tacoma I test drove (automatic) had 290k on it, the transmission slipped during all gear changes, and they weren't taking a dime under $9k. I have no doubt they eventually found a buyer, too. Same thing is happening in power tools and large appliances. Things used to work, I guess.

I reread after I posted, saw the "new" and was wondering how I'd missed that.

I was also looking at Rangers and Tacomas earlier this year. I've seen pre-2020 model year Tacomas listed for $45k. Surreal to think, " Hmm that 4 year old, used mid-size pickup is a little pricey, maybe it's better to get something more frugal like a BMW."

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#194

Post by freetime2 »

Adding to the list of places where manual transmissions are still common - I still see them in a lot of Japanese kei trucks[1]. These are super minimalist trucks used for agricultural and other jobs that cost less than $7,500. Upgrading to a CVT transmission adds an extra $500 or so to the price - which seems worth it to me - but when you consider that a lot of the work these are used for is low-margin to begin with, I can understand why people want to keep costs down.

I think manual transmissions are increasing in popularity though as a lot of farmers are aging, and lose confidence in their ability to operate a manual transmission.

[1] https://www.daihatsu.co.jp/lineup/truck/

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#195

Post by sacrosancty »

> Higher gears require fewer revs on the highway, leading to improved gas mileage.

He seems to be suffering from the common misunderstanding that higher revs = higher fuel consumption. Those extra gears aren't at the top end to reduce torque at high speed (what?), they're spread more uniformly to keep the engine operating in an efficient or powerful region.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#196

Post by dinom »

QuarterReptile wrote: post #147
tenpies wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I add a request? A car that doesn't phone home. That is, one that the government is utterly unable to remotely turn off, monitor, or impose distance quotas. One that cannot be hacked through a poorly secured server in a car maker's server farm or government server with the username/pass admin/admin.

It seems like it should be straightforward to pull out any cell radios, no? I've removed them from cell phones with ease, and I have to think the larger size of a car would lend itself to this being easy.

You're making terrible assumptions here. The fact is you'll need special tools and then you'll need to follow a special procedure as if you're defusing a bomb. Otherwise... the radio will phone home and inform the mother-ship it's being tampered with.

The prima facie reason is that in case of an accident the car should be able to request help even if everyone inside the car is unconscious. The other reason is, of course, that document you signed at the dealership stated that you've only purchased the _right_to_use_ the car... not the actual car.

Have fun with your rental :-) You should have read the fine print.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#197

Post by tmh88j »

kazinator wrote: post #107
HyperSane wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you read the article is says that dual clutch automatics are much faster than manual transmission and most modern automatics have 7 to 10 gears for better fuel efficiency but no one is willing to use a manual transmission with that many gears.

> dual clutch automatics are much faster than manual transmission and most modern automatics have 7 to 10 gears for better fuel efficiency In what < $15K econobox? :)

The prior gen Ford Focus and Fiesta had a DCT, along with the C-Max.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_PowerShift_transmission

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#198

Post by breckenedge »

abdullahkhalids wrote: post #180
fortran77 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'll never own an electric car?

It will be interesting exercise to design a "manual gearbox" for an electric car so manual transmission drivers can have their enjoyment.

The hybrid Honda CR-Z has a manual. It was always intriguing to me, but never enough to seriously consider due to the size.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#199

Post by analog31 »

kazinator wrote: post #107
HyperSane wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you read the article is says that dual clutch automatics are much faster than manual transmission and most modern automatics have 7 to 10 gears for better fuel efficiency but no one is willing to use a manual transmission with that many gears.

> dual clutch automatics are much faster than manual transmission and most modern automatics have 7 to 10 gears for better fuel efficiency In what < $15K econobox? :)

Where can I buy a < $15k econobox? Seriously, I'm looking. Yes I'm also looking at used cars, but they're also expensive.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#200

Post by thescriptkiddie »

abdullahkhalids wrote: post #180
fortran77 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'll never own an electric car?

It will be interesting exercise to design a "manual gearbox" for an electric car so manual transmission drivers can have their enjoyment.

Most DIY EV conversions have manual transmissions as it makes the conversion easier.
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