231–240 of 875 posts
I love the singing of tires at their limits, the surging roar of a built engine digging in, and the yowl of a well-executed heel-toe downshift.
Perfect engine speed match. Perfect syncro match. The apex of the curve behind you and full throttle ahead
There's nothing worse than getting stuck in traffic going up a slick hill in a Midwest winter with a manual transmission. Your car goes backward!
In an old manual transmission, that's true. Modern cars have anti roll back systems. But also, use the hand brake.
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.
> it started automatically keeping pace with the car in front of me on the highway I hate how technology is changing the roads. This happens to me so frequently. I am a right lane driver. I hang out, I cruise at 55, and take my time. It feels like every few minutes someone comes up behind me, slows down, and doesn't go around. If I go to the left lane they speed right past me, so I can go back into my right lane... B…
Edit: actually, if they are tailgating you too close you might want to try to get rid of them, but tapping your brakes (to flash your rear red lights), or putting your hazard lights on briefly to get them to go around is probably better than going left one lane.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In an old manual transmission, that's true. Modern cars have anti roll back systems. But also, use the hand brake.
You can also heel-toe it, but that takes significant practice.
The funnest was uphill on snow from a dead stop with no weight on the bed. Luckily my truck had 4x4
Well so is the end of the ICE said transmission bolts up to, good riddance through that lens. Now where's my EV MX-5 without any self-driving and touchscreen/smartphone-on-wheels garbage?
There’s a bunch of EV kits appearing for classic vehicles. It’s looking like if you want an electric vehicle without non of the other nonsense that comes with new vehicles the conversion kits will be the way to go.
I'm unconvinced.
Surely Mazda will be electrifying their fleet and the MX-5 isn't going to vanish and it's never going to become some non-drivers' roadster. Lotus has to eventually followup the Elise with something electric, that too likely won't be some autonomous trash with deprecated steering wheel+pedals.
Then there's the budget Chinese EVs the world markets seem poised (desperate?) to become flooded with. Don't you think there'll be myriad basic, mostly-manual EVs in there? I half expect some cheap Chinese RWD EV econoboxes to become favorites for hot-rodding gearheads to upgrade the motors and batteries in. Hot-rodding should be entering a new emissions-free era, sounds great.
I love the singing of tires at their limits, the surging roar of a built engine digging in, and the yowl of a well-executed heel-toe downshift.
Aint it great when that heel toe the shifter slips in with no resistance and the de-clutching didnt affect the engine at all? Perfect engine speed match. Perfect syncro match. The apex of the curve behind you and full throttle ahead
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In an old manual transmission, that's true. Modern cars have anti roll back systems. But also, use the hand brake.
Modern cars have automatic transmission where we don’t have to deal with archaic problems.
Honestly, how have automatics gotten worse in the past ten years?
I wouldn't jump to this conclusion just yet! Porsche, Ferrari, etc all commanded huge premiums this year for their manual versions. Specifically among younger buyers and first time buyers! You even see this effect downmarket - Toyota promised to never make a manual version of their Supra, then just this last year they put together a cobbled transmission to save their car. Manuals are also an order of magnitude less c…
Porsche was ready to kill their manual with the 991.1 911 GT3 being PDK only, but there was enough outcry they brought it back for 991.2 and 992. The recently unveiled 992 GT3 RS is PDK only since it's a true track car and PDK puts in faster lap times. Even the revived GT 6-speed only accounts for a fraction of their builds and the 7-speed is hardly ordered on the regular 911 at all.
I reiterate my compromise proposal: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32397975 I will give up my manual transmission, if you will bring back pull-knobs, twist knobs and other tactile switches for the main controls of my vehicle, with the appropriate tactile feedback at set points so I can set them without looking. After thinking on it, I am going to raise my demands, however: you also need to produce cars that are…
A great number of the cool designs from the 50's and 60's are illegal because the front of the car eats people. Swallows them, chews them up, and spits them out. The sloped design of new cars isn't just about aerodynamics. In a low-speed impact a pedestrian is lifted onto the hood. Forward leaning grills, such as on the Dodge Charger, some of the beefier Mustangs, and any number of other muscle cars or sedans, instea…