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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?

#331

Post by jrumbut »

kbenson wrote: post #255
recursivedoubts wrote: post #7

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…

> reasonably sized as in the 50s and 60s. Fire all your designers, go back to whatever your models were in 1965 What alternate dimension are you from? My older brother had a 60's Ford Fairlane when I was growing up. My first car was a 67 mustang. I had a friend with a 68 Camaro. I knew someone else that had multiple Thunderbirds from that era. These were not small cars. The Mustang and Camaro were the size of a full…

I believe that's what the OP is requesting: larger, more spacious cars.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#332

Post by withinboredom »

dinom wrote: post #283
Ancalagon wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The tires, really?? I figured maybe the wheels but the tires?

Why not the tires? New cars come with tire pressure sensors and tire pressure plays a big role in fuel efficiency as well as safety. It's just a few more bits of info. Anything that has a remote chance of making more profit than the competitor will be attempted. Even if it's morally questionable... moral != legal. Heck, VW even threw legality out the window with emissions shenanigans a few years ago. I'm not arguing…

I think they were making a joke. You’re talking about the wheels. The tires are just the rubber part on the outside of the wheels.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#333

Post by mongol »

Salgat wrote: post #245
blackfawn wrote: post #141

I doubt I'll never buy an automatic transmission vehicle. If that means never buying a new car after some point, then so be it. I've had quite a few manual transmission cars over the years and have driven them through all the things people complain about like steep hills in icy winters, stop and go traffic for an hour or two commute, etc. and I'd still go for a MT every time. Not only is it cheaper and less complex,…

I ended up going back to automatic after 3 years of manual. Automatic is more fuel efficient, more convenient, and honestly I can't enjoy urban traffic either way, at least with automatic I don't have to think about it. If I truly want to enjoy a manual I'll do it on the race track.

> Automatic is more fuel efficient

I thought it was the opposite. Has that changed?

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#334

Post by rfrey »

tomjakubowski wrote: post #216
voldacar wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The government has made it all but illegal to make a car that isn't ugly

No. If your new car is ugly, you can blame only yourself: for failing to purchase a Porsche 911 instead.

Yes, I took the ridiculous path of choosing shelter.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#335

Post by withinboredom »

PheonixPharts wrote: post #78
recursivedoubts wrote: post #7

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…

If it's in your budget I highly recommend test driving the Porsche Macan. It has a screen but as far as I can tell it's not required for anything that doesn't implicitly require a screen (i.e. GPS). Overall the car is amazingly well designed. The tactile experience is there, you can feel your way around everything without moving your eyes from the road/immediate dash area. It still has an analog clock. I also feel li…

If you’re looking for an all-electric with the same feeling, the Hyundai Kona fits the bill. Everything is a button or knob, except the GPS. It’s a breath of fresh air after the Tesla and the bmw i3.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#336

Post by exodust »

calvinmorrison wrote: post #162
ImprovedSilence wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

meh, my wife's car does that, but to me it's not the same. I think if I can put into words what I like about manual transmissions, it's more than just the control to change the gears, it's the actual tactile feeling of removing power from the drivetrain (via clutch), then re-applying it. it's the cliche feeling of "connection" to the car, road, and what's happening. But I understand why the manual is dying. Most peop…

Or how about just being able to anticipate the power band around a corner? Being able to downshift on a hill without thinking about it. Those are things you don't even realize you do in a manual, that you do. case in point, me flooring it on a left hand turn in my moms prius and having to wait a good 500ms for the thing to start moving at all. I know exactly what my manual does in first gear and when, I don't think a…

I drove a manual years ago. It was fun then, but now I prefer the paddle-shift of my "semi-auto", which is still going strong without fault for 15 years.

I can downshift before the hill to get revs, and prevent the auto-shift as I go up the hill. Or I can downshift to use engine as brake. No clutch to worry about, and my hands never leave wheel. Long-press the paddle to return to auto for the boring sections. Awesome usability! Could never go back to manual, the paddle-shifters are too much fun and too easy!

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#337

Post by toast0 »

icelancer wrote: post #328
AlexandrB wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a non answer. Australia has a vehicle style commonly referred to as a "ute"[1]. I think it stand for "utility". Which is basically a car with a truck bed in the back. This provides many of the advantages of a pickup without the increased danger to pedestrians. Why are car companies not marketing/selling these to the average consumer instead of the monster RAMs and F150s? I suspect the reason has everything to…

No, this has everything to do with unintended consequences of litigation and regulation. Enjoy the Chicken Tax. It's why we can't have the Hilux in the States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tax edit: I suppose it's not unintended consequences. It's LBJ's corrupt decision to trade tariffs for votes / curry favor with unions that harms US consumers.

Chicken tax doesn't apply if you build it here. And Toyota builds some stuff here, so they could build trucks here. Or, just pay the tax, like Ford does for the Transit Express (although they did try tax dodging for several years).

A bigger problem is fuel efficiency standards that encourage larger footprints. You can't hit the mandated mpgs in a compact truck, so enlarge the truck to make it hit the standards.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#338

Post by namdnay »

reneherse wrote: post #226
boppo1 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>because the front of the car eats people. Swallows them, chews them up, and spits them out. How so? Could we just use modern crumple materials in the same shape?

Unfortunately you're being down voted, but the reality is there are crumple zones built into some hoods (bonnets) that help protect the pedestrian from immediately impacting the solid parts of the engine. So the concept isn't completely unexplored.

+ explosive charges that will deform the hood to better catch a pedestrian. I’ve seen one go off when somebody drove into a bollard

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#340

Post by markvdb »

boppo1 wrote: post #146
hinkley wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

>because the front of the car eats people. Swallows them, chews them up, and spits them out. How so? Could we just use modern crumple materials in the same shape?

Euro NCAP test suite features vulnerable road user protection tests [0] including for pedestrians and cyclists. The NHTSA might start recommending some limited technological additions for pedestrian protection in the future [1].

[0] https://www.euroncap.com/en/vehicle-safety/the-ratings-expla... [1] https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/five-star-safety-rating...

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