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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?

#371

Post by Doxin »

Judgmentality wrote: post #105
voldacar wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

As someone who hates how ugly modern cars have become, I can also acknowledge the extraordinary leap in safety they've achieved since then. Many of the rules are designed around safety. Although a counterpoint to this is the giant A pillars limit visibility so much as to be dangerous themselves.

The giant A pillars are a nuisance for sure, but you're supposed to bob and weave your head with any size A-pillar. Even with the smaller old A-pillars you can hide plenty of things behind it.

If you're ever in the Netherlands you should book a driving lesson for shits and giggles. Not claiming we're all amazing drivers, but we sure do have hard driving exams when compared to the USA.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#372

Post by sgillen »

rswail wrote: post #369

By 2030, I expect the number of EV produced to exceed the number of ICE vehicles. EV doesn't need a gearbox, which makes the discussion about manual vs automatic transmission moot. In terms of vehicle external design, modern vehicles are designed for pedestrian and passenger safety, and that emphasis pushes towards a consensus design of the jelly bean look. EVs with their "frunk" will further evolve that design as it…

>> modern vehicles are designed for pedestrian and passenger safety

Passenger sure, but pedestrian? I’m not so sure. Maybe this is an American thing only but cars continue to get larger and larger, which is great for passenger safety, but decidedly less great for pedestrians.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#373

Post by wiz21c »

withinboredom wrote: post #346
Salgat wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It’s all in how you drive. I got 50-57 mpg in my old manual. My wife had the same engine in a different car as an automatic. I would only get 20-30 in it. My car was rated for 25-30 mpg. Most people don’t know how to drive a manual transmission for efficiency or never cared to find out, so they drive it like an automatic, which the car isn’t. Thus they end up with less mpg than they would in an automatic.

Could you explain "how to drive a manual transmission" ? I have one but I've never asked myself how I could drive better...

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#374

Post by hikingsimulator »

mnd999 wrote: post #347
Pxtl wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay but then why is the rolling brick wall of a modern pickup allowed?

Also, they probably care less about failing European safety standards since pickups aren’t a big market in Europe.

sadly I've seen an increasing amount of American-style SUV and pickup trucks in France since the start of covid.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#376

Post by rightbyte »

sacrosancty wrote: post #195

> 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.

> misunderstanding that higher revs = higher fuel consumption

That is a good approximation. Each revolution has to do a somewhat fixed amount of work due to resistance.

However too low revs will mess up milage too due to bad combustion.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#377

Post by mavhc »

voldacar wrote: post #96
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…

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

Why would I care what my car looks like? I don't want to have sex with it

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#378

Post by orbital-decay »

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…

> you also need to produce cars that are as visually appealing and reasonably sized as in the 50s and 60s. Fire all your designers, go back to whatever your models were in 1965, and begin anew.

Safety considerations aside, the aesthetics of the rocket and atomic age reflect the hope on humanity's future that was dominating back then. Automotive designs of late 10's early 20's are a tiny bit fancier than in previous couple decades, but they don't look futuristic, they tend to look more aggressive instead. That's also because there's demand for that aesthetic in our era.

To change the way cars look, change the way you live your life.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#379

Post by distortedsignal »

namdnay wrote: post #338
reneherse wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Could you point me to the car manufacturer that puts explosive charges in their cars? Asking for a friend... who is myself.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#380

Post by alexchantavy »

randunel wrote: post #356
taxyz wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sixt rental cars in France hasn’t been doing manual transmission cars for years - automatics get better gas mileage and are actually better on overall emissions (you’ll notice modern manual cars keep the revs up even when you let off the throttle). Germany has followed, I believe. But you’re right, it’s probably those dumb Americans’ fault.

> you’ll notice modern manual cars keep the revs up even when you let off the throttle It's called "engine brake" and the fuel consumption is 0 in spite of the revs. As far as mileage goes, my experience in modern cars is still the opposite, manuals still use less fuel.

I think they are referring to rev hang that occurs in newer manual transmissions where the ECU is tuned to not drop revs quickly for emissions reasons. This makes for an annoying 1st-to-2nd gear shift because the driver must wait a long time between shifts before engaging the clutch in order to shift smoothly. Mostly only newer MTs do this - some worse than others.
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