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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?

#421

Post by ur-whale »

elcomet wrote: post #416
ur-whale wrote: post #415

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That being said, I don't really feel nostalgic or emotionally attached to that experience. There's a ton of things you can do with a manual when pushing a car to its limits that simply aren't possible with an automatic, especially when on slippery terrain (mud, snow). Damn shame.

So maybe that's good as it makes the car safer, forcing people to go slower? And usually, you can still control the car manually even on automatic transmission.

You're not getting the point: there are situations where you will find yourself on difficult terrain and your automatic gearbox will get in the way of getting back to safety.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#422

Post by 2rsf »

davidgay wrote: post #289
fortran77 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'll never own an electric car?

Electric cars don't have automatic transmissions.

Well, there are very few EVs (or plans for such) with two gears

https://insideevs.com/news/511495/two-speed-ev-gearbox-inmot...

and

https://insideevs.com/features/436049/rimac-two-speed-gearbo...

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#423

Post by dagw »

ciconia wrote: post #351
eric4smith wrote: post #113

Manual transmissions are dead. I grew up learning to drive a manual transmission car. Awesome. I loved the feeling of driving and shifting gears up the hilly, mountainous, twisty horrible roads in Jamaica. Exhilarating! But cars got better. I got older, and now automatic transmissions are so much more efficient than manual transmissions * for ordinary people *. We're not talking about people who love driving here. We…

> now automatic transmissions are so much more efficient than manual transmissions * for ordinary people *. Efficient in what way? I find it highly unlikely an automatic would have better fuel economy than a manual.

I find it highly unlikely an automatic would have better fuel economy than a manual.

I saw a study from, I think it was Volvo, that basically concluded that while trained drivers focusing on driving efficiently could get better fuel economy out of a manual, 'normal' people driving normally got better fuel efficiency out of an automatic. And this was a good 10 years ago, so automatics have only gotten better.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#424

Post by ZeroGravitas »

distortedsignal wrote: post #379
namdnay wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+ 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.

This is how airbags work as well, so everyone.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#427

Post by pjerem »

dinom wrote: post #248
samatman wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You made all that up. Why?

I didn't make any of that up.... have you ever removed an onstar unit from a vehicle? Did you ever try to install linux on an xbox360? Radios these days are software defined. They can sit on the same chip that uses a trusted bootloader and also provides an engine control module. Marketing departments can and will bend and pervert engineering specifications to highlight the consumer benefits and minimize the profit mo…

You know that radios can be as software defined they want, they are still requiring antennas.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#428

Post by bodge5000 »

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

Looking at you Mini. The clues in the name.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#429

Post by dieselgate »

zaarn wrote: post #397
Maursault wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Using a clutch just right can produce amazing amount of torque just when you need it. Nailed it. Not to dismiss those romanticizing clutching and shifting, but that is incidental. The entire point of a manual transmission is performance. It's control over torque that delivers it. I love that I can pump RPMs into the red before clutching into gear, the vigor of that power, G forces pulling the body against the seat,…

I will point out that modern electrics don't do automatic anymore. The "automatic" transmission is all software. There is a fixed gear ratio. EV motors have almost perfectly flat torque curves across the entire RPM spectrum. That feeling when you pump the RPMs and let the clutch go? An EV could give you that from 0 to 180kph without ever having to switch gears. An EV doesn't need to be quicker than a manual. There is…

What about deceleration with a fixed gear ratio? I’d assume there’d need to be braking applied without being able to downshift

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#430

Post by dagw »

netfortius wrote: post #239

US centric article, of course, when it comes to the scale implied ("end of" and "near"). Haven't seen any significant (intent to) move in that direction, in Europe, for example.

Haven't seen any significant (intent to) move in that direction, in Europe, for example.

Here in Sweden, the number of people getting automatic only drivers licenses is higher than ever and climbing fast.

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