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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?

#531

Post by globular-toast »

domh wrote: post #466

I always found it strange how people in the UK prefer driving manual transmissions, there's always talk of liking the "feeling" and "control" when driving, this is coming from people who are not enthusiasts and don't even like driving sometimes. 90% of driving tests in the UK are done in manual transmission cars[1]. Taking your driving test in an automatic means that you are not allowed to drive a manual[2]. After li…

I believe at least part of the reason is highlighted in the article:

> Most of my sense of accomplishment came from navigating the steep curve of learning how to drive a stick shift with my dad at my side—it’s not something you master overnight.

I've noticed, in general, when people have invested significant effort into developing a skill they are reluctant to let it go. This happens a lot in programming too.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#532

Post by capableweb »

lisper wrote: post #352
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…

I drove a manual for about 20 years and I still really enjoy them, but there is one thing that made me happily leave them behind: stop-and-go traffic. Not having to clutch constantly when driving in the city is a big enough win that I'm willing to give up the fun of a manual for it. But I do sometimes miss having a stick on a windy mountain road.

I currently use a (automatic) borrowed car from the shop while my (manual) car is being repaired. I mostly do city-driving.

One of the biggest issues with the automatic is stop-and-go traffic. It's absolutely trash at accelerating smoothly but fast, and I have no choice but to either go very slowly forward to not make it janky, or really aggressive acceleration. With a manual car, smooth-but-fast acceleration is easy to achieve, but with this (Audi Q3) borrow car, it seems short of impossible to achieve.

More pet-peeves of automatic VS manual I'm experiencing are outlined here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32591426 but smooth city driving is probably what I miss the most currently, as that is mostly how I spend my driving.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#533

Post by jacquesm »

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…

The vast bulk of the Porsches is sold with automatic transmission.

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/supercars/how-many-people-a...

It's basically 'daily driver' versus 'enthusiast' or 'track car' now even for cars in that bracket.

One big advantage in the second hand market is that if you look for an automatic you can be fairly sure that the engine won't have been overrevved. (The engine computer registers this and if you read it out you can see how long and how often it was overrevved, for stick shift cars this isn't unusual at all, on automatics it just doesn't happen.)

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#534

Post by globular-toast »

tomxor wrote: post #527
domh wrote: post #466

I always found it strange how people in the UK prefer driving manual transmissions, there's always talk of liking the "feeling" and "control" when driving, this is coming from people who are not enthusiasts and don't even like driving sometimes. 90% of driving tests in the UK are done in manual transmission cars[1]. Taking your driving test in an automatic means that you are not allowed to drive a manual[2]. After li…

I'm from the UK, there's probably an element of cultural momentum behind it, but I suspect it may also be due to the less flat terrain: UK roads can be very undulating and windy, for the couple of times I drove someone else's automatic car it always felt like I was waiting for it to figure out the correct gear - some of this is probably historically inferior designs, but the other element is anticipation... I can see…

Manuals are also quicker to go from a standstill than automatics. All automatics I've driven have a noticeable lag and don't inspire much confidence. This is important because we have a lot of roundabouts and it makes it much easier if you are confident about taking a small gap to get on to the roundabout. It doesn't matter at all with traffic lights which are more prevalent in the US.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#535

Post by capableweb »

sbaiddn wrote: post #228
pier25 wrote: post #164

> As sad as it may be, manual vehicles make up a miniscule percentage of the current market share. Is the author talking about the world or the US? AFAIK the vast majority of vehicles sold in Europe are manual. Not sure about the rest of the world. I'm from Spain and I've never seen an AT car there. I'm sure they exist though, probably. I now live in Mexico where AT is very common and I've gotten used to it. I think…

You haven't driven much in Spain recently, Id gather. The industry is going towards 10 speed autos for heavier cars and CVTs for light ones. Cheap hybrids get CVTs, good ones eCVTs (actually a differential couples to a couple of motors). Manual is dying in Europe just like anywhere else

Yeah, I do a lot driving in Spain and surrounding countries (Portugal, Italy and France mainly), sometimes with my own car (manual) and sometimes with rentals. I prefer manual but it's getting really hard to even find rentals that are manual. In the few cases they advertise a model as manual, it's a 50/50 chance the car is actually automatic when you come to pick up the model, and when you request to change it to whatever model that has model, they tell you they don't even have any manual cars anymore.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#536

Post by jacquesm »

djhworld wrote: post #406
originalvichy wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saying they aren’t manual can be misleading. F1 and rally cars have automatic clutching but they certainly gear up and down manually.

This feature is on ordinary cars too (sometimes called 'semi automatics') I actually have it on my car, there are paddles behind the steering wheel that can shift the gears up and down. It's a bit of a gimmick for ordinary driving as you can just let the car choose the appropriate gear, but I guess if you want to shunt down a few gears quickly on a hill to get some engine braking it can be useful

I use this for people that get easily carsick, it allows me to pull away in 2nd gear rather than first and that means fewer gearshifts and more smooth starting. It's not super good for the clutch but it certainly beats cleaning up...

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#537

Post by capableweb »

wil421 wrote: post #496
antegamisou wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is the author talking about the world or the US? World = USA for something like 90% of Internet posts/videos.

Funny, you’re reading an American news aggregate site about an American publication called Popular Mechanics. Why wouldn’t you expect Popular Mechanics to be talking about the American market?

> American news aggregate site

While Ycombinator is certainly based in the US, lots of people visiting/participating in HN discussions are not.

Latest poll (6 months ago): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30210378

Visualization: https://ae.studio/random/where-does-hacker-news-live

Seems to be pretty 50%/50% between US and non-US based on poll answers.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#538

Post by QuarterReptile »

everdrive wrote: post #515
Someone wrote: post #393

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tires don’t (AFAIK) actively phone home, but it’s close. https://rfid.michelin.com/what-is-rfid/ : “Through RFID technology, Michelin makes tires that "communicate" by linking them to a more global ecosystem, to create infinite potential for innovations and added value for its customers. Our goal: connecting all MICHELIN tires for Passenger Cars, Light Trucks, Heavy Trucks and Busses by 2024.” and “Permanently readab…

It really seems like privacy is becoming impossible.I'm pretty conscious about privacy, but I really can't keep up.

Cars are terrible platforms for anonymity. Car is registered, you're registered, hard to swap cars, you travel as a large, predictable discrete block down the road, etc.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#539

Post by Ralo »

lm28469 wrote: post #516
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…

It would be nice if they still made cheap cars with no tech to just go from A to B. Old school Fiat 500 or Citroen 2cv style

I picked up a 1994 Toyota Pickup for this exact reason. It's so insanely simple, they didn't even give it a proper name. One of the last true work horses, if it wasn't for that damn rusty frame.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#540

Post by lapcat »

ufmace wrote: post #284
lapcat wrote: post #9

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!

I've driven a manual for many years, and I never got this complaint. I always found it perfectly straightforward to get moving on a steep uphill with just a little clutch control. Maybe you roll backwards a few inches if you're a little slow, but so what? Despite appearances, you're never actually that close to anything.

I think you missed the part where the hill is covered with snow and/or ice, and there's another car directly on your tail, because the majority automatic drivers aren't expecting rollback.
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