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The end of the manual transmission is near?

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Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#671

Post by JasserInicide »

kkielhofner wrote: post #644
JoBrad wrote: post #617

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live next to a few people who keep their $80,000 truck immaculate, and will never touch an unpaved field with it. The best trucks for driving in snow and mud are the trucks that actual farm hands drive, and are usually far less decked out, have mismatched paint schemes, and are covered in scratches and dirt. Completely their choice to make that purchase, obviously, but I’ve seen worse vehicle choices. However when…

I live in a rural area where pickup trucks are used for farm tasks, hunting (deer season, coyote season is every day), construction, towing, etc at a much higher rate than you probably see across the US in average. Among the community of people that use their trucks for "real work" (whatever their definition of that may be) an immaculately kept truck like the one you're describing would be referred to as a "pavement…

Ok, but most trucks sold today are indeed pavement princesses. For every one you see in the country doing work, there's 5 others being parked on tenth/quarter-acre lots in the cities/suburbs.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#672

Post by User23 »

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.

> It's why we can't have the Hilux in the States.

Well, we have the Tacoma, which fits pretty much the same niche. I was under the impression it was more market driven and less regulation driven.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#673

Post by User23 »

freeqaz wrote: post #327
Buttons840 wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A crumple material that will crumple in a car vs pedestrian collision? Like NERF foam or something?

This comment actually got a laugh out of me. I truly have no idea what would be feasible in a collision like this. Probably packing peanuts? Airbags on the outside of the car that deploy when a pedestrian is detected?

There are wearable airbags on the market for motorcycle use. I don't know how effective they are for their intended use or how effective they might be protecting a pedestrian, but it's a technology that exists.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#674

Post by 1234letshaveatw »

kasey_junk wrote: post #587
Retric wrote: post #564

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me guess, you don’t live next to farmers or a lot of snow.

Pickup trucks are horrendous for snowy conditions. You literally have to put extra material in them to make them manageable. The farmers in my family do have pickup trucks. 40 year old ones with standard cabs and no frills. There is virtually no good function for a modern leather appointed king cab other than signaling your group. Which is fine! Half of car ownership is that but do t pretend that even half of trucks…

Or you know, 4WD

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#675

Post by treeman79 »

branon wrote: post #613
bregma wrote: post #546

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand, but a modern pickup truck comfortably seats 6 in its King Cab (and good luck finding a truck without a King Cab) and has a bed that is useless for carrying anything except maybe your gym bag or a dozen cases of empties. There is no doubt the purpose of a modern pickup truck is as a passenger vehicle and secondarily to provide an advertising medium for you political beliefs. The fact that modern American…

Your comment is dripping with more political vitriol than I've seen in "that country" in a while You can find plenty of more compact pickups - I've been searching for the best one for a while because the Dodge Ram and Ford F150 are just too big. The Honda Ridgeline, the Ford Maverick, the Chevrolet Colorado, the Hyundai Santa Cruz, the Toyota Tacoma, are all more compact, only seat 2-4 people, and have more bed than…

Got the f-150 as the main family vehicle. Extra width is a huge deal. we don’t feel squished together on trips.

Kids and and dog have plenty of room. And the bed is plenty big for all luggage / camping gear.

Plus it’s useful when we do need to haul couches or bigger items.

Downtown park isn’t fun but is doable.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#676

Post by JasserInicide »

falcolas wrote: post #40
tenpies wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can I add a request? A car that doesn't phone home. That is, one that the government is utterly unable to remotely turn off, monitor, or impose distance quotas. One that cannot be hacked through a poorly secured server in a car maker's server farm or government server with the username/pass admin/admin.

Forget about the government, I’m more afraid of insurance companies or the manufacturers themselves imposing such limits. Fortunately shielding against one shields against both.

It's already started. My insurance State Farm has already advertised you can get a lower rate if you drive around with their dreadful phone application. Won't be long until it's mandated you drive with one or else you're stuck with an "unsafe driver" charge on your insurance.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#677

Post by Retric »

bambax wrote: post #634
woodruffw wrote: post #591

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You and I might disagree about their fashionability, but they are indeed a fashion (and political) statement for many people.

Well no... that's my point! A political statement is not fashion. If one plants a political flag in their garden in support of a presidential candidate, that's not fashion, that's politics. If people decide to broadcast their opinions about the world using cars, they certainly can; but I don't think that kind of behavior can be called "fashion". Ideology, maybe.

Fashion: “social standing or prominence especially as signalized by dress or conduct” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fashion

Political affiliation is definitely part of social standing and the degree to which such signaling impacts how people talk, dress, and what they buy is very much fashion.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#678

Post by sgjohnson »

abdullahkhalids wrote: post #180
fortran77 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'll never own an electric car?

It will be interesting exercise to design a "manual gearbox" for an electric car so manual transmission drivers can have their enjoyment.

There’s no need to even have a transmission in an EV.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#679

Post by User23 »

yostrovs wrote: post #128
melony wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a better compromise, a semi-automatic: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-automatic_transmission You choose when to change the gears but the computer deals with the clutch, best of both worlds.

But anyone that drives a manual will let you know it's mostly about the clutch and how you use it, rather than choosing what gear you're in. Using a clutch just right can produce amazing amount of torque just when you need it. Automatic clutch can be incredibly efficient, but it simply can't know what you want to do.

Another nice thing is using the clutch to roll start a vehicle with a dead battery.

Re: The end of the manual transmission is near?

#680

Post by kkielhofner »

JasserInicide wrote: post #671
kkielhofner wrote: post #644

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in a rural area where pickup trucks are used for farm tasks, hunting (deer season, coyote season is every day), construction, towing, etc at a much higher rate than you probably see across the US in average. Among the community of people that use their trucks for "real work" (whatever their definition of that may be) an immaculately kept truck like the one you're describing would be referred to as a "pavement…

Ok, but most trucks sold today are indeed pavement princesses. For every one you see in the country doing work, there's 5 others being parked on tenth/quarter-acre lots in the cities/suburbs.

I'd say it's not even close. As another commenter noted pavement princesses are probably > 90% of trucks sold today.
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