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Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

latimes.com

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Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#831

Post by giardini »

e28eta wrote: post #738
giardini wrote: post #706

Earlier quoted context omitted.

unkeljoe: "braking all the way down a steep grade can cause your brakes to overheat and become temporarily inoperable. " That condition is known as brake fade/fading and occurs mostly with drum brakes and can occur on bicycles, motorbikes and automobiles. Braking heats the brake drums, which then expand. The drum may expand in diameter to the extent that the brake pads no longer contact the drum sufficiently enough t…

I recently saw this video of a car & trailer oscillating based on how the trailer is loaded, and thought it was really interesting to watch. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SXQt-8SZYT8

Very similar but there was an additional degree-of-freedom, the driver's steering (and braking), which can either improve or worsen the situation. Initially I tried to countersteer to correct the oscillation, but I was too slow - the oscillation amplitude increased! Changing tactics to damping the oscillation by keeping the wheels as straight ahead as possible (and slowing) did the trick or I likely wouldn't be posting this!

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#832

Post by dghughes »

theluketaylor wrote: post #813
dghughes wrote: post #673

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She'd love a Dodge Grand Caravan we have them for work service vehicles and I was amazed at how quick it shifts. At first I thought it was a mistake almost like the engine was lugging but it was in eco mode and shifting early. In normal mode it can shift through three or four gears in (what felt like) one second. And it has a seven speed transmission. I was wondering if I got a Hellcat trans by mistake!

My grandparents have a chrysler 200 with an 8 speed automatic and I hate it. It spends it's entire life searching for the perfect gear because the computer has too many to choose from. When you're on the highway in cruise I'm sure it selects a ratio that gets the best possible milage, but they live in the country. You need to accelerate through tight turns, pass slower vehicles without hitting oncoming traffic and co…

Does it have an eco mode engaged? That's what the Dodge van does when the green eco button is on but not the aggressive downshifting.

One other thing about the van it's so sluggish off a dead stop it's as if a normal press of the throttle does nothing a tiny bit more you're spinning the wheels and massive torque steer.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#833

Post by WalterBright »

Annatar wrote: post #525
WalterBright wrote: post #66

A stick is the only way to go for a muscle car. My first muscle car was a '67 Mustang, which had a problematic transmission. The first thing I did was convert it to a 4 speed manual. My '72 Dodge has a Tremec 5 speed manual heavy duty. It's a sweet shifter, indeed.

Former 2004 Holden Monaro / Pontiac GTO driver here. Six speed manual transmission, 5.7L LS1 engine. 2nd gear lockout disabled, high RPM range cam. One of the best driving experiences of my life: a V8 and a manual transmission is a match made in heaven.

Yeah, not much feels as good as running up through the gears with a strong V8! I'll be sad when they finally ban those cars from the road.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#834

Post by Dylan16807 »

Ntrails wrote: post #201
dogma1138 wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want to see the people who cycle the clutch twice at a red signal.

When stopped you have two options in a car, sitting with your foot on the clutch (which is flat out bad) and putting the car in neutral. Putting the car in neutral is basically one meaningful action - changing gear, yes you have to depress the clutch move the gearstick to neutral and then let the clutch go - but to describe that as "cycle the clutch twice" is madness. Am I missing something?

You have to take it back out of neutral, making two cycles of the clutch.

No madness involved.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#835

Post by novaleaf »

CoffeeDregs wrote: post #585
irishcoffee wrote: post #552

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always wondered about this. In my head, using the engine/transmission to "brake" when in gear going down hills or slowing down seems like a bad idea. Something is getting stressed in order to slow the car down. Having to replace my brakes makes sense, they get worn out, and its relatively inexpensive (especially if I do it myself). I have always been wary of staying in gear to brake. And, as it so happens, my ma…

The Car Talk guys addressed this and agreed with you. It's better to use the brakes to slow down since they're ablative and designed to be replaced with wear. Causing the engine to do extra revolutions means extra wear on something that's quite difficult to replace/repair... That said, I drive a manual and use the engine for braking...

i drive automatic, and I use engine braking. just turn off "overdrive", downshift to second, or first

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#837

Post by mrchucklepants »

vcarl wrote: post #821
jinushaun wrote: post #768

Because you can't actually buy them. I bought a car a few years ago, the option was base trim with manual or all other trims in automatic. It was very frustrating. If the choice is between automatic windows, dual climate control, heated seats, etc or a manual, you'd be a fool to choose the manual no matter how much you prefer it over an automatic. Then of course, the "sales data" feeds back to the manufacturer and ev…

I recently purchased a Fiesta ST, which (along with the Focus ST) bucks this trend. The Fiesta is a cheap car, but the highest trim package, ST, is exclusively available as a manual and adds 70 HP. The Focus ST is the same, with an even bigger HP bump. Hopefully somebody else decides to compete with Ford for the budget enthusiast market, and we get a bunch of fun manuals :)

I also own a 2015 Fiesta ST as my daily driver. It's the most fun I've ever had in a car.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#838

Post by Broken_Hippo »

kjetijor wrote: post #684
Broken_Hippo wrote: post #295

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I knew it was rare for people to know manual transmissions, but why such a preference for automatic? I think this is twofold. First off, most drivers education doesn't teach a manual transmission anymore, nor is drivers education a requirement. While my parents learned on a simulator in school, I learned it from experience (and so happy I did) - my first car was a manual. But the second part of this is that there t…

Norway is (probably) still a manual transmission holdout, potentially in part because you'll most likely end up being taught driving a manual as there's restrictions attached to your license. If you do your practical on an automatic, you're restricted to automatic, if you do it on a manual you get to drive both manual/automatic. Anecdotally - early automatic transmissions weren't all that great on the windy mountain…

The restriction bit is absolutely correct. I'd guess that a good number of folks that learn on an automatic or take the tests in an automatic do so by choice or physical need, however. Folks have to take courses from a driving school, which supplies the car for both the training and the actual test.

I completely understand why it is a manual transmission holdout. Your anecdote confirms the attitude from my spouse (the native Norwegian) and others. A manual is just safer, both because of the mountains and the snow.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#839

Post by username223 »

shopkins wrote: post #630
zippergz wrote: post #35

I'm a car enthusiast, and I was a manual transmission purist for many, many years. But then I had to be honest with myself, and admit that the VAST majority of my driving is commuting in traffic. And that driving is much less annoying with an automatic. My leisure driving is maybe 5% less fun without a manual, but that's far outweighed by how much better my daily commute is. At this point, I'd only buy a manual for a…

I think if it's annoying, you're not driving in traffic the right way. Sure, it's annoying for aggressive stop-and-go driving, but if you maintain a consistent speed with the traffic in front of you (see traffic shockwaves [0]), a manual transmission is better than an automatic. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Suugn-p5C1M

> ... if you maintain a consistent speed with the traffic in front of you...

Good luck with that in CA. Whenever you ease off to anticipate a stop, you'll just get a bunch of jerks changing lanes in front of you to save a car-length or two.

Re: Fewer than 3% of cars sold in the U.S. have manual transmissions

#840

Post by Dylan16807 »

hx87 wrote: post #643
torrent-of-ions wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems that the fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres will be skewed simply by the average trip length being longer in the US. Fatalities per number of trips is probably a better metric since longer trips tend to use safer roads like motorways. It's just not possible to rack up that many "safe" miles somewhere like the UK, while the number of more high risk miles, ie. towns and country roads, is probably more s…

> It seems that the fatalities per billion vehicle kilometres will be skewed simply by the average trip length being longer in the US. Trip length figures into the denominator (deaths/billion kilometers ), so everything else being the same, longer trip lengths won't skew the statistic.

Not that the statistic will be skewed with respect to itself. But that it will be skewed against what really matters. It might be the wrong decision to factor out distance.
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