Car Guru: Stop Downshift In Manual Transmissions

[ffxfina3]

"Seventy years ago, 70 percent of U.S.-made cars came with a stick shift. The number is less than 9 percent today. But at least one man is on a quest to reverse that slide."

Car Guru: Stop Downshift In Manual Transmissions

 

[stephen9666]

I would actually be surprised if it was as high as 9 percent.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

You can't eat, talk on the phone, be stuck in traffic AND continue the lazy downslide of America in a stickshift car....

I miss mine. I want to go back to one.

 

[A_Harman]

Yeah, I have a subscription to Car & Driver, and have gotten a kick out of their "Save the Manuals" campaign. I don't own a vehicle that isn't a stick-shift, and often spout the credo: "If you're not driving a manual, you're not really driving."

We Americans have gotten a reputation as lazy drivers overseas. Once I went on a business trip to England, and when I got to the front of the line at the rental counter, the agent said "Do you want a manual or automatic trans- oops, I see you're an American, so you must want an automatic." I pleasantly responded that I would prefer the manual transmission. It was a bit of a new sensation adjusting to left-handed shifting, but I survived.

 

[SLCraig]

I am going to order a save the manuals t-shirt probably.
I also hate the thought of not having a proper gearbox in my car. I really do hate it.

I love guys like him. He is basically speaking on my behalf to everyone who reads his article.

 

[RamFan]

With ever increasing technological advancements sometimes we need to stop looking back on the "good-ol'-days" and just allow ourselves to live and adapt with more efficient machines. Maybe we should go back and use an abacus instead of a calculator for math...

 

[Smoky14]

I hate the fact that they gear the manuals so much different than the automatic. It's as if they think we can't be bothered to down shift and they don't want us to lug the engine. RPM@ 70 is usually 500 or so lower in an auto.
Not to be political but it would appear that NOT thinking is what is expected of us anymore.

 

[CATERHAM]

Good for Eddie Alterman.

I have never owned anything but a manual but with the advent of automated manuals becoming more prevalent I believe a true manual's days are numbered. And as Eddie pointed out, with some high end sports cars not even offering a true manual it's hard to believe otherwise.

But I was encouraged to learn that Porsche has brought out the first true 7-speed manual this year.

 

[dparm]

How are they counting systems like M-DCT, SMG, etc? Those are still manual transmissions with automated shifting.

 

[pbm]

When I got my drivers license in 1974 a manual transmission usually got about 25% better MPG than the same vehicle with an A/T.
Today the A/T often gets better MPG than the manual version of the same vehicle.
That being said I prefer the simplicity of a stick-shift along with the reduced cost to repair/replace...

 

[CharlieJ]

If it ain't got a clutch pedal, then it ain't a manual.

 

[Lead Shoes]

I don't like the sloppy numb feeling you get driving an automatic..

There sure wouldn't be that much in car distraction like texting, talking on the phone, or sipping a coffee if my fellow peers (16-21) had manuals...

 

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: dparm
How are they counting systems like M-DCT, SMG, etc? Those are still manual transmissions with automated shifting.


It has to be a clutch-and-shifter car.
No flappy-paddles allowed!

 

[Chris142]

Took me months to find my truck with a stickshift. Id mich rather replace a clutch once on a blue moon than replace a failed automatic. Every other year to the tune of $2500

 

[antiqueshell]

The thing is that the manual transmission is only a rarity in the USA and CANADA, it is the overwhelming majority in every other nation on earth.

There are many reasons to buy manual over auto

1) Lower cost of new car purchase
2) Less maintenance and less costly to maintain and repair
3) More flexibility
4) Better in severe weather conditions (traction, stuck in snow, ect.)

5) ...and of course more fun to drive.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: pbm
When I got my drivers license in 1974 a manual transmission usually got about 25% better MPG than the same vehicle with an A/T.
Today the A/T often gets better MPG than the manual version of the same vehicle.
That being said I prefer the simplicity of a stick-shift along with the reduced cost to repair/replace...


At least my Cruze with its fuel-economy package gets (highway) 4 mpg better with a manual than automatic on the EPA tests. Sadly, these days, it's the exception. It was nice being able to pick it right off the dealer's lot with a stick-shift, though! I guess the AT was too heavy, so they axed it in favor of lighter weight. Whatever, I'm glad this car has a 3rd pedal.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: dparm
How are they counting systems like M-DCT, SMG, etc? Those are still manual transmissions with automated shifting.


It has to be a clutch-and-shifter car.
No flappy-paddles allowed!


Okay, so three pedals.

 

[ctrcbob]

Originally Posted By: Bryan K. Walton
"Seventy years ago, 70 percent of U.S.-made cars came with a stick shift. The number is less than 9 percent today. But at least one man is on a quest to reverse that slide."

Car Guru: Stop Downshift In Manual Transmissions


70 years ago would be 1942. Back then, 99.9% of cars were manual shift. The only "automatics" were the very first Oldsmobiles that introduced the hydomatic back around 1940 (but nobody bought them) and the Dodge (Chrysler) which had the "Fluid Drive" mostly for people with handicaps, and did not have full use of their legs. I knew a woman who drove a late 1930's (think it was a 39) Dodge with the Fluid Drive. Also, don't even know if it was for sale to people without handicaps.

Automatics started to get popular around 1949 with the Olds and Cadillac Hydromatic and the 1949 Buick Dynaflo. Dodge and Chrysler introduced the Fluid Drive about that time also. Even then, 90% of cars had the manual transmission.

As mentioned in this thread, Europeans would rather drive a manual, not an automatic. It is not that they don't have automatics, but rather that they are better drivers than we are, and they know they have more control over their car, when the car is in the gear they want, not the gear the car wants when it upshifts, when taking your foot off the gas. BTW, Europeans do not drive their manual cars to save gas, as they all think they are in a race. I go every few years to both France and Italy. In France, they drive fast, but safe. In Italy, they have an unwritten rule. "NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO BE IN FRONT OF YOU". Fast and crazy.

I alweays lease a Renault Laguna with manual transmission. Great car. Great transmission. Feels like I'm shifting through butter.

 

[cp3]

I miss rowing and if I had my time back again I would still be...lol

Some good points here though. i think the fuel efficency will be a bigger and bigger factor in average cars. And with the super-cars, well like everything else it's progression. I find it hard to believe that anyone could shift a gated Ferrari quicker than the F1 "flappy-paddles" in competition mode. When they are using technology to wring every last bit of performance out of these things that last few milliseconds counts.

Now fortunately for us, a lot of technology has been fun. I don't want the previously mentioned ababus, a "brick" phone instead of my Android or to watch TV or play X-box on a 13" black and white tube! This just isn't one of those things but with "world cars" becoming more popular wouldn't it stand to reason that a stick would still be, at least easier for them to make available here?

 

[440Magnum]

How could we possibly reverse the trend away from sticks when people seem to want the HVAC controls operated through the high-definition touchscreen (a feature of a recent rental car that thorougly p***ed me off), want bluetooth syncing of their music, voice activated everything, heated tushie warmers, and can't be bothered to take out a key to open the door (yet don't seem to mind carrying a remote fob the size of a grapefruit... I'd rather have 10 brass keys!). I just don't get it. I don't want to be locked out of my car by a $3.00 battery, I don't want to have to replace a $300 remote when (not if!) it gets run through the washer by accident, and I don't want bright screens distracting me when I try to drive at night. I don't mind luxury... I like it... but things are a little out of hand.