I have noticed that often the manual transmission has a higher engine speed in top gear than the automatic. Honda does this. This is part of why you see such high figures for MPGs for autos compared to the manual. I like the control and braking I have with a manual. At over 125k miles on my Jetta, I am only a little ways through the original brake pads.
Is the manual transmission dying?
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Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
As someone who learned to drive on a real manual (non synchronized) transmission, and someone who has had my share of manual transmissions, I've never quite understood the chest thumping that goes on whenever manual transmissions are mentioned. I personally don't care either way, but if manual transmissions in cars and trucks were to go the way of the Pallid beach mouse I'd never miss it.
Same here, couldn't agree more.
Joel
As someone who learned to drive on a real manual (non synchronized) transmission, and someone who has had my share of manual transmissions, I've never quite understood the chest thumping that goes on whenever manual transmissions are mentioned. I personally don't care either way, but if manual transmissions in cars and trucks were to go the way of the Pallid beach mouse I'd never miss it.
Joel
I live at 9000 feet in the Rockies, when I bought my Subaru, I was very lucky to find a manual model. This is the only way I would own this car, as an auto model would be a complete dog.
I can wind my car out to 5000 rpm on long hills and it runs good!
I can wind my car out to 5000 rpm on long hills and it runs good!
Honestly, I used to enjoy driving a manual trans. But since the flood gates opened to NY, and NJ people all coming here. the traffic is just too much to enjoy it anymore. BTW I have nothing against people moving here, but it was just too much, and way too fast.
OVERKILL
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Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
As someone who grew up driving nothing but stick shifts it does not require much "skill".
"me so special"... LMAO!
Agreed, I don't think it is "special", but I do enjoy driving stick.
If driving stick actually required special skill, there wouldn't have been many people driving them.
I do feel you are more "in touch" with a manual transmission car, but in terms of difficulty, learning to drive a bicycle is much harder to put it in perspective. And there are no shortage of cyclists.....
As someone who grew up driving nothing but stick shifts it does not require much "skill".
"me so special"... LMAO!
Agreed, I don't think it is "special", but I do enjoy driving stick.
If driving stick actually required special skill, there wouldn't have been many people driving them.
I do feel you are more "in touch" with a manual transmission car, but in terms of difficulty, learning to drive a bicycle is much harder to put it in perspective. And there are no shortage of cyclists.....
It's been prophesized that manual transmission will be dead for quite some time now, but it's still here and it won't be going away any time soon, if ever.
I think that as gas prices climb, more and more people, especially young adults, will start buying small cars with manual transmissions, as trims with auto tranny will be quite slow and have worse real world fuel economy. There is a reason why Cruze Eco was mated with manual transmission and it sells quite well, and offers excellent fuel economy. Small displacement engines mated with an automatic transmission are a pain to drive and the fuel penalty is a lot more noticeable. The way I see it, once peoples pocked books get hit hard by high gas prices, they will look at small cars with manual trannys or more costly hybrids. So, don't count them out yet.
I think that as gas prices climb, more and more people, especially young adults, will start buying small cars with manual transmissions, as trims with auto tranny will be quite slow and have worse real world fuel economy. There is a reason why Cruze Eco was mated with manual transmission and it sells quite well, and offers excellent fuel economy. Small displacement engines mated with an automatic transmission are a pain to drive and the fuel penalty is a lot more noticeable. The way I see it, once peoples pocked books get hit hard by high gas prices, they will look at small cars with manual trannys or more costly hybrids. So, don't count them out yet.
I bought a new car and had to search high and low to find the package I wanted in a manual. Even went out of state to get it.
It is kind of a novelty and in my case, I just wanted to relive some youth times and get a daily driver with a stick. I love to drive and its been great. It does suck when I'm stuck in city driving though.
One thing about it, my son is going to learn how to drive a stick. This car will probably be his in the next few years and if he can do this one, he can drive anything.
It is kind of a novelty and in my case, I just wanted to relive some youth times and get a daily driver with a stick. I love to drive and its been great. It does suck when I'm stuck in city driving though.
One thing about it, my son is going to learn how to drive a stick. This car will probably be his in the next few years and if he can do this one, he can drive anything.
Originally Posted By: rjacket
Originally Posted By: Popinski
I talked to a Dutch, Spaniard, and a German at a local coffee shop last afternoon.
Ok, hands up if you thought this was the beginning of a joke.
My town has a lot of international students. The Europeans and Asians have their own clique. Kind of sad because I would like to befriend some of them(especially the ladies).
Originally Posted By: Popinski
I talked to a Dutch, Spaniard, and a German at a local coffee shop last afternoon.
Ok, hands up if you thought this was the beginning of a joke.
My town has a lot of international students. The Europeans and Asians have their own clique. Kind of sad because I would like to befriend some of them(especially the ladies).
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Originally Posted By: ueberooo
Originally Posted By: rjacket
Originally Posted By: Popinski
I talked to a Dutch, Spaniard, and a German at a local coffee shop last afternoon.
Ok, hands up if you thought this was the beginning of a joke.
Lol, nice going Popinski!
Sometimes I'm afraid manual is suffering a dangerous decline in popularity. I sure hope they still make them for a few decades.
I'm glad that BMW is still selling a lot of their manual cars, especially the M cars. Audi too.
Originally Posted By: sciphi
There will always be some folks who want a manual transmission. I put my money where my mouth was with a new car, and got a manual. I enjoy driving it, and the fuel economy benefits.
The issue is that many makers put the manual onto the base car, and then do not allow any options to be added to the MT version. Hyundai is notorious for this.
Not everybody who wants a MT in a car wants a stripped-out base version!!!!
Yeah, that gets on my nerves. Manual in their Sonata Turbo, Elantra premium, or Genesis Sedan R-Spec would be nice.
Originally Posted By: rjacket
Originally Posted By: Popinski
I talked to a Dutch, Spaniard, and a German at a local coffee shop last afternoon.
Ok, hands up if you thought this was the beginning of a joke.
Lol, nice going Popinski!
Sometimes I'm afraid manual is suffering a dangerous decline in popularity. I sure hope they still make them for a few decades.
I'm glad that BMW is still selling a lot of their manual cars, especially the M cars. Audi too.
Originally Posted By: sciphi
There will always be some folks who want a manual transmission. I put my money where my mouth was with a new car, and got a manual. I enjoy driving it, and the fuel economy benefits.
The issue is that many makers put the manual onto the base car, and then do not allow any options to be added to the MT version. Hyundai is notorious for this.
Not everybody who wants a MT in a car wants a stripped-out base version!!!!
Yeah, that gets on my nerves. Manual in their Sonata Turbo, Elantra premium, or Genesis Sedan R-Spec would be nice.
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I love having my manual trans. What is nice about the R car is it is the highest end model of S60 offered those years and they did have the manual.
One of my mom's friends bought a 2012 Focus with a manual. Randomly we had one on my lot that he wanted and in the color he wanted. The sales guy said how rare it was for a guy in his 60s to demand a manual.
I have been looking at Fusions for my mom, she wants an automatic which is no problem finding. I started looking at them too and you can only get a manual in the base level. How cool would an AWD Fusion Sport be in a manual...
One of my mom's friends bought a 2012 Focus with a manual. Randomly we had one on my lot that he wanted and in the color he wanted. The sales guy said how rare it was for a guy in his 60s to demand a manual.
I have been looking at Fusions for my mom, she wants an automatic which is no problem finding. I started looking at them too and you can only get a manual in the base level. How cool would an AWD Fusion Sport be in a manual...
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
As someone who learned to drive on a real manual (non synchronized) transmission, and someone who has had my share of manual transmissions, I've never quite understood the chest thumping that goes on whenever manual transmissions are mentioned. I personally don't care either way, but if manual transmissions in cars and trucks were to go the way of the Pallid beach mouse I'd never miss it.
Modern manual transmissions don't exactly take a lot of skill to drive-even my wife drives a manual transmission Subaru every day, and she's certainly no driving "enthusiast". I'm sure there will always be a few manufacturers catering to the niche market that thinks driving a manual is something special or somehow sets them apart. But for normal, everyday drivers I suspect the manual will soon be a rare option. And I don't have a problem with that.
I'm not sure why, but you've brought up this "chest thumping" thing multiple times. I know it goes on sometimes but I lately haven't seen anyone around here argue that modern MTs require excessive amounts of skill to drive, are "special", or anything else that would amount to chest thumping.
Not everyone who drives MT vehicles and wants to keep driving them is doing it out of some misguided feeling of superiority. The benefits of MTs have been extolled by their supporters many times here and I will not rehash them, but suffice it to say I like my MT for the same reason I like crisp handling, good steering feel, and a nice sounding engine -- it has nothing to do with skill and everything to do with the overall experience of the drive.
As someone who learned to drive on a real manual (non synchronized) transmission, and someone who has had my share of manual transmissions, I've never quite understood the chest thumping that goes on whenever manual transmissions are mentioned. I personally don't care either way, but if manual transmissions in cars and trucks were to go the way of the Pallid beach mouse I'd never miss it.
Modern manual transmissions don't exactly take a lot of skill to drive-even my wife drives a manual transmission Subaru every day, and she's certainly no driving "enthusiast". I'm sure there will always be a few manufacturers catering to the niche market that thinks driving a manual is something special or somehow sets them apart. But for normal, everyday drivers I suspect the manual will soon be a rare option. And I don't have a problem with that.
I'm not sure why, but you've brought up this "chest thumping" thing multiple times. I know it goes on sometimes but I lately haven't seen anyone around here argue that modern MTs require excessive amounts of skill to drive, are "special", or anything else that would amount to chest thumping.
Not everyone who drives MT vehicles and wants to keep driving them is doing it out of some misguided feeling of superiority. The benefits of MTs have been extolled by their supporters many times here and I will not rehash them, but suffice it to say I like my MT for the same reason I like crisp handling, good steering feel, and a nice sounding engine -- it has nothing to do with skill and everything to do with the overall experience of the drive.
And he's right. Many on this site have extolled the superior skills required to drive a stick.
Ludicrous to us older drivers, we were raised on manual shift. I'm glad you like the experience, I'd have to agree as the baddest hoss in my stable is a six speed.
Ludicrous to us older drivers, we were raised on manual shift. I'm glad you like the experience, I'd have to agree as the baddest hoss in my stable is a six speed.
Originally Posted By: PostalBound
I bought a new car and had to search high and low to find the package I wanted in a manual. Even went out of state to get it.
I had to drive 250 miles to get my last manual purchase. Still enjoy it and my next car will most likely be a manual as well. Not long ago, I spent a year in Chicago bumper-to-bumper commute traffic. While I wasn't having a time of my life, it wasn't a big deal with a manual. Had it been an auto, I would have still been miserable in such traffic.
I bought a new car and had to search high and low to find the package I wanted in a manual. Even went out of state to get it.
I had to drive 250 miles to get my last manual purchase. Still enjoy it and my next car will most likely be a manual as well. Not long ago, I spent a year in Chicago bumper-to-bumper commute traffic. While I wasn't having a time of my life, it wasn't a big deal with a manual. Had it been an auto, I would have still been miserable in such traffic.
Originally Posted By: rationull
Not everyone who drives MT vehicles and wants to keep driving them is doing it out of some misguided feeling of superiority.
Read some of the automotive forums populated mainly by teenagers. Once they graduate from their mom's old automatic Camry into whichever Neon SRT4, Subaru STI, Civic Si, or Cobalt SS their forum is based on, and you WILL see this attitude.
Not everyone who drives MT vehicles and wants to keep driving them is doing it out of some misguided feeling of superiority.
Read some of the automotive forums populated mainly by teenagers. Once they graduate from their mom's old automatic Camry into whichever Neon SRT4, Subaru STI, Civic Si, or Cobalt SS their forum is based on, and you WILL see this attitude.
Short answer, yes.
There is a feeling among the uninitiated that it's hard to drive a stick, and that they're awful in traffic.
While its really isn't hard, and you just use a different technique in traffic with a stick than most do with an automatic, a majority of drivers under fifty or so have never driven a car with three pedals, and therefore have no concept of how engaging and entertaining it is.
A pity for those of us who really enjoy and prefer a stick to an automatic, since demand, measured in sales volume, determines availability.
There is a feeling among the uninitiated that it's hard to drive a stick, and that they're awful in traffic.
While its really isn't hard, and you just use a different technique in traffic with a stick than most do with an automatic, a majority of drivers under fifty or so have never driven a car with three pedals, and therefore have no concept of how engaging and entertaining it is.
A pity for those of us who really enjoy and prefer a stick to an automatic, since demand, measured in sales volume, determines availability.
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
Unless something has changed in the recent past, (at least for trucks) automatics have higher towing capacities than manuals.
Any idea why this is? Are they just worried about dummies burning the clutch on the boat ramp? Or just want to sell the automatic?
I'm surprised to hear this. Is this for smaller trucks? Not too many full size trucks have been available with manual transmissions lately. Dodge is the only one left, and they give the same towing capacities regardless of transmission. I don't know about the newer 6-speed Dodge automatics, but the 4-speeds from the mid-2000s were far less durable than the manuals. My buddy destroyed one of those 4-speeds in a single weekend while only chipped up to about 400hp/800ft-lb. It took him a few years and about 150k miles to take out 5th gear on his NV5600; the rest of the tranny still worked. That thing put out 500hp/1000ft-lb and saw heavy towing (12,000lb across the BC Rockies) and lots of 4WD clutch drops during drag racing. It's still on the original clutch.
On the other hand, my 5-speed '98 Pathfinder was only rated for 3500lb while the auto allowed 5000lb. In that case, the automatic must have been a beefier design than the manual.
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
Unless something has changed in the recent past, (at least for trucks) automatics have higher towing capacities than manuals.
Any idea why this is? Are they just worried about dummies burning the clutch on the boat ramp? Or just want to sell the automatic?
I'm surprised to hear this. Is this for smaller trucks? Not too many full size trucks have been available with manual transmissions lately. Dodge is the only one left, and they give the same towing capacities regardless of transmission. I don't know about the newer 6-speed Dodge automatics, but the 4-speeds from the mid-2000s were far less durable than the manuals. My buddy destroyed one of those 4-speeds in a single weekend while only chipped up to about 400hp/800ft-lb. It took him a few years and about 150k miles to take out 5th gear on his NV5600; the rest of the tranny still worked. That thing put out 500hp/1000ft-lb and saw heavy towing (12,000lb across the BC Rockies) and lots of 4WD clutch drops during drag racing. It's still on the original clutch.
On the other hand, my 5-speed '98 Pathfinder was only rated for 3500lb while the auto allowed 5000lb. In that case, the automatic must have been a beefier design than the manual.
Oh look, it's the 1,546 thread on BITOG of people complaining manual transmissions aren't available anymore.
I think we should create another forum section just for this topic so you guys don't keep cluttering up the Auto General Topics forum.
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