Save the Manuals!!!
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Hehe... I'm certainly doing my part keeping an old manual bmw on the road.
^ Me too with my 88 E-150. ^
Good luck guys. When the sports and hyper cars have transitioned away from it and the low end cars have opted for autos and CVT's, because it's faster and more efficient, you have your work cut out for you.
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My first few (well more like four) cars were automatics, but after I got my Accord with a MT, I can't go back.
Driving seems so boring, so mediocre, I want to choose my gear and decide when to wind 'er up. Not some ECU telling me the best shift point.
I went to drive a company Prius the other day and kept putting my foot down to the floor looking for the clutch when starting the car.
Driving seems so boring, so mediocre, I want to choose my gear and decide when to wind 'er up. Not some ECU telling me the best shift point.
I went to drive a company Prius the other day and kept putting my foot down to the floor looking for the clutch when starting the car.
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Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Me too with my even older BMW.
Can't wait for the first warm weather to get it out of the garage and drop the top.
Nice. I am trying to keep mine in the garage as well as I haven't bothered to swap on winter wheels this season.
Me too with my even older BMW.
Can't wait for the first warm weather to get it out of the garage and drop the top.
Nice. I am trying to keep mine in the garage as well as I haven't bothered to swap on winter wheels this season.
JHZR2
Staff member
Yeah I have quite a few on the road too.
CVTs and DCTs and the like all have one fundamental flaw - the inability to get from a forward gear, to neutral, then back, in a smooth, straightforward manner. Even DCTs which should be just like an mt! have major issues with the convenience of doing this IMO..
Much of the "efficiency" gained from the other approaches is related to the stupidity of the gear ratios selected from the mt gearbox.
CVTs and DCTs and the like all have one fundamental flaw - the inability to get from a forward gear, to neutral, then back, in a smooth, straightforward manner. Even DCTs which should be just like an mt! have major issues with the convenience of doing this IMO..
Much of the "efficiency" gained from the other approaches is related to the stupidity of the gear ratios selected from the mt gearbox.
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Yeah I have quite a few on the road too.
CVTs and DCTs and the like all have one fundamental flaw - the inability to get from a forward gear, to neutral, then back, in a smooth, straightforward manner. Even DCTs which should be just like an mt! have major issues with the convenience of doing this IMO..
Much of the "efficiency" gained from the other approaches is related to the stupidity of the gear ratios selected from the mt gearbox.
Do you mean the stupidity of the rations selected for the manual? Like the Fit which is (was?) lacking a decent highway gear (turning 3k on the highway), and other tricks meant to bolster 30-60 times where a downshift is frowned upon?
Yeah I have quite a few on the road too.
CVTs and DCTs and the like all have one fundamental flaw - the inability to get from a forward gear, to neutral, then back, in a smooth, straightforward manner. Even DCTs which should be just like an mt! have major issues with the convenience of doing this IMO..
Much of the "efficiency" gained from the other approaches is related to the stupidity of the gear ratios selected from the mt gearbox.
Do you mean the stupidity of the rations selected for the manual? Like the Fit which is (was?) lacking a decent highway gear (turning 3k on the highway), and other tricks meant to bolster 30-60 times where a downshift is frowned upon?
Automatic is for daily driving. Manual is for cruising.
My Accent has 6 gears in its automatic tranny. It's great and the electronic shifter compensates a lot in manually changing gears when I WANT TO. It also hits 2,250 RPMs when driving at 70mphs, not 3k like the Fit or Fiesta.
My Accent has 6 gears in its automatic tranny. It's great and the electronic shifter compensates a lot in manually changing gears when I WANT TO. It also hits 2,250 RPMs when driving at 70mphs, not 3k like the Fit or Fiesta.
A guy told me just as he was getting out of the Army (I think) they were switching the transport trucks to automatics. A few years back.
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Originally Posted By: accent2012
Automatic is for daily driving. Manual is for cruising.
My Accent has 6 gears in its automatic tranny. It's great and the electronic shifter compensates a lot in manually changing gears when I WANT TO. It also hits 2,250 RPMs when driving at 70mphs, not 3k like the Fit or Fiesta.
How good is it at keeping rpm below 2k? My truck is horrible at that, it loves to downshift rather than grunt down and shoulder the load.
I had a rental Camry once, with the 6 speed auto, and that thing was always doing something. Any adjustment on throttle and it was shifting or unlocking the convertor. It was fairly new, and getting a number of different drivers (and probably lots of city driving) so perhaps it wasn't "learned" or "adapted" or whatever it is. I'm very used to picking a gear and pulsing the throttle as necessary--works fine in stick, drives an auto nuts.
Automatic is for daily driving. Manual is for cruising.
My Accent has 6 gears in its automatic tranny. It's great and the electronic shifter compensates a lot in manually changing gears when I WANT TO. It also hits 2,250 RPMs when driving at 70mphs, not 3k like the Fit or Fiesta.
How good is it at keeping rpm below 2k? My truck is horrible at that, it loves to downshift rather than grunt down and shoulder the load.
I had a rental Camry once, with the 6 speed auto, and that thing was always doing something. Any adjustment on throttle and it was shifting or unlocking the convertor. It was fairly new, and getting a number of different drivers (and probably lots of city driving) so perhaps it wasn't "learned" or "adapted" or whatever it is. I'm very used to picking a gear and pulsing the throttle as necessary--works fine in stick, drives an auto nuts.
Originally Posted By: css9450
Every time I've owned a manual car, the one that comes next has always been an automatic. And guess which ones I wind up keeping for 200-300 thousand miles? Hint - it ain't the ones with a clutch.
It can certainly go both ways. The one time I made the mistake of buying an automatic, I went right back to manual.
Every time I've owned a manual car, the one that comes next has always been an automatic. And guess which ones I wind up keeping for 200-300 thousand miles? Hint - it ain't the ones with a clutch.
It can certainly go both ways. The one time I made the mistake of buying an automatic, I went right back to manual.
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
Good luck guys. When the sports and hyper cars have transitioned away from it and the low end cars have opted for autos and CVT's, because it's faster and more efficient, you have your work cut out for you.
True and that's the way it's heading.
I've driven some poor manuals too, but I favor MT's overall and always have.
In SUV/CUV's I think the CVT's are the way to go though.
Good luck guys. When the sports and hyper cars have transitioned away from it and the low end cars have opted for autos and CVT's, because it's faster and more efficient, you have your work cut out for you.
True and that's the way it's heading.
I've driven some poor manuals too, but I favor MT's overall and always have.
In SUV/CUV's I think the CVT's are the way to go though.
Originally Posted By: shDK
I,'Ve never had a non manual car. For some reason I think a manual gearbox is a big part of the whole joy of driving. Automatic is for the lazy driver. Or taxi drivers
Call me lazy then. I drove manuals for 40 years....nothing but autos for me now. But I will say everyone should learn to drive on a manual.
I,'Ve never had a non manual car. For some reason I think a manual gearbox is a big part of the whole joy of driving. Automatic is for the lazy driver. Or taxi drivers
Call me lazy then. I drove manuals for 40 years....nothing but autos for me now. But I will say everyone should learn to drive on a manual.
Count me in!
I've NEVER BOUGHT (I don't lease!) and paid for
a car that wasn't a manual transmission model.
I agree with what someone else mentioned, that the typical automatic transmission on a fairly modern car is ALWAYS doing something whether you want it to or not, which is infuriating and annoying.
I currently have two cars, a 1996 VW Golf GL 2L with the manual trans, and a 1994 Honda Accord LX 2.2L with an automatic, while both are good solid cars, I really don't like the feel of the automatic trans because while it works perfectly fine, at slightly varying speeds like on the interstate the [censored] auto box is constantly unlocking and locking up in OD to maximize mpgs I suppose, but I hate the feel of it, and I alway feel that this is probably wearing more than I would like.
I love when I put the VW Golf in gear it does just what I want it to and doesn't hunt back and fourth, to distract me. So what if I lose 00.1 mpg vs the autotragics and CVTs. I'm willing to sacrifice that amount to gain a more reliable and easier to repair transmission and one that is more pleasant to live with day in and out.
I've NEVER BOUGHT (I don't lease!) and paid for
a car that wasn't a manual transmission model.
I agree with what someone else mentioned, that the typical automatic transmission on a fairly modern car is ALWAYS doing something whether you want it to or not, which is infuriating and annoying.
I currently have two cars, a 1996 VW Golf GL 2L with the manual trans, and a 1994 Honda Accord LX 2.2L with an automatic, while both are good solid cars, I really don't like the feel of the automatic trans because while it works perfectly fine, at slightly varying speeds like on the interstate the [censored] auto box is constantly unlocking and locking up in OD to maximize mpgs I suppose, but I hate the feel of it, and I alway feel that this is probably wearing more than I would like.
I love when I put the VW Golf in gear it does just what I want it to and doesn't hunt back and fourth, to distract me. So what if I lose 00.1 mpg vs the autotragics and CVTs. I'm willing to sacrifice that amount to gain a more reliable and easier to repair transmission and one that is more pleasant to live with day in and out.
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