Posted on 04/16/2020 7:19:43 AM PDT by C19fan
Some die-hard drivers say you aren’t really driving a car unless you are in a stick shift. But the manual transmission is dying out.
Just 41 out of the 327 new car models sold in the United States in 2020, or 13%, are offered with a manual transmission, according to data from Edmunds. That is a tremendous drop from less than a decade ago. In 2011, 37% percent came with manuals.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
If you do international travel a manual transmission can be the norm. Not knowing how to operate one can mean not being able to drive.
I started out with a Chevy pickup with three on the tree.
Pretty hard to find a pickup with a manual nowadays.
I always tell people, “you’ll know I’m officially old when I voluntarily buy an automatic transmission”. I have no plans to give up my MINI countryman 6-speed any time soon.
There’s too much of a lag with most paddle shifters. They are kind of fun but not really.
One day I was running through some mountains in Pennsylvania with my two sons. We were cruising down a steep hill. I could see a very tight turn at the bottom that had some banking too it. It was marked 15 mph.
I hit it at about 60, jammed the brake, pounded the clutch and dropped into second gear. popped the clutch and floored it. As I shifted into third and accelerated, I looked at my boys and said “And that gentlemen, is why you drive a manual.”
Lol
Yeah, that’s really sad too!
I much prefer a manual for moderate to serious off-road usage. Thankfully the Jeep Wrangler family still offers manual transmissions. I have a Cherokee Trailhawk, which I really like, but would much prefer it came with a beefy manual 6-speed like the Wrangler. As it is, it does allow operation of the 9-speed automatic with a manual upshift/downshift mode which is ok, but would prefer the ability to work the clutch and shift by myself.
I had a 1963 or 64 Ford Falcon with tree on the tree. Sometimes I had a hard time going into second. If the old man was riding with me he would yell at me “double clutch it god-damn it!”
Nonsense!
I've always owned only manuals. I taught my wife to drive so she had to learn to drive a stick.
Some years ago when we were looking for a new car, she test drove a car with an automatic transmission. She decided right away that it was not for her. The only time you can be sure an automatic is in the right gear is when you are pulling away from a red light, or when you are driving at the speed limit on an interstate. Now she has a six-speed Honda Accord, 2015 I think. I'm still driving my 2005 five-speed Camry.
ML/NJ
Try getting a broken arm or leg and still driving a car with a manual transmission.
Yep - automatics have evolved so much that they offer the same mileage (that’s what locking converters give you) and quicker times from 0-whatever...learning how to use the paddles effectively is what many don’t get to...especially when wanting to maintain RPMs in a hard curve where they would usually shift...and a side bonus is that the computers won’t let you over-rev if you forget to shift or try to downshift when it would cause an over-rev.
And I’m sure some pilots prefer an open cockpit. It’s a slight handicap, though, on a 787. :)
I prefer a stick, but only if I’m not commuting in traffic.
I get NYC/North Jersey rush traffic in both directions and sitting in 15 minutes of start/stop is common at least when there isn’t a virus happening. Driving a stick at those time really stinks.
When I’m driving for fun, a stick is great! Last year I got a Ford Festiva ST when I was on a trip in Germany. _THAT_ was fun. Got it up to about 135 on the Autobahn. This is not an anemic north America econobox. This is a 210hp, recaro seat, tuned suspension roller skate. I can’t emphasize how much fun it was to drive ripping through the gears.
Good advice, cyclotic!
Manuals are more fun, IMO. It’s the one thing you have in common with racing machines.
They’ve been disappearing forever. There’s still a couple of companies that make them. IMHO it makes it easier to buy a new car. When mine got totalled a few years ago there were only 3 or 4 cars in the size I prefer that were sticks, so a lot less options to over think on.
Jeep Gladiator, Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma.
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/only-three-new-pickup-trucks-offer-a-manual-transmission/
The trans lasts much longer if you know how to use it and drive properly. You anticipate drags on the transmission and downshift to accommodate, instead of waiting for the automatic trans to respond after the fact to a hill of unknown inclination and height.
You can also downshift if your brakes fail or you are on ice, because you already know about how to best use your gears.
My first car, a used Toyota Celica, was a stick.
My dad had to teach me how to drive it.
I loved that car. Haven’t had a stick since, but I know I could drive one if I had to.
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