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 ...
I tore the Achilles in my left ankle and had to wear a boot for a few weeks. I got really good at shifting without the clutch.
Manual transmissions lost a lot of appeal even to me when I started to see automatic transmissions in small cars with HIGHER fuel efficiency ratings than manuals.
Hyundai Veloster turbo.
You obviously don’t drive stop and go on the freeway.
I prefer a manual for everything but that.
Because I do drive some urban areas, I got my Toyota truck with their 6-speed auto. It has an “ECT Power” mode that is selectable and it moves the shift point much higher for towing.
I had a similar function “tow button” on my old Tahoe.
Why go back when these modern transmissions last as long as the engine (over 250k miles)?
Just stay away from the “Continuously Variable Transmission” offered in the new Hondas, Mazdas and others.
They are crap. All of them.
I’ve never been one to drive for fuel efficiency.
Thank you!
Are those the bigger size Nissan and Toyotas?
We were in Scotland in September and part of our package was a car. When we went to pick it up they didn’t have anything we could upgrade to so we got the clown car with a manual. Driving on the left side of the road and changing gears with my left hand was fun.....not! We actually turned the car in at Inverness instead of Glasgow and took the train instead. We learned a lesson though. I don’t like driving in other countries. I thought their round a bouts every quarter a mile was gonna get us killed.
Technically they’re the small ones. But they’ve been growing. They used to be 1/4 ton, but that concept seems to be gone from the world of pickup. So they’re at what used to be called “full size” but I’ve noticed the old full size are bigger. So about the size an F150 was 15 years ago.
I've rented manuals in the UK. Seated on the right side you have to shift with your left hand...not easy, especially when negotiating a roundabout. At least the accelerator is still on the right and the clutch on the left. 😀
I drove stick shift autos from 1978 to 2013. Living in an area with high traffic volume, I don’t miss them at all.......
For owners who intend to keep a vehicle for its usable life, there's a slight uptick in cars sold with a manual transmissions. The number of automatics in smaller cars was increasing due to the fuel economy standards but manufacturers such as Volkswagen got caught gaming the software so that the engine had more power and efficiency when driving (but more polluting) and then ran clean when it recognized it was being tested (high rpms while in neutral). Since such manufacturers have been called out and had to remove the software, their cars don't perform as well and the direct power and better fuel economy of the manual transmission wins.
Manufacturers can lower the cost of the car if they can remove the expensive computer controlled transmission.
While some modern transmissions use a clutch with a computer controlled shift in an attempt to gain the power and efficiency of a manual transmission, they're costly and plagued with problems. There are lawsuits from owners having transmission problems so bad that they had to get rid of the car. They have nightmare stories of it bucking out of nowhere or going into the "wrong" gear in a dangerous situation.
While the "computer controlled manual" may be more fuel efficient than some drivers, the computer decision making is sub par when it comes to applying power as the driver needs it. The computer can't see ahead and know that what may be fuel inefficient at this moment such as using the clutch to slow down the car (letting off the accelerator which increases rpms as the engine "brakes") will be rectified in seconds when the car in front changes lanes. This happens when turning most corners; the computer doesn't use the clutch as an engine brake whereas the driver may want exactly that before accelerating coming out of the turn.
The "computer controlled manual" trans may lead to a resurgence in the manual trans itself. Up until now an "auto/stick" was based on an automatic transmission with manual control of the gear shifting such as the Hurst Dual Gate or Lightning Rods (three lever) shifters. Fiat offers an automatic transmission with manual control of the gears in their U.S. models. If the "computer controlled manual" is enhanced with the option of shutting off the computer and driving it manually, drivers may realize that they have more power and control when they need it (such as entering traffic from a rabbit start) and as they use it more and more they may ask "why pay the costs of owning and maintaining the computer?"
If given the choice, I’ll take the manual. Have had several and currently own two cars with manuals.
I hear ya. For me, fuel efficiency in work-related travel doesn’t matter all that much. For personal travel it matters a bit more, but only drives my decisions when all else is pretty much equal. If I’ve narrowed my interest down to several different car models that are nearly identical in every other way, I’ll use fuel efficiency as a “tiebreaker” when I buy the car.
Automatic transmission is being encroached on too.
Electric cars only have D-P/N-R as a matter of direction & engagement; there is no shifting while accelerating.
Future drivers raised on EVs will wonder “why does that old automatic transmission gas car lurch while accelerating?”
That’s some fine parenting there!
Stick shifts are a PITA in stop and go traffic!
“Currently I drive a Miata.”
Greetings, fellow Miata owner! I’m currently on my second, a 1990 model which I’ve had for almost four years. I had the ‘91 it replaced for seventeen years.
“Manuals are more fun, IMO.”
Agreed.
“It’s the one thing you have in common with racing machines.”
Not so much anymore. NASCAR still uses H-pattern gearboxes, but with the next-gen car they will start using sequential boxes just like every other racing series.
Especially when you're on a steep road at a red light and the guy behind you is an inch away.
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