Posted on 06/01/2012 7:23:21 AM PDT by US Navy Vet
Go to any given dealership with 100 new cars.
On average, just four of the 2012 models will have manual gearboxes.
The trend of the vanishing third pedal is nothing new, notes The Detroit News.
Even a decade ago, just 8.5 percent of 2002 models were manuals. The paper’s own automotive reporter even confesses she never learned to drive a stick shift until it essentially became a job requirement.
It’s more than a little contradictory to automotive reviews (including many you’ll read here) extolling the pleasure of enthusiastic driving with a true manual gearbox. Likewise, purists gravitate to manuals for tackling their favorite twisting road or occasional track day. It’s the original form of in-car connectivity.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I can, but I really don’t enjoy it in urban traffic.
The drag racers found out that the automatic Chryslers were faster off the line back then because the torque converter allowed them to hook up faster and get off the line before the other guy
The push button shifters were a bit geeky though
I’ve got a stick in my pickup and would never drive anything else. I spent a good deal of time in Namibia where they drive on the right, and that gives you a whole new perspective on driving a standard transmission - shifting with the left hand takes a bit to get used to. Gear pattern and pedal layout are the same, but the stick’s on the wrong damn side! Where I really noticed it was when you down-shifting to turn and want to put on the signal at the same time - you need two left hands...
Brings back a 1984 memory of towing a 69 Boss 302 on a trailer behind a friends Dodge Ram pickup from Pa. to Fl. on I-95.
Remember when “Ram” meant 4 wheel drive? this was an auto.
Well, shortly after I drove over the Va/NC state line I changed with the owner & went to sleep in the back.
Soon I was woken up by the other passenger - “something just came out from under the truck and bounced off your hood!”
“Yeah right, leave me alone.”
BOOM! Fire & smoke in the cabin - the front U joint had broken & cracked the Auto Tranny case & that was the end of that box forever!
Had to hitch all that way home & rent another truck to bring my baby home. Not a good experience!
His truck stayed in the local Dodge dealer’s repair lot - they were very nice about it - for 6 months till he could pony up $$ for the replacement trans.
If it was a manual I could have sealed the crack in the case & refilled it.
No automatics ever for me. :)
I can drive a stick...
>Yes, but we will need some verification.
>It’s like claiming to have seen a sasquatch....
...or claiming to be 1/32 one.
There are all sorts of stories of kids grabbing the keys and going joy riding, not always with a good outcome.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2115727/Utah-boy-8-takes-sister-5-night-joyride-mother-sleeps.html
Downshifting to slow a car is not a wise idea except on a steep hill where downshifting can help control the car. Otherwise, it is an expensive habit as it causes clutch wear leading to expensive replacement.
Brakes are wear items designed for replacement and are far less expensive than clutch replacement.
“If you work on your own car, you will quickly realize:
new clutch = $200
new automatic transmission = $1,500
I drive a stick because I’m cheap.”
Yup, and if you take good care of your clutch (don’t ride it, don’t slip it excessively, don’t drop it off the line, match revs before engaging) you won’t be spending that $200 very often. I have a ‘91 Miata with 278K on the clock, and it’s only on its third clutch; the original lasted about 100K and the second lasted over 140K.
...while approaching a busy round-about and trying to remember the right-of-ways, and remember to look LEFT! I drove a stick in New Zealand quite a bit.
Tough to push start any newer car now because they need electric power to the computer to run everything including the fuel injection
I have sometimes wondered about that (I guess I have too much time on my hands).
One approach to RHD cars that appeals to the engineering mind is simply to flip the blueprints, so the gear pattern and pedal layouts would be mirror imaged about the centerline. Come to think of it, maybe the gauge faces and and legends should be, too. ≤}B^)
I guess ergonomics does enter into it at some point, though, spoiling the sweet symmetry of the strictly engineering approach.
Brakes are wear items designed for replacement and are far less expensive than clutch replacement.
When you downshift, you put it in a lower gear, then before letting out on the clutch, blip the gas pedal to speed up the engine. That way there is no slippage that will wear out the clutch plate.
And if you’re a pedestrian trying to cross a road...
I drove a stick for about 5 years. I still kept stomping the floor with my left foot for about a month after I switched to an automatic.
LOL!
“I have a ‘91 Miata with 278K on the clock, and it’s only on its third clutch; the original lasted about 100K and the second lasted over 140K.”
You’ve got me beat in two categories.
First, my ‘02 Elantra only has 267k.
Second, I’m on clutch number 4.
Frankly, I’ve given up downshifting, to try and coax a little more life out of the clutch.
When it finally gave up the ghost, I had a box full of parts left over. Don't know how it still ran, but it did.
The bible of the shade tree mechanic. Made you wanna prop a Beetle up on milk crates and pull the engine out just to see how it felt. How did it feel to have that massive 1500 cc engine, btw?
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