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Entry Level Luxury Performance Sedans

16087 messages,  Last post on May 09, 2013 at 9:32 AM

You are in the Sedans Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Infiniti G37, Acura TL, Lexus IS 350, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Cadillac CTS, Volvo S60, Audi A4, Acura TSX, Car Comparisons, Sedan

Messages Page 1435 of 1610

#14334 of 16087 "Driver Skills" by nyccarguy

Jun 22, 2012 (12:24 pm)

Sweendogy - I give you a lot of credit for attending various driving schools. I also agree with you that if more people (not the guys here on the board), drove vehicles with manual transmissions that they'd pay more attention to their everyday driving habits. I used to heavily criticize many things on these boards many moons ago (I think I signed on in '99) from AWD to Automatic Transmissions.
 
Automatics WERE terrible. My 1st car was a 1992 Chevrolet Beretta GT w/ a 3 speed automatic (garbage), my 2nd car was a 1998 Ford Explorer Sport with a 5 speed automatic that shifted slow & violently.
 
I LOVE my 2001 Honda Prelude Type SH equipped with a slick shifting, 5 speed manual transmission. I DID NOT appreciate the bill I got to replace the clutch, friction plate, & throw out bearing at only 52,000 miles.
 
My 328xi is an automatic w/ AWD. It's our 2nd BMW with AT & AWD (1st was my wife's 2007 X3). Manuals have been an $800 or so option for a number of years on the Corvette. Yes they are somewhat of a compromise, but that margin is getting slimmer & slimmer every year.
 
I'd like to teach my children (5.5, 3, & 7 months) to drive stick and have their 1st car equipped with a manual transmission.
 
Speaking of "driver skills," I put the brakes to the test on my BMW this morning. About 3/4 mile away from my house, I'm on a straight section of a curvy road. I see a TSX that took the corners so badly he was heading straight towards me. I jumped on the brake pedal (there was nowhere to go) and those BMW clamped down & stopped IMMEDIATELY! This would have not been an offset front end collision, this would have been a straight head on collision. If I had left 1 second earlier, not come to a full & complete stop the stop sign by my house... WOW! I think at the very least Id have been car shopping again or at the worst put BMW's crash worthiness to the test. Makes you think... WHAT ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH WAS THIS GUY DOING IN MY FREAKIN LANE?

#14335 of 16087 Re: "Driver Skills" [nyccarguy] by kdshapiro

Jun 22, 2012 (12:37 pm)

Replying to: nyccarguy (Jun 22, 2012 12:24 pm)
One of the things about crash avoidance, is the ability for the car to react as fast as you do. When you make the chassis faster than the speedometer, that can happen.

#14336 of 16087 Re: "Driver Skills" [nyccarguy] by graphicguy

Jun 22, 2012 (1:12 pm)

Replying to: nyccarguy (Jun 22, 2012 12:24 pm)
nyc....Glad to hear you're OK. BMW's brakes are excellent, as you found out.
 
When my son turned 15, I taught him to drive on a manual transmission, not an automatic. I still had my track Mustang at the time and was irregularly taking it to the local track. And, I took him to Mid-Ohio for autox (myself and a friend set up and drove a Toyota FX16 there).
 
Did any of it make him a better driver? I don't know. Those first couple of years, he actually had more tickets and accidents than I did at the same time in my driving career.
 
And, when he got the chance, he went for an automatic vs a manual transmission car.
 
The benefit of manual trans, if there is one, has faded over the years. First, the manual trans was used because they offered better fuel economy. That's simply not true today (with rare exceptions).
 
As many of us can testify here (including yourself), today's automatics are miles away from where they used to be.
 
On the track, or the highway, there's no way I can shift as quickly as the S-Tronic can. I hit the paddle shifters and the shift is firm and immediate.
 
The auto/manual trans in your BMW, it will be in the right gear, at the right time, and do it quicker than you can.
 
That offers more control over the car, not less.
 
The higher up the performance and price ladder you go, the fewer and fewer manual transmissions you'll see. As was pointed out before, even Ferraris and Lambos are now sporting "manumatics". Most would agree that those are at the top of the heap when it comes to personal performance cars.
 
Maybe somebody can make another thread to talk about manual transmissions, as in here, this has become derailed.
 
kd....couldn't agree with you more.

#14337 of 16087 Re: "Driver Skills" [graphicguy] by stickguy

Jun 22, 2012 (1:14 pm)

Replying to: graphicguy (Jun 22, 2012 1:12 pm)
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef6716a/8925

#14338 of 16087 Re: "Driver Skills" [stickguy] by graphicguy

Jun 22, 2012 (1:37 pm)

Replying to: stickguy (Jun 22, 2012 1:14 pm)
stickguy.....cool. Thanks for that link. Now, there's somewhere to go for those who want to talk about types of transmissions.

#14339 of 16087 Re: "Driver Skills" [graphicguy] by sweendogy

Jun 22, 2012 (2:27 pm)

Replying to: graphicguy (Jun 22, 2012 1:37 pm)
thanks stickguy- Graph can't wait to meet you on the board, "we get it"!!!!!!

#14340 of 16087 Wait a second... by fedlawman

Jun 22, 2012 (4:14 pm)

You're an enthusiast if you own a "sport sedan" that has the weight, length, and wheelbase of a Chevy Equinox SUV, but you're a poseur if it doesn't have 3 pedals?
 

 

#14341 of 16087 Equinox by sweendogy

Jun 22, 2012 (4:44 pm)

Nice rig- does it come in stick?

#14342 of 16087 folks by qbrozen

Jun 23, 2012 (5:00 am)

You'll keep your blood pressure lower and live longer if you just scroll past posts from certain people.

#14343 of 16087 Re: folks [qbrozen] by graphicguy

Jun 23, 2012 (6:40 am)

Replying to: qbrozen (Jun 23, 2012 5:00 am)
q......you're right. By now, you'd think I'd know better. Just scroll past.
 
Fed....how about a 50 year old F-150 with 3 on the tree? Surely since that's a a sports vehicle since it offers all the "control" of a manual trans.

Messages Page 1435 of 1610

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