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Automotive News & Views The Future Of The Manual Transmission
5809 messages, Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 12:30 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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I'll have to take your word on the manual vs automatic problems associated with domestic car makers. The last time I seriously considered one of their products it was the Holden GTO which does come w/ a manual. (Although IIRC it didn't initially?) I'm proud to say that my car isn't available w/ an automatic in NA. Stick shift it or buy something else 
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Aha! I'm one that held out .. we searched 4 Ford dealers before we found a ZX5 that had the equipment we wanted and a stick shift .. after driving the automatic version, we just said "no way". Of course, now I have the unenviable task of teaching my daughter to drive it ... one school of thought says I just toss her the keys and tell her "go for it" -- albeit in our neighborhood only, so as to avoid the many hills in our town.... |
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| exactly what I was looking for. I settled for an automatic ZX5 as there was just not one to be found with a stick. I needed the car very soon so I could not just order one I wanted. I *thought* I would be able to suck it up, but as fun as it was in the twisties for being a useful daily driver, the lack of the stick did it in. | |
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What's funny is that now, 15 months later, we sorta kinda regret not going with the automatic. But, the daughter didn't have her license at the time, so her mother and I were (are) going to drive it. Now that she's got her license, I miss my Saturn (V6, leather, heated seats, sunroof, etc.) which she is driving. I'd love to trade back with her, but she's not ready to handle the stick shift. Of course, the daughter would love to see us trade in the Focus for a Mini Cooper (silver w/ black roof, CVT transmission). Not bloody likely! |
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I keep trying to convince myself that the new ATs are good enough to make the switch, but always end up with another stick. I'm honestly not sure what would happen if I switched over to a daily driver with a good AT (like a BMW). I may get slovenly, or I may regret it to no end. One thing is, I would get an AT before an SMG type of tranny. I don't particulary trust them, and they seem to have some limitations in normal use. Plus, it wouldn't be the same, so I would likely leave it in auto mode anyway. maybe after 25 years, a clutch is so ingrained, its like putting on my glasses in the morning. I just do it without thinking about it. |
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I have some experience here: the Matrix I bought in '02 was automatic because it had just come out and there were never any manuals in stock anywhere, and I just had to have it. My first and last auto EVER, mark my words. The Matrix auto is actually pretty good for a non-tiptronic automatic. It downshifts quickly if you give it more gas, will hold gears all the way to redline if you floor it off the line, and even downshifts on steep downhill stretches to provide a little bit of engine braking. It was still so awful that after 18 months it had ruined the experience of the car for me, and I sold it at a loss. There were one or two other little things that bugged me about the car, but certainly not enough to sell it before five years - the automatic was the deciding factor. Ironically, it was a good thing that it was automatic at resale time, because it proved impossible to get a private buyer to pay more than the delaer would on trade, and the dealer said he would have offered at least $1000 less for a stick. |
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SMGs don't seem to have mastered the art of upshifting smoothly yet. I haven't either, at least not consistently between first and second gear, but at least I have hope. A DSG should be perfect, and if I ever lose my left leg or the ability to move my right arm away from the steering wheel, I'll go for one of those. For now, I like the additional dimension of control that the clutch gives, and keeping all four appendages busy is fun. Actually I can see myself going for one if I ever have a long commute in traffic that I can't avoid. They never stall, right? Do they go between neutral and first automatically when you're driving at an almost-stop? Hm, I have to go read up on them. |
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Is it me, or is the Matrix's steering wheel a part of the guage cluster? I drove a Vibe GT (Matrix) when it first came out. 6-speed, of course. Had a grand ole time! Went to NY and drove the Matrix XRS. Same. Hate the red guages and driving position. Otherwise a great new 'Yota! Whenever someone asks me to drive an Auto, I hold up my hand like Fred Sanford ("I can't because of my Authoritise....") DrFill DrFill |
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| Are manuals really going away? It seems to me that the trend is going the other way, especially in the near luxury sports sedan and coupe segment. Lexus got blasted for bringing out the IS without a manual but brought it in quickly. Infiniti offers it in the G35 and from what I understand there are waiting lists for MT cars. Acura has it in the TSX (not sure about the TL). Even Cadillac is offering manuals now. | |
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well sort of (regarding the IS). The sportcross didn't get a stick. A deal breaker as I was ready at the time to spend a little more bread than I started out to, but no stick. I do like the (current) IS a lot as my friend has one, but Lexus doesn't quite know what to do with that car unfortunately. Sportcross with a stick would have been great.......especially compared to what a 3 series wagon would run you. |
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