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The Future Of The Manual Transmission

5809 messages,  Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 12:30 PM

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What is this discussion about? Transmission


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#5161 of 5809
Re: Our Civic Duty [kyfdx] by xwesx
Dec 05, 2008 (2:12 pm)
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Replying to: kyfdx (Dec 05, 2008 2:02 pm)

I suspect, in the absence of external influence, you are probably right. I taught my wife to drive a manual when she was 22, and she did okay at it even to the point that I gave her full access, in the winter (which does mean constant snow/ice here), to my '69 Chevy pickup. She used it almost daily, but one night she took a corner too fast and swung it into a sign post in the median of the road. For some reason, that small incident broke her spirit with that truck and she did not drive it again for years. A short while later, we purchased our '96 Outback. I did not even think of looking for a manual given her sudden fear of it. But, after a few years, she started saying that she would not mind having one (still would not drive my truck!). As fate would have it, the '96 was destroyed two years ago, so sure enough she said she wanted a new Outback, manual transmission. I had my doubts but certainly was not going to argue. I forced her to test drive one, after which she still wanted that transmission type, so that is what we purchased.
 
Oddly, after we had to sell it and go Subaru-less for a while, she will not touch the Escort. It is probably her disgust of the car itself rather than not wanting to drive a manual, though. I can't blame her - it is a homely little thing.
#5162 of 5809
Re: Our Civic Duty [nippononly] by steve_ HOST
Dec 05, 2008 (2:16 pm)
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Replying to: nippononly (Dec 05, 2008 1:50 pm)

I learned to drive at 13 in a '53 Buick that had an automatic. Then at 15, I learned to drive stick on a friend's '57 Chevy column shifter (3 on a tree). It's a wonder I didn't swear off manuals from then on - boy, that was an awful car. I guess driving VW Bugs in the 70's got me liking shifting again.
 
My wife learned to drive in automatics but went to the Grand Canyon with three girlfriends when she was 17 and one of the kids owned a stick shift car. They shared driving so she learned how to shift on that trip.
 
There's was a one year gap in our stick shift ownership after we met in '80, but the current dry spell has lasted 9 years now.
 
#5163 of 5809
Re: Our Civic Duty [steve_] by nippononly
Dec 05, 2008 (2:19 pm)
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Replying to: steve_ (Dec 05, 2008 2:16 pm)

And for 9 years you haven't been tempted to get a second car, something cheap, just for a quick bit of stick shift fun on the weekends?
#5164 of 5809
Re: Our Civic Duty [nippononly] by kyfdx HOST
Dec 05, 2008 (2:22 pm)
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Replying to: nippononly (Dec 05, 2008 2:19 pm)

Somehow... that just sounds wrong..
#5165 of 5809
Re: Our Civic Duty [nippononly] by steve_ HOST
Dec 05, 2008 (2:24 pm)
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Replying to: nippononly (Dec 05, 2008 2:19 pm)

Yeah, I've been tire kicking Karman Ghias and Miatas for 8 of the last nine years. But I can barely justify owning two cars around here, much less three. We both want a stick for our next car and having to test drive an automatic Fit until a MT came in to test didn't sway us to change our minds on that.
 
But I suppose I could live with an automatic for the next decade if need be.
#5166 of 5809
Even I did my part by boaz47
Dec 05, 2008 (5:23 pm)
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Before I moved off of the mountain last April. A very good friend of our had five kids and no manuals at all. So I offered to teach four of their children how to drive a stick. We had two manuals and one automatic at the time. They did pretty well and I even let them drive around some mountain roads close to where we lived. Ot the three the oldest Girl got a F-150 with a auto. The second Girl got a Rav-4 with a auto. The next one was a boy that bought a Subaru WRX and that at least was a stick. The last girl got a Civic with a automatic. I won't be teaching the last girl because we moved and no longer have a manual. So she will learn on a automatic but I would think she would have gone manual anyway. More than likely she will get one of her sisters cars.
 
Still the origional post indicating that fewer parents have manuals is a valid one. My son can drive anything that moves no matter what transmission it has and his truck is an Automatic diesel 3500 and his car is a manual Saturn. But he is a bit like me in that the vehicle choice is more important than the transmission. I guess he was lucky we had manuals when he was learning to drive.
 
 But if we as a nation go hybrid or EV I believe it will be a good trade off even if they aren't manual friendly.
#5167 of 5809
Re: Even I did my part [boaz47] by ruking1
Dec 05, 2008 (5:41 pm)
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Replying to: boaz47 (Dec 05, 2008 5:23 pm)

Indeed the supply (5/6 speed manuals) is probably in sync with the (low) demand. Even the iconic sports car Chevrolet Corvette ( I have read this in passing-app 34,000 made per year, not sure currently during this economic downturn) is 75% automatic. Specialty models such as Z06 have been in some years; ALL manuals, but even that is app 17% manuals. So a quick and dirty look would indicate that of all other models 28.3k only 8% or 2,264 chose manuals, the rest being automatics(25.5k).
#5168 of 5809
As I drive and enjoy by iluvmysephia1
Dec 07, 2008 (11:16 am)
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my '08 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS, I have to let you guys know a strong feeling that popped in to my head yesterday while driving around my little SE Arizona cowtown.
 
I love my car's automatic transmission! I do. I love not having to shift, I can search for CD's while driving and change them out, sip soda safely and carefully, and I don't really miss having to contort my left leg and simultaneously work the accelerator with my right foot.
 
A small car I'm looking at for my next car only offers a automatic transmission, too. This is the 2010 Pininfarina-Bollore B0(pronounced B Zero).
 
http://www.pininfarina.com/index/storiaModelli/B0.html
 

 
Once again, it's all about the car I drive, not the form it is pushed along by.
#5169 of 5809
Re: As I drive and enjoy [iluvmysephia1] by ruking1
Dec 07, 2008 (11:49 am)
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Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Dec 07, 2008 11:16 am)

As it should be !!!
 
However to me it is the surest indication the US markets are plain not serious about fuel savings. One can simply compare the EPA mpg ratings of a automatic vs manual.
#5170 of 5809
Re: Our Civic Duty [nippononly] by razorasdf
Dec 07, 2008 (12:05 pm)
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Replying to: nippononly (Dec 05, 2008 1:50 pm)

what I wonder is this: if you learn to drive on a stick shift, are you more likely to be hooked for life?
  
If you learn to drive on an automatic and then learn stick later, are you less likely to be a life-long devotee of the third pedal?
 
Other way around. The most die-hard manual guys I've seen (outside of this forum ) wanted to learn it after learning to drive on automatics, and the most die-hard auto (mainly SMG/DSG) guys grew up with and subsequently got tired of driving sticks.

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