Another Reason I Will ONLY Drive Manual Transmission Vehicles

the ability to easily disengage the transmission- slide it into neutral. Go ahead and rev yourself silly engine- if the cars out of gear its not going to go to far.

People have become SO freaking lazy and rely on everything to be done for them.

I predict in 20 years only heavy work vehicles or farm machines will have traditional drive systems

wuushew

The world is larger than United States of America. Even tho Im grown up in good old american cars - and have enjoyed a lot of your amazing muslecars from the 1970s and forward in my life.. I have my manual transmission, and wil problerly have an manal transmission in the car for a long time...

But, it is a fact that the car wil be far different than it is today... in 20-30 years time the whole car experience can be a different one than today...

Or it can be as it allways have been, but with the difference that in 20-30 years time we wil have other form of fuel than today...

Diclotican

I'd heard that in 1984 too when I bought my first manual tranny vehicle. I also heard we'll be moving to a paperless society when computers are invented.

An unlikely scenario going forward, in such event gas and gears machines are not going to competitive with hybrids, fuel cell or full electric competitors.

I have few doubts you believe your prediction to be true and valid and based on everything relevant, as did those who predicted the same twenty five years ago. I would imagine it's the very nature of prognostication.

I have seen several stick shift electric cars running around.

Not being an engineer I, like you would hazard that transmissions and gear differentials-- whether manual or not would still be needed in most cases.

That's the dream-- an electric car with a manual clutch... and an awesome flame job over cherry red paint :)

They just coupled the motor to a modified bell housing and retained the clutch and five speed transmission. It was pretty sweet. I am an engineer (mechanical). While most electric vehicle concepts use a motor as the final output, there is no reason they couldn't put them into a transmission as well. They may do that to retain the sports feel on some cars.

You can get anywhere on foot.

If you have enough time.

:hide:

:eyes:

Feet, man

Feet.

(With a little assist from the legs that the feet are attached to)

You're just avoiding the laziness issue.

What do you have against bikes?

English
Adverb

on foot

1. Walking, jogging or running but not in a vehicle or on the back of an animal.

The pub's not far, let's go on foot.

Synonyms
* (walking, jogging or running): by foot, by walking


:crazy:

20 + years, cycling on roads almost every day.

Not a scratch.

Please come up with some other lame excuse.

Or Europe, etc. :shrug:

If the programmer wrote the routine for the transmission controller to keep the car in gear if the engine speed is over x or the road speed is over y, you can put that thing in neutral all day long and you'll never drop out of gear.

There's zero reason to write firmware to do that. In fact, if anything, a programmer would be more likely to write the opposite...allow the engine to be taken out of gear, but rev limit the engine when doing so.

If you're really paranoid about this, you'd better get used to driving old cars. Electronic Stability Control has been legally mandated on all US sold cars after 2012, which means that the computers on all cars sold in the U.S., from every manufacturer, will control the engine, transmission, and brakes.

The age of the mechanically controlled car is over. Either get used to it, or relegate yourself to "classics".

I appreciate the modern safety features, fuel economy and conveniences of new cars, but also appreciate the ease of repair and predictability of old ones.

It makes me distracted. Manual transmission forces me to focus on driving.

:thumbsup:

Pull a lever and it would drop sand into the intake manifold.

:silly:

Something in the Toyota's control system is keeping the engines from slowing down, right? Which means the electronic throttle butterfly is hanging open. You could "scram" that thing with two parts: a foglight relay and an Emergency Stop switch like on a piece of industrial equipment. The relay goes into the control line to the butterfly. With the switch in the "out" position, the relay is energized and signals from the ECU go to the electronic butterfly. Push the switch to the "in" position--they're made to be slapped--and the signals from the ECU are cut off. The loss of signal causes the butterfly to close, and the engine goes to idle. Simple and effective.

I've got really bad knees and working a clutch wouldn't be so great. :cry:

to do with their time.

on the way to do something important, instead of the 50s car-culture lifestyle that killed James Dean?

Sorted by Manufacturer:

Acura
CSX (Canada only)
TL
TSX

Audi
A3 (2.0T only)
A4 (2.0T Quattro models only)
S4
A5
S5

BMW
1 Series
3 Series
5 Series
6 Series
M Series
Z4

Cadillac
CTS (Canada - FWD and V models only, US - V model only)

Chevrolet
Aveo
Camaro
Cobalt
Colorado (Regular and extended cabs only)
Corvertte

Dodge
Caliber
Challenger
Dakota (Regular and Extended Cabs only)

Ford
Escape (2.5L model only)
F-250
F-350
Focus
Fusion (2.5L models only, except SEL)
Mustang
Ranger

GMC
Canyon (Regular and Extended Cabs only)

Honda
Accord Coupe
Accord Sedan (US - all 2.4L models, Canada - LX only)
Civic
Fit
S2000

Hyundai
Accent
Elantra
Genesis Coupe
Santa Fe (2.7L GL model only)
Sonata (base model only)
Tuscon (2.7L models only)

Infiniti
G37 Coupe

Jeep
Compass
Patriot
Wrangler

Kia
Forte
Forte Koup
Optima (US)/Magentis (Canada) (base model only)
Rio Sedan
Rio5
Sportage (2.7L models only)
Soul

Lexus
IS250 Sedan (RWD only)

Lotus
Elise
Exige
Evora

Mazda
3
5 (Canada - all models, US - Sport model only)
6 (2.5L models only)
B Series
MX-5
RX-8
Tribute (2.5L model only)

Mercedes Benz
B Class
C Class (C250 and C300 RWD only)

MINI
Clubman
Cooper

Mitsubishi
Lancer (all Sedan and Sportback models including Evolution except Ralliart)

Nissan
Altima Coupe
Altima Sedan (2.5L models only)
Cube (S model only)
Equator (US only, Extended Cab base and Comfort Package only)
Frontier
Sentra
Versa Hatchback
Versa Sedan

Pontiac
G3 Wave
G5 Pursuit
G8 GXP (US only)
Solstice
Vibe

Porsche
911
Boxster
Cayman
Cayenne (Base and GTS models only)

Saturn
Astra
Sky

Subaru
Forester (2.5x and 2.5x Touring models only)
Imprezza (all models including WRX and WRX STI except US-GT model)
Legacy (2.5i and 2.5i Sport models only)
Outback (PZEV and 2.5i Sport models only)

Saab
9-3
9-5

Scion
xB (US only)
xD (US only)
tC (US only)

Suzuki
Kizashi (US only)
Swift+
SX-4

Toyota
Camry (2.4L SE only)
Corolla (except LE in Canada, except LE and XLE in US)
FJ Cruiser
Matrix
Tacoma
Yaris Sedan
Yaris Hatchback 3 door
Yaris Hatchback 5 door (Canada only)

Volkswagen
EOS
GLI
GTI
Golf (including wagon, TDI, and wagon TDI)
Golf City (Canada only)
Jetta (including TDI)
Passat
Passat CC
Rabbit (Canada - 3 and 5 door models, US - 3 door model only)
Tiguan

Volvo
C30
C70
S40
V50 (Canada - all models, US - T5 AWD only)

I learned on a standard...a truck in the back 40

Also drove a model T and a model A...sampled a rumble seat

Sorry..strictly a 21st century type.

Not interested in the 'old days, old ways'.

super on crash test - super high safety rated - VERY LOW insurance rates

he actually said "OH GOOD!" when I told him what I was considering to buy. Cut my rate about in half.

Perhaps it's time for the Home.

judging rose shows, stopping by the winery, or running around the country working on geneology. I am glad she's not an old grump like you- she might even be reading this as we type.

Also introduced in the 1930s were such common items as integrated headlights, trunks, fully enclosed bodies and front wheel Drive! YEAH!! Kept that 1930s era motoring boy!

but they'll be replaced soon.

Electric Motors invented in the 1800s?

But you are having such a great time with your antique collection and winding people up, I don't see there's much room for 21st century realities in your hobby dream. :rofl:

Much of our 21st century tech is over 50 years from the date of it's invention. Just look at the electronics. Solid state has been around for over 50 years.

YOUR 21st century tech is old stuff...others have much more up to date stuff.

Now stop spoofing me with yer Rebel Without a Cause Stuff. :rofl:

Cuz if you have dentures, you're at least a generation older than me, and I'm 63.

The technology gets updated with advancements, like for instance electric motors, internal combustion engines or solid state electronics, but it still was originally developed in the last century. A stick shift is no less 21st century than an automatic, as both have been advanced and are commonly sold in the 21st century. An automatic transmission is just hydraulic switches, two interlocking planetary gear systems, a fluid coupling (torque converter), and bands and clutches. It has some computerization, but is still a giant metal machine.

Just what is your 21st century tech?

Car hasn't changed much since the day it was first invented.

Hey, there are some blacksmiths still around too, but we no longer live in the agricultural age.

I expect 21st century cars...the few that will still exist...personal transportation devices...to be fuel cell, and computer driven.

No humans mucking things up.

Other than that...high-speed trains...preferably mag-lev...and monorails

At least until the transporter beam.

I'll let you in on a little secret - I was a part of a team that built fuel cell and electric concept vehicles. Frankly, I think Hydrogen is overrated and the wrong way to go. We'd be better off with rapid charge batteries (which would BE a 21st century technology).

A methanol economy is completely feasible, more so than any based on ethanol.

Hydrogen...the most abundant element

It's either that or Helium 3...and that would require a return to the moon.

The problem is you need energy to break the water apart. And you lose energy converting hydrogen and oxygen back to water (no such thing as 100% efficiency). It's a losing game.

It's very costly to make hydrogen right now, and the energy density is very low. You can have tanks taking up the entire back of an SUV pressured to several thousand pounds and still only have the energy of 1-3 gallons of gasoline. Take it from someone who has built working hydrogen powered vehicles (both PEM fuel cell and IC engine), it's bunk. It looks and sounds flashy and cool, but it's expensive and storage is a real problem. We would be better off making an electric infrastructure for cars using rapid charge batteries or "range extender" biodeisel engines for highway use and making biofuel to power aviation.

What is all this 'what if' crap?

What if...previous generations had said that? And given up?

Don't give me 'bunk'...get off yer ass and get to work

At the cost of mere hundreds of millions of dollars. Comparing the use of fuel cells in a space application is a far cry from using them in every car on the road. The shuttle uses the cells for electricity, while a vehicle would then convert that into a mechanical motion, with it's losses to drag and rolling friction.

Sorry, but it just isn't economically or technically feasible. Electric and hybrid technology is and we can build it now.

Git yer asses in gear.

It's easy to say that if you don't actually have to solve the challenges. Not to mention find the funding...


As for the original topic, if you had just acknowledged that both automatics and stick are just two different choices with different advantages and disadvantages, such as control in snow versus carefree driving, I'd have never jumped on you. It's just funny to see stick shift called antique when it's only about 40 years older than automatics, which are very old in concept and normal design themselves.

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."

--Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899

It's that pesky thermodynamics and economics combining to make hydrogen not feasible (not impossible, just not feasible).

that heavier-than-air vehicles will never be able to rise up from the ground.

I see you like to banter as well.

Of course it can.

Stay alive another 50 years and I'll take you up on that bet.

Oh, and good night!

Night.

you'll be able to just copy from everybody else.

"but they'll be replaced soon..."

In much the same way the computer moved us into a paperless society...

with in a manual. And, I love manual transmissions. They don't come on minivans.

One would look right at home in front of the midmansion.

You've been here!!!!!!!

is because I forgot how to drive automatic transmission vehicles :)

I know; I'm backwards.

But when I get behind a car with an automatic transmission, I get confused and my feet feel funny :)

I know...I start getting panicky and feel like I'm forgetting something

:)

could not stand them- sold both very quickly

Anyone that has ever tried to negotiate I-95 on a Friday from Norfolk to NYC using a stick will tell you that driving hours with a foot on the clutch in bumper to bumber traffic can be a bitch. (epecially barefoot).

:)

I moved here from El Paso, and it didn't bother my foot a bit. :)

Try that move on I-95 on a Friday. Richmond, DC, Baltimore, Wilmington, and the ever present New Jersey Turnpike-an hour each delay at 5MPH. I rented a car with an automatic the next time-much better.

The stick is far more prevalent in Europe. Thay are only , what, 10% of cars in the USA. It might fall to 5% in our lifetime here, but they will be avialalbe if you want them. PLUS stick shift cars flat out don't get stolen, or rarely, at the very least.

It just takes someone with better skill than thieves to drive them...

Takes more skill to drive a coach and 4 than a standard transmission ya know.

It's just that nobody bothers anymore. No point.

that had never occurred to me...I suppose it makes sense because a lot of people have now come of age not knowing how to drive a stick. That's how I learned because that's what we had at the time and my father told me I would be able to drive anything.
He was wrong...I'm a mess for a day when I have to drive a rental automatic until I finally get the hang of it

More for me, then. lol

I prefer it. They are fun to drive, and I feel like I have more control, especially in a small car with a small engine merging onto a highway. I felt like I could speed up faster with my 4 cyl manual than I could with the 4 cyl automatic.

The car I have now is automatic, but the only way I could have gotten it in manual would be to order it, and I was carless at the time. I needed to drive off the lot.

I do like them better, but since there doesn't seem to be nearly as much demand for them, I don't know if many dealers will keep them in stock.

not sure how long ordering takes, but I will wait if I need to.

and this was just after Hurricane Ike, so there were no rental cars available in a 200 mile radius.

but oh well.... I still love my little Scion XD! :)

I have a new Outback Sport- my favorite car so far.

I really like Subarus, especially Outback! They were just a bit higher than I wanted to go though... I started out planning on buying a late model used car, then talked myself into going for a lower model new car instead... and the angel and devil on my shoulders really argued over several models then next level. But ultimately, I am very happy with my choice.

Its great in snow, which keeps getting worse every year

I don't know how to drive a manual car

However, I admit I don't like the way that cars have become all electronic. I mean...do we really want our cars run by the same chips and software that crashes our computers on a regular basis? Hell, I used to be able to actually work on my car's engine...no I can't even find it. There's just this big black box underneath the hood. At least I can still fill the windshield wiper fluid reservoir.

.

a computer controlling the car. I am fairly sure my car does not always know what I am thinking or road conditions ahead, so I prefer controlling the transmission myself.

and in that time I have owned two vehicles with automatic transmissions. Hated them both. Plus they work terribly with 4WD, which is also all I drive.

what does that have to do with driving?

as being lazy, look at the advances you use.

Neither takes more effort.

You don't have to use either, but no need to knock it when you use other things that make things easier.

No tv dinners, no fast food shit, no automatics

do my own gardening, walk to commute often.
have computers as a tool too -

Easier or mindless?

I do know how to drive a stick, but I like to have my hands free at all times(and I hope you know what I mean by free). It makes things easier. You can call it mindless, I call it making things easier.

:9

A girl FOR REAL got pulled over while shaving her bikini area. WTF?

Uh oh! We are taking this thread waaaaaay off track!;)

My last stick shift was a Ford Ranger. Good little truck - I worked the hell out of it. But, no more stick shifts for me unless it is in a 'toy'.

Two of the vehicles we currently have are manual transmissions, both of them are Saturn vehicles. Our Saturn Vue is a manual, but they're becoming more difficult to find.

I prefer manual transmissions, but I never tied that preference to someone being lazy - for me it was better gas mileage as opposed to an automatic, and wanting to have more control over the vehicle.

I'm not particularly fond of your labeling people lazy, but carry on.:shrug:

cruise control, doors that lock themselves, windows that don't roll all the way down, lights that turn themselves off, TVs so they don't have to talk to their kids.......

the Vue has a feature that when a certain low MPH is reached the doors lock themselves, the cars won't start unless the clutch is engaged, lights that turn themselves off...

We have teevees, but we still talk to our kids....

and the TVs on seatbacks are just wrong- way too distracting to cars behind. Its a proven fact that your eyes are naturally drawn to movement- that why ads and TV suck you in.

screens in the car! We don't have those, just teevees in the house.:blush: The self locking doors are supposed to be a safety feature and they will unlock at the push of a button, and when my boys were younger there is an override feature to keep them from unlocking the doors or opening the windows.

had the doors lock everytime - no override ...but the damn thing handled HORRIBLY and bounced from one lane to another if there was a tiny bump going around a curve.......
its a pain if you are backing up to pick up some one or putting something in the back to keep unlocking the damn doors- god how did i possibly live to be 50 without all the add on safety shit

manuel drive cars. Makes me motion sick.

If your helmets 'clunk', your clutching/throttle application isn't what it should be.

Unfortunately, many stick shift drivers feel they are much better at it than they really are.

is doing.

they do roll on hills, but there's a way to maneuver hill tops.

His parents had a house that was almost all glass floor to ceiling. One day he pulled up, killed it, and ran inside. He left it in gear. It 'dieseled' - meaning the engine came back to life for a few revolutions. That was enough to make it lurch through a giant plate glass window.

Of course, that was the official version. I suspect he was driving like an idiot as usual and miscalculated. He thought he was a 'master' stick shift driver, LOL.


Like this, but red.



?v=0

I think you are about the version

It's plausible, just not likely.
It can be indicative of a vacuum leak.

Jerky driving is common in those who just learned but isn't common as the driver gets more experienced.

It turned out her good friend was just learning to drive a stick and was known for the "whiplash" she induced while shifting.

the other on the brake? They are pretty jerky and you never know when they are actually stopping cause their brake lights always on.

transmission car when I first moved here years ago, and I hated driving it here.

And KNOW that the engine is disengaged from the wheels.

Oh, and they say that manuals are more fuel efficient.

I'm lucky.
Not many wives like using a clutch and shifting gears.
She's really good at it too.


Funny thing.
My wife & I live out in The Woods.
We don't get many visitors, and go to town only to buy supplies...as infrequently as possible.
My brother and his wife came for a "visit" last year.
In order to help them find us, I had them drive to a landmark, and my wife & I drove out to meet them.
Because the road back to out house has a few surprises, we split up, with my wife going to drive their car.
I walked over to their car, looked in and said, "Honey, can you drive an automatic?"
.
.
.
.
.
Well, we thought it was funny.


Extra Bonus: I can change a clutch or manual tranny if need be.

he can't drive stick, so her car needs to be automatic in case he needs to use it.

I know how to drive a stick but have always owned automatics.

I've had automatic tranny problems because of the heat breaking down the tranny fluid, I believe.
Got a new tranny in my 94 mazda when it was still under warranty - under 30K miles, and had to replace it agani later, when it was not under warranty.

Before that my RX-7 had an automatic tranny that died and locked up at 75K - Mazda seems to have problems with them.

I had super wide extra grippy low profile tires on it. It was awesome.

Not mine, but pretty close. Same year and color.

Or freeway or what-have-you.

:P

Gonna text an order to Paco's mexican restaurant and drive over there in my automatic.

several years back. I was innocently driving along the highway when suddenly the car started rapidly accelerating. Fortunately, I remembered one of my maiden aunt's Most Important Rules About Driving a Manual Transmission, and quickly put the car in neutral. After multiple failed attempts by various mechanics to recreate and/or diagnose the problem, I traded the Jetta in for an "American" car. So far, my 2005 Vibe with the Toyota innards has not been recalled. :eyes:

I really drive the old-fashioned way. . .I have to actually use my grip and hands to steer a vehicle.

I've had two automatics and they never shifted when I wanted them to in crummy weather.

Nice white jaguar and all passengers. Kaput.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rdLOrOLJiA

Not with transmissions, but with electronic controls vs. mechanical.

I believe there are prototype cars using electronic controls on steering - I don't want that. Same for brakes & I don't want that either.

If those types of things are simply built-in to newer model cars, will we know it & be able to choose mechanical instead, the way we can choose a manual transmission now?

The steering column operating rod pinion still connect to a rack, but an electric motor provides the power assist versus the hydraulic method used on most production cars. This design is safe since the steering wheel connection is still mechanical.