Bob Jones University was mentioned several times in the film The Ladykillers 2004, as a sort of unexplained satire.
You don’t need racism in order to have a police force that’s only there for the paycheck.
When you drive a manual for a while it becomes second nature and you don’t even realize you’re shifting. I can’t tell you how many times I was driving down the highway and wondered how I ended up in 5th gear.
It’s not the highway that made me give up my last manual trans commuter car- it’s the stop and go city traffic. It’s hard to ignore the incessant clutching required to creep ahead 5 ft at a time for 45 minutes…
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Yup!
When I started driving into NYC on a regular basis, I decided that it was time to go with an automatic trans. That was back in 1986, and even though I no longer drive into NYC, I have no desire to return to a manual trans.
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Shifting was so second nature to me it never bothered me…even when driving in Boston traffic.
I went to an automatic because the SUV’s (which I really need to tow my camper) and all automatics now. Very few if any are manuals.
I have owned manual transmission cars back in the days of the three speed transmission with the gearshift on the steering column. I think that the auto manufacturers purposely made the column shift 3 speed manuals a stepchild. I had a 1947 Pontiac, a 1948 Dodge and a 1954 Buick with the three speed transmission and column shift and these vehicles shifted very nicely. However, the 1955 Pontiac and the 1965 Rambler Classic 550 I owned had terrible shift linkages.and shifting was an unpleasant chore. The other standard transmission vehicle I owned was a 1950 one ton Chevrolet pickup. Its floor mounted shift was very easy to use.
It was obvious that the public wanted automatic transmissions. Pontiac began offering the GM Hydramatic in 1948. That first year, 85% of the 8 cylinder Pontiacs and 50% of the 6 cylinder Pontiacs were sold with Hydramatic. By the close of the 1950s, most cars sold had automatic transmissions.
Pickup trucks were a different story. I remember when GMC and Ford began offering automatic transmissions on half ton pickup trucks in 1953. Chevrolet followed suit in 1954. However, not many trucks came with the automatic until the mid 1960s.
I commuted many years in stop and go traffic, People seem to surge and stop, If I just left it in first with out applying gas, a space would build, then close up, nobody behind me ever got aggravated, and I had an easy drive, my left leg not getting as much of a workout as if I wanted to stay one car length from the bumper in front of me. When I did have to stop I would pop it into neutral without using the clutch, then Put it in first again and carry on.
That’s how I drive and it results in amazing gas mileage and brake pad life.
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I tried that last time I found myself in stop-and-go traffic (minus shifting into neutral without disengaging the clutch), and it did cut down significantly on clutch use. However, I recommend against shifting into neutral without using the clutch on a modern vehicle. When I learned how to drive a truck in 2006, I found I could shift the truck out of gear smoothly without using the clutch, but when I tried that with my car, it was difficult to shift it out of gear without using the clutch.
How new of a vehicle. I had no problem shifting without a clutch on my 98 Pathfinder and my nephews 2012 Civic.
i agree that a good idea.
That cushion approach doesn’t work around here to eliminate the slinky effect. If you do that, cars will constantly dive in front of you and spoil your plan. You’ll be doing the stop and go like everyone else because of it. There’s just too many people vying for the same road heading in/out. I agree that it should work but in reality, at least around here, it doesn’t and can actually be more aggravating then just staying behind the guy in front of you and letting people in when it makes sense to do so.
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One downside to a manual transmission car. If there is not many produced, there is not many manual transmission parts to service the transmission if it ever fails.
I like driving manual but I hate doing clutch jobs on a FWD car. A truck is a different story because the transmission removal on a truck is typically not very difficult.
Manual transmissions are shockingly easy to rebuild compared to automatic transmissions. For me, the only downside is finding a mechanic who knows how to replace a clutch.
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I learned to drive in a 3-on-the-tree family car. I’ve owned multiple manual transmission cars and logged hundreds of thousands of miles driving them.
Manual transmission cars made sense at one time. Fuel savings was a factor. That time was prior to lock-up torque converters.
Cost was another factor when buying cars with manual transmissions saved a large chunk of money over purchases of vehicles with automatics.
Since I have never had an automatic transmission problem (GM & Chrysler cars) I find the argument about “cheaper to replace a clutch” a moot argument.
Then there’s resale… just as fewer criminals can operate a manual transmission, there are also fewer customers when time comes to sell or a hit is taken when trade-in occurs.
Pony Express was once the hot set-up! 
Except for classic cars and some sports cars the time for manual transmissions has come and gone. That ship has sailed. 
Car manufacturers won’t be going back any time soon. 
CSA
+1
With the exception of a leak from my '74 Volvo’s transmission, I have never had any trans problems with any of my automatic trans cars. That list includes my father’s '55, '59, and '63 Plymouths, his '66 Ford, my '71 Charger, my '86 Taurus, my '92 Honda, or any of my 3 Subarus. I have never had to do any trans rebuilding or replacing on any of my cars.
Of course, I do have the transmissions serviced every 30k miles. Those whose transmissions fail prematurely are almost surely the people who never service them, but I put those folks in the same category as those who go for several years w/o an oil change, and then complain about a seized engine. Whether it is an engine or a transmission, if you maintain it properly, it is not likely to give you any expensive problems to repair.
Where I work all of our fleet vehicles are automatics. We had to replace a transmission in a Chevy Silverado last month with a rebuilt one for $1,700 (at less than 100,000 miles), and we just had $700 worth of transmission flushes done on our two newest vans, an item listed on both maintenance schedules recommended at 30,000 miles.
The last time I paid someone to change my manual transmission oil, it cost me $39.99 plus tax. The last time I needed a new clutch, it cost me about $400.
Manual transmissions are cheaper to own, cheaper to fix, and cheaper to maintain. The fact that some of us have had good luck and not needed any transmission repairs doesn’t change this fact.
Fortunately, I’ll be able to find midsize pickup trucks and economy cars with manual transmissions for a long time to come.
But don’t forget that most car manufacturers do NOT call for you to touch the transmission fluid. So you can’t fault an owner for not servicing the transmission.
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…and also don’t forget that not every transmission failure is caused by neglect. Sometimes it’s bad luck, like many big ticket mechanical failures.