I’m sure Professor @Triedaq is correct in his memory of the automatic transmission. I guess for me it was mainly around 1956 when I saw a few, even though there was a Buick and Caddy with one in the neighborhood. So really that would mean people born in 1940 would have been the first ones to drive one. But they weren’t old enough to buy them. That would have been older people or the “greatest generation” back from the war. But automatics like air conditioning and power steering and brakes were at extra cost and a lot of people didn’t want to pay the extra $400 or so for an automatic. So it really wasn’t until the 60’s or later that these features became more standard and pretty much what was on the lot. My first two cars were manuals and my first automatic was about 1969.
I really don’t think it had anything to do with how people were raised. It was just what became popular and standard, like TVs. Farm kids were exposed to manuals and many city kids also if that was what was around. After watching a video though of a kid trying to open a can for Thanksgiving dinner with a manual can opener and couldn’t figure it out, I’m going to make sure my grand kids at least know how to open a can without a pop top. I mean what do you do if the power goes out and the electric can opener doesn’t work? Can result in death or severe discomfort.
Good grief! Automatics vs. Standard transmissions… upbringing, laziness, blaming??
I own automatic transmission cars and a standard transmission car. I am an old guy, not a lazy person, and drive both types. Much of the time I prefer a bicycle over either type (It’s got a manual transmission).
From my experience driving a manual transmission car becomes “automatic” and a driver clutches and shifts without effort or even being conscious of the operation.
Manual transmission cars made more sense when they delivered better fuel economy, but now I just look at it being a personal preference, like which beer one likes. CSA
@common_sense_answer There actually was an automatic two speed transmission for bicycles. It was made by Bendix. It had two speeds and you back pedaled to change speeds. If you back pedaled further, the brake was applied. I think this two speed coaster brake came along in the late 1950s and was available through the mid 1960s.
Oh stop me. I had a 3 speed English type bike. If I shifted to low and started pedaling, I’d shift to 2nd but it would still stay in low for a while and then automatically shift to 2nd. Cool I thought. 3rd was only good for cruising at high speed. Then as an adult, I got a 10 speed and had to shift the thing all the time. Still got it hanging in the garage in case of the apocalypses.
My Moped was a CVT but it had a V belt and the engine would move back and forth to change speeds, like a snow mobile and lawn mower actually. The variable pulley just gets wider or narrower to force the belt to change ratios. Pretty simple really.
@bing I had an English lightweight bicycle with the feature you describe. The make of the bicycle was Newton. The rear hub where the gears were located was made by Sturney-Archer. The rider could preselect the gear ratio, backpedal, and the hub would shift to that gear.
The Bendix hub was only available on balloon tire bicycles. There was no.lever on the handlebar to shift the gear ratio. One merely started pedalling, then back pedalled slightly to get into the higher gear. It was analogous to the old "lift and clunk semi-automatic transmission available on Chrysler products where you put the transmission in Drive, accelerated above 15 mph and released the accelerator. There was a “clunk” as the transmission dropped into direct drive.
I do own a Raleigh 10 speed bicycle and I do like having multiple gear ranges that can be chosen for different terrains.
The millinial vs Boomer battle hasn’t arrived in Mayberry II yet. This part of the country is somewhat SLOOOOW to come on board with new ideas. Down here Johhny Cash’s ‘A Boy Named Sue’ was a big hit that made a lot of sense.
Actually, if you ask me (as a millennial) I’d say we have nothing but automatic transmissions partly to laziness and absolutely care free mindsets, but also now everyone wants the very best in everything and throws a fit when it’s out of reach. Thus automatic transmissions prove to be the fastest and easiest now and stick is only for car guys who want the more pleasing driving experience. Basically it’s all a “I don’t have to so I won’t” determination. Yes it’s quite sad and nobody raised them like that (unless they were given everything and were allowed to do whatever they wanted without parenting). I learned on auto, but was taught stick and love it, now my girlfriend is surprisingly interested in learning (couldn’t be happier). I just wish there were less “fighting for rights” drama and everyone let others live how they please. I go by: you can do what you want, but once you start throwing it in everyone’s face and being overly obnoxious, then you just tried solving a problem with a problem. People are too sensitive and I’m glad I live in a good mixture of far from city, but not nowhere-go Texas!
you guys live in the stone age. These days the computer tells them what the change is. A computer is NEVER wrong, even if the clerk keyed in $500 instead of $50.
I remember that the acronym GIGO (gig-oh) was coined after computer use became common. The machines are only as good as the humans who operate them and feed in information… Garbage In… Garbage Out!
Happened to me once, instead of $15 I was debited $1500, luckily I noticed it the next day, and quick stop gas station manager was in, looked it up and corrected it. GIGO still applies in my book!
I pick up steel once or so a year for maybe $80 in angle and tubing. When I was there a couple years ago, the guy before me got charged $20,000 instead of $2000. The guy was gone already and the clerk just kinda went oops and he said it went through too. They are really honest as the day is long so corrected it right away. You get a Bible passage of the day on every invoice. They were on my way to one of my offices so once I brought my trailer for steel and wanted to leave it there until my return trip. It was a Friday and so OK but make sure you have it out of here by 5:00 sundown. People have been fired for similar. A little severe but I respect their views.
I was about to say something very similar: Machines don’t make mistakes, people do. Garbage in, garbage out. Computers do exactly what they’re told to do.
When I took math class as a child, someone would always ask, “Why can’t I use a calculator?”
The teacher would answer, “because you might not have a calculator with you when you need to know this.”
I wish I could go back in time and show that teacher my iPhone, which came with a scientific calculator app.
The real reason is to know how to check the machines so you don’t get hoodwinked. An unscrupulous seller can point to the machine and say it must be right, but knowing how to check the math on the fly can resolve a problem like that. And besides, it’s part of learning how to think.
When I was teaching at a PBX company, there was a homework problem that was pretty easy to do in your head. I was surprised when every student in the class had the wrong answer the next morning.
The students did their homework assignments together at the hotel, this was normal. So I asked how they came up with the wrong answer and one student stood up and showed me how he got the answer on his calculator. All the other students thought the answer was wrong, but he repeated the problem several time and kept getting the same wrong answer so they all went along with it. The calculator couldn’t be wrong.
