I rode a 1981 Yamaha 650 twin for about 3 years. It had electric and kick start. I almost always used the kick start since the times I had to kick it twice could be counted on one hand. It was similar to my old 1966 Triumph Bonneville with all of the pain removed.
I think speculating about his reasons is a waste of time. It could be something simpler. He could just be a union man.
It seems that half of the “foreign” cars sold in the US are also assembled here, by American workers
Let’s also not forget that many “domestic” vehicles are built in Canada and/or Mexico
I grew up when most cars had a manual transmission. For me, I am indifferent as to whether a car is equipped with a manual or automatic transmission. However, I either want a totally manual transmission (clutch and gearbox) or a fully automatic transmission. My parents had a 1952 Dodge with the infamous Chrysler “lift and clunk” transmission. You had to use the clutch to put the car in driving range (or reverse, or low range), and then once underway, you let up on the accelerator to shift into high gear. I would sooner shift gears. Hudson had a vacuum operated clutch and a "drivemaster’ system back in the late 1940s through 1950 which was troublesome. Packard had its electric clutch which was troublesome. The VW Beetle had its “automatic stick shift” that took the gross national product of a couple of third world countries to keep operational. Hudson gave up in 1951 and offered either the manual transmission (with or without overdrive) or the GM Hydramatic. Chrysler finally developed its fully automatic “PowerFlyte” and later “TorqueFlyte” to replace its “lift and clunk” transmission. It seems to me that all this “paddle shift” stuff is a step in the wrong direction. Give me a full automatic or a full manual with a clutch.
I think the paddle shifters are nothing but a toy. Most cars that have them also have a normal shifter, don’t they?
Yes. Cars with paddles still have a normal shift lever
Maybe we should leave the paddles to the kayakers . . .
My girlfriend’s Hyundai Santa Fe has the capability to manually shift the automatic transmission using the floor shifter, but I don’t really see the point in manually shifting an automatic transmission. I think the same of most paddle shifters.
I used to know someone who had one of VW’s semi-automatic Beetles (a manual shift transmission with an automatic clutch). I don’t think it was any more of a maintenance chore than any other classic Beetle. On order to keep one road worthy, you pretty much need to become an expert or find a Beetle specialist and keep him on retainer.
Kind of like the very early car races, in which the mechanic was literally along for the ride, because the cars broke down so often
Most cars that have them also have a normal shifter, don't they?
Most normal cars, yes. Looking at Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc, pretty sure they don’t even have a gear selector, let alone a clutch pedal.
I don’t have a problem with most foreign models but I still have some issues with Mitsubishi until they man up and compensate the POWs that were forced to work in their plants as slaves. I don’t consider it bigotry at all.
Now in the midwest, there were many German POWs that worked in the fields and canning industry but they were not forced and were in fact paid for their labor. Many were happy to do the work and often local German families would take them to church, serve them Sunday dinner, and return them to their barracks again. Lots of them came back to the area again to settle after the war. They were mostly just kids and I think there were only two escape attempts out of the base camp at Algona, IA. Far different than the treatment by MItsubishi making war materials.
I am not sure what a paddle-shift is but my van has a + - paddle. I can up shift or downshift as quickly as any expert manual driver can. And I don’t have to push a clutch or move the shift lever.
@Triedaq
Paddle shifters ARE a step in the wrong direction when you consider that the computer makes better choices for gears then most all drivers. IMHO, paddle shifters are more a marketing ploy for control freaks who don’t want to take the time learning to drive a manual. Putting paddle shifters on a fwd car with the idea you are emulating race car characteristics in engine braking and acceleration is the height illusion. Might as well get your kicks with a good Video game. Pretending to be a real performance driver in a low performance car is like putting leather stitching trim on vinyl upholstery. It’s marketing. If you need to downshift an auto for braking, you do have a gear shifter lever.
Most tests I’ve read of cars with paddle shifters conclude ‘we were better off leaving it in D’…
I’d like to chime in here on the difference between paddle shifters and paddle shifters. Ferraris and the like with paddle shifters have a manual gearbox and clutch that is actuated by some sort of electro-hydraulic system. Most less exotic cars with paddle shifters have a regular “slush box” automatic with a torque converter and a regular “shift lever” that can be put in D or a +/- mode.
The type that Ferraris have is a pretty hot item. The next time someone lets me borrow their $300,000 sports car I’ll let you know what I think of it. My dad’s Cadillac STS had a conventional auto with the manual mode, and the manual mode was absolutely useless. Even with my ADHD love of stick shifts, It just didn’t do it for me. Worked real well in “D”, though!
Well we had a 59 model chevy Impala with a powerglide and you could roll and start it,the other day I rode home with a fellow worker in a company truck with 244K miles on it(V-6,4WD ,THM transmission,pintle hook,tool boxes etc) never a minutes trouble from this transmission and the company mechanic said he didnt think it had ever been serviced(and wasnt about to bother it now) seems like thats pretty durable-Kevin
Well we had a 59 model chevy Impala with a powerglide and you could roll and start itMy parent's old '60 chevy could also be push started. Then they quit putting rear oil pumps on automatics. Today, if the engine isn't running, there's no transmission oil pressure and if there's no transmission oil pressure, the transmission is in neutral no matter what position the gear selector is in. Older automatics had a second oil pump driven by the output shaft as well as an oil pump driven by the torque converter. You could push start those automatics, though you still had to push it a lot faster than a manual.
I find it interesting that on Top Gear (the UK version), the reasonably priced car with the manual transmission has better lap times than the reasonably priced car with an automatic transmission.
That assumes the driver has the incentive, inclination, the ability and the opportunity to drive a manual that way. The vast majority of the American driving public have none of the above. I bet these same group of Europeans would rather go out dancing then sit at home and watch football too.
Different drivers will make a bigger difference in lap times than different transmissions will.
For those who gave feedback about the paddle shifting - thank you! That was exactly what I was looking for – did it actually make a difference or not. To me, it just seemed like something “cool” to give inexperienced drivers the “feel” of a MT, but I couldn’t for the life of me see how it would be more functional in any way. Having never driven one, though, I didn’t just want to make the assumption and as great as test drives are, I didn’t trust that I would be able to discern the true value or non-value of it driving for ten minutes at a time. You guys are great!