Because too few drivers are choosing manuals, so it is not cost effective to make them.
"Because too few drivers are choosing manuals, so it is not cost effective to make them"
And they gave up hand cranks a long time ago!!
"Because too few drivers are choosing manuals, so it is not cost effective to make them"
And they gave up hand cranks a long time ago!!
Don't laugh, but my first car came with a hand crank.Ironically, it would take a hand crank–or some other kind of redundant starting system–to get me to forsake the MT.
You already have your redundant starting system with a manual.Can you push start any modern auto equipped cars?-Kevin
As long as they make a few faux par manuals for we control freaks, it works for me. My neighbor’s tractor works in any mode you want, full auto, partial or simulated manual…what a deal. Some even give you a clutch you can play with. Don’t know if they are really connected to anything though.
I Drove Manual Transmission Cars For Over 1/4 Million Miles. I Wore Out Two Volkswagen “Old” Beetles And Some Rabbits And RX-7s. I Still Own One And A Manual Motorcycle.
You Can Get Over Them. Give Me An Automatic And A Cup Of Coffee Any Day. I Need A Manual On A Regular Basis Like I Need Tap Dance Lessons.
CSA
Kudos to Sally for seeking a manual. Of the eight cars I’ve paid for with my own money, all have been manuals. I went to a dealer looking for a new version of what I currently have and asked if they had a manual version I could test drive. His response was “You’re gonna have a tough time finding one of those!” So, I kept an eye on eBay Motors, and found a used version w. 5-speed, two years old, that I still have. I’ve been looking at cars to buy next year, and that one will be a manual also.
Manuals are outdated? So is something else that made the automatic viable and popular: the gas-guzzling dinosaur with a big V8 engine. Any number of plants that made them are closed and/or mothballed.
Some of the excuses made for automatics on this thread are kinda lame. If they are preferred to make talking or texting on a cell phone easier, that’s terminally insane, and Click & Clack have been ranting and raving about doing that for 15 years.
I see no point in keeping your right hand busy shifting and your left foot busy doing the clutch. My first car (a '37 Ford) was a manual but since 1950 when the Powerglide came out, I have owned only automatics. I only had one that went bad, a 1959 Ford. Something inside broke.
Believe me, I have owned a bunch of cars. If I had more space here I would name a few.
I can’t believe how old this debate is and how often it gets replayed, when it’s really just about preference.
Personally, I pride myself on being able to drive anything, from a 250 cc motorcycle to semi, and everything in between, including my uncle’s tractor. I also enjoy having fine control over the operating parameters.
Others, like EllyEllis and CSA prefer getting in and pushing a button to make it go. For them, driving is less of an art than a chore, and the easier you make this chore, the more they like it.
I’ve never seen driving as a chore. I drive because of the utility it provides, but I also enjoy the experience. The first people to drive cars, with their hand cranks, manually controlled timing, and manual transmissions, were adventurers, and I see myself in that same category. I only fly on airplanes when I have to, preferring a good road trip for a vacation, even for a destination 2,500 miles away.
If you prefer a hotel stay over tent camping, I won’t criticize you for it. It’s what you prefer. Personally, I think camping is more fun. I like the adventure, and the same is true for how I drive. For me, driving is as much about the journey as it is about the destination, but if you would rather hop on a plane and get there in a few hours, go for it. I won’t try to make you feel silly for having a preference, because that would be childish.
“For them, driving is less of an art than a chore, and the easier you make this chore, the more they like it.”
Not so fast there, partner. That’s your opinion, not mine. I have the artistry of driving figured out pretty well. Add airplanes, boats, an Allis Chalmers “B”, Unimogs, etcetera, to your list of pride in driving vehicles and you’ve got a partial list of machines I can drive. My sailboats require some finesse, too and that I enjoy.
I enjoy driving my only manual transmission car and motorcycles, but as I’ve said, not on a regular basis, just as I enjoy bicycling, but not in all situations. Plus, I don’t consider myself having less control while driving an auto trans vehicle when compared with a manual. I love to drive and can drive for hours and hours, non-stop. It is not a chore for me as you have mischaracterized it.
Repeating, “I Need A Manual [On A Regular Basis] Like I Need Tap Dance Lessons.”
CSA
OK, I should have left you out of my statement. Perhaps EllyEllis will enjoy a self-driving car one of these days.
Well maybe CSA makes some sense here, I do prefer to camp over staying in hotels. But my real interest in a manual transmission is that I feel safer, when I drive an automatic I guess after 40 years of manuals, I miss the knowledge that if the brakes fail I can always downshift. I wonder how hard it would be to buy a car in Europe or South America and have it imported? Maybe I just have to give up on the manual, I was almost there and then I had a dream about my brakes failing and downshifting. I guess its just what you grow up with and what you are used to, I’m sure if I grew up only driving automatic…I’m thinking of the Mazda CX5 or the Subaru…I’m waiting to see what Acura/BMW come up with for 2014. Maybe if I pay more I"ll get what I want?
All U.S. Sold Cars Since 1968, I Believe, Are Made With Dual Circuit Brakes, Practically Eliminating A Total Brake Failure. Besides, All Of Our Automatics Make Some Mighty Powerful, Car Slowing Downshifts !
CSA
Good answear CSA-Kevin
Besides when the clutch or engine explodes,you are probaly not going to get much braking effect
I will offer my personal observation that long term financing with generous ‘upside down’ loans gives the new car buyer a great deal of leverage to buy their ‘dream car.’ And for most, the dream car has all the bells and whistles and automatic transmission. What would the dealers offer if financing were limited to 80% loan to value with 24 month terms and recourse was limited to repossession.
Up until recently (and possibly still), automatic transmissions had lower gears you could shift into manually, making it possible to downshift. Most automatics have a shifting pattern something like this:
P R N OD D 3 2
If your brakes fail and you’re cruising at highway speeds, you just shift from OD to D, let the car slow, shift to 3, let the car slow, etc. Eventually, you’ll find yourself in second gear at a speed slow enough to use the parking brake to stop.
99% of the automatics I’ve seen are capable of being downshifted.
common sense answer You do seem to have common sense. I too have always loved to drive, that is with a vehicle that ran good and rode and drove good, but with an automatic transmission.
I grew up on farm and drove tractors, worked for a milk bottling company where I loaded trailers with milk products, had to drive them around the plant. On a few occasions I drove one from KC, MO., to Topeka kansas. I worked for Carquest Auto parts 6 years and drove about 300k miles, so I have had a little experience. Not as much as Whitey tho. I am glad that the vehicles I drove for Carquest were automatics. I would hate to drive a manual for 8 or 9 hours a day, 6 days a week.
Sally MT - Importing any car less than 25 years old is next to impossible. I, like others have posted, grew up on manual transmission cars and motorcycles. Now I’m happy with my automatics. Note that several of the ultimate sports cars are now available with automatics, some only with automatics. Automated manuals with dual clutches, but still automatics. As for safety, there is no real difference.
Thanks for all the info guys on automatic transmissions. I’m going to go test drive some cars in the next few months.
Whoever suggested Subaru --thanks. I had discounted them because a few years ago they seemed so clunky and low to the ground. They do have manual and maybe all of my dream features, I’m going to give them a try.
Any thoughts about the Mitsubishi Outlander?