Death of Manual Transmission ETA????

[Marc]

My only real complaint about the car is the crappy turbo lag, but that comes with the territory.

 

[severine]

Manual is still more popular in pretty much everplace but the US; we are just lazy. Go over to Europe and you'll pay more to special order an automatic than you would to get a standard off the showroom floor.

Last time I checked, you pay more here for automatic, too. At least that was the case when I last priced out a VW Eos...

 

[Marc]

Manual is still more popular in pretty much everplace but the US; we are just lazy. Go over to Europe and you'll pay more to special order an automatic than you would to get a standard off the showroom floor.

We, as a country, suck at driving currently. To drive a standard means to have some basic level of understanding of how a drive train works. Too complicated for us. We need 2 pedals. One goes, one stops. Anything more complicated than that and we'd have to sacrifice attention devoted to steering the wheel.

/ranting
//very few people know how to heel-toe, double clutch, etc.

 

[campgottagopee]

good to know. mine was an 04.

200K matters to me. I just turned 101K on my 3.5 year old Sonata and need to hold it until 200K. So far zero major issues. Will see how it does in it's second half of life. LOVE the new Sonata Turbo outside of no manual trans. 274 HP, mid 5's 0-60 and 34MPG highway and I hear the handling is light years better than the old gen. pretty impressive. 100K warranty is a big selling point for me as well considering the miles I rack up.

Hyundai is STARTING to get into the game----they're back into leasing which is key, or at least it is for me. I wouldn't even think of buying a car that ALG wont put a residual value on. We used to have a Hyundai dealership in our "fold" (sold it last year), so I have had enough contact with the product to know they seem to have their act together.

 

[tjf67]

We, as a country, suck at driving currently. To drive a standard means to have some basic level of understanding of how a drive train works. Too complicated for us. We need 2 pedals. One goes, one stops. Anything more complicated than that and we'd have to sacrifice attention devoted to steering the wheel.

/ranting
//very few people know how to heel-toe, double clutch, etc.

Compared to who? As a country we put more miles on our cars than anyone else by far. I would say we are probably better drivers as a whole.

Standard transmissions are a PITA and for the car driver have no advantage anymore.

 

[Geoff]

What keeps killing the battery on the Mountaineer?

I only drive it 2 miles up the hill to my parking spot and 2 miles back down the hill to my condo. I don't use the car at all in the summer and the battery goes dead because I'm too stoooopd to disconnect the battery cable. I'm constantly running the battery down. That shortens the life of the battery. I'm probably also abusing it with the battery charger.

No big deal. I just show up at the auto parts store in West Leb and swap in a new battery in the parking lot. Takes 5 minutes. I do the same with boat batteries. It's not like they're expensive if you turn in the dead one for recycling.

 

[dmc]

We, as a country, suck at driving currently. To drive a standard means to have some basic level of understanding of how a drive train works. Too complicated for us. We need 2 pedals. One goes, one stops. Anything more complicated than that and we'd have to sacrifice attention devoted to steering the wheel.

/ranting
//very few people know how to heel-toe, double clutch, etc.

I also miss rotary phones... Now that was a way to dial...

Dude... You gotta drive in Asia sometime...

 

[Marc]

Compared to who? As a country we put more miles on our cars than anyone else by far. I would say we are probably better drivers as a whole.

Most any other country that actually has a driving culture associated with it. Any of the countries in which open wheel road racing is popular, which includes most of Europe, SE Asia/Oceana etc. Take Great Britian as a prime example. Think a show like Top Gear would ever be universally popular here like it is there?

Standard transmissions are a PITA and for the car driver have no advantage anymore.

The first is your opinion, I find them to be just the opposite of a pain in the ass. The second is patently false. Fuel mileage, handling and control, low traction situations, serviceability, driver enjoyment, accident avoidance... there's a long list of advantages.

I hate slush boxes.

 

[deadheadskier]

Hyundai is STARTING to get into the game----they're back into leasing which is key, or at least it is for me. I wouldn't even think of buying a car that ALG wont put a residual value on. We used to have a Hyundai dealership in our "fold" (sold it last year), so I have had enough contact with the product to know they seem to have their act together.

definitely a recent phenomenon, so I agree with 'starting'.

new Sonata sets the bar in the family sedan category in terms of performance numbers out of the gate, but lets see how it does after a couple years. Genesis is a great value as well. Elantra Touring apparently is quite comparable to Mazda3 in performance, though I haven't driven it.

 

[Marc]

I also miss rotary phones... Now that was a way to dial...

Dude... You gotta drive in Asia sometime...

NO. I've been to several cities in China (Shang hai, Nanjing, Beijing, Wenzhou, Yuhuan, Dalian off the top of my head) and it's a free for all, more or less. The driving is much, much worse there, that's very true.

 

[tjf67]

Most any other country that actually has a driving culture associated with it. Any of the countries in which open wheel road racing is popular, which includes most of Europe, SE Asia/Oceana etc. Take Great Britian as a prime example. Think a show like Top Gear would ever be universally popular here like it is there?



The first is your opinion, I find them to be just the opposite of a pain in the ass. The second is patently false. Fuel mileage, handling and control, low traction situations, serviceability, driver enjoyment, accident avoidance... there's a long list of advantages.

I hate slush boxes.

Not sure what Top Gear has to do with being a better driver.

I dont think you get better MPH anymore. You do have the ability to shift down with an automatic last I checked. I have never had a problem with an automatic transmission. Can't say the same for a manual. Accident avoidance? really? whooee. Personal enjoyment. Tell me that the next time you are stuck in traffic for an hour. But hey thats why you can still buy them.

 

[dmc]

NO. I've been to several cities in China (Shang hai, Nanjing, Beijing, Wenzhou, Yuhuan, Dalian off the top of my head) and it's a free for all, more or less. The driving is much, much worse there, that's very true.

India was the worst...
Taiwan was bad cause of the millions of scooters...

 

[WJenness]

Not sure what Top Gear has to do with being a better driver.

The fact that Top Gear has been a successful show in the UK shows that there is a higher interest in cars and motoring than there is here. Sure, people here watch a lot of NASCAR, but that doesn't have a whole lot to do with cars you can go out and buy. Top Gear does.

I dont think you get better MPH anymore.

I assume you mean MPG and not MPH... Some cars are rated higher with a manual, some aren't... Real world, I can't really say.

You do have the ability to shift down with an automatic last I checked.

True. No argument there.

I have never had a problem with an automatic transmission. Can't say the same for a manual.

Pure anecdotal evidence... I go just the other way, never had a problem with a Manual Tranny, several problems with Autos (One Chrysler, One GM, if you're curious).

Accident avoidance? really? whooee.

Not sure if you don't think it's a big deal, or don't think it's true... either way, that's your opinion... whatever.

Personal enjoyment. Tell me that the next time you are stuck in traffic for an hour. But hey thats why you can still buy them.

I drive in stop and go traffic every day on my way to work. I'm much happier with a stick than I ever was with an auto.

I hope you enjoy the SHO, I was going to look at it until I saw you couldn't get it in a Manual...

It's a similar design to the Audi S4 (2000-2002 generation), V6 with Twin Turbos, and I really like the idea of that setup. However, driving an 8 / 10 year old car that has likely been beat on was not that appealing.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. That's why there are so many car companies out there.

-w

 

[Geoff]

India was the worst...
Taiwan was bad cause of the millions of scooters...

There are places in Europe where driving skill isn't very good. Belgium is a big contrast to Germany. Germany has pretty rigerous driver training. Belgium is more like the US and 30 years ago didn't even have a drivers test to get a license.

 

[WJenness]

There are places in Europe where driving skill isn't very good. Belgium is a big contrast to Germany. Germany has pretty rigerous driver training. Belgium is more like the US and 30 years ago didn't even have a drivers test to get a license.

But they make good chocolate!

-w

 

[dmc]

But they make good chocolate!

-w

mmmm...
Germans make some good chocolate too...

I like Milka...

 

[marcski]

Manual is still more popular in pretty much everplace but the US; we are just lazy.

When I said basically the same thing in the 3rd post in this thread, Rivercoil "yelled" at me.

 

[ctenidae]

Not sure what Top Gear has to do with being a better driver.

I dont think you get better MPH anymore. You do have the ability to shift down with an automatic last I checked. I have never had a problem with an automatic transmission. Can't say the same for a manual. Accident avoidance? really? whooee. Personal enjoyment. Tell me that the next time you are stuck in traffic for an hour. But hey thats why you can still buy them.

Downshift an automatic? What, from D to 2?

As for being stuck in traffic, I believe that if more people drove manuals, traffic wouldn't be so bad, because people could slow down some way other than slamming on their brakes. I can drive in traffic that bounces from 0 to 40 for MPH without ever touching the brakes, and still manage to keep the lane-swapping moron from cutting in front of me just as the lane he left speeds up. Automatics just don't slow down when you let off the gas. I've been driving standards for so long, when I do get in an automatic I have a brief moment of panic when the car doesn't slow down when I lift my foot, adn then I just get annoyed with it.

If you can't handle the "work" involved in operating a clutch pedal in traffic, then I'm not sure what I can do for you. Maybe the greeter at Walmart can pull a motorized scooter up to your car for you. And I mean "you" in the general, everyone-who-hates-manuals-because-they're-too-much-work sense of the word, not necessarily you personally.

 

[dmc]

Downshift an automatic? What, from D to 2?

Tiptronic... go from 6th down to 1st..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manumatic

I use it all the time. When I go down the mountain road I shift down to 3rd and sometimes 2nd to break my speed.. It's great to have in the snow as well..

But mostly I just let it stay in automatic..

On the way back up the road I use the sport setting...

 

[campgottagopee]

Automatics just don't slow down when you let off the gas.

Really??? Well they certainly don't speed up, and my speedo goes down so doesn't that mean they are slowing down???