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Comments
Right, because since you wont be shifting anyway, you might as well get a slow, uncomfortable lifeless transportation pod so you can make sure you are truely unhappy for the next 10 years.
The 2010 doesn't look to be significantly advantageous over a 2009 and will come with an early adopter premium.
Right, since no one wants a vehicle that can go up hill and make 60 mph in less than 15 seconds. Its amazing how much pressure they felt from the Ford Fusion Hybrid, which actually gets reasonable hybrid like mileage (sorry Honda Accord Hybrid) and isn't miserable to drive (sorry previous generation Prius).
Add BMW and Porsche to that list, a couple of makes heavily favored by the three pedal crowd. Porsche calls theirs PDK (from the German for Porsche Double Clutch)
and offers them throughtout the line except possibly the 911 GT3.
BMW calls their twin clutch DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) and so far offers them only on models equipped with the 3.0 liter TwinTurbo 300Hp six or the M3 V8 (not sure about the M5 V10). Not doubt that will change in the near future.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Over all the field is still rather limited.
The Mazda3 was a bit of a bust. Just felt too cramped on the inside and I think I've decided I like the 5 speed shift pattern better than the 6 speed.
Funny you mentioned the Prius - it's been on our list to test drive, and I actually passed one about an hour ago that had a roof rack on it.
I hear that Priuses are stacked up like cordwood at the ports and that the 2010's were MRSPing a bit less than the '09s.
We're both leery of VW reliability but the siren song of the Golf/Rabbit may lure us to at least take a test drive.
Oh, and thanks for the get well missives - she has two pair of skis for sale btw. :shades:
That is a new one on me !!?? I really don't give it much thought going from a Jetta TDI 5 spd to a Corvette Z06 6 spd (both manual transmissions). But then again between the two, there is 192k.
Steve - Toyota sees this overstocked situation as merely a temporary phenomenon. From what I've learned it appears that Toyota has been working hard overseas to cut production. I have also learned that soon the reverse situation may apply at Toyota USA. Deliberate product shortages are looming. Toyota is becoming reluctant, in the light of the sinking value of the american dollar, to stock up the North American market with their imported product. Obviously it is of no advantage to any manufacturer to import in order to increase market share if the profit per imported vehicle is sensitive to a volatile exchange rate.
wwest - Ok, I'll accept the last line of your post.
The misunderstanding comes from the fact that the Prius is often quoted as having a CVT. That may have been acceptable during the early years of Prius while figuring out exactly how the Toyota HSD planetary torque splitter worked - although further misnoming it as a power split device didn't help any when dealing with the theory back then, I hasten to add. Supporting this declaration occurred just a few comments ago when ruking1 posted a link to "How Transmissions Work" a section of which refers to the Prius as having a CVT - what further proof do you need ?
In the public's eye a CVT is a mechanical device that accomplishes a variable gear ratio by cone shaped pulleys. Forty years ago they were popularly known in industry as Reeves drives. They worked fine if properly maintained. If not they were a source of constant trouble.
They were a source of constant trouble.
BTW whenever you see a manufacturer's request to perform maintenance at regular intervals remember this is just a palatable way of saying we messed up on the design - you better keep an eye on this POC.
Consequently my involvement in those days was to install a work-around. This entailed mounting a DC motor on the other side of the Reeves transmission so that the load carried by the Reeves belt itself was correspondingly reduced. Relieved of arduous duty the gearbox became more durable.
Today only really old systems still have them. Modern industrial designs use microprocessor controlled servomotors exactly like you find in the Prius. But here's the rub. A mechanical CVT is probably a lot easier to manufacture if your guiding thrust has always been in the development of advanced mechanical systems, as most automobile manufacturers predominantly are.
However what we would call a conventional CVT does experience durability issues with mechanical wear which has no counterpart in those other systems that employ servomotors and planetary gears. Susceptibility to the incorrect or deteriorating lubrication fluid which plagues even automatic transmissions is not a factor with them either. Servo systems are even less affected by those extremes of temperature which are known to affect systems which rely to a high degree on fine mechanical tolerances.
Toyota happens to be one of the first companies to start making the shift from mechanical to electronic power control and despite its unpopularity with the gearheads among us the fact remains that electronic devices scale easily. It cannot be ignored that a 600 amp semiconductor device weighs just slightly more than a 60 amp device. Now imagine a 600Hp gearbox with one handling 60Hp and my point starts to come clear.
Then there is the simple conversion of amps into volts and vice versa by semiconductor devices. Consider that at low motor speed and consequently low output voltages on the motor terminals we can usefully convert some of that excessive voltage input at the controller into some more amps in order to provide enhanced electric motor torque at those low speeds - similar to the action of a manual gearbox moved into first or second gear. Without the use of any transformer the electronic controller supplied with an input of 100 amps can yet issue 400 amps out the other side. Whether you contemplate this to be some type of magic or a typical exploitation of differential equations in a pulse width modulator depends merely on your level of education.
--Steve, You do realise that your wife, in the mentioning of the sale of her skis, is giving out a subtle hint, typical of the female.
It is the equivalent of "If you don't know - I'm not going to tell you"
That being so, sadly for you and barring the divorce court, whatever the future of manual transmissions, I don't see a third pedal in your future.
T2
Try as I might I cannot think of a way of doing this, voltage step-down, absent a transformer. The "transformer" may be in the form of a motor-generator, as in the oftimes relationship between MG1 and MG2 in the Prius, but an inductive device none-the-less.
No I don't get it. Sometimes people tear their ACL skiing and the next year break the same leg skiing and decide to change sports. Unfortunately she didn't care for snowboarding.
And if Toyota clutches are like the one we both drove forever in the '82 Tercel, she can just use her right foot to pop it into first and then just shift without the clutch from there on out. I did that when I broke my left leg and it was our only car. (yeah, that was skiing too - you'd think we'd learn).
So being as how the average age of the passenger vehicle fleet is @ 9.3 years old, the extention is to 2025.
Even as the manual transmission, (aka STANDARD transmission) remains the "standard" transmission, I have always seen it as an "acquired taste". I know there are a significant minority that would take umbrage with that view, as the premium for the optional transmission is. can be, remains an issue.
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Judging by the reduced market shares and how long the 27 mpg standards with defacto 22 mpg has stood the test of (a LONG) time, the 2016 35.5 standards are still 6 MY's off. Using the same ratios, the defacto standard should be 28 mpg.
The most important thing however is not to know exactly how this is done but to have the faith that this is indeed possible and avoid the need for a rational explanation concerning the synergy of a few differential equations.
When it comes to electric motors, most people understand as a general rule that output torque is proportional to current while RPMs are similarly proportional to the applied voltage. So if the maximum current you can draw is limited by the source generator then so is the torque. And that should be the end of story.
However, the fact that Volts can be traded for Amps provides electronically the same torque amplification heretofore only expected of a mechanical gearbox. A fact whose full impact is not generally appreciated. Moreover sometimes I think not even amongst those who are actually involved with powertrain design.
T2
A type of switching regulator called a "buck" does this all the time. The output voltage is lower than, and the output current can be higher than the input to the regulator. It still needs an inductor of some sort, along with a capacitor to filter/smooth the output waveform.
Volvo discontinued the manual trans for all their cars except the C70 and C30 for the 2009 MY.
For the 2010 models Volvo brought the Manual back for the S40 and V50 even the AWD models.
The S60 isn't coming back for 2010 but at least you can still get a hot sport wagon with AWD and a six speed in the V50.
I would be interested in why Volvo brought BACK the M/T in the 2010 MY S40, V50 and AWD models. I take it the Volvo C70,C30 will continue with M/T in 2010 MY.
Perhaps the Green Car Congress review of the 2010 MY Volvo might offer a glimpse through the looking glass? Volvo Upgrades Power, Lowers Fuel Consumption of 2.5L Flex-fuel Engine
14 May 2009
Aren't "buck" converters restricted to raising the voltage, lowering the current..??
"100 amps = 400 amps" clearly implies a voltage down-converter (watts is watts), or have I missed something.
I know that Volvo has lost some sales since ending the availability of manuals on so many of their manual trans equipped vehicles. I have a previous customer who got rid of his V70R for a manual trans BMW because he couldn't get any manual Volvo Wagons or large sedans.
VW's technique is If the driver downshifts to a level that results in so much engine braking on the front that wheelslip/lockup occurs then the engine control ECU will automatically up-rev the engine to the "proper" level to alleviate the potential for loss of directional control.
Clever, those Germans.
Absent this technique the liability of putting a FWD MT vehicle in the hands of John Q Public can rise to a pretty serious level.
I think, in general, a buck lowers voltage (3.3V -> 1.5V for an FPGA, for instance).
A boost converter raises the voltage.
Here's a succinct summary from Control Engineering:
A buck regulator, more properly called a buck convertor, is a dc-dc step-down power supply utilizing the fact that inductors react to electric-circuit fluctuations in such a way to keep the current flowing through them constant.
"100 amps = 400 amps" clearly implies a voltage down-converter (watts is watts), or have I missed something. "
I agree about that statement implying a voltage step-down converter. Power in = Power out + losses.
I think the key here is the Subaru tuned the CVT quite well. The EPA numbers are good but early reports from media and friends that have test driven it are very positive.
IMHO there are good CVTs and bad CVTs. Nissan got it right. Mitsubishi's I didn't like at all. That's among the ones I've sampled, anyway.
Gotta try this new OB CVT, though.
They haven't paid CAFE fines, but I know they were exactly at the limit last time I saw the numbers.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
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The 6-speed is also the only tranny available in the Legacy 2.5 GT turbo.
Bob
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
one of the local ones by me has a fleet of bombers they use. If you wonder where the old K cars and Citiations went to die, this is the place!
They also have a fairly new (certainly nice looking) Ranger PU which is the stick shift car. Yes, they teach stick! Not hard to tell it is the ranger, since it has a big sign on the tailgate that says stick shift.
I got next to it yesterday at a light (2 lanes straight). Even better, the teenager was a girl. I mad esure to pint this out to my daughter (13 now) since it will be her turn in a few years.
Too bad they only barely made it trough the intersection before coasting to the curb. Guess she might have had a little trouble getting going, but at least she was trying!
Probably would be easier to learn on a nice Honda instead of a ranger with a long throw, and who knows what kind of clutch (although probably much cheaper to do frequent clutch jobs on a 4 cyl ranger).
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I don't know, I always found Honda clutches to be far more difficult to master than most other vehicles. The '93 Accord was terrible, especially compared to my '89 Galant or the '91 Isuzu Impulse. Even the '93 Civic was more challenging than either of those two cars.
I have stalled the Subie once or twice, but that was under either poor driving conditions (snow/ice) or towing something (backing up with the pop-up).
It was before 1946 when you either drove a manual or you walked. :P
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I learned on a 1981 Peugeot 505 Turbo Diesel.
That said, and after some reflection, anything torquey is going to be more forgiving and easier to learn. Hondas are not torquey. The G35 is pretty forgiving, and its got a lot of twist.
For all my whining in the cell phones are the devil/cell phones are heavenly forum, maybe I should say I believe there is a strong correlation between the amount of torque a vehicle has and how easy it is to modulate the clutch and the acceptance of wrong gear choices.
After talking with the family, we know that they recently purchased a new vehicle and it had a clutch, and (Denny) was still learning to use it and to get comfortable with it," Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Megan Peters said.
Which troopers say may explain the sudden jerk that some witnesses reported."
Woman killed in collision with train was learning to use clutch (KTUU)
****
Emmila was my Aunt. She was not learning to drive nor use a clutch, she's owned several vehicles throughout her life - both automatic and manual transmission - and had owned this particular vehicle for 5 or more months, obviously any learning curve for new ownership had passed.
Why the Troopers would mention any of this without first obtaining confirmation is beyond me. The investigation of the incident is and has not yet been completed, and anything that is said at this point because of that is pure speculation.
The point I'm trying to make is that the Troopers have failed miserably to provide quantitative information to me or the rest of the family, and has failed again in providing what has been to the reporting agencies.
If the troopers are so quick to say she was old and didn't know how to use her car, just to avoid doing their job and actually investigating the accident, that's on them. But I'll certainly hold it against them, in a court of law if necessary.
****
Yes, that is a relative of the victim. As he said, she had driven stick before and had had the truck for 5 months. The "learning curve" had well passed.
Typical sensationalistic media blather. But wait to see how much press this gets and how much it gets used on online forums by the antis....
Having driven both high-torque (Pontiac GTO 400CID) and low torque (VW Beetle) vehicles I suspect it's easier to learn on a small engine with a light clutch action.
I had no trouble learning the rudiments on my Volkswagen, it took only a couple of days and I lived in a somewhat hilly area.
While we're at it I'm sure that it's easier to learn a 3/4 speed box than a 5 or six speeder. Fewer gears mean less chance for confusion.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
My 91 Escort GT had a light clutch. Buddy had a Dodge Shadow turbo and that clutch was just awful, you had to stand on it with all your force. It had much more torque, being a 2.2l turbo, than my little 1.8l did, but my clutch was 1000x easier.
I don't know if I agree with that. Especially with little torque. More gears typically are spaced closer together so if you get the wrong one, the car will still go. Starting in 3rd instead of 1st is do-able in the Galant but not so much in the Nova.
I don't remember my stick learning as to whether it was hard or not. But, it was done on a 1952 Plymouth 3 speed on-the-column. No, I'm not that old, but my dad kept his cars a long time :P .
After showing me how to work the clutch, I got in and, after stalling the first couple of times, just started moving the car back and forth, 10 or 15 feet at a time in front of the house. First gear; let out clutch (hope it doesn't stall); forward 10 feet; brake; reverse; let out clutch (hope it doesn't stall); backward 10 feet; brake. Repeat several dozens of times. I'm not even sure I used the gas the first couple of times.
All my kids learned on my '92 Sentra SE-R. I don't remember them having issues with having 5 forward gears to deal with.