The Future Of The Manual Transmission

shipo

Geez, what does it say about the driving public when carjackers and so whimpy they cannot even drive a stick. :P

iluvmysephia1

even if they can't shift they could at least hop in and just push in the clutch and pop the gearshift into neutral and push the car away.

benjaminh

Another manual bites the dust, just months after its introduction...

Mr_Shiftright

I guess they don't have driver's ed in prison :P

srs_49

Driver's ed teaches you how to drive a stick?

In the big cities around here, most of the MVA driver's license testers don't know what a manual tranny is.

shipo

I remember a post from a year or two back (probably in this discussion) where an individual took his or her daughter for her driving test, a test she failed. Why did she fail? As I remember it, the examiner marked her down because she kept taking her hand off the steering wheel so she could shift gears. Yikes, talk about a moron!

Here in New Hampshire "Driver's Education" starts with the parents in that all individuals of fifteen and a half years of age gain a defacto "permit" to drive with their parents (or guardians), and they must log a minimum of forty hours of driving on the roads before they can take a commercial "Driver's Education" course. After shedding our third and final minivan a couple of week ago we became a family with three cars with a total of three clutch pedals and sixteen forward gears. What this means is that our daughter, who will be fifteen and a half next June, will have no choice but to do all of her initial driver training in a car with a stick. Hopefully we won't encounter an examiner as moronic as the one mentioned above.

bpizzuti

How much do you want to bet someone gets the bright idea of outlawing sticks and clutch pedals because they take too much attention away from driving?

Next to go will be slapshifters, we'll be restricted to paddles and steering wheel buttons. But people will still eat, drink, talk, and text.

shipo

I'm thinking, "highly unlikely". Why? Our insurance company offers lower rates for cars with manual transmissions; per our agent, their actuarial tables show a lower incidence of claims for cars so equipped.

bpizzuti

So? That's reality. I'm talking about lawmaking, which generally has nothing to do with reality.

shipo

I figure I have fifty to sixty years left on this planet (which should put me well over 100), and hopefully I'll have long since been dead and gone (with a stick inexorably stuck in my right claw) before manual transmissions are physically outlawed.

stickguy

My daughter recently turned 16, and is actually going to the DMV today for the written test. assuming she passes, she can start training.

in Jersey, they have to do 6 hours behind the wheel with a school (and annoyingly, I have to pay the driving school to take her for the written test) before they get an official permit to drive with a parent. If nothing else, it relieves me of the stress of getting used to basic car control!

She is all gung ho to learn to drive stick. If she doesn't, he driving ops nosedive, since she can only drive her mother's van, and she is with me more than her in the car. Plus, my grand plan is to pass the accord to her next year, and get me a toy!

another quirk in NJ is that the car you take the test on must have a handbrake in the middle (accessible to the tester). that elimnates the van (though there may be some concept of being able to reach his foot across?). So, she either takes the test in my car, or I have to pay another $150 to have the driving school do it. And that ain't happening!

I hope she is a natural, because I am way too old and stressed out already to deal with it otherwise. And I don't want to lay out the cash for another car now, when she can't solo until this time next year.

shipo

Funny thing, we lived in New Jersey until 2002 and geez am I glad we left (for any number of reasons).

Is the legal driving age in New Jersey still seventeen?

When our (then) sixteen year old son got his license here in New Hampshire, one of the first things he did on one of our trips to visit family and friends in New Jersey was to drive over to home of several of his friends; they were all seriously jealous, doubly so because he had my car which has a manual transmission.

Our daughter has a strike in her favor and a strike against her before she even starts the process of learning to drive a stick. In her favor is the fact that she has a very scientific analytical mind and already understands the mechanical structures which compose the whole manual transmission drivetrain. Unfortunately for her, she had a stroke when she was born and is partially paralyzed on her left side which negatively affects left hemisphere motor control.

Given that she's learned how to play piano and violin, and given that she's become dexterous enough to "vault" on horseback (standing on the bare back of a horse, arms out to the side, and using nothing but hip, trunk and leg control to keep her balance while the horse walks), I anticipate she'll master driving a stick as well; though it will probably take longer than our son took (who does qualify as "a natural").

dudleyr

Took my 14 year old driving for a few hours yesterday in the Integra. In South Dakota you get your learners when you turn 14, then after 90 days you can get your restricted license - you can only drive from 6:00 am until 10:00 pm unless you are with a parent or involved in a school function. at 16 you get your unrestricted license.

He had lots of fun - said her prefers the Integra to my Accord.

Mr_Shiftright

it's really funny--the authorities are so worried about 16 year olds driving and make them take lessons and get permits, but any 18 year old, even if he/she was a felon or certified as mentally ill, or even if perfectly nice and normal but having never driven their own car before, can go in and buy a 200 mph sportscar with no qualifications whatsoever.

fintail

Or drive a 40ft diesel pusher motorhome, and in some places, a 200mph+ superbike,

But no smoking til 18! No drinking til 21!

stickguy

I should have moved to NH (well, at the time, it was Mass but would have likely relod up to Merrimack a few years later) when i had the chance back in the '90s.

funny story (I guess). A friend of my son's had to take his test on his fathers new Mustang GT with a stick, because it was the only car in the family with a handbrake, even though he had only driven it a few times before. managed to pass, so must have done OK. I could just imagine him being nervous, and doing a burnout coming out of the parking lot at the test center!

stickguy

First time I walked into Ryder and asked for a 26" box Frieghtliner (eye to eye with the 18 wheelers!) and all I needed was a license and a CC, I just knew America was a wonderful place!

ateixeira

Another manual bites the dust, just months after its introduction...

I won't cheer, but I won't cry either.

Something about the feel of that clutch and shifter, it just wasn't rewarding the way one should be.

And it's not Kia - the Sportage was fun to drive, and it's stick was entertaining.

ateixeira

They can send you to fight a war and possibly die for your country oil, but you can't have a beer when you get back.

shipo

I was "legal" to drink not once, not twice, but thrice before I turned 21. When I was 18 it was legal to drink in Michigan at that age; I moved to California four months later and lost the right. I joined the Marine Corps when I was 19 and while on base I was once again "legal", but because I was doing the Summer Officer Candidate/School Year Student thing, I lost the right later that year, and again when I went back to school when I was twenty.

By the time I became "legal" for good it was pretty much "no big deal". My friends took me out to tie one on on my 21st birthday; I had a single beer, watched a few decent looking strippers, and went home to my girl-friend (much hotter than the strippers).

I guess the rules of when one is "legal" to do something or another are all a matter of perspective. :P

stickguy

heard from my daughter from the middle of her first driving lesson (they were on a break). She seems to be enjoying it mightily, and seems to think she is a natural. Of course that is tweaking the karma gods, but hopefully they overlook it this time.

ateixeira

Funny...

srs_49

Here in Maryland when I was coming of age, the drinking age was 21. But it was only 18 down in DC. So, lots of college age kids just went across the border to DC to do their drinking. Just when I turned 21, MD lowered the drinking age to 18, then raised it back to 21 some years later.

It was a similar situation between Pennsylvania and New York - 21 to drink in PA, but only 18 in NY. When we use to go to the races at Watkins Glen (F1, Can Am - I know, I'm giving away my age :P ), we would hall a** up Rt 15 from Williamsport heading to Corning. Soon as we crossed the border into NY, there was a bar - always packed with college aged kids from PA - where we just had to stop for a breather. Trying to remember what it was called - Green Gables, maybe?

Anyone remember 3.2% beer? Ohio (or maybe it was just Cleveland), drinking age was 18 for 3.2 beer, and 21 for anything else.

kyfdx

That was in all of Ohio..... We lived just across the border.. We had a name for it: p*** water...

Even when we were sixteen, nothing was worse than finding out that the beer your friend's older brother bought you was 3.2

srs_49

LOL !!!

ateixeira

I lived (and still live) in MD, but I missed the DC drinking age by 17 days.

They grandfathered a lot of my friends, so for 3 years they could drink and I could not, because I was 17 days too young. :sick:

kyfdx

I turned 18 in 1976... and, I'm sure Ohio still had the 18 yr old drinking age for 3.2% beer.... but, for the life of me, I have very few memories of going to Ohio to legally drink beer, even though it was only 12 miles away...

I think it was because... in 1976, 12 miles was a long way to go.... to do anything.... White Castle was ten miles away, and that was a special treat...

So, we just used a fake ID, and drove around with our beer... (Yes! Drove! While drinking!.... sue me..)

isellhondas

It wasn't that many years ago that in Texas could could drink a beer while driving a car. You better not be drunk though.

ruking1

Yes and the environmentally correct threw the recyclable cans in the bed of the pick up truck when M/T.

cdnpinhead

Yeah, I still remember back in '78-'80 when I drove a KW through Texas a number of times & was surprised to look down into vehicles as they passed me and saw more than a few coolers in the middle of the front seat with the driver holding a can in his hand.

That was when diesel was 40 cents a gallon in La Grange.

It's all different now.

Glad to hear from you again Craig.

srs_49

Wasn't it Montana, or maybe Wyoming, that just got around to outlawing open containers in a vehicle? They didn't want to, but I think the feds were threatening to withhold highway funds or something of the sort so they caved in.

ateixeira

White Castle was ten miles away

Road Trip!

benjaminh

read a story (I'm forgetting where right now, sorry) that Honda is going exclusively to CVT transmissions in the US in the next c. 5 years, and phasing out all 5 speed autos and all manuals....Yikes. That happened sooner than I thought. Hope they still keep a manual for the Si civic?

Maybe I should consider getting one of the last Civic Si manuals in a year or so....

ateixeira

The end is nigh...

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/05/honda-plan-calls-for-best-fuel-economy-in-eve- ry-segment-within-t/

robr2

According to wikipedia:

"As of November, 2007, only one state (Mississippi) allows drivers to consume alcohol while driving (as long as the driver stays below the 0.08% blood alcohol content limit for drunk driving and many counties within Mississippi have their own laws preventing open containers), and only eight states (Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia) allow passengers to consume alcohol while the vehicle is in motion. Still, local laws in these states may limit open containers in vehicles, although those local laws do not impact the state's compliance or noncompliance with TEA-21."

So you can have an open container as the driver in MS but you can't text. Thank goodness, wouldn't want to spill your drink trying to text your buddy to order up the next round.

Back on topic - anyone every try to eat, drink, make a call and shift in traffic before?? Bonus points for having a cigarette, changing the radio station or hitting your kids in the back seat.

Mr_Shiftright

I'm currrently borrowing an Audi A4 with that...that SNOWMOBILE transmission called a CVT, and it sucks majorly.

Aside from the weird pedal response, it's already slipping at 40,000 miles, and....AND....(you'll love this)....AUDI WON'T SELL YOU THE BELT!

That's right..you have to buy the whole transmission. :surprise:

kyfdx

If you are driving a FWD Audi, you deserve the CVT...

Mr_Shiftright

I borrowed it. Some embrace mediocrity, but I had mediocrity thrust upon me. :P

Actually i sound ungrateful, and I shouldn't be. It got me around (turning it in today) whilst my MINI is repaired because the sunroof exploded into a thousand pieces while on the freeway. (oh, joy)

It was a comprehensive claim but I had $250 deductible. Oh well, better that then the Ford Fiesta I passed that had been pressed into a tuna can by a guardrail.

shipo

"If you are driving a FWD Audi, you deserve the CVT..."

Oh I don't know about that; it was my thorough enjoyment of a drive in an A3 6-Speed manual which led me to suggest a GTI 6-Speed for my wife; can't wipe the silly grin off of her face since she got the GTI.

ateixeira

FWD Audis are non-alcoholic beer.

stickguy

Oh, that's what the "3.2" on some models stands for!

shipo

"FWD Audis are non-alcoholic beer."

So are you saying you'd rather drive an AWD A3 with an Automatic over a FWD A3 with that sweet shifting 6-Speed manual? :P

ateixeira

The automatics are more like ciders anyway.

kyfdx

Oh, that's what the "3.2" on some models stands for!

:P

kyfdx

Why can't we have a 2.0T Quattro with a stick?

I'm not dissing FWD, it just seems stupid that a premium car make that built their whole USA biz on having AWD doesn't give it to us on this model.... (in the configuration that I want)

shipo

As I recall from a couple of years back when the AWD system was first introduced into the North American market for the A3, it was an Audi-USA "Executive" decision. There is no technical reason why we cannot have a car configured as you (and I) would like as that setup is already available elsewhere in the world.

With the above said, my wife's FWD 6-Speed GTI (essentially the same car as the A3) is an absolute blast to drive, and to be quite honest, except for the ten or fifteen days per year when the snow is heavy on the roads, I rather doubt we'll miss not having AWD.

Mr_Shiftright

I would consider a GTI as successor to my MINI, but they are pricey little suckers. (just like a MINI).

I like the A4 Audi sedans, but getting out of this A4 convertible and back into my MINI was a relief. I like my little car all over again--it drives as nicely as the A4 'vert with the snowmobile trans, and it's way more fun.

BTW, in the two days I borrowed the Audi, the air bag light went on, and the brake light out warning went on, and the transmission slippage got worse and worse. Also the glove box latch fell off. This is a car with 44,000 original miles.

lemmer

They nearly lost their USA biz due to 60 minutes et al. and rebuilt their reputation on really nicely styled interiors.

That is how I see it anyway. I still think of Audi as the European AWD alternative, but I am old.

shipo

My wife just managed a pretty nice deal on a reasonably well equipped GTI; hers has the Sunroof & Convenience Package (nicer audio and Blue Tooth), it's a black 2-Door with the Interlagos cloth interior and the 6-Speed manual. She paid right around $25,000 out the door.

The problem I'm now having is that my 2009 Mazda3 i TVE has seriously lost its luster and I'm now Jonesin' for either a new GTI (with all the trimmin's sans the automatic), or a new F30 328i. :shades:

kyfdx

I fit better in the GTI than the A3, anyway... something about the A-pillar sloping less, I think.....

Maybe, a Golf R..