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I use only one SAP "tool" at work, which is, as expected, less than intuitive. It also has German-looking compound words like "innerpage".
The human brain can memorize 5-7 options, I think the SAP software designers were sick they day they taught that.
Having said that, some how it all works.
And to weasel my way back to the thread topic - these are the people who generally prefer to drive a manual, laugh at those who can't drive one, and even differentiate it in licensing exams. So it isn't all bad.
Those who know how to write&test the software that goes into an automatic/CVT transmission don't actually want such software/transmission in their own cars and tend to prefer MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS more than non-techies.
catch you later, peoples, I'm Audi/TTFN !
Sadly, this is never the case, especially with European vehicles. The Asians come closer, but I'll take stone simple most times, given the choice. However, that choice is rarely available.
Already we are seeing replacement costs for some transmissions on non-exotic luxury cars pushing $7500.
At today's prices for auto repair, it doesn't take much to effectively total a car.
A 5000.00 car that needs a 7500.00 (!) transmission would fit in that catagory.
A good example are Cadillacs with the Northstar engines. The earlier versions of these were notorious for oil leaks when a seal fails where the engine block mates together. It is a miserable job to fix these and the price tag pushes
5000.00. Many an otherwise nice Cadillac has been totalled when the leak gets so bad it can't be lived with.
'07 Lexus LS460 - $8,500-10,500
'08 BMW 535i - $7500 with turbos
'06 Infiniti M35 - $2000-3000
I suppose you need to add another couple thousand dollars for installation.
Yep, add the labor at 120.00/hr and add the necessary stuff like motor mounts, belts, hoses, spark plugs, coolant etc and you are through the roof!
It sounds like the junkyards will be getting some good "organ donors" that are great cars other than the expensive item that totalled them!
Just a guess here, and so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but probably even a 6 speed manual on a, say, 2012 Honda Civic Si, would be about half of that.
And, more importantly, unless you don't know how to shift a manual should last the life of the car.
And auto should too, but I think they wear out more often. A 6-7 speed auto is much more complex than a 6 speed manual.
That's a rather significant asterisk, isn't it?
Actually, isn't a clutch a wear item in a manual transmission?
one other thing, ATs now are basically like TVS: not serviceable, so if it breaks, throw it out and get a new one (not like the old days of the garage on the corner bench rebuilding your powerglide!)
But a normal Manual should be fixable, since there usually isn't much to go wrong (a synchro goes bad maybe?)
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
A new auto trans is a few thousand. :sick:
Actually it's more like pull the old one out, order a new one from the Jasper distributor, install in car, send old one to distributor for core credit, Jasper rebuilds and sells it to someone else.
It's cheaper and faster to put in a factory rebuilt/reconditioned unit than it is for a mechanic to do it himself. That goes for both autos and manuals.
So how about some datapoints from your company parking lot - check the cars by the in-the-trenches engineers/designers as well as the architect types - and tell us what they select - especially the ones with the $/success to get the big bonuses/stock/whatever to select whatever car they want.
at your place, do the top engineers tend drive fat benzes with automatics or BMWs/Vettes/whatever with stickshifts ?
I see mustangs, BMW 5s, BMW 3s, >>50% with stickshift, driven by the engineers. Hot motorcycles too. (they have stickshift too, usually!)
Benzes, usually driven by manager/corporate/business types. (It's very rare to find a stickshift in a USA Benz - very few models offer stickshift). Unusual to find a motorcycle-rider among the corporate types.
Can you get a V6 Camry with manual? Nope, only the 4, and only the most basic trim. Can you get a Cruze with manual? Same deal. What about high mpg manuals with diesel like they have in Europe or a manual hybrid? Sorry, you're not worthy of a decent vehicle like the rest of the world gets.
You can't even get a C class with manual any more, at least not in the U.S. If you want manual, you're forced to either have the worst engine and worst trim in a cheap tin can or pay a fortune for something like a Corvette or Porsche.
Based upon statistics, about 30% of the U.S. population would buy manuals if they had a decent choice. But since they do not, millions of people every year are forced to settle with owning an automatic instead. This, of course, holds true with used cars as well. Just go over to CarMax or a similar mega-dealer sometime and ask for a list of their cars with manual. Maybe you'll see ten on their entire lot if you don't count the dozen or so Wranglers in the corner.
During the shopping phase for our most recent car (which ended up as a 2012 6-Speed (the kind with three pedals) GTI), we shopped the Chevy Cruze, and while it is true that you cannot opt for the full-tilt LTZ with a manual, for 2012 you can now buy the 2LT with a stick and then option it up with pretty much every (meaningful) option of the LTZ except Automatic Climate Control.
That said, I do find it supremely annoying that the Cruze LTZ, the Focus Titanium, and the SkyActiv-G Mazda3 i GT cannot be had with manual transmissions. It's starting to look like VW and BMW are the only serious players left in the manual transmission world.
I was out shopping today, and of course, got the whole "no one wants a manual so we will offer you dirt" spiel from the trade in appraiser. At one used car place (high end stuff) he said that out of 100 cars, he had no manuals.
did stop at BMW dealer to see one listed on their website (a 2003), but it was gone to the wholesale lot (apparently needed a lot of work). But, happy to show you plenty of ATs!
I also gave my daughter her first seat time. Did laps of a parking lot, getting as high as 2nd gear. She actually did pretty well. Was able to get started with no drama, and into 2nd OK. Only stalled once too.
Best of all, she seemed reasonable comfortable with it, and if I keep the stick, she should be able to deal with it.
still, the biggest hassle? Having to readjust the seat every time we switch drivers. And it takes me a long time to get it dialed in just perfectly. Sounds like another reason though to justify the BMW (memory seats!)
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
So, Honda did! Talk about a DISMAL failure! I remember we got stuck with two of them. One sat on our lot for over a year and by luck, another store somewhere took the other one on a dealer trade.
I don't buy the 30% number. Not even close!
Even manual Civics are so hard to sell that the smaller stores won't order any.
Does Toyota still build 4 cyl Camrys with manuals? If they do, I haven't seen one in many years.
1) Both of my local dealerships have quite a few 3-Series and even a few 5-Series cars on the lot with manual transmissions.
2) I would never buy a car like a BMW off of the lot; their options are just too variable and finding one in the color with the options I want is a pretty difficult thing. I've ordered both of my BMWs and even took delivery of the second one in Munich (which is the plan for the next one as well).
Interestingly enough one of the VPs tends to drive old Nissans and Infinitis primarily.
They've already amortized the cost of the 4 cylinder manual transmission.
Manual Camrys, Accords, Corollas, and Civics are very rare. A few times in the past year, I did a search on Edmunds new cars to see how many new manuals were available, and the number of manuals for sale within 500 miles was typically around 2.5% of the total.
For some reason, Subaru seems to make and sell more of them than Honda does.
Smarter, better informed drivers than Honda owners, of course. :P
Wish mine was a stick. :sick:
I bet I could improve my lifetime of 23.31 with a manual, especially on the local runs.
Normally, about 24 mpg was the best I could hope for. With my foot pushed through the firewall on my Mini Cooper I get better than that. Of course the MINI, while having more HP, is only a 1.6L.
And it get's terrible gas mileage for what it is. Is it the boxer design?
The new Impreza went to a 2l engine, timing chain, new design, much better mpg.
Subaru has 2 models that come ONLY with a stick - WRX and Legacy GT. Definitely the odd man out.
I could keep forcing it, but seems counterproductive. Might just be better off leting her drive an AT. makes me sad, but not surprised.
This does mean I need to find an AT now. Will likely get rid of the Accord, and replace it with a comparably priced AT that I can pass along to her a year from now, at which time I will go find a toy for me to drive (likely of course with a stick!)
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.