I didn't even know the Scamp in pickup guise was an option.
I've been racking my brain all afternoon trying to remember if a former roommate back in 1981 drove a Rampage. It was a Dodge, but I just can't place the body style.
That GT Scamp apparently came standard with a 5 speed back in 1983.
My dealer has already confirmed that any Cayenne GTS's that he is allocated that are not pre-sold to customers, will be oredered with the manual transmission. That's the good news. The bad news is that he doesn't expect to get many GTS's allocated to him (limited production) and he already has a waiting list. So the likelihood of finding an unsold stick Cayenne GTS to take out on a test drive is only slightly better than finding a 997 GT3 to test drive. He is sold out of those until 2009.
While it's true that it's next to impossible to find a base Cayman sitting on a dealer lot with a manual, the GTS is specifically targeting the enthusiast buyer.
last week. Factory ordered because there were none in Calfornia (configured as Grand Touring that is). Bandwith on gear 3 and 4 is huge. I would say in CA Mazda has about 2 manuals for every 10 Mazda6, but mostly sport and sport VE. Anyhow, the shifter is very nice, smooth clutch. (Cavernous storage BTW in the hatch, yet the car is not as tall as my girlfriend's 07 Elantra). My first tank of gas will reflect 30 mpg easy, and that is with an engine not broken in. I live in the mountains, so I'm enjoying this car as it zooms zooms the local roads. Mazda knows how to do hatchbacks, that's for sure.
It has been a very long time since I have looked with favor at a hatch but mazda has brought a smile on my face. They did make a good looking hatch. I would have a hard time passing up the 212 HP 6 however in a 4200 pound car.
gave my son hi sfirst driving lesson on a stick last sunday.
Yes, you can burn rubber in a 4 cyl Accord. I smelled it!
Once we worked on being gentle on the gas, he actually did OK. Only got as far as 3rd, and reversed once OK. Lesson 2 will include down shifting.
All this is happening in an empty parking lot. Might not hit the roads until lesson 3.
He is still pretty new to the whole driving thin (only been out a few times with us in the minivan) so we are taking it slow.
He did have some pretty smooth take offs, and was generally OK moving up through the gears, so there seems to be hope for him.
Certainly a lot more work teaching someone to drive on a stick though. Especially someone that is still learning the basics of driving in general.
I was debating keeping him AT only for a few months, but that would really limit his wheel time, since when we are out, it is usually in my car (the stick).
My Bad, It should have been 3200. But still the 4 is the same powerplant as the Mazda3 and I would want a bit more scoot with a mid sized Mazda6. But to each his own.
I too live in the mountains and will agree that if you have the smaller engine the stick makes driving a bit more pleasurable.
I have taught my share of kids how to drive a stick as well. I am one of the few of my social group that has a manual and so I have often volunteered to teach their kids how to drive a stick just in case they would like that option when they go looking for their first car. The results are about the same as the national average. The percentages of the boys getting a manual for their daily driver is higher, maybe 30 percent or three out of ten. Small sample I know. But the girls almost always get an automatic even if they did OK driving a manual. However it has confirmed one thing in my buying habits. If I discover that any pre owned vehicle I am interested in was driven by a teenager for any period of time between 16 to 19 I might still get the car or truck but I will deduct the price of a possible new clutch. I will say this however. The hydrolic clutch piston just may be the best thing that ever happened to the manual and its survival. IMHO
When was the last time you adjusted a slave piston? Do you remember adjustments for the clutch pedal? Do you remember clutches that you could adjust to engage just off the floor or almost all the way out? Todays clutches tend to engage in the same place every time for the life of the clutch. With the old clutch if you moved it just a bit too quickly it would stall. If you don't notice any difference maybe you wouldn't with an electric servo either? I was in a 65 chevy 1/2 ton the other day and I could tell the difference easily at least for the first five or six stop lights. I think it is much easier to start in first with a new hydrolic slave that it was with cable or rod.
That method words pretty well. I also try to get them to start on the down hill as often as possible on the first few days. But like you indicate most of it is feel.
But as you know I am now in the market for a used truck and just as a test you can see it is a lot easier to get one with an Automatic. If you go even to the Edmunds home page and check on the autotrader site you will see that trying to find a 2004 to 2006 F-150, Silverado, or even a Tundra within 50 miles of my house is no easy feat. Try using zip code 92325 and see how many you find compared to Automatics. And the RV people aren't recommending manuals as towing vehicles either.
Its a long story that I related in the sub compact forum. Remember I wanted a AWD or 4x4 by this winter? Once i decided on AWD or 4x4 fuel mileage became secondary. But that was another story. My wife decided she might like to get a small trailer so I was thinking camping trailer and found one at about 1700 pounds. I believe you told me the Forester could tow 2000 so I thought a CR-V, Rav4 or Forester would be perfect. The Forester is about all i could find with a manual the other two my not even come in a manual. Ahh but the plot thickens. My wife finds a 19 foot travel trailer with a kitchen and bath that sleeps up to six and we go to take a look. Now I am thinking Tacoma or Ranger and I could still get a manual. But the RV people tell me they don't reccommend anything smaller than a F-150 pulling anything over 3500 pounds to 5000 pounds dry weight. So now I am no longer looking for a compact but i am no longer looking for anything smaller than a V-8. Plus you will notice that Full sized pickups may be offered in manuals but no one seems to be interested in one. I don't think even 10 percent of the full sized trucks and suvs are sold in manual. Maybe one in 20 if you look real hard. And when the offer a tow package it almost always comes with an automatic. So Tomorrow instead of looking at a small crossover with a 4 or 6 and a manual we will be looking at Crew cabs and Yukon sized vehicles with V-8s.
The other suggestion you mentioned was discussed. But the insurance on a large RV pulling a small car or truck is more than on my home. A travel trailer will only cost less that $100.00 a year to insure. Plus the registration on a RV is pretty high as well. So travel trailer and tow vehicle it is.
Yes, good luck finding a manual 1/2 ton, if you find it it's usually a stripper, work only model. I think the only reason they were advising you away from manual at the RV place was just lack of experience. After all revs are revs, you shift gear based on where you revs are. The 'tow' setting on an automatic is no better or worse than your shift decisions based on not killing or undershifting your engine. I'd rather have a manual here for engine braking also.
Did you already pick up the trailer? Those are pretty cool.
I remember a while back Outback owners were asking for more than 2000 lbs towing to be able to pull smaller ones. One RV company even came out with a mini model that the Outback could tow (back then capacity was 2000 lbs).
I tend to agree, though, that towing something 3500+ lbs you're better off with a bigger vehicle. You don't want the tail wagging the dog! :surprise:
The '05 Legacy did okay with the tiny, lightweight pop-up. I think it was less than 2k# and it actually had surge brakes. No issues on I75, I94, or I69 (big flat straight superslab, for those unfamiliar). My "whoops" moment was almost hanging it up on a curb on a right turn when I forgot it was back there. This is rare, usually my "whoops" moment has to do with reversing
It should be interesting. But remember that Chevy and Ford still offer manuals in their work trucks. You'll have to order one, but you can get it exactly like you want. Toyota and GMC/Chevy dropped their manuals entirely in the last two years. You can get a GMC Sierra with manual in the work truck line, though. But it's got no bed - have to add that on and order it option by option.(see dealer to do this) they really make it difficult, don't they?
Ford still offers 4x4 and manual. Their superduty F250 with 4x4 set up for towing will run you about 28K. A F150 can't be had with manual and 4x4.
Dodge has their Ram 1500 though with 4x4, manual, and a V8 for about $20K after incentives. Very nice, actually.
Cars Direct: 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 ST 4x4 Regular Cab 120.5 in. WB That's small, decent enough, cheap, and gets good gas mileage. The 4.7 is a better engine than the Hemi, as the Hemi is built in Mexico while the 4.7 is a very old and reliable design. The Hemi also has that cylinder deactivation nonsense.(variable displacement).
6350 Lbs towing capacity. That should work fairly well.
I haven't picked up the trailer yet. I went to look at them to see what I would need to pull one. So Today I will be looking at the trucks that have been suggested. One or two full sized SUVs will work as well but I am leaning on a truck.
I realize that for towing the manual should work as well as a automatic but the towing package most full size trucks come with is offered from the factory in Automatic. The larger radiator, and trailer wiring and a few other minor improvements that make towing easier. The hard part about getting a manual in California for a full sized truck is you find so very few used and they simply make you order one new. Hard to test drive one you don't get to see. In a full sized SUV the manual doesn't come into play. But if I am going to get a full sized anything the truck has a bit more versatility I think. We shall see by this weekend.
The nice thing about a cable clutch is its action is light and it is adjustable.
The nice thing about a hydraulic clutch is it usually gives you lots of warning before it gives up, whereas when that clutch cable finally gets too stretched and breaks you are up the creek immediately.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Exactly. Keep an eye on the clutch fluid reservoir and a failing clutch will never strand you. The clutch cable, OTOH, is entirely enclosed so you will never observe the part that is fraying (and eventually breaking)...
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I'd really recommend taking the time, though. There is a large market for manual 4x4s as well - so much so that it's easy to sell them. IMO, that's 90% of the problem. The 10-20% out there are gone within 240-48 hours if the price is even somewhat reasonable.
For Ford, you'll be looking at the F250. For Chevy, their Silverado/1500 work truck. For Dodge, their entire line can be had with 4x4 and manual. *Dodge and GM offers every option for towing, though, with manual, since a LOT of people buy this in the Midwest for their work/farm truck*
Toyota - Tacoma only, long bed only. 3500lbs max. $27-28K, since they force you to buy the extended cab and a $4000 option package to get 4x4. ie - nice, but where's the Tundra with manual? Pass.
Nissan and Honda don't offer manuals anymore.*
*The XTerra still does, though. Think of it as the world's biggest Subaru Forester 5000lb towing capacity as it's the last SUV other than a Yukon or Wrangler made with a frame.(not unibody) V6 engine gets much better mileage as well. (16/20)
*The XTerra still does, though. Think of it as the world's biggest Subaru Forester 5000lb towing capacity as it's the last SUV other than a Yukon or Wrangler made with a frame.(not unibody) V6 engine gets much better mileage as well. (16/20)
You can build a Unibody to two, haul and off-road well it just costs a TON of money.
The Explorer and Expedition is still a BOF, Durango too I think.
Yeah FJ and 4Runner are still BOF as they are essentially the same chassis.
GX470 and LX470/Land Cruiser are also BOF. The profit margin on the LX470/Land Cruiser must be enormous considering how little the basic frame has changed over the past 15 years. Toyota doesn't need to sell many every year because they make a killing on each one.
In high school and college (mid 90s), my group of friends shared an early 80s Toyota 1-ton 4 spd pickup. It was great, who-ever needed it for hauling bikes or chores for their folks or what not would call around and find who's house it was at, pick it up, do chores, put gas in it, and let it sit for the next friend. It had something like 300k (22R). The thing I remember is the guy 2 houses down (who always had a HUGE truck) used to call it the Won Ton :P . I don't think I would want to pull anything big or heavy, but utility trailers or car/motorcycle parts in the back went fine.
I seriously thought about the Taco. But I also remember how many grades I would encounter if I were thinking about driving from here to mount Rushmore or even Yosemity. Right now our expected trailer dry weight is just shy of 4000 pounds. Not sure how much it will be loaded. I did manage to pull a 4200 pound sail boat with a Dodge 1500 once. Thank Goodness for trailer brakes. But I have to agree 3500 pounds is a bit heavy for long distance pulling for the Taco.
A customer of mine just came by today to say hello and drop his LR3 off for service on Monday. His son in law drove the LR3 in and he followed in his brand new DB9 with a REAL MANUAL TRANS and the sport package.
It is a really gorgeous car. Kind of a medium steel gray color with a true deep brown kind of dark chocolate leather on the seats, dash and doors with contrast ivory stitching all over. The headliner was the same color suede and the carpets were thick black and very deep.
Here is the break down on DB9s for the year.
900 for the US this year.
Only 300 coupes.
Of that 300 only 10 percent are manuals and his is the only one in this color combo.
It is a stunning car and I wish I had my camera with me to show you some pictures.
Recently got back from a trip to the NYC area and had to rent a car with an automatic. It was a Mazda6i.
It had been a while since I had driven an automatic (besides our V-6 minivan), so I was mildly curious to see if they had indeed improved as some here indicate. I could not have been more suprised. The car was an absolute dog. I consider my similarly powered I4 Accord to have more get up and go than I really would ever need. I felt the the 6i with the automatic was grossly underpowered (actually not so much underpowered, just slow to get going - it did fine on the highway).
There were many times when it was going about 15 to 20 mph and I needed to accelerate and it would just hesitate for what seemed like forever.
To top it off my tank of gas yielded about 17.5 mpg in driving around Long Island and some in the city on the weekend. My current tank on the Accord is at 28 mpg with all small city driving (average speed 17 mph). I know it is not apples to apples, but I would have to try really hard to get under 20 mpg.
The sport shift (or whatever it is called) would always automatically shift down when I slowed - not really like a manaul at all. I gave up on it after a few tries - seemed like the worst of both worlds.
Very, very dissapointed if this is the future of the transmission , and Mazda is supposed to be into the zoom zoom thing.
BTW I am not dissing Mazda as that just happened to be what I rented. I am quite certain that other similar cars are just as bad, if not worse.
I really find it hard to believe that somebody would prefer that kind of lackluster performance to a stick no matter how much more convenient.
Well...I'm very happy with my Mazda6i automatic. It accelerates plenty fast enough to suit me (which is much faster than 99% of other drivers that I typically encounter) and my transmission always shifts very quickly. Previously, I had a '96 Contour 4 cyl manual.
I think you underestimate how much mpg can vary, My last tank was 30 mpg, but then I am not driving in NY. I'm pretty sure CR comes up with under 20 mpg in their measurments of "city" mpg for a 4 cyl Accord as well as 4 cyl Mazda6...so it certainly is possible to get that low. When my car was brand new and it was winter the lowest for me was about 24 mpg.
In my Mazda6i automatic, I am getting pretty close to the same mpg that I had gotten with my 4 cyl manual contour...24-27 for my normal commute and 32-33 for freeway trips.
I went to several lots and ended up with one or two of my favorite Truck dealers. I did not find one truck set up for towing with a manual. I drove a lot of trucks and finally I ended up with a GMC 2500. No 3/4 tons I looked at had a manual but that doesn't mean you couldn't order one I suppose. I have a good friend that got a F-250 crew Cab 4x4 with a manual two years ago and it was one of the last ones they could get for the year in California.
To be introspective one would have to ask why trucks, at least full sized ones sold to the public, are almost exclusively automatic? The lazy excuse doesn't work because people that buy trucks do so for reasons that involve some work for the vehicle even if it is nothing more than going to home depot. Even looking at the big F-350 and Dodge and GM 3500 with their diesels are almost exclusively Automatic. Small cars may be the salvation for manuals for years to come. Niche cars may make sure manuals don't fade from our memory but once you get to mid sized cars and bigger manuals get harder and harder to find. Not impossible but much harder than a Automatic. Shoot, I even got the push button 4WD and automatic hubs. I might not feel as good about it as I should but my wife likes the idea a whole lot better than she did when it came time to get out and turn the hubs in the snow with our last Truck.
I test drove an 06 Accord with a 6-speed manual. It was a little trickier to shift than my 02 with the 5 speed. The 08 Accord 5-speed manual is very slick and pleasant to drive. We special ordered an 08 exl with navigation and the 5 speed manual transmission. At least you can still do that with Honda. Having shifted various brands over the years, I think Honda's are some of the smoothest and most fun to drive.
Unfortunately, "break down" seems to be an issue for Aston Martin. There was a brand new looking DB9 on the lot of the Porsche dealer I use for service (smallest of 4 dealers in the Washington DC market). When I asked my service manager about it, his comment was "don't even think about it". Apparantly, they took it on trade with only 2,500 miles in 12 months after the owner's frustration level boiled over and he couldn't deal with the repetitive problems.
As far as the beauty of the car, there is no doubt that it is eye catching. However, the service manager also commented that they get a lot of inquiries about that "beautiful new Jaguar" parked in front of the dealership.
This particular service manager used to own an Aston Healey that "self destructed" in his younger days so who knows, maybe he has a leftover axe to grind.
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Yeah, but how do you tell the difference between the Baja and the manure?
Meanwhile I'll second the opinion on the new Tribeca. Plain is way above ugly on that one!
Kills me about what Subarau is doing with the Legacy. Other than the fact that it's a touch small a Legacy wagon with a manual is just about perfect.
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I've been racking my brain all afternoon trying to remember if a former roommate back in 1981 drove a Rampage. It was a Dodge, but I just can't place the body style.
That GT Scamp apparently came standard with a 5 speed back in 1983.
I was very interested when the concept was being kicked around. The final product just wasn't on the mark.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
While it's true that it's next to impossible to find a base Cayman sitting on a dealer lot with a manual, the GTS is specifically targeting the enthusiast buyer.
My minivan doesn't weigh that much.
Yes, you can burn rubber in a 4 cyl Accord. I smelled it!
Once we worked on being gentle on the gas, he actually did OK. Only got as far as 3rd, and reversed once OK. Lesson 2 will include down shifting.
All this is happening in an empty parking lot. Might not hit the roads until lesson 3.
He is still pretty new to the whole driving thin (only been out a few times with us in the minivan) so we are taking it slow.
He did have some pretty smooth take offs, and was generally OK moving up through the gears, so there seems to be hope for him.
Certainly a lot more work teaching someone to drive on a stick though. Especially someone that is still learning the basics of driving in general.
I was debating keeping him AT only for a few months, but that would really limit his wheel time, since when we are out, it is usually in my car (the stick).
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I did the same with my son earlier this summer. Good thing is, with an AWD Subaru, it's really hard to chirp the tires!
He says he is loving the stick. Makes me think about getting one on my next car - whenever and whatever that is!
I too live in the mountains and will agree that if you have the smaller engine the stick makes driving a bit more pleasurable.
I have taught my share of kids how to drive a stick as well. I am one of the few of my social group that has a manual and so I have often volunteered to teach their kids how to drive a stick just in case they would like that option when they go looking for their first car. The results are about the same as the national average. The percentages of the boys getting a manual for their daily driver is higher, maybe 30 percent or three out of ten. Small sample I know. But the girls almost always get an automatic even if they did OK driving a manual. However it has confirmed one thing in my buying habits. If I discover that any pre owned vehicle I am interested in was driven by a teenager for any period of time between 16 to 19 I might still get the car or truck but I will deduct the price of a possible new clutch. I will say this however. The hydrolic clutch piston just may be the best thing that ever happened to the manual and its survival. IMHO
How do you figure? I've driven cars with and without the slave cylinder and didn't notice any difference.
Here's a tip I like to use - have him find the friction point without using the gas pedal at all. Have him creep forward without stalling.
Once he's comfortable finding that point, all the rest of the tasks are infinitely easier.
Must be the truck towing the RV. When it's the other way around people usually look for something small and light.
The other suggestion you mentioned was discussed. But the insurance on a large RV pulling a small car or truck is more than on my home. A travel trailer will only cost less that $100.00 a year to insure. Plus the registration on a RV is pretty high as well. So travel trailer and tow vehicle it is.
Yes, good luck finding a manual 1/2 ton, if you find it it's usually a stripper, work only model. I think the only reason they were advising you away from manual at the RV place was just lack of experience. After all revs are revs, you shift gear based on where you revs are. The 'tow' setting on an automatic is no better or worse than your shift decisions based on not killing or undershifting your engine. I'd rather have a manual here for engine braking also.
I remember a while back Outback owners were asking for more than 2000 lbs towing to be able to pull smaller ones. One RV company even came out with a mini model that the Outback could tow (back then capacity was 2000 lbs).
I tend to agree, though, that towing something 3500+ lbs you're better off with a bigger vehicle. You don't want the tail wagging the dog! :surprise:
Ford still offers 4x4 and manual. Their superduty F250 with 4x4 set up for towing will run you about 28K. A F150 can't be had with manual and 4x4.
Dodge has their Ram 1500 though with 4x4, manual, and a V8 for about $20K after incentives. Very nice, actually.
Cars Direct:
2007 Dodge Ram 1500 ST 4x4 Regular Cab 120.5 in. WB
That's small, decent enough, cheap, and gets good gas mileage. The 4.7 is a better engine than the Hemi, as the Hemi is built in Mexico while the 4.7 is a very old and reliable design. The Hemi also has that cylinder deactivation nonsense.(variable displacement).
6350 Lbs towing capacity. That should work fairly well.
I realize that for towing the manual should work as well as a automatic but the towing package most full size trucks come with is offered from the factory in Automatic. The larger radiator, and trailer wiring and a few other minor improvements that make towing easier. The hard part about getting a manual in California for a full sized truck is you find so very few used and they simply make you order one new. Hard to test drive one you don't get to see. In a full sized SUV the manual doesn't come into play. But if I am going to get a full sized anything the truck has a bit more versatility I think. We shall see by this weekend.
I'd heard that somewhere on these boards before. This is the exact method I used with my son when I taught him earlier this summer.
Clutch to floor, clutch out slowly, no gas, feel where it takes up. Repeat often.
Once that's mastered, then teach him to add gas at takeup.
The nice thing about a hydraulic clutch is it usually gives you lots of warning before it gives up, whereas when that clutch cable finally gets too stretched and breaks you are up the creek immediately.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I found the problem and fixed it before I was ever stranded.
$10.74 for a slave cylinder rebuild kit. Gotta love it!
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
For Ford, you'll be looking at the F250.
For Chevy, their Silverado/1500 work truck.
For Dodge, their entire line can be had with 4x4 and manual.
*Dodge and GM offers every option for towing, though, with manual, since a LOT of people buy this in the Midwest for their work/farm truck*
Toyota - Tacoma only, long bed only. 3500lbs max. $27-28K, since they force you to buy the extended cab and a $4000 option package to get 4x4. ie - nice, but where's the Tundra with manual? Pass.
Nissan and Honda don't offer manuals anymore.*
*The XTerra still does, though. Think of it as the world's biggest Subaru Forester
You can build a Unibody to two, haul and off-road well it just costs a TON of money.
The Explorer and Expedition is still a BOF, Durango too I think.
You can get a manual in the Taco and FJ, not sure if it's still offered on the 4R.
Grand Vitara V6 also offers a manual.
GX470 and LX470/Land Cruiser are also BOF. The profit margin on the LX470/Land Cruiser must be enormous considering how little the basic frame has changed over the past 15 years. Toyota doesn't need to sell many every year because they make a killing on each one.
You can. And Toyota actually produces them, they're not just 'Build Your Own' illusions.
The thing I remember is the guy 2 houses down (who always had a HUGE truck) used to call it the Won Ton :P . I don't think I would want to pull anything big or heavy, but utility trailers or car/motorcycle parts in the back went fine.
Sure it was a little slow but you could not kill that thing.
A customer of mine just came by today to say hello and drop his LR3 off for service on Monday. His son in law drove the LR3 in and he followed in his brand new DB9 with a REAL MANUAL TRANS and the sport package.
It is a really gorgeous car. Kind of a medium steel gray color with a true deep brown kind of dark chocolate leather on the seats, dash and doors with contrast ivory stitching all over. The headliner was the same color suede and the carpets were thick black and very deep.
Here is the break down on DB9s for the year.
900 for the US this year.
Only 300 coupes.
Of that 300 only 10 percent are manuals and his is the only one in this color combo.
It is a stunning car and I wish I had my camera with me to show you some pictures.
It had been a while since I had driven an automatic (besides our V-6 minivan), so I was mildly curious to see if they had indeed improved as some here indicate. I could not have been more suprised. The car was an absolute dog. I consider my similarly powered I4 Accord to have more get up and go than I really would ever need. I felt the the 6i with the automatic was grossly underpowered (actually not so much underpowered, just slow to get going - it did fine on the highway).
There were many times when it was going about 15 to 20 mph and I needed to accelerate and it would just hesitate for what seemed like forever.
To top it off my tank of gas yielded about 17.5 mpg in driving around Long Island and some in the city on the weekend. My current tank on the Accord is at 28 mpg with all small city driving (average speed 17 mph). I know it is not apples to apples, but I would have to try really hard to get under 20 mpg.
The sport shift (or whatever it is called) would always automatically shift down when I slowed - not really like a manaul at all. I gave up on it after a few tries - seemed like the worst of both worlds.
Very, very dissapointed if this is the future of the transmission
BTW I am not dissing Mazda as that just happened to be what I rented. I am quite certain that other similar cars are just as bad, if not worse.
I really find it hard to believe that somebody would prefer that kind of lackluster performance to a stick no matter how much more convenient.
End of rant!
I think you underestimate how much mpg can vary, My last tank was 30 mpg, but then I am not driving in NY. I'm pretty sure CR comes up with under 20 mpg in their measurments of "city" mpg for a 4 cyl Accord as well as 4 cyl Mazda6...so it certainly is possible to get that low. When my car was brand new and it was winter the lowest for me was about 24 mpg.
In my Mazda6i automatic, I am getting pretty close to the same mpg that I had gotten with my 4 cyl manual contour...24-27 for my normal commute and 32-33 for freeway trips.
To be introspective one would have to ask why trucks, at least full sized ones sold to the public, are almost exclusively automatic? The lazy excuse doesn't work because people that buy trucks do so for reasons that involve some work for the vehicle even if it is nothing more than going to home depot. Even looking at the big F-350 and Dodge and GM 3500 with their diesels are almost exclusively Automatic. Small cars may be the salvation for manuals for years to come. Niche cars may make sure manuals don't fade from our memory but once you get to mid sized cars and bigger manuals get harder and harder to find. Not impossible but much harder than a Automatic. Shoot, I even got the push button 4WD and automatic hubs. I might not feel as good about it as I should but my wife likes the idea a whole lot better than she did when it came time to get out and turn the hubs in the snow with our last Truck.
Unfortunately, "break down" seems to be an issue for Aston Martin. There was a brand new looking DB9 on the lot of the Porsche dealer I use for service (smallest of 4 dealers in the Washington DC market). When I asked my service manager about it, his comment was "don't even think about it". Apparantly, they took it on trade with only 2,500 miles in 12 months after the owner's frustration level boiled over and he couldn't deal with the repetitive problems.
As far as the beauty of the car, there is no doubt that it is eye catching. However, the service manager also commented that they get a lot of inquiries about that "beautiful new Jaguar" parked in front of the dealership.
This particular service manager used to own an Aston Healey that "self destructed" in his younger days so who knows, maybe he has a leftover axe to grind.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93