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Correct. AND, remote starters also connect to the vehicle's neutral safety switch, which can only be found on automatics, so that also needs to be bypassed on the remote starter itself. Most install shops will NOT install a remote start on a manual equipped car for liability reasons.
'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
Over the years I have collected enough stuff to start my own lube and brake shop. I have ramps for oil changes, Floor jacks and jack stands for brake jobs and a whole set of air tools with a 33 gallon air compressor. Sometimes I will hook up the speed wrench just to hear the sound.
Except I still do most of my own work. Just installed a rebuilt caliper on the Miata last weekend.
Mostly it's just oil changes and tire rotations.
I was looking at a WRX not long ago and couldn't for the life of me figure how they got to the plugs. There just doesn't seem to be enough room to get a socket and wrench between the head and the wheel well. And doesn't it have 4 coil packs?
I had to change the coil pack on my Forester and that was a cake walk.
The plugs were hard to access on the Impreza and Forester because the engine bay is very narrow, while the boxer engine is wide. I did it twice, though, with just a few skinned knuckles.
The WRX is a 2.0l, my Forester was a 2.5l, so I'm pretty sure the engine is not any wider. The engine bays are virtually the same, not exactly but very close. Strut tower braces are interchangeable for instance.
We are tough??
IIRC, you have made a case that manual transmissions are somehow bad for the environment because some drivers might be tempted to use the upper end of the rev range rather than have an automatic nanny spank them into submission.
By that measure, anyone using a remote starter should be immediately castrated and forced to breath the fumes of idling Tahoos! :P
Just kidding, but you must confess to a little inconsistency on that one.
Just remember that I fully understand that a sports car works best with a manual. I have driven manuals for years and there are still times I like a manual like when we are rock crawling. My only sin in this regard is that I have driven them so long that I would jump ship in a hot second for a sequencial paddle shifting manual in a sports car. Can you imagine the shifts you could get with a WRC car at the Rim of the world rally? Yes they are expensive but we are using computers for more and more of our automotive needs every year. I picture the day when we have drive by wire, brake by wire and shift by wire because we as humans can't keep up with all the features our vehicles will have. I see radar that will keep you from getting too close to the car in front of you in traffic as well as helping you park. It just seems like that is the only way things can go. The CVT has the potential of replacing the manual in entry level cars because it could be produced for less money. I know it isn't now but more and more Japanese cars, in Japan, are using something like the CVT for their mini cars. Not many people are learning to drive manuals in our country and to tell the truth I don't believe they care. For the first time in my life I can honestly say I know more people that "can't" drive a stick than I do that can.
And all in all many of these new options are so tempting. I know they take away from the connection some have with the car but they sure do make driving comfortable.
( On Star, can I help you? Yes I am on the 10 heading East and traffic seems alfully slow. What is the problem? Sir we have a reported Accident at California you might exit at Waterman and proceed East on Redlands Blvd. and get back on at Orange. Thank you I will. )
I don't have it but I have been with people who do and it seems so cool when they use it. And yes, I know it costs.
Yep, there are times to pre-heat (or cool).
Nobody has seen zealous car-idling until they have visited Fairbanks. I rib people all the time about idling their cars, using remote starts, etc. If I am driving by myself, I give the car about 30 seconds of run time before it is moving, regardless of the ambient temperature because within 5-10 minutes the car will be warm anyway.
But, if I have to take my baby somewhere, the car gets 10-15 minutes of warm up. Otherwise, the baby has to be bundled so heavily to be in the car for the first 10+ minutes that the poor kid overheats after the car does warm up. Over/under heating is a serious concern for infants that can have life-long consequences, so it is important to be cautious. In that regard, $20/gallon would not be too expensive to keep me from pre-heating the car. It would simply mean that the baby only gets four trips to town per year! :P
That, and it is downright dangerous to drive if one is dressed for -30F or colder temperatures. Dress lightly to drive, but be sure to have the gear with you in the car should there be a problem. When I drive my old '69 Chevy pickup in the winter, whose cab only gets about 20-30 degrees above ambient when it is -40 outside, I have to wonder if I could really even move fast enough for evasive maneuvers in an emergency situation. I feel like a penguin trying to drive the thing!
27 above zero? Yeah, those are the temperatures where we all head into town with the windows down, wearing shorts and T-shirts. Maybe in another three months...
There is really no wonder why air particulates are a problem here in the winter.
Hmm, that is interesting. All the local shops install on manuals, but they charge between $100 and $200 more than for ATs to do it.
A co-worker has a 2001 MT Outback with a remote start. She told me I had to perform a bunch of pre-drive stuff pretty much the equivalent of the codes rattled off by a third-base coach before I could drive her car one day. It was terribly annoying. Apparently I did not get it right and the car would simply shut down every minute or two while I was driving it (some sort of theft-protection built into the auto-start). I never drove that car again. :P
Needless to say, I did not have an auto-start installed on my '07 MT Outback. Then again, I have never had one on any of my automatics either.
Those folks from Alaska....thanks for the comments. I had to laugh as living in the Twin Cities is much the same way sometimes. It got into the high 30's this week and for Jan, that is a heat wave. I saw a guy in a Miata with the top down.
It's better for the engine too, idling a cold engine is bad for it.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Hope that's enough to cover the potential lawsuits.
The manufacturers of the systems, to the best of my knowledge, simply state they can't be used on MT cars. I certainly wouldn't do it if I were an installer. I would do it on my OWN car, but that just ain't the same thing. I can't sue myself.
'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
how about the impending USA BMW diesels? manual trans or automatics? maybe we'll have to wait an additional year or two to get manual trans with diesel audi/bmw?
I also don't quite understand why the excuse "too much torque" is sometimes used as an explanation as to why certain engines aren't fitted with manual transmissions. AMG engineers are busy plopping 500, 600 and even 738 ft. lbs. of torque into passenger cars and can't figure out how to fit a manual transmission into their so-called SLK55 "sports car"? Pitiful.
Scott
I agree I can't see Torque being a problem but for normal consumer use a 4 speed manual would be about all one needed. With a lot of torque and such a short power band getting it in high gear as soon as possible and spacing the gears farther apart seems the best for fuel mileage.
I assume they don't want to expend the time, effort and develpoment costs to build a suitably strong manual transmission for what they preceive is a very small niche market.
-Frank
It staggers me that BMW does not offer the 335d without an auto gear box. Interesting though that all the smaller 3-series diesel engines come with a stick as standard and the auto box is the upgrade.
an '81 2 door VW Rabbit :P
The base engine still offers a 5MT, but I wonder if it's just a matter of time.
Is that lame or what? No clutch for the turbo model? If anything it should be the other way around!
'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
1. Sports cars where clutches maximize the enjoyment
2. Weak or under-powered engines where clutches can optimize their performance
It looks like Subaru thinks the Forester belongs to the 2nd
-Frank
I suppose this means the clock is ticking for the Outback XT manual too. :-(
Can you imagine if they make the WRX auto-only???
I bet the Outback 2.5i (non-turbo) keeps a standard manual shift, if only to reduce its base price.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
It's much higher on the WRX. I hope it's higher on the Outback as well.
Dealers around me tend to stock them, maybe they just take longer to sell.
instead you get your whole deposit back and the dealer gets the opportunity to sell the car to someone else.
I am sure glad this information didn't come from me. I see the LL Bean doesn't come in a manual either. The Legacy 6 doesn't come with a manual nor does any of the outback sedans listed for 2008 and no outback 3.0s.
But I still believe Nissan will be first for the Japanese to drop manuals.
But I still believe Nissan will be first for the Japanese to drop manuals.
If anything, I'd expect them to keep the stick on the 350Z and G35 and their successors for as long as BMW has equivalent models...
I don't see the 350Z losing the manual option anytime soon. It'll raise the price too much and lose the "hardcore" image it has right now. I think the 350Z will definitely get a DCT to replace the automatic, but I'm guessing it will take 3-5 years. It will probably be one of the first cars to get it, along with the G35. After that it will slowly trickle down to the rest of the cars. I'm interested in seeing a DCT in a truck/SUV that's designed to tow a heavy load. I want to see how they're going to keep the clutches from burning up.
Overall, it will be probably closer to 5-7 year before dual clutch transmissions make their way into the majority of cars on par with the 350Z and G35, and at least a decade until torque converter automatics become a minority in the new car market.
You're right, though - the 350Z and the G35 are the only cars right now that Nissan gives a crap about giving manuals to, and the G35's choices are pretty limited when paired with a stick. I'm sure they'll be glad to get rid of the third pedal once the market (and BMW) will bear it.
Nissan "seems" to be leading the charge getting away from manuals at least at the moment. The Murano never had one. The Maxima now doesn't have one. I don't believe the new Rogue has one. I understand the CVT outsells the manual in the Altima and they offer the manual in every configuration except the Hybrid and no one expects a hybrid to be a manual.. I even understand the Pathfinder doesn't have a manual option.
My friend Nippon believes MB and then Toyota will be the first to bail out of three pedals. Only time will tell.
As long as Nissan continues to offer sport variants of its cars (Sentra Spec V for instance), there will still be niche manual offerings from Nissan. Toyota OTOH, about to introduce the IS-F only with an 8-speed automatic, doesn't care a whit about the sport market, and will drop manuals as soon as it figures out a way to overcome the price disadvantage that comes from your cheapest models being automatic only when your competition has price leader manual models in the same segments.
Toyota will be the first of the Japanese Big 3 to drop manuals, I remain convinced.
As for Subaru, they DO offer manuals with their flat sixes in Japan, and I continue to hope that as they ramp up their offerings in the States in the next few years, they will bring the manual option at least to their Legacy Spec B, or whatever the sport Legacy is called. Of course, that is a very expensive sedan (around $35K?), so not exactly a leading light for the common man that wants a manual shift.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I believe this year's Legacy GT has the turbo 4, right? And you can get it with a manual, right? With the Forester XT manual going away, I am afraid the manual will leave the Outback and Legacy turbos next. :-(
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
The H6 model is the Legacy 3.0R Limited and only comes with an automatic. Sad, because other markets do get a manual with the H6.
james
The turbo 4 model Spec B is nice, although at $35K I am thinking I can get a car with the same handling and power but a much nicer interior from Audi and maybe a couple of others...
And Audi is still offering the stick in the fast trims of the A4, yes? What about the Quattro trims? Can I still get a stick shift, AWD, turbo 4, A4 today? I think I can. Can I get it for $35K? That part I am not sure of, but I think it must be the right ballpark.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Yes..A4. 2.0 Turbo, stick, Quattro.. $35K..
A3? No Quattro with 2.0 Turbo..
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Volkswagen also has manuals throughout their range. The new Tiguan SUV will have it, including a neat feature that limits the revs to 3K or something when floored in rock climbing mode so you can focus on clutching your way out of a bind. My GTI has a really nice 6 speed (not that I have much to compare it to...), and I've noticed that a larger than normal percentage of VW and Audi drivers have sticks. Many are "defecting" over to the DSG, however.
They picked the A4 as the winner cost-no-object, but the Subaru won when they factored in pricing.
Since then, Subaru has made significant improvements, too. They added a 6 speed, to replace a 5 speed manual, and added a Torsen rear limited-slip diff. I can't imagine that would hurt it.
It holds its own even in that territory.
Toyota doesn't really offer sticks outside of the Scion brand. Scion has a TON of sticks on all of the lots I've seen - I'd venture and say up to 30%-40% of the cars on the lots I've seen over a year are manuals. Yes, the Corolla and Matrix have them, but Toyota seems to hate manuals regardless. Lexus is a good idea of the direction they want to take.
Can't think of too many (Daimler)Chrysler cars left with manuals. A few here and there... Same with GM. I think the domestics are more likely to drop manuals in the US market, just a tad before MB.