Standard Transmission?

[Aaron1100us]

I miss having a standard. I've had a porsche 924, 74 camero, 76 jeep CJ7, 89 beretta, 97 neon with a manual tranny. Right now, I have a 2001 jeep cherokee with an automatic and a 57 cadillac with an automatic. I miss smoking the tires shifting to 2nd, 3rd and a 4th gear scratch in my built 74 camero.

 

[robinhood4x4]

Get yaself one of these.

Nah, I like having oil on the inside of the engine instead of coating the outside. JK.

Mud and slippery steep hills are one thing. Rockcrawling is another. When you are literally inching up a boulder on the verge of rolling or falling in a groove, you want to go as slow as possible. You simply cannot match the slowness of dual transfer cases.

 

[Ras_Thavas]

The overwhelming majority of vehicles I have owned have been standard transmissions. My current vehicle is an automatic, but only because they did not make a standard version.

Another benefit of a standard transmission - your vehicle is much less likely to be stolen. Last time I checked 97% of all stolen vehicles in the US are automatic transmissions. I would suspect that most of the 3% of the standard tranny vehicles stolen would be specialty cars that were stolen for a particular reason.

 

[bfg9000]

Last time I checked 97% of all stolen vehicles in the US are automatic transmissions.

Considering 95% of the cars sold in the United States are automatics, we can probably assume the 2% is because the crook didn't know how to drive stick, which is actually easier to steal (can be push started, defeating any starter interrupt).

 

[winny]

...(can be push started, defeating any starter interrupt).

Don't you guys have immobilizers over there?

As I hate just about everything being automagic, I really enjoy stick shifting and have problems with automatic gearboxes. Here is why:
On my dads old '89 Ford when I drive 70 km/h, which is a common legal speed limit here, it keeps changing between third and forth gear which is hyper-annoying as I have to choose between going 68 and create a long queue behind me or drive too fast. Although newer cars probably do better and are five-speed or more, I bet I can't get it into the right gear. When I drive at night though the city with a manual, I love slipping it into sixth gear so I can't go under 40 km/h without shifting down. Then I can play the game of having to plan ahead and time the traffic lights so I can ride the green wave. It's pretty fun when you are bored.
You guys talk about increased fuel consumption but I don't think you US-based people know how cheap gas is in the US compared to here. We pay 5.8 USD/gallon here for unleaded 95 octane gas so saving that last percent or two does make a difference for us.
It's also a cultural thing. I come from the countryside and if you can't stick shift there, like it or not, people with think you come from a big fancy city and/or are a homosexual...
Also, automatic transmissions on new cars cost about $1000-2000 extra for us.

I don't like the idea of having someone choosing for you and telling you what is best for you. Nowadays it's automatic gearboxes... I mean, what's next, will the car pick the "correct" lane for me, perhaps go in a "suitable" speed considering the current traffic situation. Should someone pick me a wife, job and house too according to a formula, by automatic? No thank you, I shift my own gears!

 

[BIGIRON]

Good thread -- proving, once again, there's a place for both.

 

[Chris201W]

perhaps go in a "suitable" speed considering the current traffic situation.

Actually, I hear they're working on that. It came up in the thread about the car that parallel parks for you (another example!). Apparently car companies are working on (or plan to work on) devices that make it such that the car cannot exceed a certain speed in different areas, like construction zones, for example.

 

[winny]

Although I'm sure they have nice intentions, I wouldn't want that when I'm driving someone to the hospital and it's a matter of life and death. That will probably happen 0.001 % of my total driving time, but I prefer to live in a country where you can make your own mistakes and take responsibility for them.

That was off topic...

A lot of people will disagree with me but if you can't parallel park without help, don't, or learn how to. If you can't drive without ESP, don't or learn (I do drive with ESP activated when available but I don't panic when I loose traction). If you can't drive, don't or learn how to.

 

[tebore]

Actually, I hear they're working on that. It came up in the thread about the car that parallel parks for you (another example!). Apparently car companies are working on (or plan to work on) devices that make it such that the car cannot exceed a certain speed in different areas, like construction zones, for example.

The new Lexus LS pretty much parallel parks for you.

 

[bfg9000]

In 2008 GM will offer autopilot. Honda's system will be standard by 2016 but is not entirely automatic, probably to skirt the question of who is liable if the self-driving car crashes.

Not that big a leap to add automatic steering now that we already have automatic braking and adaptive cruise control.

 

[Bogie]

All my stuff is manual & I wont own anything else

 

[V8TOYTRUCK]

I love rowing through the gears in my s2000 with the top down, hitting 9,000 rpms and just blasting through the gears. The sound of Honda's 2.0 FC motor at high rpms is so addicting to me.

BUT! I live in Los Angeles, and I am stuck in traffic most the time and it does become a little bit of a pain. I do keep it in 2nd gear and allow a good distance so I only have to use the gas.

When I do drive my Tundra in traffic it gets so boring, theres like nothing to do....It is nice though when you're having some In and Out Fries and sippin on a milkshake though.

 

[Lightmeup]

I've had about 15 cars so far. I think 3 have been automatics. I prefer manuals because if you know what you're doing they are more reliable and cheaper to operate than autos. When an auto goes out, you're looking at big bucks and a harder problem to fix, especially if it is an older model. I'm driving an 89 Civic with 124K on it right now, and I'm still on my first clutch. If I had to do a lot of stop-and-go city driving I might consider an auto, but not otherwise.

 

[Unicorn]

I prefer a stick. The only negatives to them I see are the price of clutch replacements, driving in heavy traffic (tiring, and wears out the clutch a lot faster), and if you are driving off road it complicates things a bit. Oh, if you aren't good at shifting, especially the first two or three, it can be a bit rough. It just takes practice.

 

[Canuke]

For me, stick is the only way to fly. I haven't been worried about clutch replacements ever since a loose bit of spring rattling around in the flywheel housing in my Del Sol made me take it in for a clutch replacement at 125k, and the mechanic said the clutch material left would have lasted another 40k. I tend to match RPM's all the time, minimizing "scrubbing", and it seems to pay off pretty well.

As for automatics, I've driven some nice ones, but I've disliked the lack of control ever since a rented 1990's Nissan Sentra nearly got me killed in Sedona AZ by waiting A FULL SECOND to start moving from a dead stop into traffic after I tromped on the gas... nearly wiping away the entire safety margin I expected to have. I'm amazed I didn't get creamed by cross traffic, but nobody even honked.

 

[icecube]

I got to get gas for a '07 Civic Si today

Was fun flying through the gears. Yeah I like my E30 325is better, but it was fun for a change. I hate all these slushboxes/gagomatics/autotragics everywhere here. They all feel like smoosh. And the brilliant idea of throttle motors...^.^ I can blip the throttle fast enough on those to where nothing happens.

Until I reach a grand old age, I'm using a stick. I like having control of the car in the gearshift patterns. Kinda like when you kickdown a slushbox while it's in 3rd and it zips to 2nd then coughs out...and you're thinking, "what are you doing"?

An automatic basically shifts gears based on throttle input, engine RPM, road speed and...yeah. But it can never chose the appropiate gear for all circumstances. Feels so dull to drive an automatic.

We once had a '05 or '06 Mercedes (^_^) CLK500 for a wash once. I told everyone I'd rather have my '88 325is over that without a second thought. For one, the '500 was a slushbox. And it's a newer car, and they're not made the same way as they used to be. Any repairs are not cheap.

The only American car worth a couple minutes of my attention was a '05 Pontiac GTO with the LS2 (6.0L/368CID Corvette mill). Dayum...with the six speed gearbox she can fly. The guy traded it in for a used '0something Focus SVT...

...the GTO got around 8.8MPG average blitzy car though, but I'd rather have a BMW 850CSi

 

[Mike Painter]

Standard transmissions can be more efficient if driven properly, however teh California Highway Patrol moved to automatics many, many years ago because they were cheaper to maintain in the long run.
Sooner or later the cost of a computer controlled standard transmission will reach the real world and while you will not need a cluth pedal, you will be able to use your paddles to shift if you want. Chances are they will have square gears again so to do it full manual will require re-learning some old, old skills.

 

[Lightmeup]

Standard transmissions can be more efficient if driven properly, however teh California Highway Patrol moved to automatics many, many years ago because they were cheaper to maintain in the long run.

Links?

 

[Mike Painter]

Links?

California Highway Patrol Inspector Eagan, sometime prior to 1959 while on a trip with him and his son.
I can't find any web links.

 

[cobb]

In my years of experience as an auto guy, passenger of many cars, trucks and dealings with commercial trucks, its a mixed bag.

There really is no winning, it just depends on the used. For a small car with a small engine, an automatic just doesnt cut it. You get poor performance and its not too long before you damage the automatic tranny. Ive seen quite a few volkswagon rabbits, etc with 3 speed autos that are just toast after 50-70 thousand miles. Why they use a 3 speed beats me, but then again, why many manufactures miss the gearing for all gears is another mystery.

Like mentioned in another post, a kit can be used to make an automatic behave better and switching out the final drive can make a world of difference as far as drivability of a car.

My folks and myself vote manual. None of us have had great experiences with automatics.

As for commercial trucks, auto ie best. ITs the same down time to rebuild vs replace clutch. Less for a driver with a bad attitude to screw up and even those with no stick shift experience can use. Of course we add a starter interlock, so if the truck is running, you cant grind the starter, cut it off and try to restart and gold brick while the truck is fixed. Just got to tell the guy that this model doesnt have a park option, you put it in nutral and set the parking brake.

The CV trannys look interesting, but if you look at the fuel economy ratings, they still rate less than a stick shift. Just recently, I think a few manufactures have come out with 7 and 8 speed automatics. I can just imagine the insanity of having it shift 3 gears vs the 1 when cruzing down the road. I believe the mercedes e230 the diesel v6 has a 7 speed automatic tranny. Just push the petal to the floor and hear it up shift 6 times as you sit still waiting for the get up and go to hit the road.