Posted on 08/12/2022 7:50:05 PM PDT by algore
I love the ways cars have improved in my lifetime, the safety features, the remarkable mileage, the built-in navigation, but as I become more curmudgeonly, I also have to say that it’s become almost too simple to drive.
You don’t need keys, you don’t need a map, and pretty soon you won’t even have to steer, brake, or even look at the road. And of course, almost no one has to shift anymore
There’s a prediction that Mercedes Benz will sell its last manual transmission this year, that Volkswagen retire the gearbox in 2030, and soon, we will have a generation of drivers who have no idea what their left foot is for.
We now consider manual transmissions primitive, but there was a time you could get significantly better mileage than with automatic transmissions. If you were talented with a clutch and knew how to match speeds and when to coast you could achieve amazing mileage before it was cool.
And – you had something to do with your hands and feet – especially in stop-and-go traffic. Hit the brake pull it out of gear, clutch, downshift, accelerate, clutch, upshift, hit the straightaway, overdrive – it was like slow-motion NASCAR or a sit-down ballet.
Now those skills are all but useless.
And the persistence of manual transmissions also had one other advantage – entertaining us with stories like these.
“Leaving it in neutral. They jumped out and ran, keys are in the ignition this thing is ready to go but they don’t know how to drive a manual transmission,” according to a recent news report from KIRO 7.
The stick shift would not only foil car thieves but humiliate them at the same time
I could drive it without even using the clutch if necessary.
So could all my children.
But non of my cars have subscription seat warmers or even ‘hot spots’
Took my 2000 civic (manual trans) in for service.
They had to get one of the older mechanics move it from drive up service area into the garage.
Automatic transmission?
Hmm, I have eighteen cars, ALL manual trans.
Only way I get an auto-box might be if I were paralyzed from the waist down.
Even then I would be looking for a solenoid to push the clutch arm.
I drove stick from time to time all the way to 2013. Then my mother traded in her manual Subaru Forrester for an automatic Kia Soul.
I could still remember it in my sleep. The toughest part is being stopped going uphill and then having to go into first up the hill. JMO.
I had a few cars with a freewheeling manual
https://barnfinds.com/freewheeling-1972-saab-96/
You did not have to use the clutch unless you were at a total complete stop.
And – you had something to do with your hands and feet – especially in stop-and-go traffic. Hit the brake pull it out of gear, clutch, downshift, accelerate, clutch, upshift, hit the straightaway, overdrive – it was like slow-motion NASCAR or a sit-down ballet.
= = =
That keeps the driver focused on his job, driving the car.
All these new ‘helps’ leaves the driver bored and subject to any distraction. And that is less safe.
I went to the airport to pick up some friends who were flying by on vacation so they stopped in. I think they were just looking for cheap fuel and a meal.
Anyway, I went to pick the up in the truck and I was rattling on about this and that as we drove out to the farm. I noticed they were lost in thought and asked them what was wrong. They had never seen anyone drive a manual transmission, the truck has a six speed. They were amazed I always knew what gear it was in, skipped gears both in up and down shifting and never stopped talking.
I’ve driven a manual all my life, more than 5o years now since I turned 16 and I started driving well before that. Wouldn’t know what to do with just a go lever.
When I was a state copper working in Cook County I was in Chicago in the Greektown restaurant area when my partner and I monitored a Chicago Police Dept flash message about a car jacking that had just occurred in the area within the last few minutes.
Just moments after we made note of it, we heard cars honking at a late model import that was moving slowly in the left lane, jerking and stopping as other cars swerved around it. Since it matched the description of the suspect vehicle, we made a felony stop, detained three suspects who had two pistols in the car, and notified CPD Tactical officers to meet us at the scene.
These suspects were subsequently identified as the offenders in the car jacking, and the reason for the erratic driving that had captured our attention was the fact that the ringleader driver couldn’t operate the 5 speed manual transmission in it very well. One of his accomplices was an 18 wheel truck driver who was entirely capable of driving it, but the boss said that he had always wanted to drive a stick shift and this would be his first chance, so he ordered his buddy to stand down and took the wheel himself.
We wouldn’t catch so many of these clowns if so many weren’t so damn stupid.
As a result of this experience, my 2010 Hummer H3 has a 5 speed manual trans. The transmission also helps me to get the most performance from a relatively heavy vehicle with a relatively small engine. (3.7L 250 hp, but moving 4800 lbs).
My recumbent bicycle was stolen but dumped less than two blocks away because the thief didn’t know how to ride it. Same thing as cars with manual transmissions.
I agree with your assessment.
While my cars are now auto, my motorcycle is not. Everything involved with clutch, shifting, throttle matching etc is part of the pleasure and zen of a bike. All these things working in cooperation with each other. Besides making a bike less safe IMO, just for the reasons you describe, no shifting would be boring. I drive a car to get from point A to point B. I ride a bike for the ride, not the destination. Boring would ruin that.
Since I moved out of urban jungle some years ago, I wouldn’t mind at all if one of my cars were a stick.
Not gonna happen, but I have the bike, so all is good.
'68 VW Bus, meet the hills of San Francisco. That was a challenge.
I drove a manual most of my life. Stopped my kids from asking to drive my car.
Since I moved out of urban jungle some years ago, I wouldn’t mind at all if one of my cars were a stick.
= = =
Yeah, a stick on the LA 405 in stop and go would SUCK. Somehow the 18-wheelers do it. Stay in slow lane and seldom stop.
A friend was in such traffic coming up Cajon pass one weekend evening. In a Fit with a stick. He had to have the clutch adjusted when he finally got home.
I got a hybrid Lincoln (because they said my VW diesel had that emissions thing). Very good in stop and go. If I have to stop, engine stops and batteries keep everything going - lights, radio, AC or heat,,,. If batteries get low, engine kicks in. I am not sitting there idling, burning gas and heating things up and making noise.
I learned to drive a manual transmission in the military, 1st on a deuce and a 1/2, and next on a Jeep.
My wife prefers manual transmissions, but I prefer automatics. Nonetheless, I can drive a manual with ease.
And as for the perpetrators in question, the boy of the duo was 15, and the girl was 14.. I’m fairly sure that both of them belonged to a protected class.. And it’s very likely that they will get nothing but a slap on the wrist, if that. For felony armed carjacking, they should both be locked up until they’re 21 and hopefully they will learn a lesson. But, I don’t think King County sees it the same way.
Had a SAAB 99 like that.
When I bought parts to repair the freewheel the dealer tried to convince me to weld it up.
No way!
The forklifts at my job were stick. Its where I learned to drive one
You can start an old school manual with a dead battery and someone to push the car, or maybe a slight decline.
Its a stupid article promoting a stupid theory.
It is not difficult to learn how to drive a stick shift.
It is hardly beyond the ability of the large majority of car thieves to learn adequately enough to use to steal a car.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.