Why are there not many manual transmissions?

[scooperhsd]

I'm a die hard manual transmission fan - that said - there are times when a well engineered automatic shifter makes sense (like when you're wearing a velcro boot over possibly broke leg bones and it's hard to operate a clutch).

Besides - with the dumbing down of American drivers - the manual transmission becomes another anti-theft device (light-hearted humor).

 

[red16vdub]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzC0aAP9Ey0

Watch this and tell me again how speed doesn't kill. Many people have died or have been seriously injured from not following the speed limits. It was a single vehicle crash.

Skip to 1:10 and watch from there.

So your telling us that the driver of this video die in the crash, but somehow the perfect video survived.
Absolutely different car crashed, C'mon now .


Bajan

 

[fxk]

<snip> I get reasonably good FE in my TDIs, so I do have a clue about when to shift. I would simply prefer to decide for myself.

Just about says it all

I've been casually looking for a new car since mine are all getting old, and I've made the decision that I will not buy any car with an automatic. In fact I'll give up on diesel before I give up on a manual transmission. Shortens the list of options.

Nearly eliminates the list, IMO. Certainly, there are entire classes of vehicles shut out to you (and me!). I've been looking two years, and the only manuals are in econoboxes (generally at a surcharge) or some of the modern muscle cars. Oh yeah, some pick-em-ups. And those are dwindling.

The closest thing to a minivan (I carry LOTS of Sh&*e) was a Mazda 5. Cool little vehicle. Mazda dropped the manual tranny for '15. Even before that, only in "Sport" trim where you couldn't get sunroof, nav, upgraded seats, F&R heat, or fogs. Can someone tell me what about having a manual precludes it from having a sunroof and fogs?

Would LOVE a Transit Connect like they have in Europe - punchy little diesel linked to a six speed manual. Available across the pond. Or a number of gassers with the 6 speed. Here, the Focus 2.5 i4 and six automatic, or a 1.5 Turbo Gasser coupled to the same tranny. VW has something like it, but we'll never see that either in any form.

Of course, every engine/transmission combo has to go through expensive EPA certification. The maker can't control the engine/trans over a wider range of operation, making it that much harder to hit the emissions targets.

Marketing decisions like that are the true reason for the demise of the manual. And someone mentioned emissions - that, too, is a major reason. So why offer it if projected sales look weak?

Hell, I drove a friends Camaro - they had it so at given road speed and engine RPM, certain gears would be physically locked out and a red light on the dash indicating the lockout. And I would have chosen that gear if I could have...
Real pisser.

Just a Do-Do waiting for extinction.
frank

 

[bubbagumpshrimp]

For a lot of people...it's a pain in the a55. It's not even a "you can't drive stick?" issue (what many people like to chalk this debate up to). It's a "the average persons commute is far longer now than it was 20+ years ago...and they don't want to mess with a manual transmission in bumper to bumper traffic for 3+ hours a day" issue.

I've always opted for a manual transmission in every car that I've gotten where it was an option. As far as daily drivers goes...this will be my last manual transmission. For a toy/weekend vehicle, I'd only want a manual. Sitting in traffic for a commute with a manual transmission though? I'm done with it.

 

[Ronstarman]

I still have my 99 Jetta TDI 5/speed and still gets good fuel mileage
48-50 mpg and I run the gears out of it. A 6 speed is just another gear to
Go faster,or slower.

 

[deeslman]

What makes you think VW is any different than Ford or GM.
It's about money. Percentages prove that as Oilhammer has so eloquently stated,
lazy American pig dogs want automatic............

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Until VW gets its cars certified for sale again, there are no new diesel cars with manual transmissions available in the US. Only truck is the Ram with the Cummins, which, by the way, is the only pickup available with a manual now, gas or diesel.

BMW, Honda, Mazda, Porsche, and VW all have a number of manual transmission cars still, but most of them are either the lowest trim level or "performance" cars of one type or another. BMW is the exception, who offers, for example, the 3 Series with every engine but the diesel and in every trim level with a manual. However, when I spoke to my local dealer recently he said that every car they order is automatic and AWD, except for the Ms. But you can order a RWD manual. Just not with a diesel.

So I'm shopping used, looking for a nice Sportwagen. If in the meantime VW's TDIs come back on line, it dramatically increases my selection. If not, a GTI, GLI, or R may be in my future.

 

[Ol'Rattler]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzC0aAP9Ey0

Watch this and tell me again how speed doesn't kill. Many people have died or have been seriously injured from not following the speed limits. It was a single vehicle crash.

Skip to 1:10 and watch from there.

Completely wrong. Not obeying speed limits is not what kills people, what kills people is driving to fast for conditions or faster than the traffic you encounter.

I drove really fast across Eastern Washington without a problem until I was rightfully ticketed for doing 121 MPH. The only folks that might have been killed were me, my son and the State Trooper that almost rear ended me when I pulled over.

Even at 15 MPH, you could still get killed in a car. The driver in the video did something really boneheaded and payed for it with his life.

Speed in it's self doesn't kill people, however, being boneheaded many times does no matter what speed you were driving.

 

[Caddy 16v]

Nobody died in that video, the driver had burns and walked away and the passenger was air lifted and didn't die either, very lucky though. Just another sensational youtube description...

 

[frosz]

It's more common in USA with automatics. In Scandinavia at least they are consider uneconomical, unreliable and loss of control in your driving handling. So most cars here have manual, even newer ones.

When I have looked after cars in Germany, many of them also have manual. I mean, for example who wants a AUDI RS with automatic gearbox, takes half the fun out of it.

When you take your driver licence in Sweden, if you take your driving test with a automatic gearbox then you are limited to only automatic cars and are not allowed by law to drive a manual. So most drivers choose manual to have both of two worlds It's more common with people that has a disability who have customized vehicle that choose to take the licence as a "automatic" licence.

USA have a longer tradition of automatic transmissions and it's more accepted there.

 

[Rembrant]

It's more common in USA with automatics. In Scandinavia at least they are consider uneconomical, unreliable and loss of control in your driving handling. So most cars here have manual, even newer ones.

Yes I know most of the cars I have rented in Europe were manual transmission cars. Last one was an Audi diesel in the UK, with a manual trans.

I was telling my wife at the time...you would NEVER arrive at and airport in North America and get a rental car with a manual transmission...lol.

As Ralph Wiggum would say, "That's unpossible!".

I'm not too fussy either way, but with a TDI, I much rather a manual trans...at least with the old 90HP ALH cars. I'm OK with Autos if they fit the car well...and the car has enough power...

My wife has a Lexus is250 with an auto...and it has the paddle shifter manual mode..which neither of us ever use, but it seems OK with the auto. She had an Acura RSX Premium with an auto trans that seemed to work well. However, she did have a Hon-duh Civic with an Auto for a while...oh boy was that thing awful to drive. It just shifted terribly, and ran too tall on the highway which in turn caused it to downshift all the time.

Here's a list...couple years old, but still a list...

http://www.leftlanenews.com/10-cars-you-didnt-know-had-manual-transmissions.html

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

The only car on that list that still has a manual is the Golf R. All the others are auto-only now. M-B has no manual transmission cars in the US. And right now Audi doesn't either, except for leftover A4s. The new A4 is supposed to have a manual, but not until late this year.

 

[mountain-valleymotors]

I currently have for sale two Jetta Sportwagen TDI's and one Passat TDI with manual transmissions. They can be found but expect to pay more for them. I prefer the manual due to lower maintenance costs and potentially higher fuel mileage. But the DSG is a pretty sweet transmission once it is tuned.

 

[1854sailor]

I currently have for sale two Jetta Sportwagen TDI's and one Passat TDI with manual transmissions. They can be found but expect to pay more for them. I prefer the manual due to lower maintenance costs and potentially higher fuel mileage. But the DSG is a pretty sweet transmission once it is tuned.

Did you do the manual conversion on the Passat?

 

[mountain-valleymotors]

Did you do the manual conversion on the Passat?

I have a 2014 Passat TDI with a manual transmission. I also have a 2005 Passat TDI wagon with a manual transmission that I swapped. I didn't include that in my for sale list as it is kind of my show car. I guess it is probably for sale if someone would pony up enough money. I also drive a 2013 Passat TDI with manual transmission that I bought brand new. But that one probably isn't for sale either.

 

[1854sailor]

I have a 2014 Passat TDI with a manual transmission. I also have a 2005 Passat TDI wagon with a manual transmission that I swapped. I didn't include that in my for sale list as it is kind of my show car. I guess it is probably for sale if someone would pony up enough money. I also drive a 2013 Passat TDI with manual transmission that I bought brand new. But that one probably isn't for sale either.

Who did the swap on the Passat TDI that is for sale?

 

[mountain-valleymotors]

The 2014? It came from the factory with a manual transmission.

 

[1854sailor]

The 2014? It came from the factory with a manual transmission.

Oops! I assumed that it was a B5.5. Completely missed the 2014 bit. Old age strikes again.

 

[mountain-valleymotors]

Oops! I assumed that it was a B5.5.

The 2005 B 5.5 I swapped myself.

 

[Drivbiwire]

... There is, however, a limit to how fast you can go.

Speed is limitless.... We are only limited by self imposed limits, mechanical limits, or our own imagination.

Speed kills my friend...

Fact: since the beginning of all time not one life has been lost to exceeding any velocity, anywhere be it air or in space.

You know what we say when there remains an ultra thin margin between redline and the upper margin of our airspeed needle...you're not trying hard enough!

 

[Ol'Rattler]

Speed is limitless.... We are only limited by self imposed limits, mechanical limits, or our own imagination.



Fact: since the beginning of all time not one life has been lost to exceeding any velocity, anywhere be it air or in space.

You know what we say when there remains an ultra thin margin between redline and the upper margin of our airspeed needle...you're not trying hard enough!

Sure I believe in principle, but really what kills is going to fast for conditions or just doing something really boneheaded.

The space shuttle does something like mach 25, but if you could somehow build a car that could travel that fast on surface streets, you would have Gold Club status with Mr. Darwin.

 

[Drivbiwire]

Speed doesn't kill, it's that sudden stop that will get you.

 

[fxk]

Speed doesn't kill, it's that sudden stop that will get you.

Ding! Ding! Ding! We got a winnah!

 

[Ol'Rattler]

Speed doesn't kill, it's that sudden stop that will get you.

True that..............

If we follower the recommendations of some, we would never drive faster than about 3 MPH.

 

[cheetah45]

Blkcloud:
PM sent

 

[zoomydu]

I prefer (to the point where I won't even consider a car with A/T) M/T. I regularly drive in a crap-ton of snow and I'll take a stick with snow tires over AWD and all-seasons...any day. Unfortunately, they really are tough to find in anything other than barebones entry-level models or fully tricked-out sports beasts. I know a lot of people who prefer stick, but aren't willing to order a car to get it (I'm willing to wait to get exactly what I want when dumping that kind of money into something I'll have for a decade or more).

We bought my MIL's JSW literally a week or two before dieselgate came to light. The car hits ALL of my criteria. Stick, leather/pleather, sunroof, heated seats, ample cargo for hauling a bike or skis in the back. It's a shame that the Golf SW no longer offers this same trim level. If VW were to require a buyback of this vehicle, we'd possibly consider that...though the longer this thing drags out, the more disenchanted we are with VW. Right now a Mini Clubman or Kia Forte5 SX could serve as potential replacements. The Mazda 3 hatch would be an option, were it not for the fact that our '06 3 has cost us more in maintenance than every other car we've owned--combined. And I think they're kinda fugly.

 

[dyvyd]

i'm with Ol' Rattler on this one . . . i read sometime back that something like more than 80% of new cars sold in the US are automatics. Why? Because most American drivers never learn to drive a stick. i realize that some of the new automatics are designed well enough to be more efficient but as someone who learned to drive in a '64 Dart, 3-on-the-tree w/ 174K miles on it at the time & every car i've owned but one has been a stick, i still much prefer a manual to an automatic. i bought a 2010 Jetta TDI used (certified pre-owned) & found trolling car websites. Got it at a dealer 2 hours from me but i love the car & the 6-speed manual. i chased lots of bogus listings even from dealers for TDIs w/ a 'manual 6-speed that turned out to be the DSG. It appears many folks here in the US don't even know what a real manual transmission is. C'est la vie. Maybe i'm behind the times but i can tell you i'm not any more interested in an automatic transmission that i am a self-driving car. Maybe someday when the sciatica gets too bad to deal with a clutch i'll go auto, but not as long as i can help it. i get good fuel economy (generally better than EPA average) & it's a great car to drive.

 

[turbovan+tdi]

I like a stick in a fun car, hobby car. For a daily driver, which gets stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, an auto does me just fine. I drove a stick for 15 years, done with it for a DD.

Again? Is this the beginning of hundreds of posts touting the advantages of a DSG over manual over DSG. ENOUGH ALREADY.

^^this!^^

ENOUGH ALREADY, DON'T POST IN THREADS YOU DON'T LIKE!!!!

I'm tired of seeing people like you guys post that!!!!! See, it works both ways.

Speed kills my friend.

Another brainless saying. I guess I am typing from the grave as I used to routinely hit 175 mph on my race bikes. Guess all the guys in race cars and MotoGP stars are all dead and we are simply watching ghosts race.

Stupid people kill, not speed. When are stupid people going to realize this.

 

[993er]

Have there been issues with them or is everyone just preferring the automatics? Thanks!

Your average person learned to drive on an automatic. They have no clue how to drive a manual. Walking through my VW dealer's new car lot, its nothing but automagics.

 

[993er]

How many of you would drive a car regularly without an airbag or functioning airbag system?

I would drive either because I place more stock in my skills to avoid a collision in the first place. Do that and you'll not need to worry about an airbag saving you. So far it has worked 41 out of 41 collision-free years.

Or without an abs system or functioning abs system? Why not? Because, you say" its not safe" ?

I got absolutely no use for ABS in my cars or motorcycles. In fact if my motorcycle had ABS that day, I would have cut that bicyclist in half. Of course that only applies if you do not panic and we all know how all drivers lock on the brakes.

Furthermore, why are drivers still rear ending other cars if they have ABS. The fact is they are brain dead and have no clue about physics...it takes X feet to stop and ABS cannot change that.