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Posted: 02/10/05
10:42 AM
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Interesting article:
Check out the standard features on the latest automotive delicacy. Electronic engine controls? Check. Variable valve timing? Check. Throttle by wire? Anti-lock brakes? Speed-variable power steering? Electronic stability system? All-wheel drive? HID headlights? Air bags, front and side? Check, check and double check. Archaic system of transferring engine power to the wheels requiring the use of 2 feet, 3 pedals, both hands, visual, aural and fine motor coordination to operate the car? Yep, got that too. Of course, the last feature is actually a traditional manual transmission and clutch. It seems that engineering progress has reached everywhere in the enthusiast's car except for the footwell. Today's manual clutch is the same antiquated system that's been around for the last 100 years, and it's a fundamentally unsafe way to control a car. 
Another stick shift car bites the dust (and gets a free shower) Driver distraction is one of the major causes of vehicle accidents. According to a 2001 national survey conducted by the Network of Employers for Traffic Safety (NETS), roughly 25% of all fatal automobile accidents are caused by driver inattention. Although this research didn’t examine the role of the manual transmission, its potential risks are patently obvious. Operating a manual transmission is an inherently difficult and dangerous procedure. To start from standstill, the driver must coordinate both feet, using the right foot to bring up the engine speed and the left foot to slowly engage the clutch. At the same time, he has to judge the engine speed to anticipate the change to another gear. This he does aurally (listening to the revs) or visually (watching the tachometer). Listening to the engine can distract the driver from important auditory stimuli (e.g. approaching emergency vehicles), while watching the tachometer removes his eyes from the road. At the same time, neither foot is available for instantaneous braking. 
Driver distraction is a real b****. Once underway, the dance of the feet begins anew, except now the driver must use his or her right hand to move the shift lever in coordination with his or her feet. The lack of a foot available for the brake pedal is even more critical since the car is now moving faster, and the driver is now steering with one hand. Consider that this has to happen five or six times just to get to cruising speed, requiring driver concentration at some level. The amount of distraction caused by downshifting, shifting while turning a corner, and so on is even greater. Heaven help the chicken that decides to cross the road in front of a driver using a manual transmission. 
A skinned Mercedes CLK automatic transmission. That's better! Contrast this process with the fine art of driving an automatic transmission. The driver slips the shifter into drive and presses the accelerator. He’s free to carve a corner without reacting to changes in vehicle speed or conditions by removing his right foot from the gas pedal. The transmission’s electronic control system monitors the vehicle’s speed, lateral and longitudinal acceleration; the steering wheel position and acceleration; and changes gear ratios accordingly. Stick shift sticklers often defend their archaic rituals by arguing that manual transmissions are more fuel-efficient. Not so. While EPA numbers occasionally favor manual versions of a particular car, the comparison is skewed by the testing process, differences in gear ratios, engine tuning and vehicle option content. In real-world operation, manual cars never get mileage as good as a comparable automatic. The manual's mechanical efficiency advantage is always lost because drivers never shift optimally for efficiency. Engines are invariably over-revved, either through ignorance or the pursuit of aural pleasure. A properly sorted automatic is always in the correct gear, never makes a mistake, and demands infinitely less attention from the driver. 
VW's brilliant DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) gives drivers the best of both worlds, except one of those worlds is still dysfunctional. Why do enthusiasts cling to manuals when the safety and efficiency drawbacks are so obvious, and the alternative automatic transmission so well developed? Sometimes it's ignorance. Many enthusiasts have never driven a car equipped with a state-of-the-art automatic transmission, complete with electronics that adapt to the sporting driver's shifting preferences. More often the attitude is rooted deep in the car enthusiast's psyche: "I want to be in control" or "It connects me more intimately with the car". Strip away the human vs. mechanical rationale and Zen posturing and all that remains is simple, willful resistance to change and progress. The manually-shifted automatic transmission seems to offer a compromise solution. These systems give enthusiast drivers the option of overriding the automatic function with either a separate gate to manipulate the transmission's logic circuit, or paddle shifters that ape the controls of a Formula One car. It’s a logical “cake and eat it too” solution. Though admirably sophisticated, the combined manual-automatic transmission is a technological dead-end. By the middle of the last century, many American automobiles used variations of the semi-automatic transmission. None survived the development of the automatic transmission, for four good reasons: safety, reliability, driving pleasure and, above all, common sense.
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blitwack
User
| Posts: 103
| Joined: 01/05
Posted: 02/10/05
10:52 AM
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I won't argue that computer controlled shifting enables a car to get better fuel economy in the right conditions, I will argue against this writers notion that stickshifts are dangerous and distracting. The fact remains that the more you concentrate on the driving of your vehicle, the more likely you are to be completely aware of what is going on inside and outside of it. It's those lazy automatic drivers who are used to talking on their cell phones and eating fast food at the same time while driving who are the danger. Automatic transmissions inspire a lacksadaisical approach to driving and they make the process altogether too easy. A vehicle is a dangerous thing, capable of killing many people with a few wrong turns, I would much rather see more people who are forced to pay attentiont to it through the use of a manual transmission. The "fine art" of automatic driving is nothing more than an oversimplification on the part of engineers and automakers.
In short, if we make cars easy enough for monkeys to drive, then we're gonna have monkeys driving them. Something tells me monkeys are gonna get in a lot more accidents than their human counterparts.
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wtsang
User
| Posts: 125
| Joined: 01/05
Posted: 02/10/05
10:55 AM
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I think you make some very good points there. I personally am a big fan of sequential manual gearboxes, but I can also see why many drivers still prefer the traditional manual gearboxes. There's a lot to be said for driving enjoyment when you feel you're a bigger part of the driving experience and it's probably also a matter of pride for many drivers who have learned how to drive stick and feel they do it very well. It's taken them much time and effort to drive as "well" as they may, and it feels wrong to just throw their "skills" away and let a computer handle it for them. But I think a lot of it is also like you said, either ignorance or purposeful resistance to changing something they feel a certain affinity with. But at the same time, these new sequential manual gearboxes are a several thousand dollar premium option, I'm sure many drivers may reason on the financial side also.
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Some Guy
New User
| Posts: 17
| Joined: 02/05
Posted: 02/10/05
10:55 AM
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A couple counterarguments:
- Since sticks command so much attention, at least the driver's attention is on DRIVING.
- No free hands to hold a Heineken or dial a cell phone -- score one for safety.
- This guy wrongly assumes drivers "never shift optimally for efficiency." Some of us do.
- On a related note, he says a "properly sorted automatic" is perfect, the catch being a lot of automatics out there (especially from the more popular manufacturers) are pretty retarded, downshifting when completely unnecessary and wasting fuel, in addition to the fuel they're already wasting by being automatics!
- Manual transmissions do connect you more intimately with the car. There's no torque converter between you and the engine to dampen communication.
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Posted: 02/11/05
01:33 PM
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What's up with this? Men can't drive stick anymore?
Transmission choice undergoes a radical shift
By George P. Blumberg
Special to the Trubune
Published February 11, 2005
When most cars had to be manually shifted, grinding gears was a rite of passage. Automatic transmissions, introduced on the 1940 Oldsmobile, have changed that. Now with fewer than 10 percent of cars purchased with manual transmissions, shifting seems a fading part of Americana.
To many, shifting seems an arcane, almost black art. Like tracking tigers in the jungle, weaving rope or starting fires with flint and steel, shifting is an almost-lost skill, taught within families, passed down to generations. But if dad or mom were raised on automatics, who will teach the kids?
Most driving schools have dropped out of manual transmission instruction. An exception is John Mihalczo's Safety First Driving Schools of New Jersey, which offers dual control manual transmission Saturn Ions in addition to his automatic transmission equipped fleet.
"We offer it as a service," said Mihalczo, 39 and an instructor for 15 years, "but there's an 80 percent lesson cancellation rate. Most stick customers already know how to drive, and it's not really that important to learn stick, so they cancel."
The cancellation rate for automatic transmission lessons, he says, is only 2 percent. "But I won't offer beginning instruction in a stick shift car. We require someone who has a learner's permit for at least six months or a license. First you learn driving and vehicle control, then shifting."
Mihalczo has a three-level shifting course at $100 per level.
"It usually takes about six hours average to get proficient," he says. If that sounds like a lot of money, consider the wear and tear his cars take.
"A 12,000-mile Saturn is on its third clutch already," he says. A clutch job costs him about $1,500, on top of the $5,000 to add dual controls. Besides, says Mihalczo: "It's tough to find qualified stick shift instructors who tolerate getting their heads snapped back and forth."
"Sometimes car salespersons will provide a couple of shifting lessons after a purchase is made," said Ray Desimone, 33, sales manager for Saturn of Brunswick, N.J. "But you can't count on that."
A year ago, Sarah Lahalih began offering a course in shifting at her Motorcycle Riding School at 1400 N. Halsted St. She uses Mini Cooper with dual controls that cost her about $5,000 to retrofit. The course costs $75 an hour with a three-hour minimum. She says a licensed driver can be on their own and ready for refined tactics with a stick.
Sensing an opportunity, Mihalczo set up a relationship with Desimone's dealership, along with local Porsche and BMW stores, to teach their customers how to use the stick shift. "It's great," said Desimone, "we let them know we can arrange a lesson for them, and we can throw it into the deal. It further differentiates us."
Dan Kern, manager of Perillo BMW of Chicago, says dealers typically have a salesperson help a novice by taking him to an out-of-the-way place. "If customer couldn't drive stick like on a Z4 , we'd take him for test drive, as a passenger. Once the deal was solidified, we'd give him orientation."
Ross Nelson, senior salesman at Loeber Motors Linconwood, says he has taught a few customers over the years. "But today most people who learn do so through friend or relative. We don't allow people on test drives with sticks unless they know how to drive reasonably. We have had some people who have bought without knowing how to drive it."
Why learn to shift at all? "Some people need to learn before a European trip," said Desimone. Most European rental cars have standard transmissions, and rental fees for automatics are stiff.
According to Neil Oddes, Product Research Manager with J.D. Power and Associates, only about 7 percent of new cars and light trucks in the U.S. have manual transmissions. Eleven percent have manual/automatic "manumatics" (such as Audi's Tiptronic), in which the driver can choose full automatic operation or to push a button to select a gear with a computer making the shift. There is no clutch pedal. The majority of cars, 82 percent, have traditional automatics, and about 1 percent have continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs. CVTs are automatic transmissions driven by an infinitely adjusting metal link belt that replaces gears and keeps engine performance at optimum.
"There are big differences by segments," said Oddes. "For example in the premium sports car category," which includes the Audi TT, Chrysler Crossfire and BMW Z, "manual transmissions are in 49 percent of new cars sold. Thirty eight percent are hybrids, and 13 percent are automatics."
According to Art Spinella, chief executive of CNW Marketing Research in Bandon Ore., "If it weren't for a growing trend of women ordering and buying manual transmission vehicles, the stick shift might already be relegated to automotive history books. More female new-car buyers are selecting manual transmissions than men."
For people who want to make use of all the power and versatility of the machines they drive, controlling the gears manually is key. Many proponents of shifting point to it as a skill that gives greater car control (especially in slippery conditions), makes the driver more alert and in tune with the vehicle and is more economical. When pressed, they admit that it's just fun--and that manumatics just don't cut it.
John DiStefano, 23, of Franklin Park, N.J., learned to drive on an automatic, as did his father, who is 45. Recently, DiStefano took manual lessons from Mihalczo.
"I want to buy a Porsche someday, and I want to know how to drive it," he said. "You should buy a Porsche with a manual shift to get the maximum fun from it.
"I mastered it in three days," he said. "The last day I was able to start on a hill." Hill starts, where the car may roll back before the clutch grabs, is a challenge for manual transmission novices. "I came back telling dad how easy it is. For the knowledge of driving, you should open your mind and try it."
- - -
Getting it in gear
Here are some snazzy names for transmissions and the carmakers that came up with them:
Citromatic--Citroen
Dynaflow--Buick
Flashaway--Nash
Flash-O-Matic--American Motors (Rambler)
Flightomatic--Studebaker
Ford-O-Matic--Ford
Hydra-Matic--Cadillac
Hy-Drive--Plymouth
Jetaway--Oldsmobile
Merc-O-Matic--Mercury
Powerflite--Chrysler
Powerglide--Chevrolet
Strato-Flight--Pontiac
Torqueflite--Chrysler
Turbo 350--Buick
Ultramatic--Packard
Vacamatic--Chrysler
Source: "The Standard Catalogue Of American Cars"
Shifting patterns
Here is a chart that shows intentions/demand for manual transmissions by men and women in the last 20 years. It was created by CNW Marketing/Research in Bandon, Ore., based on a survey of new-vehicle shoppers who planned to buy a car or truck within six months. Intentions may not translate into a purchase because of lack of the option, vehicle inventory or salesperson.
1985 1990 1995 2000 2004
Men 52.8% 48.3% 28.1% 15.6% 9.3%
Women 4.4% 4.9% 7.7% 10.3% 12.7%
Overall 31.6% 28.8% 19.1% 13.6% 10.3%
Changing gears
These are total light vehicle sales (in millions of units) of domestic and import car and trucks broken down by automatic and manual transmissions:
MODEL AUTOMATIC %* OF TOTAL MANUAL % OF TOTAL TOTAL SALES
YEAR
1985 10,021,482 77.6% 2,887,171 22.4% 12,908,653
1990 10,141,794 78.7% 2,752,150 21.3% 12,893,944
1995 12,816,559 83.1% 2,602,211 16.9% 15,418,770
2000 15,995,874 90% 1,785,377 10.0% 17,781,251
2001 14,898,961 90.6% 1,540,618 9.4% 16,439,579
2003 16,752,979 92.6% 1,335,531 7.3% 18,088,510
*Includes manual/automatic hybrids
Source: Ward's Communications
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Flexfit
New User
| Posts: 2
| Joined: 02/05
Posted: 02/14/05
03:11 PM
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I'd have to completely agree with the point about driving a manual putting the driver in a more attentive conscious state of driving. Why?
I used to drive an automatic and just like that I let the car do all the work and hence began to concentrate on other things. Got distracted by something to passenger side on the road, and crashed into a car.
Since driving a manual transmission for the last 5 years, I am always forced to pay attention to what I'm doing because I'm controlling the car, the car requires me to do it to operate correctly. So I'm never in such a relaxed state where I could just fall asleep or other distracting things.
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Soundwave
New User
| Posts: 5
| Joined: 02/05
Posted: 02/15/05
09:31 AM
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Why is it that every ten years or so, we gain a gear? First it was two, then "three on the tree," "four on the floor," and now it's anywhere between four and SEVEN (Mercedes).
An extra gear isn't that hard to create, is it? Seems like we could've been here in the 60s.
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Posted: 10/24/08
11:36 PM
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You're just butthurt that you're too retarded to drive a MT.
Your argument is completely retarded - removing manual transmissions from cars only adds to driver distraction and general uselessness - it's just another way of seperating the driver from their task, which is, ohmygawsh, actually driving the car. Based on your point of view, speedometers and rear vision mirrors should also be removed, since they "distract" you from the road ahead of you. Accelerators had better also be removed, since they're completely to blame for people going fast.
tl;dr Fucktards who are going to crash will still crash, whether they're in a manual tranny car or an auto. Automatic transmissions are possibly the most dangerous things in modern cars, as they allow any downy to drive without paying attention to what they're doing.
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szester
New User
| Posts: 1
| Joined: 10/08
Posted: 10/26/08
06:13 AM
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This guy...he...he...he must be joking. This couldnt possibly be real. No one is this stupid. His intelligence would have to be somewhere between simian and hog ***
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Posted: 01/19/09
12:57 PM
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as long as there will be a demand for them i dont think that most motor companys will ever full let going of it.
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