Anybody heard from Art?

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Anybody heard from Art?

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Manually Shifting Gears Becoming Lost Art
Steve Finlay December 1st, 2010 WardsAuto.com
They don’t make manual transmissions like they used to.

Oh, they make them better than ever. But they sure don’t make as many. Not in the U.S. anyway, where stick shifts are becoming as rare as pull pork at pot lucks for vegetarians.

Ward’s data indicate only about 4.5% of cars made in the U.S. in the first five months of model year ’10 come with 5- or 6-speed manual transmissions. That compares with more than 20% about two decades ago.

Honda has installed the most ’10 vehicles with manual transmissions(7.6%); Nissan, the least (0.8%). Just 0.9% of U.S.-made light trucks had a 5- or 6-speed manual.

Today’s young drivers don’t seem to know or want to know how non-automatically to change gears. Hey, why use your right hand for that when you can use it to text while driving?

But even some older people who know how to switch gears on their own would rather not. My wife comes to mind. It’s something she can do, but doesn’t want to do any more.

Her reasoning: “Why should I do it when the car can do it automatically?” It’s similar to: “Why should I get up and walk across the room to change TV channels when I can sit here and use the remote?”

When I was learning to drive, my dad told me “real” driving consists of doing your own shifting.

You are in control with a manual transmission, you decide what gear to engage and when, you can downshift at will and zip around corners better. That’s what he told me, anyway.

So I became, if not a fast learner, then at least a determined one. There were plenty of false starts as I clumsily tried to synchronize my left foot on the clutch pedal and right hand on the shifter.

I would lurch the car down the street, grind gears (boy, they heard me coming) and stall at intersections when the light changed from red to green. Other than that, I did great. In control of the car? Heck, I felt it was in control of me.

I went on to teach my kids how to operate a car with a stick shift, because that’s all we had at the time. Their learning curve was as long as mine. At one point, my daughter, in a moment of teen frustration, insisted I buy a car that could change its own stupid gears.

By the way, my daughter now is 30 and drives a Volkswagen with a manual transmission. (Oh, and she called the other week to report it needs a new clutch.)

As I indicated, my wife now drives a car with an automatic transmission. At times, I know how she feels about that option. I like my car with its manual. But in stop-and-go traffic, it is a grind (figuratively, not literally like before). But it is exercise, for your left leg, anyway.

Some people think manual transmissions are what you settle for in a base vehicle model if you don’t want to spend extra to upgrade to an automatic.

But for Ward’s 10-Best Engines competition, I have recently road tested a BMW 335i, Audi S4 and several other exquisite cars with manual transmissions. The fact that they had those helped make them stunning vehicles.

In driving such cars, you give thanks you learned how to drive a manual.

Fellow 10-Best judges and I also tested the all-new Chevrolet Cruze with a nice 1.4L turbo engine mated to a do-it-yourself 6-speed.

The Cruze finally proves General Motors can make a decent small car. That it is something of a “youth” vehicle with a manual-transmission offering shows there’s hope that shifting gears won’t become a lost art. Not yet, anyway.
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by vedran »

Rope-Pusher wrote:Manually Shifting Gears Becoming Lost Art
Honda has installed the most ’10 vehicles with manual transmissions(7.6%); Nissan, the least (0.8%).
Not surprising. They make awful manual gearboxes.
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by theholycow »

Rope-Pusher wrote:But even some older people who know how to switch gears on their own would rather not. My wife comes to mind. It’s something she can do, but doesn’t want to do any more.
What's all this "some" business? I know plenty of older people who know how to row their own. In fact, I know far more older shifters than younger ones. None of them choose to bang gears the old fashioned way.
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watkins wrote:Humans have rear-biased AWD. Cows have 4WD
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by watkins »

vedran wrote:
Rope-Pusher wrote:Manually Shifting Gears Becoming Lost Art
Honda has installed the most ’10 vehicles with manual transmissions(7.6%); Nissan, the least (0.8%).
Not surprising. They make awful manual gearboxes.
Their CVTs aren't so hot either
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by theholycow »

Do they at least make a decent slushbox?
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by cimbali »

Rope-Pusher wrote: By the way, my daughter now is 30 and drives a Volkswagen with a manual transmission. (Oh, and she called the other week to report it needs a new clutch.)
I'd be curious to know how many miles his daughter's clutch lasted...
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by FDSpirit »

Lol @ Nissan. Honda, I am proud. Now gimmie a decent Acura style upgrade.
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by cimbali »

people seem to like the manual 370z. maybe it's the Synchro Rev Match feature...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoM3q5aRX60
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by six »

I think the only Nissans that have a manual these days are 370Zs and Sentras. Even the Maxima comes with CVT now. There's just no excuse, that was a poor decision.
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by vedran »

theholycow wrote:Do they at least make a decent slushbox?
I drove a G35 sedan a while back and was impressed with the auto. It was very smooth and, from what I remember, it's just as fast as the manual performance number-wise.
six wrote:Even the Maxima comes with CVT now. There's just no excuse, that was a poor decision.
Agreed!
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by Rope-Pusher »

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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by theholycow »

Is he holding a 30 inch tall shifter?
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by Rope-Pusher »

theholycow wrote:Is he holding a 30 inch tall shifter?
No, he's just happy to see you!
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy:

"When the age of the Vikings came to a close, they must have sensed it. Probably, the gathered together one evening, slapped each other on the back and said, "Hey, good job."

I swear it's going to be the same one day for Amish transmissions. The last Amish trans on Earth is going to end up limping along with just two gears and then it will make a funny noise letting out the clutch and 4th will be the only gear left. Ain't hardly the same when there's no use rowing the oar, but at least we'll always have Clutch, right? I mean, you can always rivet some steak to the disk and set it in a jerky maker if the clutch wears out, right?
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Re: Anybody heard from Art?

Post by theholycow »

Rope-Pusher wrote:Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handy:
Never Do Yesterday What Should Be Done Tomorrow.
If at Last You Do Succeed, Never Try Again.

(Credit to Robert Heinlein)
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watkins wrote:Humans have rear-biased AWD. Cows have 4WD
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