Not as bad as we think?

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theholycow
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Not as bad as we think?

Post by theholycow »

My co-worker might be buying a Hyundai Santa Fe (surprisingly nice, surprisingly large, surprisingly decent fuel economy rating). I was checking out the Hyundai website and noticed they offer manual transmissions in each model I checked. That caused me to go to autos.yahoo.com and check this out...

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Nice.
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Re: Not as bad as we think?

Post by FDSpirit »

It took me by surprise when I heard one of these things stall one day. Didn't know they offered MT for their SUVs or whatever they are. Does Toyota still offer row your own for their Rav4? I know Honda still offers it on the CRV. Those numbers are really something, too.
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Re: Not as bad as we think?

Post by Shadow »

I know manual transmissions are dying a slow death as more and more people opt for automatics (or some variation of an automatic) these days, but at least it is good to see that a lot of entry-level and economy cars are still offered with a clutch pedal. My biggest disappointment is the fact that most vehicles that have more than one engine choice usually are available with the manual transmission only with the smaller, less powerful engine. Someone I work with recently picked up an Acura TSX. He wanted the V6 engine, but had to choose the 4-cylinder in order to have a manual transmission. Unfortunately, that seems to be happening more and more these days...
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Re: Not as bad as we think?

Post by FDSpirit »

*sigh* . Sucks, man.
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Re: Not as bad as we think?

Post by theholycow »

There's a few reasons why the three-pedal transmission is offered only with the less powerful engine in most cars, including marketing (not a lot of demand because more stick buyers are buying on price) and engineering (they don't want to put in the effort to strengthen a manual to match a more torquey engine).

However, the flip side is that even the smaller engines are producing more power than ever. For example, Hyundai's normally aspirated 2.0 liter I4 is making 198 hp and 184 lb·ft (granted, you gotta rev it up to 4250 for the torque and 6300 for the HP).
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Re: Not as bad as we think?

Post by six »

theholycow wrote:For example, Hyundai's normally aspirated 2.4 liter I4 is making 198 hp and 184 lb·ft (granted, you gotta rev it up to 4250 for the torque and 6300 for the HP).
Fixed it for you. The 2.0L is the turbo.
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Re: Not as bad as we think?

Post by Shadow »

theholycow wrote:There's a few reasons why the three-pedal transmission is offered only with the less powerful engine in most cars, including marketing (not a lot of demand because more stick buyers are buying on price) and engineering (they don't want to put in the effort to strengthen a manual to match a more torquey engine).

.
Historically, the opposite had been true. Many automatic transmissions weren't robust enough to handle high power/torque engines, so a manual transmission was the only option on the "big" engine. There are quite a few examples of this on powerful vehicles. I think this makes sense because manual transmissions are often inherently "stronger" than conventional automatics found in the same car. Or maybe I should say "were" because I have no idea if modern automatics are more robust these days. Maybe things have changed...

Still though, I think a big reason today is people's preference for all the dual clutch-type transmissions on today's hottest cars. If people can have all the ultimate performance of a true manual transmission with the convenience of an automatic, I don't see the good ol' clutch pedal living on forever. I honestly think the days are numbered, but I hope that I'm wrong about that. Jay Leno said it best in one of his Popular Mechanic articles when he mentioned that there will be a day when kids will look at a stick shift and a clutch pedal and say "what's that?" without having any clue at all how to drive a true manual transmission car.
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Re: Not as bad as we think?

Post by 94Corolla5Speed »

FDSpirit wrote:I know Honda still offers it on the CRV.
They don't.
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Re: Not as bad as we think?

Post by theholycow »

94Corolla5Speed wrote:
FDSpirit wrote:I know Honda still offers it on the CRV.
They don't.
Indeed.
http://automobiles.honda.com/cr-v/specifications.aspx
All the more reason to switch to the other H, IMO. You can get three pedals in 2 out of 3 of their SUVs and most of their cars (including the RWD Genesis Coupe).
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Re: Not as bad as we think?

Post by Bill B »

Honda dumped the manual in the CRV. 2010 was the last year for the manual in the Element. I love my Element and was fortunate to find a used one with the 5 speed and the AWD option. I guess not enough other people felt the love, because 2011 is the final curtain call for the Element.
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Re: Not as bad as we think?

Post by Rope-Pusher »

I replaced my wife's element, but her stove still wouldn't bake until I repaired the heating mode switch as well.
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